Hand, foot & mouth

We decided to take M to get some medical attention today. He hasn't been himself all weekend & has developed sores on his mouth & a rash on his bottom. It turns out he's got Hand, Foot & Mouth. And apparently the nurse had seen several cases of it today. I never knew much about this (apart from seeing an episode on Get Well Soon- Cbeebies) so thought I would share the information given to us today....

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a short lived illness mainly affecting children. It is not related to the disease with a similar name affecting cattle.

What causes it?

It is due to a virus infection. It is thought that a virus in the coxsackie group is responsible. Virus germs are tiny microscopic bugs that cause many of the common infections in children (other examples include chicken pox, German measles, mumps, etc.).

What are the symptoms?

Like many virus infections the illness often starts with a feeling of being unwell for a day or so. (We thought that M was coming down with the cold that we all had.) This might include a mild high temperature. After this a sore throat commonly occurs, quickly followed by small spots inside the mouth. Small spots also commonly appear on the hands and feet (and something's buttocks) but rarely affect the rest of the body. The spots are similar to chicken pox but are a lot smaller. Unlike chicken pox, they are not usually itchy but can be quite tender.

 

(M's spots on his mouth)

Is it serious?

No. The illness is usually mild and goes away within a week. The spots disappear. The child may be miserable because of a sore mouth for a few days. The high temperature may last a few days and may make the child feel unwell.

Is it infectious?

Yes. Like other virus infections it can be passed on. Sometimes small outbreaks occur in young children with close contacts eg in nurseries. Rarely, adults and older children may develop a mild form of the illness. The affected person will be infectious until the spots fade. The incubation period is anywhere between 2 and 10 days (that is it may take 2-10 days to develop symptoms after being exposed to an infected person).

Treatments

As it is a virus infection there is no specific treatment. Paracetamol should be given if there is a high temperature or soreness of the mouth. Drinks should be encouraged. Cool sloppy foods may be preferred for a day or so if the mouth is sore (eg. yogurts,ice cream etc.).

In summary, hand, foot and mouth disease is a virus infection mainly affecting children. It is usually mild and full recovery should be expected within a week.

Trying for baby number 2!

So me and the husband are mad enough to decide that another baby would be a delight to have in our life. I don't think there is ever a 'right' time but since M is potty trained and will be starting nursery in September we've decided that, well, now is as 'right' a time as any! We've done it once before, how hard can it be?! I've decided that I'm going to blog my journey, and I hope that people who are trying for a baby or expectant mothers can join in and we can help each other along the way!

1st month
Well I quit smoking and drinking from the off and I've been taking the Trying For A Baby supplements for over a month now, I thought they'd make me feel more healthier? I don't know whether that sounds stupid but hopefully somebody can relate to what I'm saying!
I've googled conception, ovulation, etc. and tried to work out my ovulation dates! Although I'm not sure of my cycle I've got a general idea of the dates. Apparently if you have a 28 day cycle your ovulations is 16 days from the first day of you period. It doesn't sound too hard to work out if you know your body. There is ovulation tests you can buy, they're like a pregnancy test but give you a positive reading when you're ovulating. I personally don't like this idea, if I got a positive reading I'd know that it's time to have sex right then, whatever happened to being in the moment? I mean "we've got to have sex now or I won't get pregnant" doesn't sound like the best line to get things going does it?
There's so much information about what and how is best for conceiving a baby, most of it is similar in the fact it states the egg only lasts for 12-24 hours and to have sex regularly to have the best chance of getting pregnant. But then things get complicated. Having sex every day means that there's a good chance you will get pregnant but then you have to wait 24 hours before having sex again so that there is a full load of sperm. So the best advice I think from comparing this information is to have sex every 2-3 days.
Some sites state that sex positions don't matter in bettering your chance of conception but then some say that they do and even give you sex positions to do! Me and the hubby were looking at them and laughing at most of them (childish I know, but 'the balancing act'?! Come on!?) but we just think that we are going to relax not let it consume our lives and just go with the flow of everything. If we get pregnant then great, if not well there's always next month! After all stress is 'bad' for trying for a baby don't you know?
It all sounds so complicated and to be honest I probably shouldn't have gone looking for all the information but I did and it's too late now! This isn't sounding promising so far is it?!

2nd month
Last month wasn't our month, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly so wasn't too disheartened! Keeping our fingers crossed for this month though and only time will tell what will happen, I'm just a really impatient person! And I'm definitely reading too much into things? Heartburn after a meal, feeling sick because I forgot breakfast, etc....
It seems this month wasn't our month either! My delightful 'aunt flo' arrived a week late so couldn't help but get my hopes up! Was a little upsetting! But today I'm feeling good about myself, I'm looking forward to going to London with the hubby and maybe treating myself to my first glass of wine since New Year's Eve!
I've also joined a site which has other women who are actively trying to conceive and other mums 
with all different experiences! It's good to chat to people who are going through the same as me. I also found out that 2 of the people became pregnant after having their Mirena coil out after 4 months, it's nice to stay positive and hope this could happen too, even if I didn't want to get pregnant in April because I didn't want a Christmas baby! Not that I wouldn't be delighted because I would! There's just a lot going on in December with Christmas, wedding anniversary & New Year's Eve! Also I've got tickets to see a comedian that me and the hubby have wanted to see for ages... I could always laugh myself in to labour I suppose!

3rd month
So like I said it didn't happen last month. This month I'm researching and stepping it up! Apparently these are some of the things that can increase chances of conception:
-Leafy greens
-Brazil nuts
-Kiwis
-Pineapple core
-Preseed (it's like a lubricant that helps the sperm travel)
This month I'm trying kiwis & Brazil nuts, luckily I like them both so I don't have to force myself to eat them. And hopefully it will do me a little bit of good too!
Also I decided to work out my ovulating dates on a different website to what I've been using. It gave me a different fertility window to what the other one gave me. A whole week apart! Obviously one of them is wrong but since I'm not using ovulation predictor kits (I'll definitely obsess too much if I start using them!) I won't know!
So I'm due AF this week sometime but I'm not sure when. I've been trying to track my CM as thought that might be easy (to see when I'm ovulating!) but that didn't help. I think I'm approx. 9DPO. Done a couple of tests but all negatives. I haven't obsessed this month as I think I missed my chance because is was ill earlier in the month, but I have had really (sorry TMI alert) sore nipples! Like i can't even wear a bra! Has anybody else experienced this?! A few people on the chat sites have been saying that it was a sign for them when they were pregnant but a lot more people are saying they get it when they are due AF so it could be either or! Which is pretty much the same with every pregnancy/ AF symptom! Anyway, I'm going to wait to test again now, so fingers crossed for me and anybody else trying to conceive!
It seems all the Brazil nuts & kiwis didn't work this month either! This witch got me unfortunately, so it looks like there could be a Christmas baby if we conceive next month....

4th month
I can't believe how quickly we have got to month #4 already! I've decided that I'm going to stay away from the chat rooms because I can't help but feel jealous of all the positive results and I think they are probably making me obsess more than I would like! This month we are going to take a really laid back approach, mainly to help my sanity, but mostly because if we were to conceive this month the approximate due date would be - 26th December! Which if I am honest is a little bit too close to Christmas for my liking. I wouldn't have minded it being a week either side of Christmas Day but Boxing Day! And with it being my second whose saying it wouldn't come early on Christmas Day?!
So I caved and bought OPKs - Ovulation Predictor Kits. But I'm still undecided whether to use them and try or to just use them to see when I approximately ovulate?
And I've stayed off the chat rooms so far, I do feel better for it but I'm only on day 6 of my cycle so we will just see how I'm feeling on day 28!