Search Results for: blog taking time off to care for a sick baby

Medication and the First Trimester

At the beginning of the week I cautioned against going off medication when you get pregnant.  Now I want to write a follow-up, because it actually is important to know any potential dangers with medicine and the first trimester. As a rule I’ve avoided reading lists of dangers, side effects, and rare pregnancy and birth problems.  They’ll just cause me unnecessary stress, and since pregnant women usually see their doctors at least once a month, I trust mine to keep me informed about anything that will actually/is actually affecting me.  But it is important to know that the first trimester … Continue reading →

Most Important Early Pregnancy Advice

Many people might start off their first pregnancy blog with a story: why they decided to have a baby (or not), the story of how they became pregnant, their early thoughts on pregnancy and childbirth.  I might get to all of that, or I might not.  But today I want to share one of the most important things I learned in my first month of pregnancy: do not go off any medication without talking to your doctor first. This might seem silly or obvious, but I cannot stress how important it is.  My whole first trimester might have taken a … Continue reading →

Bed Rest

If you are in your first trimester and feeling really tired, you may be secretly hoping that one day your prenatal care provider will tell you that you have got to take it easy, and will prescribe bed rest. As nice as it sounds, bed rest is not all that great – and not all that practical either, especially if you already have a little one running around the house. On average, one out of every five mothers will be prescribed bed rest during her pregnancy for any one of a number of reasons. Bed rest can mean anything from … Continue reading →

Not My Idea of Romance

Not so much for me In my first two marriage posts I mentioned not really adhering to or enjoying “lovey-dovey” relationships. I realized if I’m going to keep using that as a contrast to what my marriage is like, I ought to define how I’m using the term. The simplest way, because otherwise the English major in me will extrapolate the phrase to death, is to do so with a story. My husband and I don’t give each other anniversary gifts, but that wasn’t always the case. When we were younger we did such things because we thought we should … Continue reading →

Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!

Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad! How to get (both of you) through the next 9 months. By John Pfeiffer My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby. As an avid reader my gift is always books. I went to the bookstore and bought books for my sister in law and my favorite book for the baby, Love You Forever, and I noticed they had books for Dad’s. I bought this one for my brother and it’s hilarious! The book is broken up by trimester to tell the new dad everything he should expect, with a touch of … Continue reading →

A Day in the Life of a Single Parent

Last night it became glaringly obvious to me how much more difficult it is to parent on your own. The night started off like any other night. We had dinner, we played, we got in jammies, read our stories, and were off to bed. At four o’clock in the morning I woke to find my son coughing and throwing up all over not only his bed but mine too. Immediately I took him in my arms rocked him and ventured back upstairs to clean him up. Now comes the tricky part. When you are married you both can pitch in … Continue reading →

Taming Tantrums Part 2

You read yesterday about some tips to alleviate some of the common causes of temper tantrums. Today we’ll talk about some more tricks to make everybody’s lives a little easier. Nobody likes to go to the doctor. Your kids are no different. They may feel some anxiety about having to get shots every time they show up at the doctor’s office. Try to be empathetic. Shots are no fun and can be frightening for kids. Let them know that it’s ok to be scared, but that it’s important to get shots so that they don’t get sick. Try giving them … Continue reading →

No Time To Be Sick

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Sick days. Isn’t it funny that once you become a single parent that term no longer applies to you? I have always been fortunate enough to work for companies that provide a generous time off benefit, but still, I never took real vacations. I was too busy being the caretaker to vacation. As a single parent I knew that any paid time I had needed to be hoarded in case Hailey got sick. First, you can’t send them to day care when they’re sick and you don’t want to leave them at home alone when they are sick either. So … Continue reading →

With Cystic Fibrosis, First Illness is Scary

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When my daughter was first diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) she was just a tiny, 6-day-old baby. I had all the fear in the world hanging over me regarding keeping her healthy. Even just a cold can be detrimental to a child who has a lung condition like CF. So when she got her first cold a few months ago, I was nervous. Luckily, that cold lasted about two days and she never developed a cough. The last two weeks, however, have been different. After developing a fever two weeks ago, she ended up with a very runny nose, an … Continue reading →

Sick Days

My poor baby has the flu. Thank goodness he is not throwing up, or I’d be in big trouble. I am just dreading the day that happens. I imagine this awful scene where I am covered in vomit and I don’t know how to respond. Although, judging by all the poo incidents around here lately, I’m beginning to think that puke would not be as big of a deal as I have previously thought. Still, it’s not fun to watch your little one suffer from a fever, chills and body aches. Our son is normally a tornado, whipping through the … Continue reading →