pediatrician
Honey Badger Demands Shots Once a Week
Just before leaving the pediatrician’s office, Maddie stared down the doctor. With defiance plastered across her face she declared, “Next time, hit me with a bigger needle and put your back into it!”
Maddie took her cue from Rocky IV this week when her poor little body was covered with bumps and she was racked with sickness. The evil Russian from the movie, Dolph Lundgren tells little Rocky, “I must break you!” Sly Stallone, always the smart one replies, “Go for it!”
That was just a movie, but my little Honey Badger is toughness personified.
Maddie took the worst her one-year vaccinations had to offer and shrugged it off in a little more than 24 hours. As if being sick wasn’t enough, Maddie bounced her left cheekbone off the corner of the living room table. She cried for less than 30 seconds and kept on playing as if nothing had happened.
Her grandmother MiMi always called Maddie a “Toughie,” but this is just ridiculous. Maddie even has a grizzly bear carpet in her room. The bear isn’t dead, it’s just too scared to move.
Baby Shrugs Off Shots for Friday Festivities
6-Month Shots Put Household on High Alert
Tomorrow morning, Maddie goes under the needle for her 6-month vaccinations. This might sound overly dramatic, but the 2 and 4-month shots proved to be both sad and disruptive for all parties involved.
Seeing Maddie in great discomfort is a helpless and debilitating feeling. Your little girl is hurting and confused and is equally curious as to how you allowed this pain befall her in the first place.
The other issue is the glut of information out there about the potential hazards of these vaccines. At one point, the government insists that a particular shot is critical for your child’s health and the next year crosses it off the list.
I’m sure that keeping a positive attitude about the process can only help, but it sure won’t appease my little girl.
I’m also not convinced that knowing what to expect provides any tangible peace of mind. Maddie’s worst reaction seems to come almost four hours after the injection. She suddenly breaks down into panic as if its all taking place again. At this point, Maddie becomes completely inconsolable.
During the last two rounds of shots, Maddie was out of sorts across the board for at least four to five days. All naps and normal sleep schedules are truncated by these vaccination events as well as Maddie’s appetite.
So shields up and prepare for impact because tomorrow morning we are going in!
Baby Defeats Diaper Rash Without the Hype
For three weeks now, I’ve been terribly apprehensive about writing this article about how we defeated sweet Madeleine’s diaper rash. The fear is that if I publish the article, the rash will comes back at my 4-month-old with a vengeance!
Diaper rash had been constant headache for all of us since the baby was born. It actually seemed to impact the parents a great deal more than it bothered our little girl. We would fret, complain and complete exhaustive research projects like we were trying to cure yellow fever.
We purchased every darned product we could find under the sun:
- Butt Paste
- Creams
- A+D
- Burt’s Bee’s
- Desitin
- Home Remedies
- VooDoo dolls and potions
- Ouija board
One of three things happened every time:
- The rash would get temporarily better
- Stay the same
- Get worse
Every time it was right back to square one with bumps, the redness and sometimes blood. Never has there been an affliction with so many cures available that only seem to make the problem worse. Maybe teenage pimples, but isn’t that another billion dollar pharmaceutical industry designed to rip off desperate consumers?
Sorry, I promised Maddie that I would not get carried away. So without further adieu, here’s the cure.
STEP I – Stop using baby wipes, especially the medicated ones.
STEP II – After each diaper change, use a little container of water and cleanse the affected area with GENTLE paper towel halves. (Pick a brand)
STEP III – Throw all of that diaper rash crap out the window – Every tube, jar and bottle of magic potion (unless it actually works for your baby.) Sometimes a little Mustela can go a long way, but try the natural route first!
STEP IV – In 3 to 4 days, Maddie’s rash went the way of the 8 track player and the dinosaur. It’s gone. There’s been no flare-ups, no bumps and no blood.
I don’t know if this remedy will work for you and your baby and we don’t know for sure if it made Maddie any happier. However, we sleep much better at night knowing that the baby is not resting on a chapped bottom!
Sister’s Sage Advice Overcomes Vaccination Angst
I will always be eternally grateful to my younger sister Rachel. Her vaccination advice continues to be a lifesaver after poor little Maddie had another bad reaction to her scheduled shots last night.
Having some idea of what to expect during this round of vaccinations made things a little bit easier – but not much.
I was hoping that Maddie wouldn’t suffer from the same reaction to her shots that she had last time, but that was obviously wishful thinking. About four hours after Maddie’s vaccination – my sweet little girl literally went berserk. She screamed with a fear and desperation that was more than enough to rip your heart out.
I instantly remembered my sister’s strange, yet very successful advice that she had shared with us when she was visiting two months ago. She said, hold the baby tight, rock her and sing to her. (You can’t be serious!) It worked then, I prayed it might work again!
I scooped up Maddie and held her tight, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of the words to any songs at all. After 30 seconds, Maddie was screaming with an intensity none of us had ever heard before. Suddenly, through the fog of her wailing – the words to the song Everyday by the Dave Mathews Band came spilling into my swirling brain.
“Pick me up love, Everyday!”
The words spilled out into a jumble at first, but then turned into the song that I hoped would calm my panicked precious child. Like a magic spell, in less than 30 seconds she started to scale down. I kept on singing like an obsessed street person, terrified to stop even for one second. Two minutes later she was quietly staring at me, as I went over the song verse by verse, again and again.
Another few minutes passed by and the baby was sound asleep in my arms as Gina started coming by and applying warm compresses to the leg where Maddie received the offending shot.
It was a tough night for all of us, but once again, my sister’s unorthodox cure was a true lifesaver. She has two amazing children of her own, so I am thankful that she was able to share some of that critical knowledge with us.
Upon further review of why this strange solution actually relaxes the baby – I can only guess that when an infant reaches an uncontrolled panic mode, he or she is looking for a specific form of warmth, security and protection that allows them wind down in an active, yet completely safe environment. I’m not sure why singing (especially mine) conveys a sense of security; I just know that it works.
Maddie Makes Stunning Rebound from Rough Doctor’s Visit
Maddie showed amazing resiliency by bouncing back after her bad visit to the doctor’s office earlier this week. Her appetite was off – but she started the day in high spirits and it was a great relief to see her smile again.
It might have cost a night of sleep to get her back on track – but I will take that deal any day of the week. It also seems that Maddie has recovered much more quickly than her parents from this little ordeal.
I admit that between Rachel (my sister), Gina and myself – the baby hasn’t had to sleep by herself since her trip to the doctor. Rachel and I took Maddie out to breakfast while my Alaskan sister soaked in all the sunlight she could before heading back to the frozen tundra of Homer, Alaska.
When we got back, Maddie rejected all efforts to be coaxed into another nap with PaPa. However, once I put her in the Cradle ‘n Swing – she slept for a solid three hours without making a peep. She must have needed some alone time after her clingy father wouldn’t giver her any peace.
When the baby finally woke up – she was ravenous, screaming at the top of her lungs for food. Mission accomplished – Hide the food – Maddie is herself again.
Baby Pays the Price for Rigorous Vaccination Practices
A combination of doctor trickery and parental ignorance led to a great deal of pain and suffering for our baby Tuesday night.
I have always wondered about the controversy surrounding infant immunizations and the adverse impact on young children. I’m here to tell you folks – there is great reason to fear your doctors and their half-assed policies regarding shots for babies.
Our pediatrician (not for long) told us that our 11-pound, 2-month old baby needed two shots and an oral Rotavirus vaccine. Three doses of WHATEVER seemed like a lot for such a tiny creature – but like an idiot – I deferred to the doctor. Moments later, we found out that these two shots actually contain FOUR different vaccinations. Now I’m pissed and praying that the baby is ok.
Turns out that praying was not enough, because four hours later – the dam ruptured and all hell broke loose. Out of nowhere – Maddie started screaming with a desperation we could not have even imagined in our wildest dreams. She was inconsolable for nearly two hours and clearly suffering from her vaccine cocktail. We contacted the on-call doctor who told us that this was a very rare reaction to the shots. Being lied to by a witch doctor didn’t make the situation any better at all.
Despite all the warnings from friends and family who had bad experiences with their kids – we just had to learn the hard way.
Watching my baby suffer has made me a true believer in the ineptitude of the CDC and these so-called medicinal practitioners. There is no reason to load up such a little person with such a potent cocktail of drugs when these vaccinations could be spread out over time.
The CDC and its rigorous shot schedule is for the birds. It is completely up to the parents to modify the shot schedule and defy both the pediatricians and our wonderful friends at the CDC.
Our doctor was very slick – but our eyes have been pried wide open. One shot at a time is more than enough from now on – but thanks anyway.
Stay Home PaPa 