My Sweet Tomato!

Anyone with kids should read what happened to my sweet little Ela this week.

Ela recently has grown an appetite. My little self made vegetarian since 9 months has ditched her vegan ways. She is loving meat and I am trying to get her to eat other things besides her regular foods covered in tomato sauce. I had gone to Trader Joe's on Sunday and found some Tahini sauce.(Tahini is ground sesame seeds, lemon, garlic, and oil- I learned this after the fact) When I was pregnant I ate Falafals every other day. My friend Lauren and her boyfriend got me hooked and by the time Ela was born the restaurants owner new me by name and what I ordered. Tahini is the sauce that goes on the Falafel. I was so excited to find it! So thats how our evening started....

I cut up some cucumbers and tossed them in the Tahini sauce. I gave one to Ela and she loved it. Within minutes she started coughing. Initially I thought she was choking. I started hitting her back but she kept coughing. I pulled her out of the highchair and noticed she was turning red. I stuck my finger in her mouth to see if I could feel anything and there was nothing in her mouth. She continued to turn red and cough and then she threw up. After she got sick I looked at her and her eyes were swollen shut and lips look like a duck. I realized she was having an allergic reaction. I was SO scared! I was by myself. I called 911 and while they were on the phone I remembered reading in a Mommy book to give Benadryl for allergic reactions. Luckily I had some because Ela had been sick the past few weeks. She was so swollen at this point that she could not open her mouth or even stand up. I took a straw and got as much as I could in her throat. I then thought to go down to the lobby of my building as it would be better to be around other people while I waited for the ambulance. Going downstairs there was another Mom in the elevator who was the biggest help. Immediately when she saw Ela she asked what happened and stayed with me until the ambulance left. She is a Mom to a 3 month old so she was a great help. At this point the small amount of Benadryl opened Ela's passageways enough that she began to cough again and throw up. On top of turning, she now had red hives all over her body.The ambulance came and Ela continued to get sick which they said was the best thing for her at this point. This is when I lost it. I think that once I knew I had help I could truly let my emotions go. I was so surprised how calm I remained before they got there. The EMS workers were great and calmed me down and told me Ela could pick up on my emotions so it was important to stay calm.We arrived at the hospital and immediately she got examined,got ephedrine (Epi Pen- basically adreniline), more benadryl and Albuteral which is a steroid breathing treatment. She still was bright red and covered in hives but she began to say "mama" and run around the Triage area. Thank GOD my little tomboy was healthy! We were sent home with two Epi Pens in case of a future reaction.
Here are a few pictures of Ela on the road to recovery:

She is a messy eater...This is before.

About 30 minutes after she got meds.
Still very swollen.

About an hour after meds.
Playing while we wait for the hives
to go down.

Here is what I learned:

*ALWAYS have Benadryl in your house and know the dose for your childs weight.
Although Ela is an anaphaltic(severe allergic including closing of airways) Benadryl will slow down the effects of allergies.
* Reading (sometimes excessively) parenting books paid off
Tomasz makes fun of me for being a "Google Queen" and consulting parenting books all the time. It never clicked with Benadryl and an allergic reaction but it was in the back of my head from reading those books. It saved her life.
* Top 10 childhood allergies
I was so shocked that Ela most likely had a reaction to Sesame. I never thought about it as an allergy but it alot more common than I thought.

1. Dairy
2. Eggs
3. Fish
4. Peanuts
5. Tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, etc)
6. Sesame
7. Shellfish and other seafood
8. Soy
9. Wheat
10. Gluten

*Ela is a TROOPER!
The past few months have been rough for her. She started daycare, got the tummy flu, cold after cold, a double ear infection and now a severe allergic reaction.

I am so happy that she is healthy and ok. On Tuesday we are going to be visiting an Allergist to find out exactly what she is allergic to. They will give her a series of "pricks" with allergens on her back. Whatever hives appear will indicate what she is allergic too. This comes as a surprise as there is very few allergies in mine or Tomasz's family. I am nervous to put her through the testing but very anxious to get the results to make sure we don't give her anything she is allergic too.

Here are a few links(they don't call me the google queen for nothing)

 Anaphylactic Toddlers- What do I do?

Top 10 Common Foods to Avoid in Toddlers

Benadryl

What doesnt kill you makes you stronger....

Isn't that the truth!
If you keep up with my blog you can see the past few weeks have been a little challenging. And then came the icing on the cake.... I had emergency surgery to remove my appendix. Again can we say great timing?! For the past 6 months I have been having pains in my tummy but they ended up coming and going. I was told they were my hormones settling down from the pregnancy, a kidney infection and an ulcer. WRONG! It was chronic appendicitis. It was basically flare ups and then two weeks ago it became acute appendicitis leading to surgery. I was very grateful that we caught it somewhat early. I was in alot of pain but not as bad as it could have been. I was also very thankful Tomasz was at home when it happened. I went in for a CT Scan after a weekend of pain and nausea. They told me I would have the results in 48 hours. By the time I got off the subway 15 minutes later I had two missed calls to get to the ER immediatly. This was the last thing I expected to happen.

Recovering from abdominal surgery is no easy task. Due to the placement of my now former appendix, the surgery had to be done the old fashion knife way. I was cut through 3 layers of muscles, and did not realize how much I used them.Actually let me rephrase this....Recovering from abdominal surgery with a 1 year old is an even harder task!

While waiting to go into surgery Ela was running all over the hospital. This scared the crap out of me with all the germs. So I gave in and let her in bed with me. As you can see from the second picture I was in pain when she laid on me. When I woke up and was in recovery Ela looked scared to see me. I dont remember, but Tomasz said she just wanted to get in bed with me and kept pointing and saying "Ma".

I was so grateful to have all of the help and support from family and friends. They were all so willing to help and made everything much easier. I feel so lucky to have such good family near and far. Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks while I was recovering.

Uncle Stephen giving Ela a bath. One morning as I am laying in bed while he is getting ready for daycare I hear "Ela, please go poop at daycare so they have to change it and not me"- HOW CUTE!

Smiley in the morning. She loved having lots of family in town.

Uncle Stephen gave me a new hairstyle.

Helping Mommy carry the Dreft since she cant lift.- My kid is strong!

 I am slowly recovering. Not really in anymore pain just very sore. Hard times like the past few months do have a purpose. I have realized how lucky I am to have a now healthly family and such an amazing and supportive family.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I feel like she just turned a year...and yet she is another month older. Time seems to be flying by too fast. Unfortunately lately all we have done is get sick and try to recover. Its funny because last Feb was very rough for us between the colic and excema...Maybe it is February thing. Ela started daycare and LOVES it! Let's just say daycare did not reciprocate the first few weeks. Three days into starting she brought a tummy bug home which I got too. Then it turned into a cold/ flu type thing that lasted 3+ weeks. I think we have gone to the doctor 4 times and the ER once. It's has been especially hard because it is just the two of us. Tomasz has been in training for his new job for the past few weeks. That's what you call perfect timing folks! ;) Overall daycare has been wonderful for her. Her teachers say she smiles all day and runs up to everyone to hug and kiss them. She cried a few days when I picked her up. The socialization aspect has been wonderful and she has talked so much more since going to daycare.

I like to think of myself as a positive person so over the past few weeks although it has been mostly tissues,vapor rub, load after load of wash, and sniffles there were some great moments. Ela is getting smarter and smarter each day....and a COPY CAT at that!

Here are some of my favorite moments:

* When Ela was coughing or had a tummy ache I would rub her back. I had her in bed with me one night and I started coughing. Within 10 seconds she was rubbing my arm. Talk about melt MY heart!
* When I had the tummy bug and was getting sick, Ela imitated me getting sick and giggled hysterical. That was probably the only thing in that moment that could make me smile.
*She is obsessed with brushing her teeth. Every morning she watches me brush mine and I have an electric toothbrush. Recently she started going "brzzzz brzzz" when she brushes hers. I guess she thinks it is me making the noise and not my tooth brush.
*She points to everything. She even had me follow her all the way back to the kitchen to point to the cheesecake. ;) - she takes after many members of her family on this one!
*She told me "no no no" when I tried to feed her a meatball. Currently she is a self made vegatarian.
*Cousin Charlie came to visit. Ela saw him in the Bumbo where I used to feed her. She went over to him with pinched fingers and put her hand to his mouth and said "umm" trying to feed him.
*When we get in the bath at night. Her hands automatically go to her head and like she is washing her hair. Then I let out the tub and she waves bye bye each time.
*When she really likes a food. She shakes her head yes.
*Tomasz came home for the night to take me out for Vday. He met us at the doctors office. When Ela saw him she did a double take and then ran up to him and said "hiiiii". Such a sweet moment.
*She points the remote at the TV to try to change the channel.
*I dropped her at daycare the other day and Jake was standing by the door. Ela gets a running start and pushes him. I felt so bad. The teachers said Ela hugs all the other boys in the class(She is one of two girls) but she always fights with Jake. I guess she learned to flirt at an early age ;)
* She tickles everyone she comes up to with her little fingers and her sweet little voice saying "tickle tickle tickle"
*Every time I get a text message, she stops what she is doing and looks for my phone.

Sorry if you fell asleep listening to the past few weeks in the life of Ela. I wanted to be able to write all of these things down so I don't forget. Its amazing how I look back at pictures from 5-6 months or even last month and don't really remember the little things. This is such a fun age...the only problem is I really have to watch what I do and say now!

Here are a few pictures:

First Day of Daycare getting ready with supplies.

Snugging with Cousin Charlie

Bathtime!

Sliding like a big girl!

She will not have any cavities! She LOVES brushing her teeth.

She just learned how to use the fork to eat. Its like using chopsticks! Takes forever!

Until next time... A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.  ~Author Unknown

Parenting Fail #2

Yes, it is bound to happen and I am way sure that I am beyond #2 at this point (probably closer to #15) but this is the only one that I have had the time or energy to blog about recently.

Ela started daycare last week which she loves! Great news....until daycare got the best of her and she got a bad stomach bug, which happened to be the week Tomasz started his new job and would be out of town for 6 weeks. And in good fashion of perfect timing I got sick and then we both ended up with colds at the end of the virus.(which we are still fighting) If I have not painted a good enough portrait of the parenting fail let me paint a better picture: Lots of germs,no sleep,8 loads of wash,stuck in the house for 5 days straight, and two sick cranky girls.

Last night Ela woke up from coughing and was fussing in the crib around 2am. Like usual before I would go into her room, I waited to see if she would stop crying which she did rather quickly. (Very surprising from my vocal daughter). While laying in bed I then thought I heard her throw her paci on the floor, and then again and again. Thinking that's impossible for her to pick up and throw the paci three times I go in and check on her. I turn on the light and see her in the crib along with nail clippers, diapers, wipes, Desitin and vapor rub which was open and all over. The noise I heard was her reaching her arm around her crib and into the changing table to grab her diaper changing items. She opened the vapor rub, and after tasting it applied it to her chest and nose just like mommy. Obviously she does not know how to read yet, but if she did then she would have read to use it sparingly as needed. THE WHOLE 3oz  JAR WAS ON HER FACE AND CHEST! I wish I would have thought to take a picture because honestly it was the cutest thing ever seeing a baby sitting in the crib with huge blobs of vapor rub on her nose and all over her jammies, but I was so worried that she ate it. After calling the hubby and deciding to call the poison control center,  we learned she was going to be ok and most likely did not eat alot. I wiped out her mouth and had her drink water. I was told to keep her up for an hour to make sure she was not chocking or having a problem swallowing. Needless to say she did not fall asleep again until 10 minutes before we left for daycare...but she did take a 3 hour nap today.

Things I learned:

• I do not give my Ela enough credit for how smart she is. How does she know to put it not only vapor rub on her chest but the "little" dab that I always put on her nose?
• She clearly does not value sleep yet...I will remind her of this in a few years.
• Childproofing is never over...Why do they make changing tables attached to cribs if babies can reach it?
• The Poison Control Center is super friendly, and answer on the first ring. Not only so helpful and informative but non-judgmental to boot.
• Ela has an ability to make me melt even when she is getting in trouble :)

This wont be the last and I certainly not the first time where I felt like the worst parent ever! How was I supposed to know my daughter has GO-GO Gadget arms?

One Year Older...One Year Wiser

As you all know my little baby turned on about two weeks ago. I knew this day was going to come since the day I got pregnant and even when she was born, I just did not think it would go by so fast. I will admit I was sad for her to turn one, I think most parents can relate. I know it has only been two weeks but I am starting to learn it might not be so bad that she is a "toddler"(can't believe I actually called her that). The other day I was sitting on the couch after I gave her bottle to drink. When she was born I would nurse her (which I loved for the bonding time) or feed her a bottle. Flash forward to January 2012 and my little lady sees the bottle, runs to her blanket and pillow and lays down and feeds her self.When she was done she got up ran over to me and hugged my leg. I just smiled and first though wow, is this my affectionate baby??...Then I realized the cute little one week old helpless baby that she used to be could not show me how much she loved me. I guess its not so bad she is getting old it just means she is getting smarter and growing and can show me so many more things in life. So it got me thinking what did I learn over the past year?....

• You never truly know how much you can love your child...nor can you explain it.
• Her smile or for that matter ANY babies smile can brighten my day.
• Being a mother is quite possibly the hardest job in the world.
• Target brand diapers cause major diaper rash!
• Yes, it IS humanly possible to projectile spit up 3 feet
• I can survive on 6 hours of sleep and actually feel worse when I sleep 8+
• "Mama" in that sweet little high pitched voice is the best word ever
• Just when you get somewhere in public your baby will poop or fall asleep
• Colic is not a myth, i promise
• Diapers that don't fit make for a big mess!
• Open mouth sloppy wet kisses are worth the gooey mess all over your face.
• Lotion is my best ali against eczema when used daily.
• The "rurtrouh" face is learned at an early age( i'm in trouble face)
• Seeing the world through your babies eyes brings you back to the basics
• Whatever you leave out will either get put in your babies mouth or be hidden.
• Boxes are much more fun than toys.
• Even at my worst/hardest times, Ela probably wont remember- Thank God!

So over the past year, who got wiser? Both of us. Although she has become such a smart little lady, I never thought I would learn as much as I did from her this year or about myself. I can not wait to see what a beautiful young girl she becomes. To make sure that I remember all of these little moments, I am going to write a letter to Ela every year on her birthday letting her know how proud of her I am and how much she is growing. (I got the idea from a mommy friend) When she is 18 I will give her the letters for her to read and keep.

I have a 1 year Old...Little Girl

Just as fast as the time went that I was pregnant, my little baby is ONE! I look at her sometimes and can't believe she is ours. Looking at her she has different features of both of us but I just still cant comprehend this perfect(when she is not up to trouble) little girl was made by us. She has also taught and is still teaching us the important lesson of patience. Especially at the beginning she was a tough one!She also teaches me how wonderful life is. After all of her eczema and colic problems went away she has been the happiest baby. She waves at everyone she sees, is so inquisitive about everything and smiles ALL the time. It puts things back into perspective that it's the little things that matter.
As many of you know and have followed,I succeeded in getting a monthly picture of Ela to watch her grow. My little 6.7pound, 21 inch baby is now a 19.13pound,29 inch baby. As far as the growth charts go, she is a little squirt in the 30th percentile, but has the biggest heart.

Check out the past year:

She stole our hearts!

1 Month- Getting used to the world

2 Months- Started to hold my head

3 months was rough...Colic and Eczema

4 months-Started eating solids...Pears were first!

5 months- Learned to sit by herself

6 months- Crawled 4 days before her 6 month birthday!

7 months- Just a happy lil terror!

8 months- Cruising along the furniture

9 months- I started walking 2 days before my 10 month birthday!

10 months-Oh the trouble!

11 Months- Merry Christmas!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 1 Year!

It's been such an eventful, happy, rewarding year which has made all the hard times that much easier. I can't wait to see what she will do her the next year of life.

Goodbye 2011...Hello 2012!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!....And soon to be HAPPY BIRTHDAY(S)!



I can't believe that the year is over and another year has begun.This year has flown by so fast but yet has been a long year at times. The first few months adjusting to parenthood and a colicy and excema ridden baby were hard, but seeing her smile each day makes you quickly forget. Our little girl is soon to be a toddler and is so strong and happy. She is always smiling and just simply LOVES life. Our family has been very blessed this year! We had a baby who we never imagined we could love so much, and after much hard work and patience Tomasz got a job as a First Officer for Continental.I am so excited to see what 2012 has in store for us!

 Here is the final milestone picture:

We had a very busy and fun holiday season! We had Christmas Eve in Brooklyn so Ela could be home to open presents early Christmas morning! You would have thought this was her second Christmas as she was a pro at opening presents! She got SO many toys(although sometimes the boxes were the most fun)...Mommy and Tata wished Santa brought us some Advil!  Between Christmas and her Birthday right around the corner Ela is going to expect presents every month! She has so much fun!

Christmas Eve dinner

Great Grandma, Jessi and Ela

She is our little present!

Enjoying her new chair!

She had the right idea to make
 coffee early in the morning!

Ela's new chair from Great Grandma
 and bench from Grandma Susan.

On Christmas Day we were so happy to have Tomasz's parents fly in early in the morning join us at Church and then all head out to Long Island for a Family Dinner. It was such a nice day. Grandma Claire cooked a wonderful dinner and it was great to spend the day with family!

After Church!

Merry Christmas Mamma!

Merry Christmas Tata!

Hi Great Grandma!

 Two days after Christmas we packed up and headed to GA. Ela had a little cold over Christmas and we were a little worried about traveling, but after clearance from the doctor we were ready to go. The flight there was a little rough but we had a great time in Georgia. We got to see all of our family, Tomasz and I got some relaxation time, and we even had a little pre- birthday party for Ela! It was a great end to 2011 and start of 2012.

Uncle Stephen gives the best
horsey rides!

I know what Ela is getting next Christmas!

Cousin Love! Be nice Ela!

More Cousin Love! Victoria reading a book to

baby Ela!

Happy Early Birthday Ela. A sneak peek of the 1

year birthday post! She LOVES cake!

Tomasz and I on New Years! Out by ourselves

with Lauren and Iman

Fun on New Years after a relaxing day of

pampering!

As you can imagine...Ela was

exhausted after a long week!

Ela's birthday is in 4 days and Tomasz's is in 6 days!See you in a few days for the 1 year Birthday post!  I am still in shock my little Ela is going to be 1 years old! I could not be more proud of her already!