Frankenstorm?

        No matter where you live you always have some form of natural disaster to worry about. Here in the US depending on where you live you can have tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, mud slides, floods, wildfires, tsunami's and volcanoes. We live in the Appalachian Mountains in western Pennsylvania, so we are used to snow, ice, and flooding. It is a running joke that you go from winter to construction and back (they just re-opened one of the major roads by my house Friday night in time for winter). We often get the misnamed "wintery mix" through out the fall and spring (I say it is misnamed because it sounds cute and fun like some sort of festive chex mix, in  reality it is a disgusting mess of rain/ice/snow that no one can drive in). We have had a rare handful of tornadoes or micro-bursts, we have also had a couple of hurricane's come in land enough to dump rain on us.

         For those hiding under a rock that haven't seen the news, they are calling for Hurricane Sandy to make landfall tomorrow, then to have a head on collision with a storm that is already dropping temperatures and rain on us. At this point no one really knows what is going to go on but there's a good chance we will either get a lot of rain or snow and dangerous winds. The governor has already declared a state of disaster so that he can start mobilizing in case there is as much damage as being forecast.  The electric companies are calling in technicians as we speak to deal with expected outages. Maybe this time if we do lose power it won't take as long to restore.

         Everyone is encouraged to get a storm kit ready for worst case circumstances. Basics of a storm kit include bottled water, matches, flashlights, battery operated radio, first aid kit, nonperishable food, back up batteries and a cell phone. Even if this storm is over hyped and we just get a normal storm this is always good to have around in case your power randomly goes out (say for 12 hours because a drunk idiot hits a telephone pole). We decided to update our kit because Ducky is scared of the dark. The last time we lost power we had to keep the flashlight pointed on her toys to keep her from flipping out. I wanted to get a spiffy lantern I had found that lasts up to 500 hours on 3 D batteries (Energizer FL452WRBP Weather Ready LED Folding Lantern (Google Affiliate Ad)), but when I got to Walmart they were completely sold out. In fact they were sold out of almost all but the propane lanterns, after my sister and I grabbed the last 2 mini lanterns and ran they were completely out. I thought a fight was going to break out between people pushing and shoving to flashlights after we left. We also found a cool night light that remains on even if the power goes out (GE 11281 2-LED POWER FAILURE EMERGENCY LIGHT (Google Affiliate Ad).

         Other than getting the new lanterns and a battery operated radio (we don't own well any type of radio) we didn't need to add anything to our storm kit. I do need to take care of running around and gathering up toys in case we have to hide from the winds. In the past if the tornado siren went off I grabbed a drink, my cell phone and a book and set off to whatever room had no windows. In our current house this is a lovely cell in our basement that is dark and cold and no amount of sprucing up can keep it from being gloomy. I need to have enough easily carried toys and books to convince a very hyper toddler that this is a fun room to play in until its safe to come out.

         I went from getting everything ready for trick or treating to getting everything ready for Frankenstorm. I'm really hoping we still get to go trick or treating as this is our family's favorite holiday, but we already missed out on it at my mom's place because we didn't want to risk coming back up the mountain after dark today. Are you ready for the storm? Are you ready for the storm with tiny demanding people aka kids? For all of those who are hiding under a rock here is the expected path  for "Sandy" aka "Frankenstorm".

A Rash is a Rash?

          This weekend we have encountered a foe we continue to battle....diaper rash! Diaper rash is a common enough ailment in babies but until having Ducky I didn't know there were different types of diaper rashes. Most diaper rashes are just contact diaper rash from little sensitive bottoms rubbing on diapers or their bottoms being irritated from changes in food or having a wet diaper. Even if you change their diapers with ninja quickness they can still get diaper rash. These are easy to treat with over the counter creams and loose diapers.

          My child has the joy of fungal/yeast diaper rashes. When she got her first one we were at our wits ends because nothing we did helped. We tried every diaper rash cream on the market, even bought the super expensive supposedly better pastes to no avail. Our poor little princess was still sore and cranky. She wouldn't take a bath because the water on her bottom hurt. We finally broke down and went to the doctors office who told us we hadn't done anything wrong just didn't know that the rash was fungal.

         She gets them every time she is sick or teething. Something about the excess saliva in her stool throws off her system enough to immediately make her break out. There's a simple enough solution, antifungal cream! Our pediatrician had written us a prescription but when we went to the pharmacy they didn't have it in the back. The nice lady showed me that the athlete's foot cream had the same exact ingredients with no added scents or irritants so we decided to try it until they got the prescribed medicine in. It cleared it up within a day! We eventually did pick up the prescription stuff just for the next time but since it was 2x the cost we'll just stick with the over the counter.

Here's some info about regular diaper rashes:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_diaper-rash_81.bc

Here's some info about yeast diaper rashes:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_yeast-diaper-rash_10913.bc

And here's a nifty evaluation guide:
http://www.desitin.com/pictures-of-diaper-rash

          I just hope my daughter stops getting them soon. Almost all of her teeth are in but since we're not fully potty trained yet any time she gets sick I immediately start trying to find where I put the ointment (so I wouldn't lose it of course!). Until then changing her diaper is a 2 man job unless I get that spare set of arms I keep asking for.

         

Dupa Over Tea Kettle

     Today's terrifying moment in parenting has to do with a simple fact of toddlerdom/childhood, kid's will fall down. When they are first learning to stand they fall on their little diaper padded butts, a lot! Then comes the learning to walk stage when they just randomly topple over like your drunk relative at family get togethers. Next is the running stage where they don't care if there is a person/chair/shelf/animal in the way they are running full out and will deal with the consequences if the object doesn't get out of their way. We have now reached the stage where we "run away". Any time Ducky's feet can hit the ground she is off in the opposite
direction or after the big kids.

       It was gorgeous out today so we (us and the neighbors) were all out enjoying a last bit of warmth before the inevitable snow. Now I first need to point out that Ducky can reach the speed of a cheetah when she wants to. And she always wants to be doing whatever the big kids are doing. She took off and I had thought she had been blocked from escaping but was not (it was a big confusing mess). In any case I realize she has managed an escape and take off after her. I catch up just in time to watch her do a diving roll through the neighbors back yard.

         At this point I realize A. my daughters a ninja, B. SHE'S NOT CRYING! I know she feels pain because she will cry over shots or pinching her fingers, but she can fall and skin her knees, hit her head, in general bash herself up and not make a noise! She currently is sporting a scratch under her eye, a black eye, and random other bumps and bruises from her tumble and couldn't care less! A few weeks ago she had a little black eye and no one could figure out from what because she NEVER cried or indicated she hit it and none of us witnessed her getting hurt.

         This not being upset over bumps and bruises scares me just as much as the injuries themselves, because it's not teaching her fear. No matter how many times I tell her no, stop, don't touch etc it will be fear that teaches her to listen to mommy. Right now she doesn't fear pain so I guess I will need to brush up on my own ninja skills to make sure she doesn't get seriously injured.

Can Mommy Please Go Potty?

   Sorry for my absence, things have been crazy lately between  deaths, illnesses and birthday parties. Being sick is what prompted this blog. As Mommies we all know that our body is no longer just ours while we're pregnant. What I hadn't realized was the extent to which you never regain possession of it!

    When you're pregnant you know your body is no longer just yours, it is now a vessel for building your little miracle. For most women it's giving up drinking/drugs/etc that's bad for you and taking vitamins and eating healthily with moderate exercise. I had pretty severe gestational diabetes so my diet had to completely change, I wanted to cry when I found out no more sugar (of course I was pregnant over Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/Birthday). Strict diet and exercise wasn't able to control my diabetes so I had to start taking insulin multiple times a day. I lost weight through the entirety of my pregnancy because of the diet and how sick I was (before you decide to hate me think of having to inject insulin when you have no fat left - the bruises were spectacular).  I knew that my own wants/needs/cravings no longer applied because I had to make sure that my child was born healthy.

     After you finally have the baby you know that your life is now about feedings and diaper changes and naps. No matter how exhausted you are, if you haven't slept in 3 days, when your newborn needs you that's what matters.  If you're breast feeding you really don't have your body back because you now have to make sure you're eating enough calories to keep up with both you and your baby. You also have to triple check every little thing to make sure you can safely take it without it being passed through your milk or making it dry up (I miss allergy medicine).

      As your child grows into toddlerdom you think "Yay maybe I can have it back!", but alas no they still own your body. Despite being able to feed themselves, and entertain themselves to an extent they still demand control of your physical shell. Point in case I had a brutal cold/cough, Ducky had it and got over it within a few days but mine would not go away. The cough was so bad I pulled muscles in my stomach and chest. I wasn't able to sleep because of the coughing and worried about her breathing. This does not matter to a toddler.  They don't understand "Mommy doesn't feel good, can we lay down and rest?". As they get older they probably do but at the stage mine is at, if she's feeling well then everyone else should be also.

      The other way my daughter currently owns me has to do with sharing. We encourage sharing but have created a monster. She now feels the need to share whatever she is eating (while typing this she is shoving snacks at me to make me eat with her), and you better eat it or she will just keep shoving it at your mouth until it is either eaten or magically disappears. She also feels the need to share every toy and activity she enjoys. I love playing with my daughter, we have great fun playing with blocks and cars and all of her little toys. I also try to get her to have independent play time, where she colors by herself or engages in some solitary activity. This is right now a total fail. I apparently need to join her in every single thing she is doing and vice versa.

     My software update at work went awry so I've been spending all my time at home with her. I think she is used to having the other kids to play with during the day and since I'm all she has right now I have to fill in. I have actually found myself asking my toddler permission to go to the bathroom as she drags me from room to room and activity to activity this week (of course she has to go with me to make sure I'm not secretly having fun or relaxing). I realize I need to stop this behavior before she gets spoiled and won't do anything on her own but I also don't want her to think Mommy and Daddy are too busy for her or not interested in her.
   
      It's a fine balancing act you have to master as a parent, but you still aren't getting your body back. Whether it's the snuggle me I don't feel good, Hold me and protect me from the scary thing, come look at this awesome thing I did, you are there for them. I'm looking forward to this evolving as she gets older but don't plan on my body being my own again until she's an adult if even then.