Doctor

According to the pediatrician, strep has been running wild lately. And of course, Boy B got it.

This is the 2nd time in 2 weeks that he has gotten strep and this time, there was more concern. His pediatrician thought that his tonsils had an abscess on them, which if it had ruptured, we could have been faced with a serious issue.

After 2 Dr visits and several types of medications, we were able to see a difference in less than 24 hours hours. Praise the Lord, because the alternative could be have been emergency surgery.

So as I look outside and watch the snow fall, I am grateful for his pediatrician and his new ENT. Both have called and followed up and have been on top of his care.

I think that we are partially out of the woods for now, but he will be having his tonsils taken out this summer and that alone scares me.

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There is nothing harder than when your child is sick. And it is even worse when there is really nothing that you can do for them.  For the last several days, both of the boys have been sick, low grade fevers, coughing, etc. We took one to the doctor, because he was the one demonstrating the signs of a cold.  And the doctor basically said that as long as he was drinking fluids and his fever was below 103, we were good and that it would just run its course.

But it doesn’t change the fact that it is hard to watch your child being sick. All I can do is hold him, keep giving him fluids and hope that this cold goes away sooner, rather than later.

In doing some internet searches, I did find a few possible home rem-ides that we did try to help as well:

  • Vicks Vapor Rub – both on their chests and feet, especially at night.
  • Humidifier and we have a Vicks Vapor strip in the humidifier to keep mist going.
  • A little honey in their juice – this is supposed to help coat their throats for the coughing & it is recommended that you brush your child’s teeth after doing this.
  • Take a tablespoon of Vicks Vapor Rub and a tablespoon of water and place it into the top of the Scentsy candle holder.

Have any of these worked? Who knows? But if it helps just a little bit to take away my kids sickness, then I am willing to give it a try. I know how I feel when I have a cold, but I can verbalize how I feel and what hurts and that I don’t want to eat or drink anything, but the boys can not. There is nothing worse than watching your child being sick.

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The boys are a little over a year old now, but I wanted to share with everyone something that I found to be very helpful for our 1 year checkup for the boys: Doctor visit worksheet: The 1 year checkup  – From the BabyCenter.com

My wife hates it when the boys have to get shots. I do as well, but I am usually the one that gets to hold the boys down when they get their shots. I don’t really physically hold them, I really just keep their arms close to their sides so that they do not hit the nurse. I don’t really enjoy the job, seeing my children cry, but I know that it will make them better or protect them in the long run. And sometimes, the Dad just has to do certain things.

Another important thing to do for a Doctor visit, research, see what other parents are saying or questions that they are asking their Doctor. You are a parent, not a Doctor that knows all of the answers to medical questions. We have even asked our Pediatrician, tell us what we are not asking or thinking about? Again, we are parents, we only know what we know. And our Pediatrician does a great job in giving each boy 30 minutes of his time for their checkup and really sits down and explains everything that is going on.  And he often times, tells us things that we have not really thought about. Trying to prepare us for the coming milestones in the boys lives.

There are no stupid questions, remember you only know what you know. But for your next Doctor visit, I challenge you to really ask a lot of questions and even ask your Pediatrician what you are not asking that you should be.

 

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Guys, it is time to accept certain facts, we are getting older. We usually do not go to the Dr unless we are on our death bed or our wives nag us enough. But look at it from a different point of view: your child’s. What would their life be like if you aren’t here?  And I don’t want to scare anyone that they will get bad news from going to the Doctor for their annual physical, but what if there is something wrong that they are able to diagnose and treat and ultimately save your life.  And let’s be honest, your annual physical takes about an hour, then there is blood work, but that short amount of time is well worth it for the long term benefits.

I for one, hate going to the Doctor. My blood pressure shoots up every time that I even make an appointment, but last week I went for my annual physical. Overall, the visit went well. I was told that I needed to lose weight, which I knew, but when I heard the dangers of not making a change in my life, I realized for the first time, that my kids could grow up without me if I don’t make some changes. Here were some of the dangers that the Doctor explained that could happen if I didn’t get my weight down and kept it down:

Now, in saying that, I’m about 20 pounds over weight. But, it is enough that if I don’t make some serious changes to my life, that I could really be in trouble. So, what am I doing? I am looking at this at a 2 phased approach:

Phase I – Make the initial changes
This will probably take me a few weeks & this should get me down 5 – 10 pounds.

  • Cut down on eating carbs and starches
  • Breakfast now consists of  1/2 cup of egg beaters, 100 calorie bread, 1 container of greek yogurt
  • Snacks now consists of almonds and sometimes adding dried cranberries
  • Limit alcohol intake – and for the next few weeks, I am basically cutting out alcohol altogether
  • Eat more chicken and meats that are higher protein
  • Eat more salads
  • Exercise more

Phase II – Maintain
This will be the for the rest of my life.

  • Limit Carbs and starches
  • Maintain the same breakfast combination
  • Maintain snacks & introduce fruits into the mix
  • Continue to limit my alcohol intake, but occasionally have a glass of wine  or a beer.
  • Continue to eat chicken and meats
  • Continue to eat salads at least 2 -3 times a week
  • Step up my exercise routine by adding in a daily walk of at least 1 mile, if not more, focusing on at least 30 minutes of cardio a day.

These are just a few of the things that I am doing, as I want to make sure that my boys grow up with me being around and more importantly, I want to be able to set a good example for them by showing them the importance of getting their annual physical and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

So guys, do the responsible thing, get your annual physical and more importantly, set a good example for your children.

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