Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So I thought I didn't see linea nigra on my belly when I was pregnant, but after the birth, there is a light one running down my stomach. Apparently it was just way lighter, and because the skin was so stretched I couldn't see it until later. How bizarre!

Poop questions..so the geekling is full formula feeding, it does have rice starch in her formula (she's gaining weight, my little spitter!)

Her poop pattern is she goes 1 or 2 days then has a huge day of runny, horrible smelly poops. (4-5 times) then next day one very solid dark brown/blackish poop.

We've given her prune juice on occasion, all it did is make it borderline diarrhea..

How normal is this? The doctor isn't concerned since she's not in pain and gaining weight. (25th percentile but she was smallish to begin with)

I've heard the same guidelines that the doc seems to be following. If she's not hurting, then probably nothing to fuss over. Good to hear about the weight gain! :) I think you have to be really really careful with the prune juice. We tried it with Freya, but it didn't do much (maybe we didn't give enough?). I've heard from some other moms though that their kids cramped up from the juice. We've just about two weeks ago started giving a daily dose of flax oil, and that's worked great. Still pretty firm poops and some grunting, but nothing major and much improved from before.

I was about to say the same thing. If it doesn't bother her, it's likely nothing to worry about.

Ugh she is so forking sick! What do you do when they are so exhausted that they go to bed at 4 and you know they are going to be up at 2 am bc of it? She is so tired that waking her up isn't an option, if she wakes she is going to cry inconsolably till she falls back asleep. She has now been sick or borderline sick for 3 weeks, is that normal?

And we have her 9 month with shots on Tuesday (while we still have good insurance and before my ped goes on vacation). If we aren't able to get shots bc she istoo sick, I can see if her sub can do the shots but after 8/1 the same shots that are now free will be $800. Any ideas besides that? fork insurance.

Thanks in advance! <3

Tofulish, I don't know if your family qualifies, but there is the New Jersey SCHIP program, FamilyCare: http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1315
Also, does your health department do immunizations? That might be a lower cost way to do them.

Thanks! We applied for SCHIP but they won't give you a date by which you can count on being approved amd we made $1,000 too much last year so I have to hope they take into account that I lost my job and that income stream. I will look into the health dept, thanks so much!

Okay :)

And tofuish, most health departments WILL help you on vaccines..they're big on that since they're trying to prevent diseases in the community, it makes good sense to them to help you get vaccinations. Call them and talk to them.. (Some will even help parents with boosters! Or non-parents!)

I know it's not a ideal, but I have had Lydia get vaccinated when she was a bit sick. My understanding is that getting a vaccine when you have cold symptoms and no fever is OK. Probably a good question for your ped though....

Thanks! I'll definitely ask! I appreciate the feedback and suggestions!

Our GP and the health clinic we're using for the alternative schedule both say that sniffles w/o fever is okay too. We're going to get the next batch on Friday. Whew.

Are you sure Leela's woes aren't an allergy?

I don't know that they aren't allergy-related, but at the worst of times, the nasal discharge has been green/yellow so more consistent with a cold.

My secret fear is that she would be allergic to our animals.

Oh, that would be sad. Supposedly though (I swear I can't remember where I read this), babies are unlikely to be allergic to household animals, even if they become allergic to them later in life.

The green/yellow stuff could be the sign of a sinus infection too. Harder to tell with babies I think, since the primary symptom is pain. :( Hope she feels better soon.

Anyone use ginger for morning sickness? In what form? I love those ginger chews, but I'm not sure if they have enough ginger to actually do anything.

Any idea how to have her not HATE the Nosefrida with a burning passion of a thousand suns?


Oh I really hope that is true. It sucks, but on top of all the other conflict we have going on, I think my husband would be insisting that we rehome the cats immediately if the baby were allergic. And I've always read that if babies grow up with animals they tend to be less allergic in general.



My sister was saying that one of the concerns with so much mucus is that babies are really prone to ear infections (even the BF'd ones), and that if you have a significant amount (like 8 - 10), you have an increased risk of speak delay due to impacts on hearing. All of this becomes pretty scary. Glad we're seeing the ped tomorrow!

Helbury, I used ginger tea and ginger in pill form.

Grey hates nose frida, we have to hold him down to use it, but it helps and is worthwhile.

I have heard also that growing up with pets makes you less allergic. I asked our doctor about allergis and she said she would not test until he was at least 18 months unless there seemed to be serious stuff happening because any allergies he has now will change.

Grey had an awful cold for quite a few weeks and then had ear infections for the last two months. He has been on and off antibiotics that have really messed with his guts and his disposition and his poops. I, too, am worried about his hearing and speech. That said, he has used several words but not consistently. He can say mama, dada, no, hi, hello, bye bye and I love you. I think that is pretty awesome for a one year old boy.

Thank you for that feedback, esp on the allergies. I really don't want to have to hold her down, but will do so if need be.

Poor Grey with the antibiotics and ear infections! I had no idea how bad those things can get. fwiw, a friend of mine had an early talker - he spoke a few words, mama, hi, wawa at 7 months, but then got a speech delay diagnosis, because although he knows a ton of words, he didn't enunciate them really clearly. The interventions were superhelpful and he overcame the delay pretty fast. I think people are pretty on the ball about getting early intervention in speech issues.

Also, OMG TO HIM SAYING I LOVE YOU!!!!!! BEST! My heart would explode every time he said that.

Oh, one more thing on the allergies. A friend of mine has a baby that has pretty bad eczema and he seems to have a ton of food allergies, he has had to go to the emergency room for breaking out in welts and now they keep an epi pen. He was tested for allergies, he just turned a year, but even those seem to change all the time. He is allergic to soy, dairy, wheat, etc., but only mildly so sometimes those things bother him and other times he can eat them without a problem. I feel really bad for my friend because she feels so lost as to what to feed him.

helbury- i had awful "morning" sickness the first 5 months, throwing up 6-8 times/ day, ugh I will never forget. I tried to use ginger in my smoothies, made ginger teas etc. until the smell of ginger reminded me of being sick! the ginger form I found most palatable was those pieces of ginger all rolled up in sugar for baking. probably the sugar was what I liked; I've never been so into sweets as I have been this pregnancy. for me, the ginger didn't do anything to make me feel better. but i tried!

we had our first hot day, and my burning top-of-stomach problem became a visible rash! I was actually excited because it didn't hurt any more than it does when it's invisible, and that was proof the burning isn't all in me head (not that anyone ever suggested that! i just feel defensive about invisible maladies). i'm mostly just ignoring it and using my tea tree oil cream. rashes are another of the delightfully common and annoying aspects of pregnancy that i will live with now. But I will not suffer silently.

Heh @ "not suffer silently". This is what PPK is for, yeah?

helbury, I used the ginger chews with some success, but the thing that worked for me was eating something really salty in the morning. I also often drank copious amounts of orange juice each day, but I don't think it made such a difference, it was just something that I really craved. The salt though (sometimes in the form of potato chips even) helped immensely in the morning time when I thought I would surely puke all over the bus.

Just fyi, for anyone with a baby that has fluid in the ears, apparently antihistamines are good for clearing that....
http://www.livestrong.com/article/12506 ... luid-ears/

She is on a half dose of Benadryl and I'm hoping we avoid the night terrors tonight.

Okay, this may be long, but bear with me here PPK.

The Magician is coming up on the 6 month mark (Friday!) and was supposed to have his next well child visit on July 30th. We scheduled it a little late because his doctor is on vacation this week or something. Anyway, in the 3 months since he last went to the doctor, we went ahead and planned a trip to Oregon and I just figured oh well, we'll move the WBV to after we come back.

Flash forward to two days ago. M develops his first ever true baby cold. At that point I'm just like "oh sniffles, no big thing, he'll just be whiny for a few days and then back to normal." Well, now I am starting to feel worried about him. He just sounds really wretched. Today he started coughing along with the sniffling etc, and he sounds like he has chest congestion to me though what the hell do I know. He doesn't seem to have a fever. We're supposed to be leaving for our trip tomorrow evening.

I googled all the scariest things I would think a cold could be (RSV, pertussis-- he has only had the first 2 doses of DTAP, scheduled to get the final one at his WBV!) and from what I understand, it would be difficult to determine that it was either one/know whether or not special treatment was needed until the cold had been there for at least a week or two. In a week or two, we will be in Oregon.

Is it worthwhile to try to cram a doctor's appointment in tomorrow? Keeping in mind that HIS doctor is out of town and he'd have to see another doctor in the same practice. (Which is fine, they're all nice there.) I should call them, right, and see what they think?

Ugh. Sorry. Maybe I should have put this in the vent thread. I'm kinda freaking out.

Call in the morning, do they have an advice nurse? I think you will feel better if you take him in. Or don't listen to me because grey now goes to the dr like twice a week because of his ear infection drama. (which is seemingly over!!! We found out at our visit today)

I say go, just for your own peace of mind! It sucks so much when they're sick! Also, OMG 6 months already?

And yay LB, I am so thrilled for you and Grey!

Ditto to the "peace of mind" thought. I took Freya a month or so ago when she had a bad cold, just so the doc could listen to her rattly chest and make sure she was okay. The doctor would be able to rule out any fluid in M's lungs, and have a peek at his ears/nose/throat too. FWIW, the cough associated with pertussis is pretty unique, so you'd likely already know if it was that. Have there been outbreaks near to where you are? Otherwise, I think it's pretty unlikely that he'd pick it up.