Baby Diarrhea

Last weekend I took my daughter to my sister's house so that she could spend time with her aunt and cousins. Every one played with her and she played with every thing she could get her hands on. That evening she seemed a little more "regular" than normal, but by Monday morning it was full blown diarrhea. The pediatrician told me to let the infection resolve itself as long as she is eating and doesn't have a fever. I called my sister to let her know what had happened and she casually says "Oh yeah the kids had the same things 2 weeks earlier and now me and the baby have it." It would have been nice to know before I came to your house. Any way, when my house keeper came over she instructed me to cut back on dairy, make sure she was hydrated, and let her eat a banana. I checked her suggestions with a few internet articles and every thing was consistent with what she said.
This morning I felt a little overwhelmed by the constant diaper changes and rash on my baby's bottom. I called my sister again and she said she took her grandson to the doctor for a second time and his pediatrician said "continue to let it run its course." She told me to keep applying the rash ointment the doctor prescribed and call our grandmother for an old time remedy. My grandmother has been on this earth for 80 years and she has never given me bad advice. Why I continue to use her as a last resort I will never know. The first thing she told me to do is give her pedialyte (if she will drink it). Then she proceeded to tell me what "they used to do." In the case of diarrhea her family gave babies rice milk. The "milk" is made by boiling a pot of starchy rice, pouring the frothy water into a container, and letting it cool. The odd part of this is that it's exactly what I drank one day to calm my upset stomach.
This afternoon I went to Walmart, purcahsed pedialyte, a banana, a small bag of rice, and soy milk. In addition to her regular diet, she ate a small piece of banana, drank a bottle of soy milk and a bottle of pedialyte. I have prepared the rice milk but I have not given it to her yet. So far her diarrhead has slowed down dramatically. Once it's over I will give you an update.

Sitting Up and Crawling

Something that adults take for granted is a miracle in the eyes of a parent. My little girl is sitting up and scooting her way around the house. It makes me giddy to see her make her way from the floor blanket over to the DVD player. But alas when she reaches it, she knows to keep pushing buttons until the disc player ejects itself. I'm not looking forward to her breaking my high end appliances, but I'm ecstatic that she is a healthy, normal child.

The End of Breastfeeding

This week I stopped breastfeeding. A recent trip and extended activities on Sunday have influenced my decision. Although I felt some guilt at first, I have already seen how much time was spent pumping and feeding. I am now spending that extra time continuing to grow my businesses, keeping my home organized, and socializing more. So far my daughter has not seemed to care as long as she continues to have a full stomach. She still has breast milk in the freezer, but she is also drinking formula, juice and eating solid food. There is no doubt that I will breastfeed my next child. It helped my baby stay healthy, kept my weight down and saved me an enormous amount of money. It was one of the best life choices I have ever made.