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By jamie, October 27, 2011 5:21 pm

Did I ever tell you about the time I fell down the cellar stairs at my great grandma’s house? I was two at the time, but I still remember it in a hazy sort of way (I know – people aren’t supposed to be able to remember back that far, and our memories are not too reliable anyway, but I stand by my words – I remember). I was trying to take myself to the bathroom and I accidentally opened the cellar door instead. I stepped inside and kind of just flew down in the dark until I landed. I don’t know if I screamed. I looked up and saw the shape of a man in the doorway high above me, and then before I knew it I was being carried up the stairs and I was safe and unhurt. They said I did not get injured probably because I didn’t know I was falling, so I didn’t brace myself. Still, and I remember this far more clearly, for years after that, whenever I entered a room, I would carefully put one foot through the door first and poke around with my toes to make sure I didn’t accidentally step into a “room with no floor” ever again.

I finished the book. The last few chapters weren’t as fun as some of the others, because she gets into some more serious types of accidents (burns, etc.) and God forbid any of us have to go through the kind of things ER doctors see on their (I can imagine) sadder days “at the office.” At the same time, I am really glad I read this one – I learned so much about medical matters in general, and I think I feel a little more confident about making decisions to call or not to call the doctor when my child has a fever or the tells me her eyes are itching or some such.

She mentions that swimming lessons are not an acceptable substitute for putting a fence around your swimming pool, which caused me to feel all sorts of parental guilt. Especially since we skipped Little Mama’s refresher swimming course this year and I’m not sure her swim teacher is even in the pool any more this late in October. Note to self – call and find out, as soon as possible. Oh, and the fence – I’m not sure what we should do about that – we have some fencing, and heavy doors with deadbolt locks, but little kids are super quick when they want to be.

Oh, and while we are on the subject of safety, I think I need to call and see about getting my first aid/CPR certification updated – again, God forbid we ever need it, but it’s nice to know how to do things like wrap a twisted ankle correctly or NOT put butter when someone gets a burn from touching the handle of the cast iron skillet. (Does anyone still think this is the right thing to do? It’s NOT.)

And did you know that scrapes and scratches should be kept out of the sun while they are healing? And that it can take up to six months for the new skin to grow in fully? I did not know these things.

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By jamie, October 24, 2011 4:11 pm

Write down this number: 1-800-222-1222. Memorize it too. It’s the number to call if your children ever ingest anything that they shouldn’t. As you may recall, we successfully called U.S. Poison Control when my daughter ate an adult decongestant when we were in the Bahamas. Dr. Zibners (I read chapters 11-12) declines to give a comprehensive list of potential dangerous poisons, which I think is wise, because it can be really important to get you child to emergency help, or if you call Poison Control they can give you immediate advice based on what your child is actually experiencing (for example, a sip of rubbing alcohol might just make your kid act drunk, or it might be a major emergency – I’m sure there are a lot of variables).

She does talk about locking up the dangers, but we have to be aware that little kids can eventually get into almost anything. I had to laugh because we “baby proofed” the kitchen as soon as Little Mama learned how to walk, and we basically protected her from the trash can and the pots and pans. Good looking out, Mama and Daddy. Now when she wants to throw something away she opens the cabinet door as far as she can (an inch or two) and can usually stick her hand down inside to dispose of whatever it is she is trying to get rid of. The other night was an exception. She had insisted on a caramel apple, but then I guess it was too hard to eat, so she changed her mind. (Note to self – the little girl still needs caramel apples cut into bite-sized pieces). Without telling me, she tried to throw away the treat. It took me forever to scrub the caramel off of the floor and the cabinet where she tried to shove it into the trash. (Immediately afterward, I made a new rule – no throwing away food without consulting a parent first.) In our defense, most of the chemical cleaner type things are stored in a high cabinet in the garage, along with enough spiders to deter curious Little Mama (for now, anyway).

Reading this book has me fixated on allergies. “Of the people who believe they are allergic to penicillin, less than 2 percent of them have a true allergy when tested at a doctor’s office.” I have believed for some time now that I am allergic to a certain family of antibiotics (not penicillin), and my only evidence is that I broke out in hives the day after I finished up a bottle of them. I have avoided this type of medication ever since, and always list this as a medicine allergy on any health forms. I wonder if I should see an allergist to find out for sure.

Oh, and here’s another one – mosquito bites. I have a terrible reaction to mosquito bites, and Little Mama seems to be following in my footsteps. One time I counted something like 80 bites on my body – they were oddly shaped hot, red welts, very itchy, and I called the emergency nurse line at my HMO at the time. The nurse I spoke with did not believe my bite count, and suggested that I might be allergic to the anti-coagulant the mosquito injects you with before she sucks your blood. She said it would be very odd unless I had been truly swarmed to have that many actual bites, and especially doubted that I had been stung numerous times through a pair of thick denim jeans. I later spoke with my doctor about it, but the reaction is worst in the first hour of being stung, so I couldn’t really present her with fresh evidence – her response was that I might be breaking out in hives as a result of coming into contact with a mosquito (even if I catch the mosquito and it doesn’t splash blood when I smash it, I break out in a cluster of red welts). I think I probably really am allergic to mosquitoes though, even though I have not consulted an allergist – this has been a major problem since I was a little kid.

There is a lot in these two chapters, but I will share just one more thing. She talks at length about pets and the potential dangers they possess. One that surprised me is her explanation of cat bites – I didn’t even know cats bit (they were the one animal aside from fish that I wasn’t terrified of – bummer). Their bites are very likely to become infected, so antibiotics are often prescribed.

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By jamie, October 22, 2011 10:10 pm

I got the chicken pox in eighth grade, and it was horrible. I had them in my throat, so swallowing was excruciating, and all over the bottoms of my feet, so I couldn’t easily walk. I missed two weeks of school. I got them from my sister, who got them from her classmates. My face was covered in scabs, and I tried to be so careful to let them fall off by themselves so as to avoid scarring – when all was said and done, I ended up with a large scar at my arm pit and another, sadly, on my cheek.

I read chapters 9 and 10, which covered skin conditions (think rashes and, obviously, chicken pox) and fevers. Today there is an immunization for chicken pox, and I know some people remember their experience with this “childhood disease” and say that the immunizations are unnecessary. Dr. Zibners has this to say: “before children in the United States began routinely receiving the varicella [chicken pox] vaccine, hundreds of children and adults were hospitalized every year with severe infections that could even, rarely, be fatal.” I have ranted about this before – immunize your kids. The risks of not immunizing far outweigh the risks of the shots.

Have you ever broken out in hives? I have. Many times. Little Mama has gotten hives once that I can recall. Dr. Zibners says hives are not always indicative of an allergic reaction (I guess she means this for adults as well as kids) and that sometimes there is no identifiable reason for them. I wonder how much Benadryl I have needlessly taken over the years. There is one time in particular that still bothers me – I randomly broke out in terrible hives one afternoon. We frantically tried to figure out what I could be allergic to (usually it’s obvious) and narrowed it down to some cherry tea (which I haven’t tasted since, but had enjoyed a few times previously) and orange oil, which was in an organic bug repellent I used for the first time that day. Orange oil is in some organic cleaning products, and I have avoided them because of that bout of hives. Maybe I’ll try out those potential offenders sometime soon to see if I really am allergic – I’ll have some Benadryl on hand just in case.

I am particularly grateful for these two chapters. She describes several types of rashes kids get (without photos – you have no idea how happy this makes me – Googling rashes is a terrifying experience). As for the part about fevers, I predict having this book in your library will prevent at least middle of the night call to the pediatrician. I called our pediatrician recently (during business hours) about a low grade fever that lasted longer than I thought it should – I wouldn’t have called if I had read this first (and I ended up cancelling the appointment I made because she was just fine the morning we were scheduled to take her in).

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By jamie, October 21, 2011 6:53 am

I’m an innie. I remember this being a very big deal when I was a little kid – innies were better than outies (and of course you know we are talking about belly buttons here), so my great grandma used to say that you had to tape a coin to the baby’s belly button if it was an outie to help it become an innie. Dr. Zibners describes this as an ineffective home treatment for an umbilical hernia, (I read through Chapter 8), so maybe my family got it wrong, or, more than likely, I got it wrong, since I was pretty little when I heard the grown ups talking about this. And honestly, I don’t think outies are very common – the first one I ever saw was on my Cabbage Patch Kid, and it was kind of cute.

Chapters 7-8 are about “the plumbing” (get it?) and the whole body in general. She talks about broken bones here, and I am happy to recall that my mother did everything she should have done when I broke my arm – she stabilized the injury with a splint and drove me to the hospital. One thing I don’t remember is whether she allowed me to eat anything – evidently you should not allow your child to have anything to eat or drink, not even ice, because the medicines used before setting the bone could cause vomiting (and drowsiness, which are a very dangerous combination). I wonder how many parents unknowingly mess that one up – some hospitals wait up to eight hours to administer the meds (and presumably set the bone) if the child has taken anything by mouth.

By the way, I am ordering my first “new baby” copy of this book today for baby Brody’s mommy and daddy. Congratulations to the happy family!

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By jamie, October 19, 2011 7:52 pm

Little Mama really loves temporary tattoos. A few weeks ago she talked me into putting one on each hand before school one morning. That afternoon, when I picked her up, only one hand was decorated, and I was immediately suspicious. So I asked. The look she gave me was one of complete guilt with a bit of embarrassment thrown in for good measure. “I’ll never tell you Mommy!” she said as she wrestled her hand away from me and hit it behind her back. Uh oh. Now I needed to know. So I asked again. She looked down at the floor and uttered the words that made my stomach fall…”Well, I just ate it.”

What is in those things anyway? I’m sure they’re non-toxic. Like, they could not possibly have lead in them. But they are not for eating. I’m crazy enough to have wondered for the tiniest second what that tattoo might have tasted like, but – yuck! What does that say about my child? She used to eat crayons, and I have caught her eating toothpaste and lip balm (she is still a big fan), but somehow the tattoo seems far more worse.

I read chapters 5-6 (covering mouths, noses, throats, and gut) and, evidently my kid is normal. Kids eat all sorts of stuff they shouldn’t (that doesn’t make it OK, though – I have allowed her another tattoo since that incident, but I watched her like a hawk and told her I would throw away all of her tattoos if that one didn’t remain intact all day long). I am worried about it – the other day I walked in on her when she was just about to put a disk battery in her mouth – Dr. Zibners specifically says that these can be very dangerous if swallowed (also magnets, which I had read elsewhere and was thrown into a huge paranoid panic as a result). She told me she found it when scavenging in her dad’s office, a room she is not allowed in unless he is in there too. The battery thing happened a few weeks ago (soon after the tattoo incident) and I am still not over it yet – I don’t think she would have swallowed it, but then I swallowed that paperclip and was lucky my dad stopped me from choking in time.

She talks about what to do if a child falls and gets something like a toothbrush lodged into the back of the throat – this has been something that has terrified me ever since I was a kid and saw a televised 911 rescue of a little boy who fell on a toothbrush. I can still picture my sister and me watching TV with our parents and seeing that horrible footage (he was fine, but he was lucky to be rescued in time). Just like the show said, you aren’t supposed to take the object out as long as the child can breathe. I guess most of the time falls like this aren’t as serious and they don’t actually puncture the back of the throat. I was very relieved to read this, and sad that this kind of thing ever happens at all.

I am really enjoying this book – it’s going to be my new baby shower/new parent gift because I think it’s far more useful than frantic Googling if something (God forbid) happens that you think an emergency call might be in order. It also does not seem weird to read it from cover to cover.

One thing that continues to bother me is about cold medicine for little kids. Is it possible that my parent friends and I have experienced some strange proxy placebo effect? Because I have talked to a lot of parents about this, and we all agree that those medicines worked for our kids. We followed the instructions to the letter and their noses stopped running, they stopped coughing, and they were able to rest or play (they worked day and night). We never felt like we were putting our kids in danger, and we were happy to have something that helped (I have tried the home remedies too, but they did not provide the same relief as the medicine, which in our case was called C-Phen.) I should also point out that I am not a medicine person – I try to avoid using it for myself or my child; from un-medicated childbirth and beyond, I am the sort who toughs it out whenever possible. I only used that medicine when she was very congested and uncomfortable, usually at bedtime after she had been struggling unsuccessfully to sleep with constant coughing and runny nose.

There is a lot in these two chapters (including quite a lot that can save you from unnecessary doctor visits or ER trips if your child is dehydrated or constipated). You should read it if you have a kiddo. A couple of fun bits:

1. Green stool is nothing to freak out about. This is one thing I have frantically Googled and was left unsatisfied by my search.

2. Green snot does not mean it’s time to go in for antibiotics (we are lucky that Little Mama’s pediatrician is on board with us about only giving medicine if it’s really necessary – although he did give us the C-Phen prescriptions…)

3. If your tooth is knocked out it might be possible to save the tooth (put it back in place in the kid’s mouth or in a glass of milk and get the kid/tooth to a dentist/doctor/ER as soon as possible).