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  • A Healthy Way to Deal with Diarrhea in Children

    This post is brought to you by DiaResQ® and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

    Nothing makes me want to run for the hills and hide like one of my kids calling out from the bathroom to alert me that they have diarrhea. Actually, the average American child experiences 7-15 episodes of diarrhea by age five. Urgh! A sick child ranks really high on the “How hard is the parenting?” spectrum. That’s motherhood for you — caring for a sick child is hard not just physically but emotionally, it’s stressful to watch and care for your child who is ill especially diarrhea. In my eight years of mothering three kids, I’ve learned a great deal of what works and what doesn’t work. Here’s how I deal with diarrhea in children:

    Assure my kids that they will be fine.

    My kids always panic when they have diarrhea, the accompanying stomach and frequent bathroom trips scare them, and I find myself having to calm them down from hysteria and letting them know that they will be fine.

    Switch them to the BRAT Diet.

    When my daughter was a toddler and had her first bout of diarrhea, her pediatrician told me to put her on the BRAT diet, and I had no idea what she was referring to. She laughed reminding herself that I was a first-time mom and broke down that I should be feeding her mild foods like bananas, rice, and toast until diarrhea stop (my older daughter never wanted the rice).

    Try DiaResQ®!

    Healthy Way to Deal with Diarrhea

    Note I didn’t say medication, I treat their diarrhea with DiaResQ as an alternative to drugs because it’s both drug & antibiotic free, it’s simply a food made from safe, naturally-derived ingredients. Recently, I used DiaResQ® when my son came home and went straight to the bathroom complaining of diarrhea. DiaResQ® isn’t medication which he probably would have given me a hard time to take. All I did was mix the vanilla flavored powder with water, shook it and he drank it all up.  I was happy that he got some relief within a relatively short time and was back to playing with his toys instead of doubled over in agony. DiaResQ® restores intestinal function with vitamin B2 and proteins along with other nutrients.

    Healthy Way to Deal with Diarrhea

    According to the brand “Diarrhea is the body’s natural immune response to try and remove an invading microorganism, and some other products work by slowing that response (and trapping that organism in your body). DiaResQ is different – it works with your body to address the underlying issue fast. With DiaResQ on-hand, you can safely address diarrhea head on – so you can keep your children happy and healthy and your busy life on track!”

     

    Healthy Way to Deal with Diarrhea

    DiaResQ worked so quickly that we didn’t even need the BRAT diet this time around. I’m keeping my home stocked with DiaResQ for the holiday season, and if you’re traveling, you should too since diarrhea can affect 70% of travelers. DiaResQ isn’t just for kids; if you get sick, you can use it too. You can purchase DiaResQ at CVS and Amazon.

    a healthy way to deal with diarrhea in children

    Visit  diaresq.com/momapproved website to learn more and keep your child happy and healthy!

    Ps: DiaResQ is not intended for the relief of chronic diarrhea, nor for infants (children aged 12 months or less).

     

     

  • My Baby’s Swimming Lessons at Goldfish Swim School {Update}

    This post is in partnership with Goldfish Swim School. As usual, all opinions are my own. 

    Back in the spring, I shared that my baby, who was five months old at the time started taking swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School, Garden City where my older two kids are enrolled. It’s a full seven months since she started and I wanted to share an update on what the experience has been like if you’re considering enrolling your baby in swimming lessons. I started her much earlier than my older kids because I regretted waiting so long with them, I felt like I did them a disservice and while they’ve come a really long way and can both swim now they’re still working on becoming more confident swimmers.

    Baby's Swimming Lessons at Goldfish Swim Schoo

     

    [Tweet “An Update on My Baby’s Swimming Lessons at Goldfish Swim School”]

    When we first started her lessons she really enjoyed splashing in the pool, she would light up during that part of her lesson, and I have to admit that seeing how happy it made her, made it my favorite time too. As she approaches her first birthday and is a bit more aware of her surroundings, she’s very excited about the toys and floaters used in the class. She loves when the puppet sings to her at the end and waving to her siblings sitting in the gallery area looking at her.

    She’s not swimming yet, this class takes a very gentle approach, and the focus is to help little ones feel comfortable in the water. When she first started, they started with getting her used to water on her face and now she also does underwater dips. Over the time, she’s getting more comfortable with both of these.

    Swimming Lessons at Goldfish Swim School

     

    We love bonding with her during class! 

    When she first started because of the timing of the lessons my husband didn’t get to get into the pool with her so although we absolutely loved her first instructor we switched her time so she could rotate and her new instructor is just as impressive.

    We’re huge fans of Goldfish Swim School, and I share clips from each class on my Instagram. You can watch them here. A few of you have also joined our location or messaged me that a location opened up close to you and you joined too. If you have also joined, please shoot me a message. <3

     

    Swimming Lessons at Goldfish Swim School

  • 3 Tips for a Comfortable Road Trip with Kids

    Thank you Maxi-Cosi for sponsoring this post. Keep your little adventurers comfy, safe & stylish with the Maxi-Cosi Magellan™ Max 5-in-1 Convertible Car Seat!

    One of the many things I love about my son is his desire for adventure! Whether we’re sailing the Caribbean, traveling through Europe, or exploring our city, any change of scenery gets him really excited. Lately, it’s been a season of changes for him and I’ve watched in awe as he embraced them all with the same marvel in his eyes. He turned 5 and started Kindergarten within the last 6 weeks and he’s embraced these big changes with so much confidence that I am truly impressed. Now, with fall on the way, I’m excited to travel new roads with him and his siblings. As our family makes new memories on the road trips we have planned for the fall, I wanted to share 3 tips for a comfortable road trip with kids:

    Road Trip with Kids

    Prepare for rest stop restrooms.

    I love adventures with my children, but I HATE public bathrooms! Unfortunately, there is no way to escape them on the road. Years ago, I went on a road trip while I was still potty training my son. While you shake your head and judge me, let me tell you what I learned from that trip besides the fact that my husband and I are very patient people. Toilet seat covers are lifesavers! At almost every stop, I saw the other moms with their antibacterial wipes to clean the seats for their kids but me, I had a big box of toilet seat covers in my trunk and I was in and out of those gross rest stop bathrooms in no time with my two-year-old. The trick is to use disposable waterproof covers, so your child stays dry.

    Don’t allow your kids to get overstimulated.

    Most of us allow our kids to use their tablets, watch movies, or play games on road trips. After all, those are easy ways to distract them, but it’s important to take them off before they become overstimulated. That time frame will be different for every child, so study your child to know when it a good time for him/her. While you may think that turning off the tablets may cause a meltdown and make the drive a less pleasant one, it would actually work the opposite way. If they become overstimulated, look out for a bigger meltdown. I’ve found that the best way to approach this is to tell them the plan, kids love plans. When I get into the car with the kids, I tell them they can watch a movie/play games on their tablets for 90 minutes and then they turn it off for another 90 minutes to play I Spy or read.

    Road Trip with Kids

    Ensure your child is riding in the right seat.

    I’m blown away by how tall my little adventurer got this summer! Of course, this meant new pants and shoes, but more importantly, he needed a new car seat as grew out of his previous one. He’d been all over the East coast and even the Midwest in that seat over the past 4 years. I’ve purchased so many car seats for my older daughter that I wanted to get him one more that he could use for the rest of his childhood and backseat adventures. I got exactly what I had in mind with the Maxi-Cosi Magellan™ Max 5-in-1 Convertible Car Seat that he could use until he is 10 years old – yes, that’s 5 years. I wish, this seat was around when he was born because it can be used from birth to age 10 (5 lbs. to 120 lbs.) so it would have been the only seat I had to purchase for him — ever. One of my mom friends sold me on Maxi-Cosi when she pointed out the brand’s patented Adjustable Side Impact Protection that can be adjusted based on your child’s growth stage and keeps them safe and protected when the seat is positioned correctly. She’s a big fan of the brand and her baby is one of the 50 million babies that went home from the hospital in a Maxi-Cosi car seat.

    Road Trip with Kids

    He’s been riding in this car seat for about 3 weeks and my favorite features are the Magellan™ Max EZ Out harness system and the ClipQuik auto-magnetic chest clip.

    Since I have three children, I know that it’s really important to have a machine washable fabric on car seats. You just never know what would happen in the car, especially when you take a road trip. I’ve had to wash seats covered in vomit, food, ink – just about everything messy since I became a mother and with the Maxi-Cosi Magellan™ Max 5-in-1 Convertible Car Seat premium fabrics you wouldn’t have to worry about it losing its modern trendy look.

    Anyway, I hope these three tips are helpful! You can find the Maxi-Cosi Magellan™ Max 5-in-1 Convertible Car Seat (ARV $399.99ea) in Nomad Blue, Nomad Sand, Nomad Purple, Nomad Black, Nomad Grey for your child at Albee Baby, Nordstrom, and Buy Buy Baby as well as other stores.

    What are your tips for a comfortable road trip with kids?

     

    I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.