First off…..wanted to let everyone know we’re still alive. Barely. I’ve never seen Drew so sick. He just laid around like a limp noodle for the last 48 hours. His temp this morning was 103 up his bum but he seems to be improving as the day is progressing so yeah! I hate seeing him sick. He just doesn’t deal with pain as well as P and C. Must be that NICU pain management training program they were enrolled in that made them so strong.
So speaking of being strong….remember when P and C were infants and they were labeled as being “strong willed”? And how everyone said that was a super great thing? Well…it is for the most part. I can’t get Paige to do ANYTHING she doesn’t want to do. Of course I’m exaggerating. I have trained her to sleep in her bed (though she still gets up 5-6 times a night and makes me tuck her back into bed), she now holds hands in parking lots without me ripping her arm out of her socket (now I just have to say “parking lot” and she’ll stick out her hand), she no longer tries to pull her poopy diaper out from under her when I’m changing her, and I can now blow-dry her hair (whoopee!). Areas we still need improvement on: toothbrushing, hair brushing, taking medicine. I’ve done research about how to get her to open her mouth so I can brush her teeth…and if it comes down to her not getting pain meds so be it. With this last sickness, she has not allowed us to give her any medicine. The hair brushing is manageable because even though she hates me getting the knots out of her hair, she likes the attention of me sitting with her. I’ll figure out this toothbrushing thing if it kills us. And before everyone says what works for them….unless it’s totally novel…I’ve probably tried it. I’ve tried her mirroring me, I’ve tried you’re turn, my turn. I’ve tried you brush me, I brush you. I’ve tried telling her bugs will crawl into the holes in her teeth. I’ve tried her watching me brush Cole who willingly opens his mouth. I’ve tried regular toothbrushes, I’ve tried battery operated spinning toothbrushes, I’ve tried singing to her. I’ve tried distracting her. Tonight I’m trying stickers even though she could care less about stickers. I’m running out of ideas though.
Other news: is this plastic lining in bottles scaring anyone else? How serious is this? Makes me very glad that I breastfed Drew this whole first year and that I was able to pump for P and C for their first six months. We still heated the bottles for P and C quite a bit towards the last part of the six months when their consumption was more than my production. I think the chemical that is toxic leaches out of the bottles more when they’re heated, but I guess it can still leach out even under normal daily use. Yikes. So much for advancement of technology. Maybe those moms that breastfeed their kids until they’re 8 or 9 years old are on to something…… 
Oh! Before I forget. I can not believe that we got a phone call from our laboratory again this week that the hormone tests that the endocrinologist ordered on Cole need to be redrawn. We got the phone call Thursday after he was discharged. Unbelievable. We could have had the blood redrawn in the hospital using his IV and he would not have even felt it. It is unexcusable that the lab waited this long to call us and let us know that they screwed up his blood. It is ridiculous that the last two lab orders on Cole were both messed up and required repeat specimen collection. I used to work in a laboratory so I know how infrequent mistakes are made. Except to now be on this end as a parent…it is infuriating and the lab should be ashamed. Okay….whew! Glad I got that off my chest. When I go back to work in five years or so and become a lab manager once again….things like this won’t happen. Mark my words.
Tob - I have bottles and a sippy cup that are BPA free and Pthalate free. I will send you a sample of each!
Just sippy cups Nik. I think our days of needing bottles are over. Or are they?
I have a strong willed child as well. My son has always been bad about letting me brush his teeth, even while his little sister will stand there and open and say ahhhhh and let me in just fine. In the beginning, I just forced him, but now, he will eventually open his mouth. It’s a nightmare. Luckily, no cavities @ age 3 and 1/2, but it’s been a battle. There were times I just laid him down and straddled him until he gave up and let me brush them…
one of my preemies is BRUTAL with the meds. My lovely friend has let me in on the well hidden secret of Orange Sorbet ( sherbet maybe?). Apparently you can hide any medicine in it without tasting it. Also, now that she is six, the threat of suppository tylenol, gravol, etc looms over her! Good luck
Straddling the kiddo so that you pin her arms under your thighs will work so you can brush her teeth. She’ll yell in anger & you can quickly get the job done, then let her go and praise her for letting you brush her teeth. Eventually she’ll get better about it.
I’m not typically gung-ho about holding kids down & forcing them to do stuff, but there comes a time when negotiations and tricks don’t work but you still need to get something done, and at that point, I’m not against gentle physical restraint.
Good luck!
Ditto what Kate said. I would sit down on the floor. Lay them down with their head looking up at me, pin their arms under my thighs and kind of like a fish hook - like the dentist does, keep their mouth open and brush while singing the ABC’s twice. They can turn their heads some, but my legs kept them still to a point. They fought me at first, and the crying/screaming would actually keep their mouth open long enough for me to get in there! lol Then a couple of them got used to it and would come lay down on their own, slip their arms under my legs and away we’d go. One boy still to this day struggles with me brushing his teeth, but we get the job done!
ETA: No children were harmed in the process of brushing teeth.
Good luck! It’s a PITA, but you gotta do what you gotta do!
There are lots of BPA sippy cups. Check it out online. It wasn’t hard for us to make the switch to all BPA free cups. Also check out your other plastics too for the same thing. Number 5 are BPA free and the safest plastics.
I know you said the hair brushing isn’t a big deal, but detangling spray has improved my life (and my daughter’s). I’d recommend it if you don’t use it already.