Tag: panadol

Categories
Family

Signs I Need More Sleep or Coffee

Picture this.

3am or so in the morning.

Screaming baby due to teething and also has a cold.

I go into the baby’s room to settle him and make sure he is okay.

I started the process of giving him his medicine so it will take effect before I give him a bottle.

Normally I add some eucalyptus oil to his singlet, give him some painkillers (the painkillers are also helping the cold as well) for the teeth and change his nappy.

All the things needed for our little boy is placed on top of a chest of draws, this way he cannot grab onto it when I am trying to change him. He is now more mobile and also super quick to pick things up. I don’t want him to be sucking on the Vicks container or say the eucalyptus oil or something else! You can imagine how that would end up… a very unhappy boy to say the least.

I thought I grabbed the eucalyptus oil bottle and proceeded to put one bit on one side of the singlet and then the other. However, after I did it I realised it was very sticky. It also did not smell like eucalyptus oil.

Why was it sticky I thought?  What did I put on the babies singlet?????

I ended up putting Panadol on the baby… The bottle was right next to the eucalyptus oil. It was dark, I was tired, plus dealing with a screaming baby. I just wanted to get it all done.

In my haste to have the baby feeling better my actions only made things worse. The baby was all sticky due to the Panadol and had to have an outfit change. If you thought that he was screaming before he put on another great performance due to the new clothes.

Panadol is not eucalyptus oil.
Panadol is not eucalyptus oil.

You might think this is just one silly thing that happened last week and you are right it was silly but it is not the only one. My next one is very silly indeed.

I was at the shops and thought I should get some more coffee pods for my machine. I saw that there were some new ones and they were strong coffee. Yes, I think I need that. I popped that in the shopping trolley. I paid for it and put it all away once home. I of course got busy and since I had finished off a box of my other coffee was keen to try out the new strong coffee that I had recently purchased.

The new coffee pods that I was hoping to use. However I never had the chance. They don't fit my coffee machine. Yes very annoying to say the least!
The new coffee pods that I was hoping to use. However I never had the chance. They don’t fit my coffee machine. Yes very annoying to say the least!

The new box of coffee was opened and I put the pod in the coffee machine to have it fall straight down. It did not stick or stay where it was supposed to. I tried again and of course the same thing happened. Geez what is the issue here. I then tried in desperation to be really quick with the lever so the pod might stay in the spot it is supposed to be in. However, it was not to be. It just slid down into the bin inside like it was used up and I had already drunk my coffee… but I had not!!!!

I then made the realisation that my new strong coffee pods were not for my machine. No they were much smaller and that is why they slid right out, and would not let me drink its magical coffee. I will never know how good it would have been, it will always remain an unknown.

As you can easily see the new coffee pod is much smaller than my usual one on the right. No wonder it did not fit in my machine. Also it is for a different brand of machine so there would be no way to use them.
As you can easily see the new coffee pod is much smaller than my usual one on the right. No wonder it did not fit in my machine. Also it is for a different brand of machine so there would be no way to use them.

How could I have been so stupid and silly to purchase coffee pods for a different machine. Why did I not look at this before I bought them? Why did I not see the difference in size when I first tried to put it in my machine?

All these questions might be answered with I really needed a coffee before I did anything or I really needed to go back to bed and get some much needed sleep.

I should have just purchased more of the same. Yes this is my regular coffee that I purchase. I do like to have a change and thought that I got it, however it was more of a surprise that I cannot use it.
I should have just purchased more of the same. Yes this is my regular coffee that I purchase. I do like to have a change and thought that I got it, however it was more of a surprise that I cannot use it.

I did tell all this to hubby the other night and then he ended up hysterically laughing on the floor of the kitchen. I must say that I had no idea that it was that funny but maybe he is sleep deprived too, so it seemed funnier than it actually was.

What silly or funny things have you done due to being sleep deprived?

Categories
Family

Panadol’s Online Resources for Parents

As a mother to twin girls and a little boy I want to ensure that all my kids are healthy and well. I’m sure if you are a parent or help care for kids that would be what you would like too. However there are times when everyone gets sick. One child might have a cold, a fever, the flu or if it was like our ongoing saga with tonsillitis it effected both kids until they were removed (the girls have been well aside from the common cold and illness since the removal of their tonsils.)

Shelley Craft, Buddy Bear, myself (Suzanne), the girls and our little boy. What fun the kids had, although the baby was teething and still is. (He cheered up once he got some Children's Panadol to make him feel better)
Shelley Craft, Buddy Bear, myself (Suzanne), the girls and our little boy. What fun the kids had, although the baby was teething and still is. (He cheered up once he got some Children’s Panadol to make him feel better)

When your little ones get sick you do your best to make them feel better. It could be cuddles, songs, yummy food, and favourite shows and of course some medicine to help your kids feel more like themselves and allow the body to get better, rest is best so that you can be well.

No matter how simple or common the sickness is you cannot help but worry about your children. When my kids are sick I am worried about them all the time.

Last Thursday the kids and I went to learn about Children’s Panadol (The kids were excited to meet Shelley Craft. Yes I watch The Block and therefore so do the kids) great new online resources to help parents care for sick kids and to also alleviate the anxiety that can go with sickness.

Shelley Craft from the Block and Dr Kimberley O’Brien who is the founder of Quirky Kid Clinic and also an expert in child development and mental health. Both Shelley Craft and Dr O’Brien spoke about how to have planning strategies to help parents deal with stress and anxiety when children get ill as it can be HUGE help for parents and children as well.

This talk was in response to a “new global survey of parents, including Australians, suggests that parents manage day to day mishaps and mistakes calmly, but still get stressed about the important things like helping their children through illness”

“71% of Australian parents fell anxious about fever/temperature and 66% feel anxious about their child’s pain”

Children’s Panadol have created the following tools to help support parents in managing their child’s health:

  1. Buddy Bear is an interactive animated website that allows parents to entertain children when they are sick. It is a good idea to create the different files before you need them as you can save them to your device. Once you are on the site you are asked if your child is a boy/girl. Then fill in age, email and add photo and your video will be emailed to you when it is ready. Get organised and download a few so you have them ready.
    While your child is watching Buddy Bear you can get the dosage of Children’s Panadol correct and not be so flustered and anxious.

    Buddy Bear - The great new interactive way to keep your little one entertained while you get the medicine sorted to help your child get better. Developed and created by Children's Panadol.
    Buddy Bear – The great new interactive way to keep your little one entertained while you get the medicine sorted to help your child get better. Developed and created by Children’s Panadol.
  1. The First Five Years Book – This fabulous resource is written by child health nurses to help parents with practical tips and tricks to help them understand the ups and downs from birth to 5 years old, help you enjoy being a parent, learn about major milestones, understand activities that your baby might be doing. You can read it online or download it.
  2. Bub Tracker App – This is a FREE App that helps new parents with advice on dosage for medicines, feeding tracker, feeding log and much more.“Parents do not sweat the small stuff, but worry more about the illness cause, recovery and prevention – especially mothers”
Children's Panadol Bub Tracker App - Great guide for parents
Children’s Panadol Bub Tracker App – Great guide for parents

I hate it when kids are sick. I wish I could make it all go away.  I also hate when I get sick, yes if kids get ill, I end up sick too! Perils of motherhood.

 

The tools from Panadol are a HUGE help to make it a little easier on parents and also kids. I have downloaded some of buddy bear’s interactive videos in preparation for Alexander.

Dr Kimberley O’Brien has 5 tips to help manage anxiety and soothe your sick child/children:

  1. Make a Plan. Having a plan removes second guessing yourself and the worry. Make sure that you include distraction and calming tools if medication is required.
  2. Know your tools. Have a favourite toy/book/game to help comfort your child. A personalised DVD that the child will be happy to watch would be of great help.
  3. Empathise. Try and see the situation from your child’s point of view and this can give you some insight into their behaviour.
  4. Do familiar things. If you can make sure you stick to your regular family routine. This will create a sense of normality at home and allow everyone to be more relaxed.
  5. Manage your anxiety. Call on your support network for help. You need a break if you are the only one caring for a sick child, a break will allow you to increase your quality of care and not get burnt out in the process.

 

“They are less concerned with diet, medication usage or what they are doing wrong – though parents of younger children worry more.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly parents of children aged 6-12 are not as ‘extremely ’anxious”

Teething and very upset. Mummy cuddles are very helpful. Photo taken in a darken room due to sleeping baby. Yes did not want to wake him.
Teething and very upset. Mummy cuddles are very helpful. Photo taken in a darken room due to sleeping baby. Yes did not want to wake him.

What are your thoughts on making a plan to be ready for sick kids? Well you are not planning on having sick kids, just how to deal with it.

I love the Buddy Bear videos and the bear is so magical to watch. You could sit for hours just being amazed at how cute and wonderful the bear is. Kids will love this as much as adults do. Give it a go, download and save some videos just in case you need them. Also check out the other online resources from Children’s Panadol.

Disclaimer: I went along to the media briefing about Children’s Panadol to learn ways parents can be less anxious and to hear about techniques that can help children when sick. I have had many times when the twins were ill, they then got me ill and now with a baby it will all happen again (Currently Alexander has a cold and is also teething. Joyousness it is not!). I think that the online resources that Children’s Panadol showcased are excellent, not only are they FREE, they are highly informative as well. Thanks to Children’s Panadol for the invite and allowing the kids and I to learn more about your online tools.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond Pre-School University Study

The snot fairy

The snot fairy is upon us and I wish she/he would go away. Lillian has invented the snot fairy to the great delight of mummy and daddy and now the doctor who we saw yesterday.  I suppose she thinks there is a tooth fairy, a sleep fairy who adds sleep to her eyes and makes her sleep (my invention), so why shouldn’t there be a snot fairy? The doctor was also taken with Julia saying that she wanted to be a fairy doctor when she grows up. Julia pointed out very clearly that she is not one now; she will be one when she is grown.  Not sure what the doctor thought of the kids, other than they are very creative.

It is not fun when the snot fairy strikes.
It is not fun when the snot fairy strikes.

The upshot is that Julia and I have a virus and will go eventually, and Lillian has tonsillitis. I did not expect Lillian to have this, but thought she was not looking well. So I have antibiotics for Lillian and started it last night. I was keen to make sure they were well for school today, but realised that they needed to stay home. So I have kids again today to hopefully get them better for maybe tomorrow or at the worst next week for the last week of school before Easter.

I think I might have the kids all week, which is not good when I have an assignment due soon. I need to have time to work on it and currently nothing has happened due to kids and me being ill, I will contact the lecturer to get an extension on this assignment, hopefully this will help.

Last night Lillian was tossing and turning, she was crying and upset in Julia’s bed. I took her and moved her back to her bed, and got her settled. She was sick, very tired and not able to go to sleep. She kept on hugging me, holding my hand and wanting me to stay. I wanted to stay until she was asleep, although every time she was nearly asleep she cried like there was something wrong and in pain. I raced off to get some painkillers for her and once given, she cuddled up and fell fast asleep.

Currently my sick little girls are watching play school and playing with pink play dough that I made yesterday. They are now making dinosaurs and singing along to the songs.  I have asked Lillian to draw the snot fairy as something to do, however now all other things are getting drawn other than the snot fairy. If I get a drawing I will upload to this post.

Not much you can do when the snot fairy strikes. What do you do when your kids are sick? Or you are ill? I have made sure the girls are having their vitamins, panadol, vicks and have added eucalyptus oil to their clothes to help them breathe; do you have any tips to help sick little people?