Two weeks ago, she woke up with her left eye completely swollen shut. She was scared (and I was a bit too) and crying. I remember this happened to a little boy in my pre-school class, and it was nothing serious. So, with this experience under my belt, I kept calm and took her to the pediatrician. The on-call Dr. told me what I was expecting to hear: allergies. Seeing as the swelling went down rapidly, I was pleased to hear it was nothing scary, and I was equally pleased my Lorelai was back to her old self. I got some children's Claritin along with special dosage instructions and we were on the road to recovery.
Apparently Lorelai has bad seasonal allergies...just like her mommy. :\ She has been incredibly congested lately. Runny nose, lots of sneezing, and "phlegmy" coughs. All of this ickiness means one cranky baby, well, one cranky baby who wants to eat very little. Naturally, this makes me watch her food intake like a hawk. I mentally keep track of the amount of milk she drinks, the portions of veggies and fruit she eats, everything. One day I even let her eat cake without dinner just so she would have something in her stomach.
She has coughed so much she has thrown up a few times. My poor baby. I just want to make sure my picky eater with the uneasy tummy gets some food in her so she can start to feel better.
I asked for suggestions on fb, and I did try some...though they did not go over well.
One that sounded promising was "dipping food/veggies in sauce/dressing." Apparently Lorelai just sees this opportunity as a way to constantly shove the food in and out just to lick the sauce off...no biting of food takes place. Strike 1.
This one I have tried before, but I decided to approach it differently this time. "Smoothies." I took frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, apple juice (with carrot juice), and some baby food that had a spinach-mango-pear blend. I put all of these in my wonderful "Magic Bullet" and then acted as if I was drinking it. (See, Lorelai only wants the drink if she thinks it's yours, because that means it is instantly better.) It worked for a few minutes, but no long enough to get some considerable nutrients in her little body. Strike 2.
The last idea was my own. The "Just stick to what you she'll eat, healthy or not" theory. Even this didn't work well. Things I knew she liked (toaster waffles, black beans, bananas, cookies) suddenly were unappealing and promptly shoved back in my face. Strike 3.
This is when I figured she must have felt pretty bad. She has never turned down cookies before, and yet, the mere sight of one would invoke screams and tears lately.
I went to the store and got everything I could find that could help my Little Sweets. I have decent collection going on at home: Baby Vapor Rub, Plug in vaporizer, cool mist humidifier, nasal aspirator, honey elixir, plus the Claritin I previously mentioned. I also raised up one side of her mattress with a blanket tucked under the frame, added a "pillow" for her to sleep on, and bathed her in soothing bath wash the last couple nights.
I think all my efforts have been paying off. Lorelai ate wonderfully today...I still wanted her to drink a tad more milk, but I will take what I can get happily!
We did find some new favorite additions to our toddler menu :
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| I also bought the veggie mix, but have yet to try it |
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| They come in a pack of 3 milk pouches, tons of vitamins |
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| Haven't tried this yet, but she seems to like oatmeal in general |
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| Again, haven't tried yet, but she dislikes marinara sauce, so I hope the sauceless option will work |
She has also taken to a few of her old favorites as well. Toddler yogurt (I mix in some baby food for extra nutrition), crackers, chicken, milk, apple juice (with carrot juice), and yes, cookies.
I now completely understand why there are so many foods out there for kids with vitamins hidden in everything possible. I am not crazy about buying so many name brand foods with so much stuff crammed into a portion...but I have to admit, when she was only eating 5 bites a day, I felt better knowing those 5 bites were filled with a ton of nutrients. Today she ate a fair amount of regular food, so hopefully I will go back to using these foods as "fillers" and not "bases."
I hope all the little kiddos out there have easy allergies from here on out, for their own good and for their moms' peace of mind!
M.LEWIS
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