Neti Pot for Congestion While Pregnant

So, I've had sinus infections off and on this whole winter and it has not been fun. I've not been able to work out as consistently as I would've liked to and have in general felt like crap about 1/4 of every month starting in November. My midwife said that they have seen a lot more sinus infections and allergy problems this year, most likely due to it being so cold and the pollution is not able to dissipate as well. Yay. She recommended that I get a Neti Pot. I was not enthused, putting water up my nose generally seems like a bad idea. I know that monks have been doing it for thousands of years, but I don't like getting water in my nose in a pool or lake (not to mention ocean) so why do it on purpose?

So, Jim finally bought one for me. I, of course, made him try it first (and show me video). I should also mention that my mom's doctor had her get one as well. Go figure, she was trying this before me (she's using a bottle)! Anyway, I tried it and I have to say I am hooked. I make sure I do it at least twice a day. The first week was interesting because I could not get the water to go through on one side sometimes, and when it did the water would come out in drips. Guess my sinuses really needed some cleaning.

I thought this website was very informative regarding the use of the Neti Pot: www.jalanetipot.com

I have to say I wish I had used this when I was pregnant with Eva because I was ALWAYS congested. This time around I've just been congested when I've had sinus infections (which has seemed like the whole time). But, anyway I think this would help women with congestion issues when pregnant.

I've found the amount of salt and how warm the water is really can affect how it "feels". I prefer not so warm water and a little less salt then recommended. With our Neti Pot the instructions it said to use a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and I use just under that. Trying to get the water temp "just right" is a little harder for me, but it's never too bad.

Anyway, I have never been able to breathe so clearly as I have since using this little ceramic pot. I use it twice a day right now. Probably will go down to once a day in the summer when I don't usually have problems. However, I have been very congested this week and felt like a sinus infection was trying to take hold. But, it hasn't gotten too bad. So, the Neti Pot is definitely helping.

So, I guess what I'm saying is if you are preggers and congested really consider giving this a shot!

Baby Joggers

Even though its only the beginning of Feb, I have officially begun my training for a half marathon. This reminds me of a tip for all running moms out there. After Tyler was born I had purchased a baby jogger thinking about all the wonderful quality running time we could spend together. Then I found out the kind I bought required that the baby be 6 months old before using it. By then, it was already turning too cold to take him out running. Thus it sat all winter. Come spring, I decided to take on the half marathon challenge. After my long run of 10 miles, I took a day off and the following day decided to take out the baby jogger. Half way thru 3 miles, my hip started to hurt. I figured it was just fatigued from the weekend run. So the next day I went out with the jogger as well. After 5 miles I could barely walk. I was so confused as to how my body could fall apart so fast. I was injured enough that I skipped the half marathon two weeks later. I decided to speak with my chiropractor and the physical therapist that works in her office. The issue was very plain and simple yet something I had not considered. When someone runs their body (for the most part) is straight upright. When running with a baby jogger, you have to lean forward in order to push or hold on to the handle. Just that slight leaning forward is enough to put pressure on your hip joints and cause injury. So this year I will NOT be running with the baby jogger as I prepare for the half marathon and instead use it for light jogs after the competition. I am hoping to keep my hip joints healthy (as well as everything else) and be able to compete.

So the tip is: be very careful and cognizant of your body & alignment while running with a baby jogger...it can be very rewarding to be out there together as long as you can keep your body safe from injury

Baby Yoga

Everyone knows how good yoga can be for adults but I think a lot of people don't consider the fact that it's great for babies too. I bought two great books about yoga when Tyler was born; Your Happy Baby and Itsy Bitsy Yoga. Both books had great yoga poses for babies ages newborn up to toddler. A couple of my favorites for younger babies were Tailor Pose Swing, Tiger in a Tree Swing, and Divine Drops. All three of these poses would quiet Tyler if he was fussy....Divine Drops were magic and Tiger in a Tree Swing was the first time Tyler actually giggled.

Divine Drops: Stand with your feet about 24 inches apart like you are going to do a squat. Hold your baby against your chest facing outward, drop quickly into a wide squat, on the next inhalation rise back up into the starting position. This almost guarantees giggles or at least stopping any crying.

Tiger in a Tree Swing: Feed one of your arms up through your baby's legs and place your hand over her belly. Support her around the upper chest with your other hand, allowing her head to rest comfortably on your forearm. Swing your baby back and forth in a rocking motion. Tyler LOVED this one and got him giggling every time!!!

You can find both these books online or in bookstores.

Kids & Pets

Needless to say my husband and I are “animal people”. With three dogs and a parrot I guess we couldn’t be considered anything else. We are very lucky that our dogs are all “people animals” as well. They love to be around people, especially kids. Since some of our friends had kids before we did, we got to witness our dogs first hand with those children. They were always well behaved and when they had had enough they just left for their crates. Still, of course one of our concerns was how the dogs would behave with our son when we brought him home. Experts say prepare your dogs for the shock since they are the “first babies” (although in reality your husband was the first “baby”) by bringing home blankets or clothes from the hospital that have been with the baby so they can get used to their smell. Do not allow the dogs into the baby’s room for the first however many months. Make them sit at the door while you go in so they get used to hearing the baby noises. All of which are great ideas and I do suggest trying them.

However, there is also another reality. The fact that when your husband goes home from the hospital, while you and baby are still there, it’s probably just to shower, get clean clothes and then hurry right back. I know in the flurry of everything going on, not once did we remember to send baby clothes/blankets home with him for the dogs. At that point they were the furthest thing from our mind. In an instant, they went from “babies” to “dogs”.

When we brought our son home we had all intentions of not allowing the dogs into his room. Now remember our dogs have been professionally trained and are very well behaved but they are still three high strung hunting dogs who want to be with us no matter where we are and that included the baby’s room. The first time in there we had them sit at the door. Within a few seconds they had snuck in to see what was going on. We took them back out and made them sit. What we noticed was that the more we made them sit outside the room the more nervous they got. Here was this new baby, with new smells, and made new noises they weren’t used to. You think three hunting dogs don’t want to check that out? Plus when you’re figuring out your new baby the last thing on your mind is dog obedience (I’m sure Brenda cringes as she reads this). So before long all three dogs were allowed in the room and able to poke their wet noses around our son. So much for no dogs in the baby room.

A rule we ALWAYS DO follow is watching our dogs when they are with our son. It takes only seconds for something bad to happen. Lucky for us our son can hang from their ears if he wants and they won’t so much as grunt but you never what an animal will do. So we have tried to teach him to pet nice, give hugs and respect the dogs from the beginning.

Coughs Blow.....

So inevitably Ty caught a cold this year already and it moved right into a cough. Now that OTC cough meds have been proven unsafe for toddlers I was at a loss as to what the heck to do. I knew it had to run its course but what mom enjoys hearing her child hack like a 20 year smoker? AARRGGHHH….so I busted out a few books to see what I could do to at least help. Apparently onion has anti-inflammatory properties and garlic is considered “nature’s antibiotic”…so since I am cooking challenged I asked my husband to figure out how to get our toddler to eat a garlic/onion mixture. HA!!! Being the culinary genius he is, he sautéed them together and threw them into a homemade tomato pasta sauce….aaaaahhhh smart move Bobby Flay!!!!

The next move was a little meaner. Hot lemon water helps thin mucus and relaxes spasms. So I fixed some freshly squeezed lemon in water with a little honey. Needless to say Ty gave the bitter beer face when he discovered the new concoction had been slipped into his sippy. Unfortunately, he refused to drink much of that.

I grabbed a bottle of (alcohol free mind you….good for the kids…BAD for mommy!!!) echinacea and goldenroot combo liquid. Echinacea has immune-enhancing properties so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give him a little of that.

Of course we all know Vitamin-C is good for us in any situation (especially when attacked by a cold) so I have been slipping Emergen-C into his sippy as well. Now this stuff goes over like it was Kool-Aid….probably cause I have the “tropical flavor”. J YEAH!!!

Needless to say this has all helped…or at least in my overly concerned, need to know I did something mind it did. He is on the road to recovery after however many days of hacking away and this mommy feels that she did her job!!!!!!!

Toddler Tips

One of the best tips I have read (I am sorry I don't remember who to give the credit to) was to tell your child to keep YOU within his/her eyesight at all times. Something so common sense but yet I didn't think to explain it that way. I would say to stay where Mommy can see you. Well, can she really KNOW where I can see her? So, now when we are out and about I tell her to stay where she can see Mommy. I do have to remind her, but at some point it should sink in.....hopefully!

Welcome

Welcome to the Two Blonde Moms blog. We thought we would use this medium to talk about the different choices we have faced and made along the road of motherhood, share the funny stories we have experienced, and possibly answer questions other mothers may have about conventional vs alternative options of raising their children. I want to admit that I have learned a lot from Brenda and it was her that helped me take more than one look at different situations. Through our experiences, we have found that there is no one correct way to raise healthy, happy kids.