Under The Weather

Amanda came down with a cold earlier this week.  Try as I might to keep her from kissing her baby sister, my efforts were futile, so Bethany ended up with a stuffy nose within a couple of days after her big sister.   We’ve been battling it with the humidifier, saline nose drops, aspirator, and Vicks Baby Rub on her chest, trying to keep her nose clear enough for her to be able to breathe while nursing.   She sleeps better upright, so Dave and I have been holding her as she sleeps or putting her in the little vibrating bouncy seat (the only way she’ll sleep for more than a few minutes when not in our arms).  

 

Thankfully Bethany has been sleeping pretty well at night, but with the seasonal and swine flu going around (we already know 3 people who’ve come down with it), I decided to play it safe when she started spitting up and took her to the midwife, who is also a Naturopathic doctor.   No flu, thank God, but she did discover that Bethany has thrush in her mouth – a clear sign that her immune system is fighting something.  It’s notoriously difficult to get rid of in nursing babies, but thankfully I haven’t gotten it from her.  I’ve been told by other nursing moms that it’s extremely painful.    Now I’m on phytobiotics and have to give Bethany Nystatin four times a day.  She hates it and spits most of it out , but I’m told that having the medicine coat her tongue is the most important thing.  

 

I was also told to lay off the sugar because yeast thrives on sugar and it makes it difficult to cure the thrush if my milk has too much in it.  I’ve got such a sweet tooth, I went into withdrawals just hearing her say that!