The Weekend - Guelph Style

Saturday

With the Grain

Grandmama treated us to breakfast at With the Grain. I have to say I have mixed opinions about this little cafe both good and bad. On one side of the street is their bakery were you will find some of the best breads and pastries I have ever had that were not home made. The Bee Sting was to die for. The service was fast and friendly nothing to complain about.

Where we had a negative experience was at the cafe; we got there and their was a wait of about 15-20 minutes. This would have been less annoying if their was not some tables for 2 free and some tables for 4 with only 2 people at them - we were waiting for a table for 4. (eventually some of the patrons moved to a table of 2 and we got a table - I just wish the waitress would have asked them to if they were willing to move) While we waited Geoff tried to go order a coffee at the "to go" side of the cafe to drink while he was waiting and they said it was too complicated to keep the orders straight if he ordered his coffee from the "to go" side and then sat down in the cafe.

Once we actually got seated the service was great and so was the food. - just a few annoyances before we got or table.

Nancy & I Monster

When we go to Guelph there are always friends we try to see; it's great to see old friends and also for C Monster to get a chance to play with other toddlers.

One of the moms from my "Mommy Group" has recently moved to Guelph and C Monster had not seen his little friend since before Christmas. As I guessed correctly C Monster did not seem to remember Nancy or I Monster but that did not stop him from having a good time.

Sunday

Sick C Monster & Me

Well it's official we are sick both of us; Geoff is the only one that has eluded this nasty cold. C Monster has a fever and his nose is dripping like a faucet. This means the Visit with Kim and her family that I was oh so looking forward to is canceled. Geoff is still going to sneak out to say hi but we are grounded at grandmama's.

I want to talk about what I take when I am sick. Since I still breastfeeding the C Monster I am super careful as to what I put in my body. Many drugs are "compatible" with breastfeeding however some of the drug still passes threw to your child in your breast milk; this being said it is my belief that due to this you should try to avoid drugs all together unless necessary. Also always talk to you doctor before taking any drugs while breastfeeding - even over the counter drugs.

So what do I do to make myself more comfortable? Here is a list of the products I like and find effective. Remember I am not qualified to give medical advice, I am just a mom and this is what I find works - if you are sick for a prolonged period of time always talk to your doctor.

Thayers Slipery Elm Lozenges
These are great alternative to traditional lozenges; they help sooth an irritated throat from too much coughing.

Wedderspoon Organic Manuka Honey Lozenges with Ginger and Echinacea Active 15+
Double hitter has the healing power of Menuka Honey combined in a lozenges, these are great to suck on when your throat feels dry.

Wedderspoon 100% Raw organic Manuka Honey Active 16+
"Manuka honey is from bees who feed on the flowers of the Manuka bush, also known as the "Tea Tree" to produce a honey that has anti-bacterial properties. Tea tree oil is commonly from the related Melaleuca tree native to Australia and is used as a topical antibiotic and antifungal for wounds that fail to close." - Wikipedia

Herbal Teas I drink lots of herbal teas, the warmth is very soothing to the throat. If you are a breastfeeding mama make sure to vary the teas you drink to much of one tea could end up with a concentration of that herb or plant in your system and some herbs in large quantities are contradictory to breastfeeding. Such as: Sage; Peppermint; Ginseng; Rhubarb to name only a few.

Their is a great article about this on Kellymom.com.

Febriplex by Unda
This basically helps your body cope with a fever, we take one immediately upon onset of a fever.

Drosera Plex by Unda
This basically helps your cough be more productive.

Looking Forward

To finishing assembling C Monster Frog & for my cough to go away.

Sick day - 3

Christophe must have been feeling extra bad this morning because he fell asleep at 9am until noon. He typically goes down for his nap at 11:30am. Once he wok up he got a second wind because he played and destroyed my kitchen as usual until around 4:30; now he is sleeping again.

As for me I am tired of having a plugged up nose...

Day 2 of being sick

I am beyond congested and poor little Christophe had such a hard time sleeping last night. I think he wok up at least 10 or 15 times because he was too congested to breath properly. We had the humidifier going but it did not seem to be enough. This morning I used saline spray and it seems to have loosen some of his goobers.

All in all I think Christophe has more energy then me. I have spent the day sitting at my laptop and drinking tea; while Christophe seemed to have found the energy to make toum with his papa.



If you want to try to make your own toum:

Ingredients:

* 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
* ¼ cup of vegetable or olive oil (or less depending on garlic used)
* 1 lemon, juiced
* ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation:

For a truly authentic preparation of Toum, a mortar and pestle is used. If a mortar and pestle are unavailable, ingredients can be blended using a food processor.

Start by crushing the garlic cloves until a smooth consistency. Add salt and mix further. Once garlic and salt are of desired, smooth consistency, gradually add oil.

Add lemon juice and mix. The finished product should be smooth, paste-like, and creamy. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

Recipe taken from About.com

Sick again

There is a nasty cold going around Toronto and almost all the kids on our block got it. I was starting to think that we would be spared but at-last the Wiseman's are sick. Both Christophe and I are under the weather today.

What would your family do if your were hospitalised

After receiving an email from one of my fellow mommy friends informing me that another mom that attends of ours groups had been admitted to the hospital for a stroke it got me thinking.

Before going any further with this post I want to mention that the mom is doing fine and is in recovery with her family to her side.

What would I do if I were admitted to the hospital? Does Geoff know my wishes? Would he be strong enough to advocate for my right to breast-feed? Would he push and push with the nurses and doctors so Christophe could stay in my room overnight? I don't know and this is a discussion we will have tonight.

Does your spouse know what to do if the unthinkable happened? They say mommies are always there and never out of commission even when they are sick but at last we mommies are just humans also...

To all our fellow mommies that are battling with there health my thoughts are with you.

mama turn

So I have now been sick for 2 days, I am feeling a lot better; however Wednesday night I had a fever of 39.1. Papa is now starting to feel ill.

fever

38.1

First cold

It's official Christophe has his first of many colds. He has an extra runny nose and a pretty bad cough. No fever so far so we are happy with that.

We picked up this great humidifier from crane in the shape of a penguin; the mist seems to help with his cough. So far we have not given him anything for the cold as he has no fever but we picked up same infant Motrin just in case and also a nasal spray in case his congestion gets to the point were he is having a hard time breathing.

I have to say the little guy is a trouper he is still full of energy when he is awake; however he is probably napping a bit more then typically and when he get tired or frustrated he is a bit more irritable the typically.

We had a Wee Hands group today but decided to stay home and relax. We played a bit, read some books, watched 15 mins of a movie and fell asleep (this is probably the first time Christophe has been aloud to watch more then 2 minutes of TV), had a teething biscuit instead of his typical baby foods for lunch and supper (he already hates eating baby food I was not about to try feeding him when he is feeling under the weather).

I am off to bed as Christophe is sleeping in Geoff arm under the mister.

The nursery

Geoff working hard on the nursery. On the weekend he started the floor. The painting is almost all done, just needs to touch up the trim once the old floor is ripped out.

On the other hand, I have been sick now for a few days. I missed work on Friday and then again today. This morning I felt like a truck ran me down. I am starting to feel better. My head is all stuffy and my muscles are a bit achy. Not much you can do other then sleep and rest. Most drugs are bad for baby unless you have a fever and thank god I never developed one. Baby's temperature is higher then yours so a even a slight fever can be dangerous to baby.