A Little Scare..

I had a little scare yesterday and last night..
But how about I start from the beginning?
Ashlynn woke up at a normal time on Tuesday, feeling fine, acting fine, etc.
Her morning diaper had an odd poop though..
TMI, but it was an odd color and just didn't look right.
I asked my mom and she chalked it up to teething.
Then Ashlynn took an early nap, which is something I don't see anymore.
She napped for about 2 hours on my chest, then was up playing again.
At 5pm, she was tired again so she fell asleep on me. For the record, this is also rare..and NEVER happens when she has already napped that day. At 8, she woke up (sort of) and I put her in bed just to see what happens. She babbled a bit, but her eyes kept closing. Before I knew it, I dozed off and when I woke up at 11ish, she was still asleep. She slept pretty well until I went to bed (probably around 3am or so), then kept waking up screaming. She didn't want to nurse (and I was too tired to freak out..) but wanted snuggles and her binky..
So we slept some more and, oddly, she didn't wake me up in the morning like she usually does. I woke, on my own, at 12:30 in the afternoon (I was tired..) and had to wake her. She felt a bit feverish, so my mom checked her temp via armpit.
102.
I gave her some ibuprofen and she spent the day dozing off and on. My friend brought me to CVS to get tylenol (and I found out my master card gift card was online only..but that's another story) and by then, Ashlynn was acting perfectly fine. So we went to the mall (bad mama, I know..) and around 5 her fever was back.. So we grabbed tylenol from Target (generic) and gave it to her, then went home.
Once home, we checked her temp again. 103.
The tylenol did nothing and my mom snuck in a temp check (and didn't tell me this until 1am that night..) and got 103.7.
Then some tylenol before bed (around 9)
When she woke up fussing around 1am, she was BURNING hot..
Temp check again..
104.
She was lethargic, wanted nothing to do with any meds and just wanted to sleep..
I seriously considered bringing her to the ER, but my mom talked me out of it and told me I was overreacting.
More meds (ibuprofen) and her temp dropped fast, she started acting normal, then back to bed she went.
I stayed up until 6am to give her tylenol to prevent the fever from spiking more and when she nursed, she acted odd.. nursed VERY quickly (seriously, gulping super fast) and spit up a bit on me..but she went to sleep after.. but I slept through my alarm at 10am for her ibuprofen...
This morning she slept in until about 11 (unusual, but not as alarming as 12:30) and her fever was a mild 99.
She acted fine, ate fine, and was just a little sleepy. She napped at a normal time (about 2pm), but only napped for an hour or so..
I gave her ibuprofen at 4pm today because she was very very fussy, and she went to bed at 8:30pm, happy as can be and acting good as new.
Her fever didn't spike today (at all!) and she didn't seem sick, so I'm not sure what caused the fever to be so bad..

To add.. she fussed as I was writing this so I went to check on her.
Yup... Fever is back.
Not sure what it is.. I just gave her a bit of tylenol and settled her back down..
She was hot hot to the touch and a bit twitchy (she did that last night with her fever of 104), So I'm guessing it's at least 103..
I'm bringing her to the Dr. tomorrow to make sure it's nothing treatable (like an ear infection).
If it's treatable, I think I'll be happier than if it's a bug.. But either way, this mama needs answers!

Christmas and Blizzard Insanity!!!

Christmas was..well..interesting, to say the least.
I spent Christmas eve finishing up the wrapping, then taped multiple lines of ribbon across our hallway with various things on it, including spoons and bells, to alert my parents if my sisters woke up early.
Then, of course, I had to tape cardboard on the cat door (goes from the basement to the main floor) to keep the cats from knocking it all down! NOT easy!
7 am and everyone was awake except myself and Miss Ashlynn, who wasn't too amused by the early wake up.
She didn't get the whole "open presents" concept, but did try.
She got a busy ball popper, books, snacks (up and up brand from target. I'm cheap! LOL), various outfits, more toys, etc. and was obsessed the most with a little electronic pig that walks and wiggles it's nose while snorting. She pressed her nose to the pig's snout and laughed over and over.
My sisters got a ton, too.. including squinkies. In case you don't know what they are, they're little plastic toys (http://www.dealwisemommy.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/SquinkiesProductCollection.jpg) that are a horrible choke hazard for babies. They were banned from the living room for that reason, and I've still picked many up off the floor and even fished one from my 11-month-old's mouth!
We went to my stepdad's brother's house, where Ashlynn got more clothes and even a toy!
Then to my aunt's, where she got MORE clothes and MORE toys!
She got to show off her walking skills and everyone was in awe that she was already walking.
She didn't talk much, but she did utter a few "This" and "That"s
I got her to bed in record time (around 9),too!
Then came the snow..
The day after Christmas, we got snow..and lots of it.
Then yesterday morning around 5:30 AM, our power went out..and so did our heat!
Turns out, a tree had fallen on a power line on our street and the whole street was powerless.
So off to my grandmother's house we went (Over the river and through the woods...) to warm up around 4pm. We had a warm dinner and were going to stay the night, but I got a call from my best friend, who lives on our street, saying the power was back on.
We got home around 10pm, I got Ashlynn to bed and now our house is up 10 degrees.. from 53 to 63! It's almost warm!
It was quite a scare though, since I have two small birds (an English Budgie and a Cockatiel) who wouldn't have done well overnight in the cold. They are, thankfully, perfectly fine though.
Two of our cats are pretty old as well (one is around 12ish, the other around 14ish) and one of them, the older one, is pretty antisocial and wouldn't snuggle with anything, including us, if she had to. I was worried we'd lose her in the night.
We now have about a foot or so of snow, icy roads, and I have a craving for, sadly, fast food!
I officially hate snow!
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Tooth Number THREE And A Rash Update

This morning I checked Ashlynn's little mouth while changing her diaper and we have tooth number THREE!
It came in overnight, and came in quite a bit (you can easily see and feel it), so I know why she was fussy and sleepy yesterday/last night, and it also explains the 3rd poop.
Now to get those other 3 teeth that are on their way in..


On to the rash..
It's almost GONE.
My mom put Ashlynn in a sposie last night after her poop made her poor bum bleed again, and coated her in A&D diaper rash cream.
Overnight, it looked 100x better.
Then I continued using sposies and A&D today and her rash is just about cleared up already!
It's a huge bummer and sort of makes me want to give up on cloth..
But I'm hoping that her rash was just persistent because there was no barrier between her bum and the poops (like there is with A&D..which is NOT CD safe!!!), so it never got a chance to heal.
She already pooped today and it didn't even make her bum slightly PINK.
Once this rash is 100% gone, we're back to cloth.
Time to stock up on California Baby cream and start praying (I'm honestly not very religious. I'm not an atheist, but I haven't determined if I'm convinced in religion) that RnG makes this rash disappear for forever and ever and ever.

And Here Comes The Stomach Bug!

The stomach bug has hit our house.. HARD.
It started with me..
I felt perfectly fine.. actually, better than fine, on Monday night.
I got home at 8:30 and made myself a sandwich (Ham and mayo on a sub roll).
I managed two bites and felt a bit odd, so I figured I just wasn't in the mood for it.
So I threw some whole-grain spaghetti on the stove and popped some french fries in the oven (can you say carb city? LOL)
When the spaghetti was done, I put butter on it and took..again..two bites.
Then I started feeling sick. I turned off the oven and curled up on the couch.
Ashlynn joined me and fell asleep on my chest, so we went to bed.
2 hours later I was up again, making best friends with the couch again.
Then running to the bathroom. Uh oh.
I didn't throw up. Oh no.. It came out the other end.
TMI, I know.
See, I have a problem where about once a month I get horrible cramps which then lead to a lovely trip or two to the bathroom...
So I figured that was what it was.

Until I got nauseous.
I got a pan from the cabinet (Couldn't find a bucket.. the bucket monster must have eaten them) and made friends with the couch again. 20 minutes later, the pan was also my friend.
I spent from 11pm-3am in the bathroom or on the couch.
At 3am, I figured it was over, so I tried to go to bed.
My mom commented that I hadn't thrown up in a few hours, so I must be feeling better.

Ashlynn decided I HAD to nurse her RIGHT. THEN.
I tried to feed her. I really did. But then I had to move her to the side and run to the bathroom.
Throwing up.
Again.
Woohoo my mom cursed me!
Thankfully, that is also when it ended and I managed to go to bed.
A small fever the next day, but nothing some Tylenol couldn't fix.

Well, before I left for class today my sister got up from the couch and went in my parent's room. I really thought nothing of it until my other sister, Kenzie, came out and said "You know Nikki isn't feeling good?"
I asked the obvious.. "Well did you tell Mom?" "No" "Did Nikki tell Mom?" "No" "Well then tell mom!"
So she did.

Kenzie fell asleep in the car on the way to school. A bit strange, but she's been sleeping poorly (She has an ear infection and the only indication was she woke up crying most of the night, but didn't remember crying when she woke up in the morning. She also has conjunctivitis...)

I got a text right before I left class from my mom.
"Can you pick up bread for toast for the girls?"
Uh oh..
I asked if they were throwing up..
"Nikki is"

Oops.
I spread the bug.

I got home to find that not only was Nikki throwing up, But Kenzie woke up on the ride home and promptly vomited all over her blanket.
My mom gave her toast when they got home and she was fine for a couple hours.
Once I got home, they both started throwing up (The girls, not my mom)
Ashlynn felt a bit warm, but I think it may have been the heat in the house and her long sleeve shirt.
She had pooped a third time while I was gone.. Usually she poops twice a day, maybe once.. but NEVER 3 times.
I gave her some tylenol and cuddled her to sleep, then put her to bed.
She's been up crying a couple times since then, but she has been asleep for the past hour and a half at least (I think she may have fussed a minute ago, but she didn't cry, so I assume it was just a binky search)
Poor Kenzie fell asleep in her bed, then woke up and didn't bother to roll over, but instead threw up while laying on her back. My mom told her to lay on her side from then on, since she didn't even wake up when she threw up.
Nikki, who hates vomit, ran to the bathroom every time Kenzie started to throw up. Mainly to get away..far away...from the sound. Poor girl takes after her Daddy with that one. He can't be around vomit or poop without gagging up a storm.

It's been about 2 hours since either girl has thrown up, so I think they are both FINALLY done with throwing up. Good news though! They didn't have the runs, so they didn't lose nearly as much water as I had (I had weighed myself, just because I was curious of my weight, right before I ate my dinner.. then again the next morning to see how much water weight I had lost. Four POUNDS of water!)

I sincerely hope that Ashlynn's third poop, sleepiness and fussiness is all we will see of the bug in her. Please, please breastmilk.. do me this one favor and spare my poor baby of this bug! (She's gotten every cold the household has had so far!)


On a side note, if you have a lip (or nose for that matter) piercing and get a stomach bug.. buy some sea salt and hydrogen peroxide ASAP!
My lip piercing is VERY irritated and swollen from the stomach acids, so I'm treating it like I just got it done by loving it with hydrogen peroxide until it goes back to normal.

Wish our poor household luck! We never do well with stomach bugs!
And so close to Christmas,too :(

Battling the rash.. AGAIN!

The rash is back! Ahhh!!!!
This time, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Meyers Clean Day is to blame.
I ran out of Rockin' Green and bought this expensive "all natural" detergent.
Bad idea. The rash is back and again driving Ashlynn crazy. And Mommy,too!
Well, Black Friday gave me an opportunity to get some RnG, so I got 2 bags of the 45/90 classic rock, then some funk rock!

Right now Ashlynn is in a prefold and cover (we never use them, so they're safe) and the diapers are soaking in the funk rock. I did a 7 hour soak in Classic Rock, rinse, funk rock, then I plan on doing a wash in classic, rinse, rinse, hot soak (no detergent, possibly?), then rinse, rinse, dry.
Hopefully..HOPEFULLY..we see a light at the end of this rashy tunnel!

How I Learned To Relax

Somehow, I supposedly avoided "First-Time-Mom-Itis"
If you don't know what that is, I can summarize it as this;

• You find yourself sterilizing the pacifier every time it drops to the floor,
• If you use a bottle, you sterilize that..and the nipple..and the pan..and the counter...
• Your baby is wearing 5 layers because it dropped below 40 degrees today..
• The dog must stay 10 feet from the baby at all times. He could LICK the baby, and who knows where that tongue has been!
• Your baby cannot touch anything that you suspect may be slightly dirty.
• Strangers, beware..you carry mace in the diaper bag to ward off curious baby-touchers!

Hopefully I don't offend :) Many new mothers go through a period like that, simply because it's their baby and they have to protect it from everything! It's a good thing and means your mama hormones are working.
Now I'm not saying my mama hormones don't work..they do!
But I have five living sisters (and one stillborn) who I watched grow up.
Well.. I watched 4 of them.
My sister Mariah is 10, 11 in January. I met her when she was about a year, maybe a year and a half old. I watched her fall a million times a day, shove horribly disgusting things in her mouth, then hand them to me half-chewed. Like chocolate munchkins (I hate chocolate..)
My second oldest sister is Tayla. She is 9 I believe.. I saw her grow up from close to when she was born. She also horrified me with gross baby things.
Neither of those girls lived with me, since they were my dad and his girlfriend's girls.

But after a long battle with infertility, my mom's IVF baby, Nikki, was born when I was nearly 11 years old. Bring on 24/7 baby spit up, chewed up nasties, and smelly diapers..
Which, by the way, I never changed.

A little over 2 years later my mom had her miracle baby, McKenzie, who was NOT an IVF baby!
More spit up, more grossness, and a LOT of dropped binkies. Nikki was a thumb baby, but Kenzie was a pacifier lover like I was. So many of times I watched my mom pick up that dropped binky, wipe it off on her clothes or something, and hand it back. Typical 3rd-Time-Mom-Itis.

So when my daughter was born, I chased her binkies around, washed them with hot water every time they dropped, but never boiled them after that first time..
Slowly, I was just rinsing quickly.. or using a wipe..
then I began to just wipe it on my shirt or pick off whatever fuzzies I saw on it. A little dirt won't hurt her.
I let people hold her when I let them in the house.. which by that time she was probably about 3 weeks old.. Mama needed to recover first!
I let the dog, a 5lb pomeranian, lick her toes when we brought her home. He loved her and to this day, she adores him.
I can't begin to tell you the times this kid has shoved a penny or nickel in her mouth, or tried to eat a french fry when we can't even remember the last time we had fries..
I don't know where she finds them, but I try not to freak out too much.
I've let her eat cookies. Not irresponsibly handing her cookies, but if someone hands her one (my sisters really like to share) or she finds one that isn't old, I don't pry it from her hands. It won't hurt her, though I have no intentions of giving her a steady diet of cookies.
She is 10 months old and has sampled gold fish (crackers!), cheez its, chips ahoy cookies, french fries, chicken nuggets from McDonalds (In my defense, she was in the care of someone else and they let my sister give her one..without my consent), among other less than healthy snacks.
However, most of her snacks are things like canned fruit in pear juice, canned veggies, gerber puffs, mum mum crackers, toast, and other much healthier options.
I also let her have toast when she was ready.. which was around 6 or 7 months. Mama was not ready, but she was. Her diet is similar to that of a 1 year old. No purees since 7 months.. she would much rather prefer a grilled cheese (yes, I've also given her cheese) or some veggies.

I Think My Baby Is Gifted..

and I'm not kidding!

At ten months old, she is walking..
not only is she walking (which can happen this early) but she is also TALKING!
Her vocabulary includes (but is far from limited to); This, That, Yes, No, Mine, Mama, Nana, Up, Trista (my friend's name), Kenzie (her auntie's name), Hi, Sit..
Then she has begun to speak sentences. Yes, you read that right..
She told my mom "I did it" when she asked why something was on the floor.. then again for another thing.. and another..
We assumed it was a coincidence..
until she started telling me " I did it" over and over when she did things..
Then when my sister asked my mom if she did something, Ashlynn spent 10 minutes at least shrieking "I did it".

Then bath time. I always tell her to sit down, sit on her butt, etc..
so one day she looked at herself sitting in the tub and said "Sit"
So I replied "You're sitting?"
She grinned..and said "I sit!"
YIKES!

Last night she ran around the room with a pen she had found, informing me "I have it!"

This, to be clear, is not typical of a ten month old..
or a one year old..
Most one year olds should know a couple words at most.

A few minutes ago, she shocked me by taking my phone and moving it like you would a toy plane in the air..
followed by little raspberry sounds, like a plane would make..
Honestly, I don't know where THAT came from.
It's quite possible she did it to mimic the sound my phone makes when it vibrates, since I had made the sound at her and explained it 10 minutes before in response to her "That?" question when my phone vibrated.
But I'm almost positive she shouldn't have that type of memory.. LOL

I'll continue this later!


... Okay I'm back!
Sorry about that.. had to run out and grab some dinner.
Anyway..
When she was younger (as in 3-7 months old or so) she was somewhat behind.. Around 6 or 7 months she learned "This", followed by "That", but she didn't roll until 3 months (when she didn though, it was both ways. Her first roll was back to belly), didn't sit up until 5 months (I believe), didn't crawl until 7 months.
She did smile at 4 weeks though..and cruised around 6 or 7 months.
I had a feeling she was a little..special? When I'd ask "Does your baby do this?" on my board, Justmommies, and a majority said No, their baby doesn't do that yet and neither should mine.
It all started when she was a month or a month and a half old and started to get excited about baby einstein videos for 8+ minutes at a time. She watched it, kicking and flailing excitedly, almost every morning. A 8 minute long clip on youtube, just so I had those 8 minutes to slowly wake up from my grumpy mommy sleep.
Now to figure out what to do!!