Tips for a healthy baby: Fever, nose, ears and cough

Here are a few tips we learned overnight and on the Mom Show as we dealt with a very congested baby.

1 a.m.- The nasal aspirators are no good as taught in our prenatal courses. We gave it a shot because we were worried but it really was awkward to use. That's when we turned to other resources for a more aggressive approach.

- All the books say that the baby's body will clear out on its own and that's why they sneeze so much. Our baby had been getting so congested overnight it wakes her up.

2- 4 a.m. or something like that- Phil read online to sleep her in an upright position. We moved her carseat on our bed leaning against the bassinet so it was secure and she slept longer and woke up more clear.

6 a.m. I ran a really hot shower and we danced in the washroom as it heated up and cleared out her mucus.

7 a.m.- Watched The Mom Show and learnt some more facts:
- One of the woman's baby was four months and keeps coughing at night and getting diagnosed with bronchitis. The doctor on the show said if your baby keeps coughing at night he most likely has asthma and needs a puffer. I really don't want my baby to have asthma and infections like I did and I'm doing my damnedest to eliminate dust, cat hair, smoke.

- We run a cool mist humidifier and this is another way to help you and your baby sleep in more comfortable air especially in the winter months.

- Anything that ends with "itis" means there's an inflammation of sorts.

- Fever- it's a sign that there's an infection. To treat a fever you have to know what the main problem is and a fever should go down with the right high dosage of acetaminophen. You know how we like to "sweat it out"? Well we're encouraged not to "overheat" or "cool down" our kids- just keep them comfortable.

- Ears- Don't put anything smaller than an elbow in your ears! Ear wax? It's supposed to clear out on its own although no one can stand visible ear wax.

8 a.m.- Baby plays with dad and the big boogers finally clear out. As she exhales I have fun trying to grab it as it creeps out and heads back in with the inhale.

11 a.m.- Still a little congested but we know that all these tips will lead to a healthy baby. Our friend suggested using a dropper with breastmilk up her nose. We don't have a dropper so I just expressed my boob up her nose. It was quite funny!!

If anyone has any other suggestions please comment!

xox PRMOM

Don't look at me

I love helping her burp, sneeze, cough and poop. Now we're dealing with gross nose nuggets. People tell you not to talk about poop as a couple in order to keep the spark sparkling but we love to talk about poop. Right babe? It makes her feel so good and keeps her smiling!
It's such a big accomplishment for the baby.

Concentration

Don't look at me 

I love these leggings on her.
The change table- her happiest place in the world

*photos taken at 65 days.
xoPRMOM

Mr Elephant!!

Yes!!! Annabelle reaches and tries to eat Mr. Elephant!
Goal of the day!!

70 days 

Had to share some special photos that tickle my heart

xoxoPRMOM

Pro Baby!

Baby: We just got back from another successful stroller trip! Yay! Annabelle is getting much more calm in the stroller. She used to freak out when she would wake up and no one was holding her. She also slept the whole time because we had a sleepless night. I saw every hour but 3 a.m. so this PRMOM is super drowsy right now.
PR: Yesterday I was consulted to look at a new website for Melissa DiMarco. Phil was also away all day filming the press junket and carpet for Goon, a movie I'm excited to see! Anyways long story short it was quite difficult reviewing the website because Annabelle didn't nap too long. She'll nap all day in my arms but the minute she's down she's up ten minutes later. So my first PR consulting post baby was a short task but it's nothing to fret about. We're still only two months new :)
Life: Annabelle and I are getting ready for our big trip to Sudbury to introduce her to new friends and family and spend some time with the girls! I've already got my entire luggage case dedicated to her clothes. There's so much to consider! I definitely have to remember to pack her mobile- she loves to watch Winnie-The-Pooh twirl around.
I signed up for a new mom and baby class at St-Joseph's Hospital today! But we'll miss the first two classes because of our trip. Phil wants to attend these classes because who doesn't want to witness their baby interacting with other kids? So my next task is to find out if dads are invited to the mom groups and I also want to see if there are courses for both parents and babies.
Love: "We're awesome parents!"said Phillip.

63 days! Sorry it's all I got. Look at my plumpin baby

64 days playing dress up with mom at 7 a.m. in Matante Pauline's dress. She's not impressed.

65 days ;)

66 days at her first family day brunch with some cousins :)

67 days

68 days- lookin fly for dad

69 days young and gaining strength!!

Two Month Birth Day!!

We've been so busy around here!
First off, Happy TWO MONTHS to us! Annabelle is turning into quite a playful girl!
Secondly, Happy Valentine's Day! Our day was super sweet as it was our first Vday as a family. I wanted to go out with Annabelle and buy her Lady and the Tramp (yes their marketing worked on me!) but the past few days have been quite busy with feeding and the odd fussing. I believe it was her two-month growth spurt because she's back to normal today!
I'm typing this blog as she sleeps on me:

PR: Like I said, I realllllly have been tied up with baby, she's my main job and my main client! When I get free time I usually catch up on laundry and go for walks and do yoga. I do need to try and make some time to help the Beatbox Canada team get ready for the 2012 champs! Phil's also on a slight PR tip revamping Melissa DiMarco's Youtube page so please subscribe!

Baby: Annabelle is making a lot of eye contact and turning toward voices. She's holding her head way up to see what's going on around her. Her sounds are getting more loud and frequent and our friends say she's actually looking like a human baby now. Haha!  I'm also taking her out a lot more in the baby carrier. She loves noises and loves to look at her Winnie The Pooh mobile. She fell asleep in her crib in the other room last night so I set up the baby monitor and we went to sleep in our own bed. About 30 minutes later I still wasn't sleeping and when we heard a high pitched squeal, we both woke up and snuggled her back into our bedroom. Not ready to lose our baby girl just yet ;)

Love: Phil and I slowly making attempts to have some alone time together. We went out  once or twice for a drink and our conversations always gravitate toward our beautiful daughter and her funny faces and sounds. Our world is brighter with Annabelle and really not much has changed at the moment. She's not costing us any extra cash yet and the breastfeeding is going smooth. We have amazing friends who have given us boxes of baby clothes so her drawers are over flowing! I officially share half my closet space with her :)  I care for her at night and he takes her in the morning before he begins his work. Together we make ridiculous faces and sounds (he beatboxes, I sing) and she's smiling and reacting more and more.

playtime

56 days old and always blowing bubbles!

57 days 

58 days with my god daughter Chloe in the background :)

59 days :)

Also 59 days but it's so funny I had to post it here!

60 days and wearing her first souvenir from Mexico thanks to Julian!

61 and beautiful

62 days! Two months young!


xoxoPRMOM

The big FIVE OH!

Annabelle is 55 days old today! That means she is two months young in five days! She's still my little baby girl.

Baby's Health: We went to the doctor yesterday to measure, weigh and get her two month old vaccines.

She measures slightly above average at 10.13 lbs and 23 inches. Our doctor was doing her job and all but she kept glancing at us to say "wow she's really cute eh?"

When it came time to her vaccines she still hadn't complained at all. Phil was at her face distracting her and I was holding her legs. Then 1 prick, 2 prick WAHHH! Poor baby went as red as a tomato. She slept until 6p.m. waking in and out of crying out bursts. It was so sad. Our doctor and midwife failed to mention that the vaccines would irritate her and could cause a fever and more crying. It was the lab technician who warned us and said if we have to use baby Tylenol then that's okay. However we realized (Phil's reasoning) that the majority of people complain about their needles and shots-. Lots of people faint and complain about a pulsing for the rest of the day. So if our baby needs to cry it out then she is completely being reasonable! With this better understanding we bought the Tempra Tylenol, but by 6p.m. she was back to her smiley self and we didn't have to use any meds on her. Annabelle, you make us stronger!

50 days!

51 days

52 days old in her pretty in pink dress

53 days- sleep time

54 days!

55 days! Laughing but still no sound... Waiting for our first giggle!


xoxo PRMOM

Midwives discharged!

Today was our farewell and discharge from Midwife Alliance. Awe! Cue the water works. Mahnaz greeted us with welcoming arms and excitement as she saw Annabelle for the first time in over four weeks. Janet and Nicole weren't in the office, but we're going to visit them when we take a nice walk through High Park. I felt so proud as Mahnaz checked Annabelle- new weight 10.6! She repeatedly grinned and said perfect and I watched in admiration as she proudly looked upon my baby. They make you feel so welcome, like your baby is the first baby they've ever loved. They are such special people and I left Mahnaz with photos for her, Janet and Nicole and she was so happy!
They want us to wait at least 18-24 months before the next pregnancy... No problem! haha. The sad thing is I may not attempt to go natural next time... I was practicing a natural birth with the midwives but thank goodness I got induced and they encouraged the epidural. I just think with today's technology, I have nothing to prove by going through a painful delievery. I watch them women attempt on A Baby Story and a lot of the normally strong women give in at the end because child birth is painful and you want to try and remember it and enjoy it. I enjoyed mine once the pain numbed and thank goodness I only had to push for 15 minutes. How lucky am I!

My baby girl is seven weeks old today and as the midwives would say, she's perfect!

Here are photos of Annabelle this morning at 49 days old- seven weeks and happy!

47 & 48 days- Busy Baby!

47 days

48 days- Yoga Baby!

48 days- passing out after play time

Jail bird pirate?

Annabelle is 47 days old in these photos. I went to the mall this day (monday) to get a stroller cover, bras that fit, wipes and even bought my daughter her first outfit from me! It was black and pink leggings of course with a white cream top and a lace cat on it. So sweet. Seriously loving WalMart right now. 

Phil watched her for a couple of hours seeing as he wanted some alone time with her after being in Ottawa all weekend. When I came home she wasn't in pink anymore. Apparently she was quite restless and pooped in her clothes. So daddy dressed her as a pirate/jail bird rebel. I guess it fit the mood? I get cracked up when he gets to chose her clothing. This was priceless. 

little finger tips <3 

Groundhog Day

Well the groundhog didn't see his shadow today so I doesn't look like we'll have to bundle her up like this anymore.... 

45 days old

xoxPRMOM

Catching up!

We're catching up on photos, blogs and sleep over here! Everyday is different. Annabelle and I had our first weekend solo while Phil went to Ottawa to film King of the Dot. I say we did pretty damn good! I'm so lucky to have a lil mini me :) Girls weekend and movies in bed of course! 

Baby: Annabelle is 48 days young today! She's still eating every two hours and has one afternoon nap surrounded by a bunch a little cat naps. She still sleeps pretty good at night. Usually from 12:30a.m.- 4a.m. is the big rest. I brought her to bed early last night and I think it completely messed her up. 

PRMOM: Not much on the work front at the moment. I spent last week looking at other sites to join and considered freelance writing. Since then I've been consumed with an adorable growing baby. I make sure she gets a lot more time on the floor so she can lay on her belly and strengthen those muscles! She loves standing! I'm not in as big of a rush to return to work anymore. Of course I will one day, but when Annabelle looks at me I know that she's my first and only priority right now. 

I began my you know what two days ago. Boo! After a year of freedom I took a prescription for micronor as suggested by my doctor and now I'm back to the same old. I'm still trying to see if I made the right decision as I did not enjoy feeling like crap around my baby girl yesterday. 

Today's a new day and even though she was up quite often last night, Phil played with her this morning so I could sleep from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and I woke up feeling refreshed to a smiling baby girl. 

40 days!
Artistic shot by Phil

At 41 days I went for a hair cut to celebrate our 6 weeks and when I came home her daddy had put on her new onesie...backwards. He claims "don't all girls shirts button in the front? So cute. 

A very happy Grandma Sherrie gets to visit Annabelle on day 42- 6 weeks old!

43 and smiling

44 days

45 days