CONJUNCTIVITIS IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS
Got a call from daycare today saying to come pick up the boy. 15 months into his life and Conor gets pinkeye. It's medical name is conjunctivitis so I like pinkeye better. Sounds less…permanent. It's highly contagious and schools don't like it.
What exactly is conjunctivitis? It's a virus (or bacteria) that causes inflammation of the clear membrane that covers the white part of your eye.
How is it spread? Conjunctivitis is passed from one person to the next after the infected person rubs their eyes then touches another person or touches something that the next person then touches. That's really the only way you can spread pinkeye. It turns your eyes red for about 4 days and makes them really itchy. Like having sand in your eyes. It makes my eyes hurt just writing this. It usually goes away on its own but it's still important to see a doctor because there are side effects that can occur with untreated conjunctivitis and you don't want that to happen.
We took Conor to the doctor within 2 hours of the school notifying us. A common secondary condition that can occur with pinkeye is an ear infection. So the doctor checked Conor's ears and sure enough, he had an ear infection. So now we have a mild antibiotic for his ears and eye drops for his eyes. Giviing a baby eye drops is like telling an elephant to tiptoe through a petunia patch; it ain't gonna happen. The trick is to give him eye drops while his eyes are still closed in a horizontal position and when he opens his eyes, the liquid runs into the eyes and it feels good and you're a hero. Bam!
WHAT DOES AN 18-MONTH OLD EAT
Good foods for toddlers:
mashed potatoes with cheese,
diced tomatoes with pinto beans,
apple sauce,
lental soup drained,
spinich or cheese ravioli
scrambled eggs (with or w/o cheese),
cut up fruit (blueberries, strawberries, banana),
toast with butter or jelly
pancakes w/ fruit...
apple cinnamon pancakes
blueberry pancakes...
hard boiled eggs or omelets,
french toast w/ fruit
grilled cheese w/tomato or grilled cheese w/ tomato soup
cut up chicken or chicken nuggets, veggies (carrots, green beans, peas)....we get these veggie cups at wal-mart...30 secs in the microwave and you've got a toddler sized veggie...they're great, and some applesauce or yogurt
PB&J on whole wheat (or whole grain white bread)...or sunbutter & jelly if she hasn't had PB yet. You could always try cream cheese & jelly.
Quesadillas: chicken & cheese, spinich & cheese, or some other combo
deli meat w/ cheese...either cut up or a sandwich...My DS loves ham & cheese or turkey & cheese sandwiches with tomato.
mac & cheese w/ broccoli (you can even add shreaded chicken for a full meal)
Mini pizza bagels or english muffin pizzas (if you make your own sauce...you can blend in some veggies)
For dinner my DS eats whatever we eat: (and leftovers become tomorrows lunch)
examples: grilled Hawaiian chicken w/ grilled pineapple, white rice, and orange glazed carrots
vegetable lasagna
grilled steak w/homemade loaded mashed potatoes and broccoli w/cheese
hot dog, sweet potato fries, & corn
Snacks: string cheese, yogurt, applesauce, graham crackers, animal crackers, cut up fruit: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, canteloupe, ...fruit cups (in juice)...pears, mixed fruit, peaches, etc. cut up cheese w/crackers, my DS loves the apples w/ caramel (I try to avoid giving him the caramel b/c it's so sticky)...ummm....
other cereals: try fruity cheerios, apple cinnamon cheerios, honey nut cheerios, jumbo multigrain krispies (my DS's favorite), corn chex, quaker oatmeal squares,
LOLLIPOPS!
Conor is a picky eater but there's some foods that he particularly loves that just aren't kids' foods. Here's a lollipop lamb chop that he will fight tooth and nail to get. The other is artichokes. Other than that, he just likes hot dogs and mac and cheese. Ha!
UPSET ABOUT HIS UPSET STOMACH
Conor is two and a half years old and tonight is the first time I've ever seen him get an upset stomach and lose his cookies. He started off by telling me, 'Daddy, tummy.' No other explanation than that. I rubbed it and thought he was just showing me how far it sticks out because it is rather round. He waited about five minutes and said again, "Daddy, tummy." I think I heard some gas but what's new there? So I rubbed his tummy and asked him if it felt okay. He said, "no'. So I sat on the bed with him and we talked about Curious George and how Curious George likes to visit the chocolate factory. Then Conor put his little hand up to his mouth and said, "Daddy, my mouth!" and his eyes looked so scared. I figured it out immediately. I grabbed a towel and he was still looking scared. I told him that it was okay to let whatever was inside come right out of his mouth and that it would be okay. He did! And it went everywhere. Of course he started crying and his mom had grabbed him by the time he threw up and poor thing was covered in hotdogs and milk. She was a real trooper and took him downstairs for a bath.
I still remember how scared I was when I was a little boy and I had to throw up. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. It was the worst feeling I had ever felt. To be able to breathe again after that was quite a surprise. Conor threw up two more times that night and there was major cleanup necessary. We took his temperature and he was normal. The next morning he was completely fine and we returned to normalcy…whatever that is!