Asthma happens

I could just copy the same post from January and post it here and it would be accurate. Last week, Freya was in the hospital again for asthma. It surprised me that it happened so soon after the first hospitalization. But asthma is unpredictable so we have to carefully watch our children closely especially at an age when they can't advocate for themselves. I hope my stories will help other moms (dads, or guardians) to advocate for their children. Sometimes things are dismissed when the doctor doesn't know your child. As parents, we must insist things be at least looked into.
Lets start at the very beginning. It was again a Monday, (ironic, I know). My husband was out of state for five days so I was spending most afternoons at my parents house. Freya was playing with my youngest niece in the living room. Though Freya had a few moments where I had to wipe her nose but it wasn't that bad. But my brother noticed her nose was running a lot more. I didn't think much of it. Kids get runny noses.
That night Freya was restless. It was obvious that the mucus was going down the back of her throat. Post nasal drip usually takes more than one night to cause a problem, even for an asthmatic. By the morning and Morrigan was off to school I noticed Freya not breathing well. I gave her a breathing treatment and she seemed in good spirits. I had to wait an hour until the doctors office was open. Freya had strep throat at the time so I wanted to make sure her tonsillitis weren't causing problems for her. Then I noticed her stomach and a pulling behind the ribs. Its hard to describe but you know it when you see it. It looks like her breathing is causing her chest to almost ripple. That's when I knew it was better to bring her to the ER at this point. I gave her another breathing treatment and I called my mom to ask her to come with me. I figured if she needed a chest x-ray then I needed an extra pair of hands. In the meantime I got ready to go. I check on Freya and find that she had crawled up on my bed and laid down. This behavior was unlike her, she had just woken up a little over two hours prior and her skin was pale. I knew she was getting worse by the minute and breathing treatments are not working. I called my mom and told her she was either coming now or I was going without her.
Luckily, she is three minutes down the road. She must have just put the petal to the metal to get there because I took Freya outside (cold air helped me when I had my near death asthma attack five years ago.) I walked down maybe ten feet from my front door and Freya threw up. It was just mucus that came up but it showed the cold air was opening her up enough to cough it up. Right after she threw up, my mom pulled up. We threw her in the car seat and went straight to the hospital. We live less than ten minutes from the hospital if we hit all the lights. I looked at Freya and her skin has no color at all and her lips are turning blue. At this point, we would make it to the hospital faster than if we pulled over and waited for an ambulance. So we drove on, cutting through parking lots to avoid lights. We made it there in five minutes.
I walk in to the ER and explained how serious the situation was. I have had great experiences with this hospital before, but this day, the ER had angered me with the lack of response. I know they have to teach students and new staff members their job but not as my toddler is struggling to get oxygen. It took them forever to check her in. My mom had parked and joined me inside and as we stood there waiting we both agreed, pulling over and waiting for an ambulance would have gotten her in fast because these guys couldn't seem to print a ID bracelet. I was loosing my mind. Then they asked us to wait in the waiting room. I was looking at my completely lethargic daughter hoping she can wait before passing out from lack of oxygen.
Once the nurse calls us in for vitals I already could tell it wasn't going to go well for us. Just like before, the nurse said she couldn't get a ready on her. She changed the devices and still they couldn't get a read. So I asked what the problem and her numbers were too low to be real. I assure her it was, it happened last time. She didn't seem to believe me but she put her on oxygen and asked me to sit a wheel chair and hold her on my lap. An elderly man was in the waiting room asking for oxygen. One nurse asked our nurse what the guy wanted (the whole ER heard him begging for oxygen) and our nurse said "He wants oxygen but he's fine. He just wants attention." My mother and I just looked at each other in shock. Obviously there is a problem with the ER staff here but Freya needed medical attention now and couldn't wait the 40 minute car ride to the other hospital.We sat in the waiting room in panic.
They brought us in, luckily Freya was responding to the oxygen as her color came back to her lips. We met the ER doctor right away. He called the hospital pediatrician and ordered a breathing treatment and steroids. Even on oxygen her levels were dancing around the high 80s for O2. Her heart rate was really high as well. She was struggling and her O2 again was so low the nurse thought there was something wrong with the devices instead of her being that low. She just doesn't show most of the physical signs of distress. I don't know how her blue lips didn't concern the first nurse. We were next door to the older gentleman from the ER. When he came in I heard the nurse (who had to talk loud as he seemed hard of hearing) say "So, you're on oxygen at home?" This was the guy would was begging for oxygen that the nurse dismissed was him just seeking attention. I was so angered by that original nurse.The other nurses and medical staff was beyond helpful and kind. They joked with Freya as she refused to talk. It might of been too difficult for her. But her nurse joked that the medicine took her voice away and with a shake of her head Freya agreed.
Maybe 15 minutes after the steroids were given Freya vomited pure clear, thick, mucus. I had never seen anything like it. It was just like she had swallowed a whole container of that rubber glue I remember from school and it was now spitting it out. The poor thing gagged so much trying to get it all out. She was so concerned about expelling it onto her blanket she cried but once the nurse gave her a new one she relaxed. Apparently, that cleared up her lungs pretty good. There was still a wheeze but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when she first arrived.
The pediatrician was quick to arrive and recognized us by our time in November for Freya's first asthma attack. She was very knowledgeable and helpful. She set up a plan and came back just when she said she would to check on Freya's progress. It didn't take long for her to decide Freya needed to stay. She admitted us and had a bed in the children's ward rather quickly. The vomiting had relaxed and tired Freya so much she fell asleep. She slept through the transport upstairs until we had to switch beds.
Once she was upstairs in the room she started talking and boy did she talk. The nurse had two student nurses with her. Freya showed them her cat scratch and told them how she pulled Pumpkin's tail and she scratched her. She introduced me and my mom and told them my real name. My actual name is something I had recently taught her so she is proud to show that off. Also she told them how to spell her name and she has an older sister and her daddy is a work (she didn't really get him being out of state to visit family). My mom left and picked up Morrigan bringing her home to get stuff for an overnight at her house and putting together a bag for me for my stay with Freya in the hospital.
Even with oxygen, her numbers dipped low while she slept setting off the alarms all night. After breathing treatments her heart rate also caused the alarms to go off. Never mind all the times she started pulling off the stat monitor. She also go breathing treatments every two hours all night long. She was wide awake well after midnight to the surprise of the nurses. There was no sleeping for either of us. It put Freya in a bad mood and me too tired to handle her. It was hard not having my husband home.
That morning I got a call from my mom concerned about Morrigan's breathing. Her mild cough became severe overnight. Nothing was calming it and she was struggling. I called the doctors as soon as it was open and set up an appointment for her. My parents took Morrigan to her appointment while I counted the minutes for an update. The doctor was reluctant to give Morrigan steroids. She had only seen Morrigan once so far and hadn't seen her for her asthma so she didn't feel comfortable giving her steroids right away. She said if Morrigan wasn't better by Friday (It was Wednesday) then bring her back in.
My parents came up in the late afternoon with Morrigan. Her sister was thrilled to see her sister and the whole nurses station was like "So this is Morrigan, we heard so much about you!" The shift change came another familiar face. The girl from respiratory from our first visit (the woman with patience of a saint) came in and recognized Freya right away (not always a good thing. lol) She was surprised by how big she got and how much hair she has now. That woman was amazing and so sweet to Freya. We were happy to have her again. We were down to a breathing treatment every 3 hours and the pediatrician said once she handled being off oxygen and staying in the high 90s in O2 she could go 4 hours between treatments. After two treatments four hours apart she would be able to go home. That would put us leaving between 5 and 6.
Hubby was on his flight home and would be arriving home around 10 that night. Things were finally going to be normal again. Or so I thought. Freya was discharged and we were picked up by my parents with Morrigan in tow. We all returned home and I sighed with relief. That feeling of relief didn't last long. After dinner Morrigan's cough was so constant I could see she wasn't able to suck in air after. Her lungs were in spasm though that is not asthma related, her asthma prevented her lungs from relaxing fully. This was causing small short lived asthma attacks. It was only going to lead to a large attack and that can leave scaring in the lungs. I knew she needed steroids and we weren't waiting for the doctor's the next morning. She would be in the ER with a major attack in some ridiculous hour of the night, I know her and her asthma. I know I keep saying how I know better than medical professionals and that sure makes me sound like I'm over reacting. But if you take in to account how many times I listened to my better judgement and ended up right I will continue to listen to those gut feelings over the medical professionals that don't know my children. Asthma is so unpredictable and nothing goes 100% text book. Everything depends on knowing the child and how their asthma affects them.
My poor husband walks in the door at 10 p.m. to me asking him which he would rather do, stay at home with Freya and I take Morrigan to the ER or he can go with Morrigan? He was kind to me and took Morrigan knowing I just came from for 2 days in the hospital. I really didn't want to go back. He has handled her ER trips before so I had confident he could handle it. He texted me updates the whole time and remembered a doctor's note for school. The difference the steroids made for Morrigan was huge. She came home in the early morning barely coughing. I was so relieved!
It was a tough week but we made it, somehow. It's important to advocate for your children and follow your gut. Know your children's asthma as much as you know them. Help them find the right words to vocalize what they are feeling so you better understand their situation. It is just as important for your child to learn about asthma as much as you do. Best of luck to all the Mamas out there with asthmatic kiddos. I feel yah!

Mommy Knows Best

This past November we had a scary moment for our family. Freya was in the hospital for a few days after taking a major asthma attack. As a mother of an asthmatic child already, I had been down this road before. It doesn't make it any easier. It doesn't matter if your child is taking her first asthma attack or her 25th. I hate every second of it. I'm a severe asthmatic myself so I know what its like to feel like your drowning with no water. Your lungs tighten until you can't speak anymore and your panicking.
We started out going to a walk in clinic. It was Monday which is dance class night with our oldest daughter, Morrigan (11). We were all in the car waiting in the parking lot which was unusual. My husband normal takes our oldest to dance because little miss Freya can't sit still and be calm during dance class. So, to not disturb the two classes going on, its best to keep Freya home and that usually means I stay home. Freya was bouncing around the car but she was getting winded and needing to take breaks which is unusual for the human energizer bunny. When I started to buckle her back in I noticed her breathing was really labored. This sets off those mommy alarms that have yet to fail me. My husband, who usually is a wait and see kind of guy knew if there was one thing I was certain about, it was breathing problems. He went inside and pulled my oldest out of dance class early and we went straight in to the walk in clinic.
Morrigan had a bit of a cough too so while we were there, we got both kids checked out. Morrigan was deemed fine and Freya was looked over, given an x-ray because she was wheezing, given a breathing treatment and sent home. Her X-ray was clear of pneumonia and once she took the nebulizer treatment, her wheeze had stopped. It was a cold night so they couldn't seem to get a read on her oxygen level saying her fingers must be too cold but they said she was fine. We thought that was it, we would be fine. But as soon as we got home and I was playing with her on the floor, her breathing seemed worse.
Growing up an asthmatic, I knew those behaviors that indicate an asthma attack. My mom was the type to point it out and when my brother got asthma, she made sure I could identify those behaviors in him since he was young and often ignored an asthma attack until it was severe. Its such a typical kid thing, they rather play than to get an inhaler. It was the tick cough for Morrigan that first alerted me something was wrong. For Freya, it was her stomach pulling in sharply as she breathed. Small children that are struggling to breath look different than an older child. With older children their chest will seem like its sinking in. With younger children, like toddlers, their stomachs will rise and fall rapidly.
I knew breathing treatments were not going to be enough, she needed steroids. I knew it in my heart, or maybe my gut, which ever part of the body that tells a mom that despite what the professional says, YOU KNOW BETTER. My husband and I were in a disagreement. He didn't think we gave the breathing treatment enough time. By normal standards we didn't. But I have been in countless situations as a asthmatic that if I waited those 4 hours I'd be dead. So, I called the one person I knew would make me feel like I wasn't over reacting, my mom. She is the only other person I know that has been through this as a mom. She had doctors telling her my brother was the worst child case they had ever seen. My mom had been there the several times I was close to death, passing out in the ER waiting room from lack of oxygen. If you could be deemed an expert on experience alone, she would be. She asked me if her lips were really red. I wouldn't think red, I'd think blue from lack of oxygen. Apparently, really red is a sign of an asthma attack too. Freya's lips looked like she had lipstick on it was so red. That was it, I was sold. To the ER we went.
At the ER, again they couldn't get a read on her. It was coming up 90% oxygen level but the nurse said she seemed fine. I was so scared they would put us off and not take me serious. I knew she was worse than she seemed. Then another nurse walked by and looked at her. She noticed her heart rate showed she was really working hard to breath. That's when we were rushed right in. A doctor, an RN, an a CNA met us at the door. They rushed her right in and started on breathing treatments, oxygen, and steroids. The doctor was very understanding and didn't deny it was probably asthma but it was only her second time with breathing problems and the last time was over a year ago. He did say, with the family history, it was most likely asthma. After we discussed the family history and how severe those cases are, he stopped referring to it as acute aspiration. He said that when she is discharged, it will say acute aspiration since this was really the first hospitalization. But I needed to talk to her pediatrician about our options as an asthmatic.
I have to say, ER doctors usually follow the book pretty much to the letter. They rarely make assumptions about long term health and even more rare is the doctor that will confess the book is not always right. I had to fight in the beginning with ER doctors with my oldest. Luckily, my pediatrician at the time was my old pediatrician and knew our family well. She knew my kids would more than likely be asthmatics, its genetic. After the first major hospitalization for Morrigan, we got a nebulizer and meds with a rescue inhaler for when we were out from our old pediatrician. We just changed pediatricians that day as my pediatrician was retiring. I had no idea how this new pediatrician would feel about me insisting Freya was an asthmatic after only two events. We had yet to meet this pediatrician, so I was nervous.
Meanwhile, the hospital moved us to the children's ward. Freya and I stayed there over night. They woke her up every two hours for a breathing treatment. At first, Freya fought it tooth and nail. She screamed, swatted, and twisted her little body to avoid the mask. The woman from respiratory had the patience of a saint to deal with Freya every two hours, all night long. But once her daddy and her sister came to see her, she was thrilled. She was excited and energized even with the little amount of sleep she got. But it was a Tuesday and Morrigan had school. So when Morrigan left, all hell broke loose.
Freya loves her sister, more than anyone in this world. When her sister left for school, she screamed, "My Morrigan! My Morrigan! Bring back my Morrigan!" The nurses came in with coloring pages and crayons, toys from the play room, pudding from the kitchen. Nothing calmed Freya down. She's not the kid that is easily distracted. This kid has a one track mind and she doesn't like to be left out of something. Being stuck in a hospital room was like being in prison for her. She did not like being confined. That was when she started venturing out of her room and running down the hall. We eventually found our way to the play room. As much as she had fun in the play room, there was barely any toys. Plenty of big toys but there were car tracks with no cars and doll houses with no dolls. Freya is lucky, she had a big sister to pack her some toys from home. She was able to play with the toys in the toy room because she had the smaller toys from home. So, if you're getting rid of those Fisher Price Little People, some old Matchbox cars, some baby dolls, kitchen food, etc, check with your local hospital's children's ward to see if they need some toys. I'm sure they end up losing those little toys to the sick kids staying there and can always use more. Our hospital had video game systems for the older kids. They had a PS 3 and a few Nintendo Game Cubes. There were baby toys and crib toys for the tiniest of patients.
My parents came to visit later that evening. Freya was doing well and running from the room straight to the toy room pulling one of her grandparents along with her with a very insistent, "Come here, Papa! Come here." She pulled my mom in first to play then my dad. She was excited to show them all the new toys she got to play with while she was visiting the hospital. One thing can be said about Freya that day, she sure knew how to make the best of it. My parents brought me much needed supplies for myself and bought Freya a little stuffed Rudolph. In the ER, they gave Freya a Christmas beanie baby bear that was white with holy printed all over him. She hugged that bear so tightly through it all. Now her bear had a little friend and they stayed together on her bed and she held those stuffed toys all night.
Freya made such progress, our two night stay turned into a one night stay. They told us, if she continued to have a good oxygen level once they lowered the frequency of her breathing treatments from every 2 hours to every 3 hours then to every 4 hours, then she could go home at 7 p.m. To be honest, I was doubtful. She went from having the alarms going off all night because she would dip bellow 87% oxygen. She couldn't sleep without oxygen and then they were all fine sending her home just 12 hours later. I didn't think her oxygen levels would stay up that long off oxygen. After the whole, "poor reading" thing at the walk in clinic and the ER check in, I wasn't sure I felt comfortable believing the doctors.
When my parents left they made the mistake that they were going to watch Morrigan so my husband can run some errands. Again, Freya screamed for her Morrigan and actually ran out after my parents. A doctor was coming in so the locked door was open. If I didn't grab her, she would have made it out. Now I was out of breath. Luckily, she wasn't! I started my own little tests, saying the ABCs and counting how many breaths she takes during it. All the pauses matched up to the song. Then I had her run from the door to the bed and back again then tested her oxygen level. It stayed about 97%! I was feeling more and more comfortable with the idea we might be heading home soon.
The last dose of steroids was a disaster but luckily the doctor felt comfortable with her going home without that last dose. My husband brought in some McDonald's since Freya loves her "burgas". It wasn't long after we ate that the doctor came in and gave the okay for Freya to be discharged. What a relief! But its not like I slept that night. No, of course I sat up all night watching her breath. There were no more monitors watching her oxygen level, no nurses checking on her, no oxygen blowing on her all night. It was all her and I felt like I had to take the place of those monitors.
The great news, she did fine after that. She continued to cough but not wheeze. The cold that triggered the asthma was still there but she was no longer struggling to breath. A few days later we had our follow up appointment with the new pediatrician. To my relief she too felt with the family history, she had no problem labeling what happened to Freya as an asthma attack and if this continue to be a problem she would put her on a controller medication if I felt it was necessary. We both agreed it was too early for a controller medication but it was great knowing the doctor wouldn't have a problem with it, if and when we get there.
Although this was a scary moment for us, it went pretty easy. Moral of the story, don't ignore those feeling that you, the parent, know better. My old pediatrician always used to ask, "What do you think, Mom?" because she was a strong believer that parents just know their children. Parents know when their kids are acting different. They know when something just isn't right. Even if the parent was wrong, at least she would tell you why and ease your fears. That's what I've always loved about my pediatrician and why I am so sad to see her retire. As parents, we really need to feel confident with our instincts. They rarely let us down. I often question myself in fear of overreacting. But its better to overreact than under-react. Sometimes, no, most of the time, Mommy knows best!

Make Your Own Moonsand!

We had a great time last night making and playing with our own homemade Moonsand. Best part was it was made with 2 ingredients I had just lying around. Its super simple and fun. Its a bit messy but nothing a broom and a dustpan can't fix, oh and a bath, they will definitely need a bath!

All you need is

8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil

and a container to put it in.

Take off your rings and mash it all together. Make sure to really work the oil into the flour. It only takes a moment and things start forming together

That's it, now let the kids take over and have fun. I throw in some plastic cups last night but you can add so many things that can scoop, poke shapes, add dolls.

When the kiddos are done, you can bag it up in a large ziplock bag and save it for another day of play.

This sand is a great sensory craft to do with toddlers, Even my 8 year old loved playing in it.

Surviving Staying At Home the Facebook Page!

Now that I have a few posts behind me I've decided to make a Facebook page so I can share my blog posts and organize things. I've made it easy to find recipes by putting the food photos into one album and adding the link to the recipe.

It's still a work in progress! But you can like the page and easily find my previous posts under the photos.

Also, I like to share relevant links, personal updates, discuss related topics, and more.

Here is the link...Surviving Staying At Home Facebook Page

You can also easily click the Facebook button on the right hand corner as well.

Enjoy!

Moby Wrap

When I found out I was pregnant with Freya I was watching two year old twins. In warm weather I enjoyed taking the twins out for walks in their stroller. I also took them to Morrigan's bus stop in their stroller. How was I going to take the twins and an infant to the bus stop? I was trying to come up with a solution when my husband told me he had the option to get a Moby wrap for free. Since it was for free I took it. A wrap would allow me to carry Freya and have my hands free to push the twins in their stroller.

Before I had a Moby wrap, I honestly thought these wraps were far too much work. I also worried about the safety of basically tying a baby to you. But once I got my Moby wrap and tried it out a few times with a doll, it completely changed my opinion. Luckily, Moby wrap doesn't only offer a guide in with the wrap but there is a YouTube channel that actually shows you how to tie the wrap. The wrap is very easy to tie and its very secure. You may have to try it out a few times to learn how to tie the wrap to fit you and baby the best.  I have a long torso so I had to bring up the wrap on my stomach a bit higher than the instructions indicated. The first time I put Freya into the wrap she was far too low. She was face first in my boobs. The instructions are simple enough that it was only logical for me to start higher up on my stomach.

Fair warning though, if you have a baby that runs hot like mine only put them in either light clothing or even just a onie. My poor babes was cranky and sweaty the first time I wore her in the wrap. I had to take her out, which is a lot easier than you think, strip her done to a onie, and put her back in and she was fine after that.

The wrap has also been helpful while breastfeeding. If you are considering to babywear with a wrap, which I now can recommend. I have used my wrap when I was out as a cover. I even wear Freya around the house so I can do house work during Freya's cranky times. Sometimes a baby just needs to be close to Mommy and sometimes Mommy has to do things at that moment. My Moby wrap has been a life saver in those moments.

There are two different wrapping methods, folding and gathering. I have learnt from the Moby YouTube channel two holds. One being the newborn hug hold and then the hug hold for the 3 months and older. Freya didn't like the newborn hold as she has always hated being swaddled. But once she was of age I tied it so her legs could dangle in the 3 months wrap she was fine. 

So, if you have been on the fence about these wraps I can say I was skeptical at first but really these wraps are great. Here are some videos instructing you how to tie a Moby Wrap.

Moby Wrap gathered 

Moby Wrap folded

Newborn Hug Hold

Kangaroo Hold

3 Month + Hug Hold

Moby Safety Check

This is not from Moby Wrap but a good video to show another newborn hold, the cradle hold.

This is also not a Moby Wrap video but this is the best instructions on hold to use the Moby wrap during nursing.

For those with Twins, this too is not a Moby but I thought I should include a wrap hold for twins.

I personally do the folded wrapping and I have used the Newborn hug hold and the regular hug hold. I have not used kangaroo hold. My advice is to try a hold a few times with a doll or a stuffed animal with legs. Pretend its your baby so you can feel what it is like to have to support a baby while putting them into the hold. 

Freya had a strong preference on what side she liked to put her head on me. She only would rest her head on my left shoulder. So I would pull my left side in first, it would be the side closest to my body. Also you can tuck in things into the side of the wrap, which I never thought of until I watched Making Life Simple, Check her out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSmFV37Njy3fzbbESpZfwQ She also made the great suggestion to put your wrap on at home. Not only does this prevent you from dragging the wrap on the ground, yuck! It also works great for those of us in New England and other colder areas to make a quick exit from the car. Where the Moby is so warm for you and baby so not only will baby be dressed lightly but so will you. On a cold day that you can't avoid the grocery store with baby in tow you are going to want the wrap on already so you are not standing there without a jacket in the cold shaking cold trying to wrap the Moby.

Moby Wraps are not the best fabric but compared to other wraps that can cost you over a hundred dollars, Moby Wrap is only $39.99 typically at Target and does the job just fine. Hope this little review helps those on the fence about using wraps and especially those looking into buying the Moby Wrap.

Happy wrapping!