Vomiting

Vomiting – All infants will at some point vomit when they are ill. Breastfed and bottle fed children can both be very sickly as babies. Unwell children will vomit. It is unpleasant for any child who is vomiting, but it is rarely dangerous to them, but you should always get your child checked out by a GP, because it is better to be safe than sorry.

Causes of vomiting

Different things can make children vomit:

If your child vomits a small amount and is otherwise well, it could be the child has eaten too much.

Vomiting may occur in cases of an upset tummy, or a viral infection in the stomach which will cause diarrhoea and vomiting.

If a child gets an infection of the urinary system, the throat, or chest, and runs a high temperature, this often causes vomiting. Children who are under a lot pressure at school or at home may occasionally vomit. If vomiting occurs often you should consult your doctor.

Treating vomiting 

After a child has vomited, get them to rinse their mouth with water to get rid of the nasty sour taste in the mouth. Smaller children will need more assistance with this.        

• A child often feels sweaty, exhausted, and cold after they have vomited. Wipe their face with a damp cool cloth. And let them sleep always keep a check on them in case they are sick again.
• Make sure the child does not become dehydrated by giving them plenty of fluids to drink. Diluted juice or water is best.
• Water is easier for the stomach to handle if it’s not ice cold. If the child wants to drink too much, too fast, give them a clean facecloth soaked in cold water to suck, or an ice-cube or an ice-lolly.
• Breastfeeding can be continued, but if vomiting continues, call the doctor

Preventing dehydration 

• If vomiting occurs together with diarrhoea, it will result in dehydration, This may not be serious if it only lasts for a couple of days, but if it occurs repeatedly your doctor or health visitor should be consulted.
• They may advise you to buy carbohydrate and electrolyte solution or powder at the chemist. They are also available on prescription from your GP.
• If your child continues to vomit or have diarrhoea, call the doctor.

Symptoms of dehydration 

With children who are still in nappies/diapers and have been vomiting, you will need to remember how many damp changed nappies you have used, and with older children it will be how many times they go to the toilet for a wee.

If the child is crying badly, with no teardrops may be another sign of dehydration. Check the inside of the mouth and tongue is moist and producing saliva. If the child won’t drink, they will need too, so call the doctor.

If your ever in doubt about any problem to do with your child’s health. Don’t hesitate to call for help from a Gp or ambulance if serious.

Pregnancy Stages

The pregnancy stages that you will go through in the nine months of pregnancy,   

Pregnancy usually lasts for 40 weeks from the first day of your last period, The 40 weeks are divided into stages called trimesters.  

You in the first trimester is week 1 to week 12 

Your first trimester is when all your hormones begin to affect your entire body and from then on you can begin to have pregnancy symptoms, the first will more than likely be that your period stops, then you may begin to feel more tired and have tender breasts. Then we have morning sickness another common pregnancy symptom which is not restricted to that particular time of the day vomiting can happen at any time. Also a pregnant woman might have the frequent need to go to the toilet to wee more often than she would do normally. 

Then we have the classic pregnancy symptom “cravings.” Pregnancy can bring many changes connected to the body, and also to the taste buds too. You could find yourself eating foods you wouldn’t normally eat. 

These are just some of the changes that may happen in your first trimester; the changes may feel uncomfortable for a while but will soon ease off.     

 Baby in the first trimester    

Baby will grow very quickly and will already have lots of the organs your baby needs to survive, including the heart and nervous system which will be there from around nine weeks pregnant, your baby is no longer referred to as an embryo, and is now a fetus. From about ten weeks the nutrients are passed to your baby through the placenta.   

You in the second trimester is week 13 to week 28    

This pregnancy stage will feel much easier to cope with as your body is settling in nicely with the hormones and getting used to the changes, the sickness and tiredness begin to ease off slowly but surely. Towards the end of this stage of pregnancy you may begin to feel some back ache, or as some pregnant women will describe being more of back pain. Other: Darkening of the nipples and there maybe a few stretch marks in sight also.  

There will be lots of other changes happening to your body at this point though, because your abdomen will be growing bigger and you may have what is called a pregnancy mask which is browning of the cheeks and other areas, and you could have swelling in your ankles, at the end of this trimester you will also be able to feel your new baby kick.    

Baby in the second trimester    

Baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and then gets rid of this through their gut. At this stage of pregnancy the baby’s organs are maturing more each day. Their sex organs will develop also, their kidneys start to work and baby can now pass a small amount of urine and also hear noises and sounds made, while still in the womb.    

You in the third trimester is week 29 to week 40  

In this final trimester with baby growing bigger, your body adjusting and getting ready for birth you will feel short of breath, some heartburn. Also some women get piles or feel constipated, your breast will be getting ready for breast feeding, and also growing and feel very tender and sore and may leak slightly which looks like watery milk. You will probably be having difficulty in sleeping and not being able to get in a comfortable position. Your baby will be trying to position themselves into place so they will be head down. You could also get Braxton hicks at this stage which are false contractions but don’t mistake them for the real contractions.    

Baby in the third trimester    

Baby will now have fine hair and finger nails and they can now open and close their eyes to blink, the unborn infant also at this time can make breathing motions even though he/she cannot breathe until birth. Baby’s teeth can also start growing under their gum, but it has been known of some baby’s to be born with teeth already set in place.   

End of your pregnancy    

As your due date comes closer your cervix gets ready for birth and begins to thin and soften, this time is an anxious time for both parents it is a waiting game and baby will come out when ready.

Body After Birth

You’re Body After Birth – Having a baby changes you’re body after birth, you may not like what changes, or you may just be ecstatic that you have become a mother if it’s your first child. If you like the way you are then you haven’t got a problem, but lots of mothers don’t like the change birth does to their body.

After giving birth some parts of the body may never be quite the same again.

You will have stretch marks in places you never knew existed obviously they will fade in time but will never go away, the saggy tummy from the excess stretched skin from carrying baby, you can in time tighten your stomach area up with exercise and eating the right food’s. You can lose the weight combined with the exercise, But don’t expect this to happen quickly It takes nine months to have a baby at least give yourself long enough for yourself and body to recover.

Treat yourself from time to time to cheer yourself up it can’t do any damage, Go for a pamper day or a manicure or the hair dressers they are just a few ideas to cheer yourself up.

There may be some physical problems with you’re body after birth such as:

• back pain, 
• a weak bladder 
• painful intercourse 
• infection from having stitches  

 

To help these problems after giving birth, you could do pelvic floor exercises these help to tighten the muscles of the vagina the back passage and help you control a weak bladder.

To do pelvic floor exercises to help, try sitting or standing, you can do them anywhere:

•  Squeeze and draw your back passage in at the same time
•  Hold this for five seconds then let go
•  Do this in sets of five as a many times a day as you can ten times a day if possible.

To help firm up your stomach area, lie on the floor:

• Lie on the floor with knees up high, but so your feet are flat on the floor. 

• Put your stomach in and slowly lift your head and shoulders, reach for your knees with the hands and then lower back down slowly. 

• Begin by doing a few and gradually increase if you need too. 

To ease any back problems after giving birth:

• When feeding baby always try to sit with your back supported and straight. 

• When you have jobs to do which are in low cupboards or bathing baby make sure you kneel or squat, avoid bending your back, make the knees do the work. 

• Also try to keep a straight back when pushing baby in the pram or carrying in a baby sling. 

• To lift a carrycot or another child, always bend your knees, keep your back straight and hold the weight close to you. 

If you feel concerned about you’re body after birth then always see your midwife or health visitor as they will be in contact with you for a number of weeks after you bring baby home.

Breast feeding

Breastfeeding is a natural way for a mother to feed her baby and helps her to bond with her child. Putting baby to nipple for the first 6 months of a babies life is said to benefit baby along with solids for months after.

Each time you put your little one to the breast it makes a big difference to your child’s health. A baby being fed with mothers milk helps maintain a more emotional and physical bond between you and your baby, which makes a healthy happy infant and a happy mother.

Lots of new moms find Breast feeding a real struggle to begin with because the baby may not latch on to mothers nipple or cannot grasp the suckling motion for long enough to release milk from the breast. So lots of women give up very quickly and revert to a bottle because it is much simpler. But as soon as you and baby get the knack of it, you will never want to change that closeness you will feel with baby after this, the bond will be as strong as it can be.

Whilst feeding baby, you as a mother are looking after the health and well being off your child, not just because breast is best, or because of all the natural nutrients in breast milk, but you save your baby from illnesses such as

• Gastroenteritis
• Ear infections
• Urinary Tract Infections
• Coughs
• Colds

And who can say better than that to give your child the best start in life you could possibly give, when feeding you have to watch what you eat and drink, you need to try and eat larger portions and frequent snacks to help meet demands of breast feeding baby also avoiding alcohol.

Your breast produces milk in response to baby being put to breast, the more you feed with the milk from the boob the more your breasts produce, basically feed on demand. When you first breast feed your baby you may feel like a milking machine because they like to feed often, around every two hours. Once they feed better each time the less frequent it will become.

Breast milk contains antibodies which gives your child protection from picking up any virus from mother and from fighting any illness or infection they may get themselves. This milk is easily digestible in a baby than formula milk, and less likely to cause stomach upsets and nobody wants a baby with diarrhea you’ve got enough to do at the best of times.

Tiny premature babies who are fed on breast milk are more likely to do well than being formula fed, and is also said to be good for babies teeth and eyesight. Also baby’s that have been breastfed are easier to wean due to already having traces of what the mother eats and drinks in their bodies whilst being breast feeding.

For the first few days after giving birth your breasts produce a food called ‘colostrums’ which looks like creamy milk and is yellow in colour. This contains the food your baby needs and the antibodies to protect your child, after a few days your breasts begin to produce breast milk which will look thin compared to the colostrum.

How your baby feeds on your breast is different to a bottle, the breasts are never empty, but the milk has to be let down so it can gather behind your nipple. To make milk flow from the breast, baby needs to be in a good position.

Make sure your also comfortable when feeding baby, hold baby close to the breast this may take time to get used to but you will do it eventually it just takes practise, make sure your back is supported which ever position you and baby find easiest and most comfortable that will be normally be best.

Thrush

Thrush can be a very annoying and irritating problem to live with for both women and children. It is also a condition men can get too. 

Thrush is a yeast infection known as candida. A breast feeding mother can become infected on the breast. You can also get it in your mouth which is called oral thrush which a lot of baby’s get at some stage of there baby days and can be very nasty if left and not treated.

Having to watch your child itching away at there bits (bits is a term I use with my kids for there private parts) because they have vaginal thrush is not something you like to see your child suffer from.

You can see in the child’s face the discomfort they are experiencing from the thrush that’s affecting their private parts, come on us women know what vaginal thrush can be like if you have had this, it is a very annoying infection to have.

Because the itch is annoying the infant becomes frustrated causing them to itch even more, and the more they itch the warmer the area gets bringing fungus and germs. Fungus and germs that cause thrush in the first place feeds off moist and warm areas that’s why young children are very susceptible to thrush due to wearing a nappy because of the warmth and then when they wet their nappy there’s the moisture for them to thrive on and they love it.

Women get thrush in the vagina which include

symptoms

itchiness and a cloudy white smelly discharge. A lot of women and girls can get this when they become sexually active but you don’t have to be sexually active to get vaginal thrush it is just more common in sexually active women.

Symptoms can include itching, redness, a white vaginal discharge, sometimes some swelling.

If your child is still in nappies and to avoid thrush try and let them roam free for as long as you possibly can without a nappy on. Obviously just doing that will not stop them from getting thrush but it will help, also always try to make sure that you buy them cotton underwear when possible, and also yourself and not to use fragrances down below such as feminine douches.

Its believed that using a natural plain yoghurt helps with thrush in women.

Oral thrush – is common in new born babies sometimes they may not take there feed as well as they normally would and they may cry because the mouth may be painful also. With oral thrush in babies there will be small white spots on the tongue and inside of the cheeks and the roof of the mouth, and this is how a breast feeding mother contracts thrush on the nipples because a baby having oral thrush causes the feeding mother serious pain.

When breastfeeding if you have a cracked nipple you could get thrush on the nipples more easily and also the thrush might make the nipple take longer to heal than the normal time taken.

Oral thrush is usually really easy to treat with drops or a gel which you rub inside your child’s mouth for 3 or 4 days and it should be clear after the treatment. But if ever in doubt or symptoms persist then always consult your GP.

Postnatal depression

Sometimes depression can take up to six months for a mother to realize that she has a problem, still not knowing what the problem could be Some times. It could take longer in some postnatal depression cases depending on the experiences they have gone through over their life time, and how severe there postnatal depression is.

A mother may have the feelings that something is just not right about the way she feels, since becoming pregnant or having her baby and may begin to feel depressed. Some mothers know they are feeling very different or unusual to them, and sad with postnatal depression because they dont know they have Postnatal Problem and have not seen a GP and been diagnosed with depression, or ‘baby blues’ as it is sometimes referred too.

Postnatal depresion feelings

• Do you feel you are a failure as a mother
• Do you have horrible thoughts about your life, yourself, or your baby?
• Do you think about devastating things happening to your baby?
• Are you frightened or anxious about your baby’s health or safety?
• Do you have obsessive thoughts about bacteria/germs or illness harming your baby?
• Are you constantly thinking ‘what would happen if..?
• Do you feel you are a ‘bad parent’
• Did you feel no emotions for your child after you gave birth?
• Are you able to enjoy life, have a laugh or see the funny side of certain occurrences.
• Do you feel ‘not right’ since the birth?
• Do you avoid talking about the birth of your precious child, or cry a lot more than you usually would?
• Are you not showing how you truly feel?

Some symptoms that can occurin postnatal depression:

• Feeling physically ill and having physical symptoms that are
  unusual for you such as chest pains, breathing problems,

• headaches, dizziness, many minor illnesses and stomach upsets.
  Worrying constantly about the health of yourself your baby, other
  children or family and friends

• Many women with PNI describe a feeling of having ’blurred’ vision

• Obsessive thoughts or repetitive, chanting thoughts or voices
  Unkind thoughts that you may harm somebody close

• Panic attacks and anxiety

• Having worries that everyday objects could become weapons to harm your child, yourself ,or your family

• Having ‘what if’ thoughts about what could happen if they did

• Feelings that you are a ‘bad’ mother

• A constant feeling of having nothing left to live for

• Having a constant need to revisit the birth because you feel that things were out of your control

• Not being able to talk about the birth

• Awful feelings or thoughts about your own health or child/partners

• A feeling of sadness since the baby
• that you are creating unhappiness by just being around family or friends
• A lack of emotion or feeling of anything
• Putting on a ‘brave face’.
• The feeling of being constantly tired all the time even when if you have slept greatAll of the above are just some feelings and symptoms you may experience with postnatal depression. Always ensure you get all the help that is available including GP’s, health visitors, or social services. Once the help is accepted, you will progress with time.