Mom Life in the PNW

7 Must-Have Essentials for Toddler Sick Days!

7 Must-Have Essentials for Toddler Sick Days!

 

 

I feel like I am actually prepared for the winter flu and cold season and finally figured out a way to keep it to a minimum.

My daughter doesn’t get sick too often because she’s not in a daycare or preschool yet, but since her cousins are school age, they always seem to be sick, which in turn gets Arya sick about 70% of the time we come into contact.

She actually just caught the flu bug a few days ago from the cousins, so I’ve been dealing with trying to keep the sickness at bay. Luckily, I was already prepared since I stocked up on Kleenex essentials at Walmart.com.

The ordering process was simple, just head on over to Walmart, add the kleenex to your cart and select in-store pickup or 2-day shipping to home.

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5 Ways to Help Your Cat With Asthma

5 Ways to Help Your Cat With Asthma

*I received the medicine in exchange for my honest opinion. I had used this medicine prior to receiving it for review”

My cat hasn’t always had asthma, but it seemed to appear the older she got and the more weight she gained. She’s 15 and about 16 lbs which is heavy for a cat her size.

My cat started having coughing fits about 4 years ago, which I was clueless about. It wasn’t her typical hairball hacking or her gorge on food then throwing it up head movement that I was used to. These seemed to last longer and sounded raspy. I found videos on YouTube of people videoing their cats who had asthma, which sounded and looked identical to what my Yasmine was going through.

I ended up taking her to the vet and explained the symptoms. He checked everything out and she looked and sounded fine. But, they wanted to do this expensive x-ray imaging which I kindly denied. I told them I preferred her to get a steroid shot because I am pretty sure it was cat asthma and that’s what they use to calm the inflammation down.

It took a couple days for the asthmatic attacks to calm down, but I researched and researched until I finally came up with a plan…

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My D&C Experience: For a Miscarriage at 10 Weeks

My D&C Experience: For a Miscarriage at 10 Weeks

The main goal of treatment during or after a miscarriage is to prevent hemorrhaging and/or infection. The earlier you are in your pregnancy, the more likely your body will expel all the fetal tissue but 10 weeks and on is not recommended to do naturally according to my doctor.

Let me just say, the D&C was the best option for me mentally and physically. There’s no way I’d be okay birthing my dead baby at home.

My surgery was set up for noon on Friday, March 24th, 2017.

That dreaded day had come…

I arrive at the surgery center at 10:30 am to check-in. They call me back, get me undressed and in bed right away. Take my vitals and plug a fluid IV in me. At least this nurse knew how to work with veins, unlike the one I had when I was giving birth to my first who ended up blowing my veins out with her unnecessary prodding.

Then my husband and daughter get to come back into the curtain room with me and visit before I go in. Even though it was a few hours, I needed her there to give her love and kisses beforehand.

Honestly, I freaked myself out more than I should have worrying about anesthesia, but for this procedure, they can give you as little or as much as you’d like and I opted for light twilight. Essentially I was still asleep and don’t remember anything but you come out of it feeling less groggy and not nauseous. The last thing I needed on top of my worries was to feel more sick to my stomach.

The anesthesiologist was kind of funny, so he lightened the mood a bit. I explained my concerns about anesthesia and how I wanted to not be in a deep, deep sleep.  I told him I was nervous about it so he ended up bringing me anxiety meds for my IV, which made me feel calmer and better about the procedure.

I had about a half an hour to go…

Dr. then came in and introduced himself and then the nurse came back and started wheeling me to the operating room.

They switched me to a different bed and then put an oxygen mask on me and then about a minute later, I was asleep because that’s all I remember.

I didn’t wake up during the procedure, nor did I hear them talking and I didn’t feel anything. I woke up shortly after they were finished with them trying to put mesh panties on me.

From the time I went in, to the time I got wheeled out, it was about 40 minutes.

I immediately felt light period type cramping and had light bleeding which is to be expected.

The Dr. came out and told me everything went well and was sorry we had to meet under such circumstances. He’s not my normal Dr. but he is a decent one around here. I checked out reviews beforehand and everyone loves him. Definitely look into Dr. James Calvert if you’re in the area and need an OB/GYN.

Also, I wanted to state that they never did another ultrasound, so make sure if you’re still feeling uneasy about the results you received to get another one. It may end up making the pain more real but at least you now know and can have a peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing and won’t be lingering with “what if”.

I hope everyone who has gone through this heals both mentally and physically and goes on to have happy, healthy babies.

Now I need some much-needed rest because this has me all kinds of exhausted.

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Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal: What To Expect

Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal: What To Expect

All I can say is thank god I finally scheduled this appointment and got it over with. I didn’t exactly like my experience with one of the Gentle Dental’s in Vancouver, WA so that’s why I am going to share it here.

I’ve had an impacted wisdom tooth that was partially erupted for quite a few years; I just never got around to getting it out because I was pregnant, and dental work is not really safe during certain trimesters, so I opted to wait until after she was born. Only, I didn’t really do it then either since she’s now 19 months.

I never really had bad pain problems, just the occasional swelling, and soreness but nothing that over the counter ibuprofen couldn’t handle. I guess I was lucky in those regards.

So I schedule an appointment with the recommended surgeon at Gentle Dental and go to that appointment.

I have in my head that I don’t want general anesthesia, but I am also nervous about hearing or feeling anything and everything that’s going on in my mouth. He was feeding off my nervous demeanor. I told him I didn’t want anesthesia and would just go with the local Novocain for the procedure. He explained to me that I would need a coronectomy based on my x-rays since my roots were too close to the main nerve in the jaw. Essentially, if that tooth was removed, it could cause some facial paralysis. So now I am even more nervous and he tells me to just go with general anesthesia. He said it about 3 times… just go with it; you’ll feel better about the process. Then told me about the person in the next room and how he wishes he would have gone with it because his coronectomy went wrong. Hello, patient confidentiality? I’m pretty sure that’s a HIPAA violation. Then he says I’ll give you some Vicodin for the pain or whatever Jenny wants. What if I was a pill addict? I could have gotten whatever I wanted from this dentist. (I’m not BTW) That comment rubbed me the wrong way because I do have a sister who has battled addiction numerous times and for these Dr’s to make it that readily available pisses me off.

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Avoid the doctors office and chat with real doctors on Amwell

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“This is a sponsored conversation from Mums the Word Network and Amwell. All opinions are my own”

Before I got pregnant, I hardly ever went to the doctor. I just didn’t feel the need to waste my time by sitting in an office waiting to be called, then sitting in the exam room for a half an hour waiting to be seen for something trivial that could possibly be handled by just dealing with it at home. By dealing with it, I mean contacting Amwell, which is a site with real doctors who call or video chat you to help you out with a diagnoses based on your symptoms.

How awesome is it to not waste gas, bring the kids, or sit around and wait forever?

 Reasons to Use Amwell

  1. Lower cost. Consumers expect online visits to be cost-savers; with in-office visits costing, on average, $82 for first-time patients according to the Healthcare Blue Book, Amwell offers a $49 physician visit – a savings of $33. Great option for students in college looking for cost-effective healthcare or those between jobs and without insurance.
  2. Accessibility. After hours, on weekends and in the middle of the night (24/7/365) availability. Great for those who do have transportation or when you don’t feel well enough to drive and those who are newly relocated and don’t have providers yet.
  3. Convenience. Consumers are looking for a faster appointment. Now they don’t need to schedule an appointment nor do they need to wait to be seen, especially if on vacation or business travel. The doctor can be seen from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
  4. Quick prescriptions. Consumers would rather have an online video visit than an in-office visit to obtain common primary care prescriptions.
  5. Peace of mind. Rather than self-diagnosing or visiting a social forum for medical advice, users can obtain second opinions directly from board certified, licensed doctors.

I’ve been feeling like I have a UTI, so I decided to hop on Amwell and contact a specialist. I described my symptoms and they are prescribing me antibiotics. It’s as quick and as simple as that.

Having a little one makes it hard to do anything let alone visiting a doctor’s office. I’ll be using Amwell from now on for all of my basic needs.

Follow the link and use this code (HEALTHY16) to get your first visit for only a $1!