Questions - Week of 10/8

stardustskies

@bb3vj3n That's such a cute idea!! I couldn't wait to announce when I found out so I ended up blabbing my big mouth all over Facebook. Oh well.

mountain_girl

Hi all, any STMs here experience strep throat of their toddler?? My DD has been irritable for a week, no fever, just loose stools, low appetite and cranky. Took her to a walk in clinic today after she woke up crying and complaining that her tummy hurt, and doctor says it's strep throat so she's on antibiotics...can anyone provide insight into A) is it really strep?? What else can I do for you? can I bring her to daycare tomorrow if she is acting ok? She has no more fever and no more diarrhea... thanks moms!! 

becausescience

@mountain_girl Those seem like they could be teething symptoms too.  (Not sure if she has all her teeth in already or if second molars are still possible.)  FWIW our daycare needs kids to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before they can come back.  Did the do an strep culture?

mountain_girl

@becausescience no swab, said they don't do that for toddlers...so you're saying cranky, loose stools and being tired could all just be molars too?? Doctor said her theist and ears had signs of strep, but the no fever thing was unusual.... I called daycare and they said she could come in as long as no fever or diarrhea...now I'm conflicted, is there harm in continuing to give her antibiotics even if it's not strep? 

ShawnnaO

@mountain_girl if her throats and ears had signs of strep, I would keep giving the antibiotics. At the end of the day, your doctor is a trained professional who actually saw your daughter, whereas we're just women on the internet who can't actually examine your daughter for signs. Yes those are signs of teething, but since her throatand ears are showing symptoms as well, trust your doctor. 

becausescience

@mountain_girl Yeah I'd agree with @ShawnnaO. If there were signs in the ears and throat it could be an infection, I'd trust that.  Hope she feels better soon. Remember to the bump up the probiotics to help with antibiotic poo.

npkat

So apparently I have horrible diastasis recti.  I guess I had this before pregnancy, but didn’t know. I’ve always been in shape and have even had defined ab muscles at different times throughout my life and recently for quite some time. Well I was sitting up last night from ground and noticed my belly button popped out. When I lift my legs up from the ground while I’m laying down, my abdomen right down the middle becomes V shaped and my belly button pops out. What do I do about this? 

LiveNLove44

bb3vj3n said:

Just wondering - as most of these babes will be born in the winter - what type of newborn winter gear do we need to purchase? like - do newborns need a winter coat etc? I figured I should buy this stuff soon as winter stuff is more in stores...i just don't know what I need.

Can any other cold climate mama's chime in?

@bb3vj3n layers are the name of the game. Those one piece snowsuit outfits aren't safe in the carseat, so baby can't wear it much unless you spend a lot of time outside with them in the winter. I had an August baby and an October baby, and neither of them really used one more than once or twice. It felt like a wasted purchase. We got a great carseat cover and then dressed them in layers appropriate for the carseat. We also have a blanket in the car if necessary to tuck in around their legs for those -1000 degree wind chills we get here!

chasingroygbiv

@mountain_girl Our Strep experience is rare, so take this how you like, but I would demand a Strep culture and if it’s positive then absolutely treat, if negative, then you know! Our son ended up in the hospital due to an undiagnosed bout of Strep. Very scary and dangerous. Strep is toddlers isn’t necessarily “common” but they’re seeing it more and more. I wouldn’t take her back to daycare until you know. Hope LO feels better soon! 

mountain_girl

@ShawnnaO and @chasingroygbiv and @becausescience thanks all for taking the time to provide your thoughts and input! I'll keep you posted ! 

LiveNLove44

mountain_girl said:

@becausescience no swab, said they don't do that for toddlers...so you're saying cranky, loose stools and being tired could all just be molars too?? Doctor said her theist and ears had signs of strep, but the no fever thing was unusual.... I called daycare and they said she could come in as long as no fever or diarrhea...now I'm conflicted, is there harm in continuing to give her antibiotics even if it's not strep? 

@mountain_girl I was a carrier for strep when I was younger. My brother and sister would often have normal symptoms, so my mom would bring us in for their tests and then I would get tested, too. I'd often have it with few symptoms other than a sore throat (i.e., no fever). I think the harm in antibiotics is really if it's a chronic situation. If you often take (personally) or give (to your child) antibiotics, they become less effective over time; however, if it's sporadic and only given when prescribed in situations  like this, I'd recommend finishing a treatment for her as a precaution given the medical advice you've received. I hope it gets better soon!

stlbuckeye132

@npkat I would talk to your doctor about this at your next appt to see what they recommend, but from what I've read about it, you should stop doing planks, push-ups, crunches, etc. Basically any traditional abdominal exercise. My doctor mentioned she could feel my abs starting to separate at my last appointment, which took me by surprise too since I work out regularly and have somewhat strong abs (or so I thought). I was too surprised to even think to ask her what I needed to change for my workouts, but I see her again on Monday and I'm definitely asking then. I'll let you know what she says, but I'd still recommend talking to yours specifically.

ETA when going from lying down the sitting/standing, don't sit straight up, but roll onto your side and push yourself up that way

npkat

Thanks @stlbuckeye132. Pretty much every ab exercise I do is off limits it sounds like . This is going to be interesting. Definitely let me know what your doc says. Where will you be delivering?

stlbuckeye132

@npkat I sent you a PM!

becausescience

@npkat @stlbuckeye132
I read an article about a study on diastasis recti recently. 
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/07/541204499/flattening-the-mummy-tummy-with-1-exercise-10-minutes-a-day

"That said, there are a few exercise programs for diastasis recti that many doctors and physical therapists support. These include the Tupler Technique, Keller's Dia Method and the MuTu System in the U.K."

I think I'm going to do one of these courses postpartum, to help the "mom pooch" (my Dr hasn't mentioned if I have diastasis recti) . I think one of these sites had a during pregnancy course.

stlbuckeye132

Thanks @becausescience! I actually read that NPR article when it first came out but had forgotten about it. It's frustrating because most of the talk around diastasis recti is all about what to do after giving birth, not much about what to do while pregnant. I think for now I'm just going to stop doing any ab exercises with crossing motions, planks, full-body push-ups, and anything where I can't keep my navel pulled down toward my spine. Again, that might change after I get my doctor's input on this on Monday.

fatstagnation

fatstagnation said:

Anyone have experience with yeast infections during 2nd tri? I'm pretty sure I'm starting one, usual symptoms for me. Of course now, because I'm prepping for and then teaching at a conf on Saturday. Internet says monostat is safe, but to talk to dr. I have a call in to them, but just wondering what to expect. 

well, just in case anyone else wants info on this, I'll answer my own question:

Dr's office called me back, asked a few questions and said yeast is very common in 2nd tri. She said to do the 7 day monostat course (generic is ok). The 7 day one is the lowest dose over a longer period so that's what they recommend. She made a note for me to talk to my midwife to make sure it's clearing up at my next appt. on Thurs. 
I was so glad they didn't make me come in "to make sure."

day38

@fatstagnation when I had a yeast infection (not pregnant) the Dr also told me to take the 7 day course. The not pregnant reasoning was that the shorter ones usually aren't effective at fully getting rid of it, so you have a high likelihood of it recurring even if the symptoms go away shorter term. I unfortunately had that experience. 

Gingermom15

mountain_girl said:

@becausescience no swab, said they don't do that for toddlers...so you're saying cranky, loose stools and being tired could all just be molars too?? Doctor said her theist and ears had signs of strep, but the no fever thing was unusual.... I called daycare and they said she could come in as long as no fever or diarrhea...now I'm conflicted, is there harm in continuing to give her antibiotics even if it's not strep? 

That’s odd. The local urgent care did a strep swab on my son when he was 14 months old because he had been exposed days earlier and very sick. It was pretty simple and gave us a positive 

kiki75

FWIW, when I have strep, my fever is rarely high enough to count in their eyes and I've never gotten a positive on a rapid strep test. They've gone ahead and sent me home with a course of antibiotics, I think usually just to placate me, and then they'd call with the results of the other test which is positive. So I always take the rapid strep with a grain of salt. I got pretty experienced with it in college. End of nearly every semester as soon as I was done with finals, I'd get strep. 

becausescience

STMs+: Do you have a favorite brand of play food? Looking for something nicer quality that doesn't have tons of junk food. (I just bought DD a play kitchen for xmas. Kohls has a great deal on one if anybody is interested in link.)

chasingroygbiv

@becausescience We got fun felt food from IKEA (fruits and veggies) and then we have a couple different wooden sets by Melissa & Doug, too. Fruits and veggies that you can “slice”, eggs (inner yolks are Velcro and you can match the colors), etc. All the plastic stuff I’ve purchased has been junk! 

heatherdubrow

@becausescience we love everything Melissa and Doug. They have really cute wooden food but it is a little pricier than the plastic stuff.

ShawnnaO

@chasingroygbiv do you have links? I really want to get my daughter a play kitchen and I love that the toys you described are more interactive. 

LiveNLove44

@becausescience I third the Melissa & Doug food. We acquired sets from friends whose kids have outgrown it, and it's still like new. They have some unique sets and fun set ups (like sushi!) and my kids love playing with their themes. They are pricier as @heatherdubrow mentioned, but I'd say totally worth it for how well they last through kids.

syssa-o

Beating a dead horse, but another reco for Melissa and Doug food. I worked in a daycare and all of the plastic food was destroyed but the Melissa and Doug wooden food with the Velcro was always in great condition. 

justkeeptrying

@becausescience, we also have Melissa & Doug wooden food. DS absolutely loves the pizza set, as well as the sandwich making set. We just recently opened the fruit cutting set and he loves it too. Their little toaster is adorable too! My MIL totally spoiled DS with toy food last Christmas when we got him his kitchen. We spend a LOT of time "cooking" downstairs. 

runsoncoffee

@becausescience we like learning resources new sprouts play food. It's actually plastic but a really nice quality. We just ordered our 1 year old DS a play kitchen that he'll get for Christmas! I'm so excited to give it to him!

chasingroygbiv

@ShawnnaO. Sorry this is delayed! Here is one of our kiddos favorite sets.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GKD09C/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1508102326&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=melissa+and+doug+food&dpPl=1&dpID=51ty1779oGL&ref=plSrch