Allergies

Alexa has a stuffy nose, keeps coughing and sneezing and her eyes are red and puffy. What does this sound like to you? I say it is allergies and I think it can be one of two kinds...seasonal allergies or she follows in her daddy's footsteps and is allergic to dust mites. So what do I do? I have honestly tried to ignore the symptoms in hopes that they will just vanish, but sadly this is not working, in fact, I think it might be getting worse. :( I guess it's time to acknowledge their presence. If we were at home I would feel completely comfortable asking the pharmacy for something to help make her more comfortable while nursing and sleeping. Unfortunately that is not exactly an option. I bought saline drops and a nasal aspirator (which she HATES) to see if that would help. I don't really think it did much. I might keep up with the drops for a couple of days to see if they do anything. The aspirator, yeah, that thing has got to go! It's scary enough to know that I can pull her brain out with it, and then to have her cry while I'm using it is not reassuring at all! So what do I do now? I'm kind of uncomfortable giving her medication that I've never heard of, haven't been told by a doctor to administer or that I have heard bad things about. This totally sucks.

Have any of your children ever had allergies? What did you do?

More Teething Tips

The teething process is just that, a process. So far we are going on two weeks of irritable, cranky, gum hurting baby. I wish these teeth would just pop through already! At our pediatrician's appointment on Friday we discovered that Alexa actually has FIVE teeth all trying to come in at the same time. FIVE! As if getting one tooth at a time isn't bad enough, she has to try and be an overachiever and get five at once! Well, this officially put me on the hunt for something to soothe her gums and help those teeth pop through. In Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, Evil Teething I talked about some different things that we had tried using as teethers...here are some new things that we have tried:

Bibs - Who knew that bibs not only caught the drool from teething, but also work as an awesome teether!
Carrots - Carrots are cold, hard, and AWESOME for soothing little teething gums. (I'm also hoping that they will help "encourage" the teeth to pop through!)

I have also bought some teething tablets (Osanit) and gum numbing gel (Dentinox). So far, I don't really think that the Dentinox works very well, but Alexa seems to like the Osanit teething tablets.

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

There is so much controversy surrounding vaccinations for infants and young children. Whether to vaccinate your child is a very important decision that every parent is faced with. How many vaccines do you allow at one time? Should you follow the CDC's Recommended Immunization Schedule or in my case the Recommended Immunization Schedule from Austria or do you delay or spread out the vaccines? What benefits come from either choice? What negative aspects exist? The CDC recommends following their guideline for immunizing your children from birth through age 6 in order to prevent putting your child at "...risk of becoming ill with vaccine-preventable diseases." The CDC's Recommended Immunization Schedule includes the same vaccinations as the Austrian Immunization Schedule, with the exception of Varicella, however, the Austrian schedule is much lighter. Immunizations, in the first year, are given at 7 weeks, 3, 5 and 12 months of age and are generally only given one at a time.

Vaccines

For my husband and I, vaccinating was an easy choice. We have both been vaccinated against all childhood diseases without a problem, so it was not a question as to whether or not our daughter would also receive the same vaccinations. What we did discuss with our doctor was the immunization schedule and how not to overload her system all at once. Luckily, we found that the suggested vaccination schedule here in Austria fit with what we were looking for...an evenly spread out schedule of vaccines.  The Vaccination Debate is one that has been going on for centuries and still people: doctors, parents, governments remain at a stand still. Vaccines must be given or consequences are faced; such as not being allowed to register your child for school. We have been very lucky. I wish all parents felt as involved in the decision of how many, what, and when to vaccinate their children and were not forced by a government mandate to vaccinate such young children so heavily.

Alexa received her first round of what I call "heavy duty" vaccines and she has been sad, sleepy and feverish all afternoon and evening. It's heart breaking to see her so unhappy and feeling so bad, but the alternative is unimaginable. I, personally, think that vaccinating is the right choice for our family, but if we were living in the US then I would most definitely spread out the vaccination schedule. I think little immune systems work hard enough fighting off simple germs in the environment and to overload them with so many other germs is just asking for trouble. I know many people in the US who have followed the recommended schedule without a problem, but I think it would make it easier for me to sleep at night knowing I had spread those immunizations out a little bit.

I'm hoping my little nugget is feeling better in the morning. I prefer to see her smiling and not crying.

Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, Evil Teething!

I finally figured out the problem, but I'm having some trouble actually solving the problem. She's teething. Teething sucks. I hate teething. Teething needs to take a hike! We've gotten teething gel and teething tablet thingies. I'm not actually convinced that either one work or are helping at all, but I am going to keep trying them because something has got to give. It's been two nights now since I have slept for more than an hour or two. I am cranky. I am tired. Plus, I feel like a horrible mom because I'm getting angry at her for crying. She's in pain and evil mommy is getting mad. Who does that?? I am such a jerk!

I've googled a whole bunch of different teething tips and I'm planning on trying ALL OF THEM! So far we've tried:

Teething toys put in the fridge - She likes these
Teething binky from MAM - even the stage 1 is too big for her, two thumbs down
Cool teether from MAM - too big for her, can suck on a corner if I hold it, but still isn't that fond of it
Wooden toys - Not at all, two thumbs down
Cold, wet wash cloth - undecided
My finger - LOVE at first tooth

I also ordered some Razbaby special teething binkies from the US. They will arrive right before we do, so I'll keep you all updated on how she likes them.

Ok, so I need to give a special shout out to my mother-in-law. She has been sooooo amazing this week helping out with Alexa and giving me a little "find your sanity and regroup" break. I am so appreciative for her help. With Michael in Vienna, I am quickly and certainly losing my mind a lot faster than normal.