Sick

Passed out on my chest...her home for about 4 days...

Well it finally happened...Addie got sick. After 15.5 months without a runny nose, earache or cold, we could avoid it no longer. A virus.

It actually got all of us. First Matt, then Addie, then me. From the time Matt started noticing he wasn't feeling well until we could all crawl out of bed again was a little over a week. It was a nasty bug. Addie's fever spiked around 103 degrees. Poor little thing. 

Since she was feeling so badly, she would only sleep on top of me. And since she was so congested, she would only sleep for very short stretches before she would wake up scared because she couldn't breathe. 

It was so sad. And so hard.

But we made it. And at least we got lots of cuddling in :).

Since I recently shared my thoughts on food, here are my thoughts on dealing with a sick little one. 

* I think fevers are good, so we let them run its course (as long as it doesn't get too high in relation to age). This means no Tylenol for us (or Ads). A fever is how your body fights a cold, virus, etc. I have also read several interesting medical and anthropological articles that hypothesize that one of the (many) reasons there is such an uptick in cancer rates is because we don't allow children to have fevers anymore. This is because heat can kill cancer, so if you have a fever spike occasionally it can be a good thing.

* We try to avoid antibiotics if at all possible. And for a virus, they don't work anyway. Antibiotics only kill bacterial infections, not viral infections. 

* We eat lots of raw garlic. It works on anything: viral, bacterial, yeast infections. Ads even ate some (and I downed it, and since I am still nursing, she got a lot more that way).

* We take extra Vitamin D, C and other supplements.

* We get as much rest as possible, eat lots of healthy foods, and spend a few minutes in the sun everyday (I'm telling you, around here we think the sun can cure anything!).

* We avoid cough syrups, antihistamines and all over-the-counter medicine like its the plague. Not only do they slow down your body's natural healing ability and make you more susceptible for a relapse, they are FULL of dyes, chemicals, corn-syrup and all kinds of scary stuff.

Which brings me to my proudest moment yet as a mom.

After about 5 days of Ads not sleeping at all, Matt decided the best thing for her was to have some benadryl so that she could sleep for a night and hopefully reset her body. I was horrified. That is not an exaggeration. But because I trust my wise, soon-to-be doctor of a husband, I told him we could give her benadryl. this. one. time. only.

So we got our poor little sick baby to give her the poison benadryl, and she refused to take any! Keep in mind that she eats raw garlic without a fuss, drinks a nasty green shake every morning because she sees me do it and loves things like artichoke soup. I have never seen her refuse to eat something. Until the benadryl.

I have never been so proud!

By the way, she loves the homeopathic medicine Matt got for her. Matt says I have brainwashed her; I think she is just a very discerning 15 month old.

And, for all of you who think I am crazy, I am aware that I am a smidge out of the mainstream :)


** If you want to watch a funny sitcom that highlights some of my oddities, here you go (watch till about 2:20).