ear infection? 5 tips from a pro.

we have received promotional consideration from kinsa, inc. as always, the opinions are our own. 

we are no strangers to fevers in our home. my eldest battled with severe ear infections and ended up with two sets of ear tubes (best thing we ever did) in addition to his adenoids being removed. ear infections combined with febrile seizures means i have had more battles with 104+ temps than i can count in my years as a mama. 

when up against middle of the night fevers, the following have been life savers for my family:

1.  a quick and reliable thermometer

the hardest part of the entire process was having the mental capacity to track temperatures to log for visits to the the doctors or emergency room. if i had had a kinsa smart thermometer at the time, life would have been so much easier! 

the kinsa smart thermometers work seamlessly with your smart phone to give an accurate read out and automatically saves a record of the temps taken, times and symptoms so that you can easily show the doctor in your sleepless haze. in addition to their current model thermometer for oral, underarm and rectal temperature taking, kinsa has just released an ear thermometer to offer another alternative to temperature taking. it's honestly a genius product that both of us here at the third boob are *obsessed* with using for our own families. 

give it a try---you truly won't be sorry, no matter what the ages of your children. 

2.  a frozen washcloth

a frozen washcloth can be a great thing to help bring down fevers. my littles found it soothing and it really helped reduce fevers as well. (frozen washcloths also are great for teething). 

here are a few simple steps to freezing a washcloth:

step 1

saturate three-quarters of a clean washcloth with water.

step 2

wring the water out of the washcloth so it's not dripping wet. 

step 3

fold the washcloth into thirds and fourths and slip it inside a ziploc plastic bag. to keep the washcloth clean and prevent it from sticking to the shelves of your freezer.

step 4
place the washcloth in your freezer and leave it for an hour or two, or until needed.

step 5

remove the frozen washcloth from the plastic bag and use when needed. :-) 

3. humidifier 

a humidifier can really help with congestion. essential oils can work great in these as well. if you know someone who uses oils, have a talk with them about what the right combination can be to help. 

4. saline nose drops

saline nose drops  can also help a lot with congestion and have worked wonders with my littles when colds and inevitable ear infections strike. 

5. pain relievers 

of course, consult your doctor for the correct amount of dosage and timing, but figuring out that i could alternate the usage of both tylenol and motrin and even use them at the same time was mind-blowing and drastically changed my fever battling odds for the better.

all of this being said, i am not a doctor. these are the things that worked best for us, but please consult with your doctor first, as we did ours. 

wishing your little one(s) feel better soon!

my army of women

my husband has been working a lot lately. with his law enforcement job, it is anyone's guess when or if he'll be home on any given night. normally i can handle the masses but yesterday was a different story. my toddler was on day four of a raging fever and that night, while my husband was out chasing some bad men, my daughter got sick as well. i was up all night with the pair of them. as 7:00 AM rolled around and my other three stirred, i knew i was in need of reinforcements. i'd used the last of the fever reducers over night and there was no way i was going to be able to drag all five to the store.

i contemplated what i could do...leave them at home? take a couple of them? wait until my husband magically returned from work? i wanted to be self-sufficient but when it came right down to it, i knew it was time to wave the white flag of surrender and see if there was anyone who might be willing to help a mom out. i posted this to facebook:

that was it. a simple cry for help in the middle of my sleep deprived morning. i figured someone had to be heading for the store during the day. still, it was hard for me to press send. it was hard to admit i needed help. i liked feeling like i was the rocking mother of five. and yet, when it came right down to it, i figured between the killing of my pride and a trip with five kids to the store, i'd bury my pride and stay at home.

the crazy thing? the response. within minutes someone offered to pick up the medicine. i thought the flurry of messages would end after that but that was just the beginning. there was this:

and this...

and this...

and this...

and those were just the facebook messages. by the afternoon, there were 36 facebook messages offering help. there were several texts from friends. not only did i get the two bottles of medicine, but my favorite drink from starbucks. someone else brought me juice and a party tray of chicken nuggets and fruit from chick-fil-a for lunch. i had three offers for dinner, two people who just came and dropped off food. countless others texted me throughout the day to see how i was.

my friends from out of the area chimed in on facebook too. their responses?

it's hard to believe places like this exist. i was and am still honestly awed by it all. what a remarkable group of people surround me, right? they truly are some of the greatest people on earth, in the greatest neighborhood on earth, from the greatest church on earth, in the greatest town on earth. i know i am blessed.

the more i got to thinking, though, the more i realized that this is how life is supposed to be. we are supposed to count on each other. we are supposed to live in community with one another, support one another, come along side one another, do life with one another. we're supposed to be honest, and vulnerable, and put our pride aside. the miraculous happens when we put aside the facebook and instagram version of ourselves and take a few minutes to just be real. the results are magical.

i may still be sleep deprived. i may still have two sick kids. my husband may still be a walking zombie. but i'm not alone. i'm surrounded by an army of amazing women who have my back. and just like that, am invincible. i think i may just go conquer the world. 

for more, read: no mom is an island and don't block my blessing.

hand, foot and mouth, tylenol and smiling faces

i have received information and products from mcneil consumer healthcare division of mcneil ppc, inc., the makers of TYLENOL. the opinions stated are my own. this is a sponsored post for shespeaks.

my fifth born is one of the happiest kids around. don't get me wrong, he can create a disaster faster than i can return a text but he is usually pretty darn happy in the process. 

a couple of weeks ago i could not figure him out. he was fussy at breakfast, refused to eat (very atypical for him) and was generally out of sorts. while playing with some blocks after breakfast, he dropped a block on one of his fingers and came walking to me so i could give his hand a kiss. here's what his little hand looked like.

the next day his feet were covered too. when i looked inside his little mouth, there were blisters everywhere. no wonder the poor guy didn't want to eat.

this wasn't my first rodeo. as the youngest of five, my fifth born got the jaded, "shake it off" mom. still, i had never had experience with hand, foot and mouth disease. i had seen pictures of heather's kids covered in blisters so i knew what to expect. still, i called the pediatrician for some specifics. her information was simple. it's just a virus. it will heal on it's own. just keep the tylenol flowing. 

with a lot of cuddles, some very messy popsicles and a steady flow of medicine, as per the excellent pediatricians predictions, my happy baby was back. his precious smile was all the more sweet because i had missed it while it was gone. let's be honest, his smile also meant that the work of a sick baby was over for me. it was a huge relief. yes, in a few short days, my fifth born  was back to this.

...and this...

...and, yep, even this...

yes, wellness is a double edged sword. still, i am grateful for healthy, happy kiddos. 

the greatest thing about taking care of my sick children is knowing that they are learning how to care for others when i care for them. i didn't realize how much they had learned until i had a migraine headache one afternoon. my sweet boys jumped into action (my daughter was at gymnastics, lest she read this one day and think i have left her out.) my oldest told me to go and lie down. my third born six year old took over watching the little boys and cleaning the family room. the sweet boy even vacuumed the floor. while he was busy working, my oldest made me a tray and brought it into me in the adjoining room. it held a cup of tea, a bowl of grapes, a get well/instruction note, and a cup full of TYLENOL. 

i was so happy. they got it. there is joy in making someone else feel better. it was one of those rare moments in parenting when you see the smallest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, when you think, "maybe, just maybe they'll leave my house one day as loving, responsible human beings." for one brief moment they understood that there is joy in caring for someone well. there is joy when someone can smile after an illness. what a precious thing for me to see in my sons. i don't think i've ever been more proud.

the makers of TYLENOL recently launched the "SMILING IT FORWARD" campaign. bringing a smile to someone else enables them to bring smiles to others. as a part of this campaign, they are donating $1.00 to CHILDREN'S HEALTH FUND up to $100,000 for every picture uploaded to:

 https://www.smilingitforward.com

the donation will help pay for children in need to see a physician when they are sick. take a minute of your day and help tylenol spread some smiles to children in need by putting up a picture of one of your happy, healthy little ones today.

I have received information and products from McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks.