Paging Dr. Mommy!

The Infirmary

I have had the distinct pleasure of being sick and needing to care for both B-chan and the monkey this week. My son, courtesy of the daycare, brought home a nasty cold/ear infection combo.
Naturally, I took him to the doctor, but to my dismay, he prescribed oral antibiotics. I do not relish the thought of giving my child antibiotics. If you do any research at all, you will find that I am in a growing minority of parents who wish to halt the reliance on said drugs. But I digress...
So what's this post about? In the course of my research I came across a couple sites that recommended having a kit of some sort to soothe said sicknesses. That's not to say that I'm never taking my child to the doctor again! On the contrary, I want to be aware of what is going on in my child's body. Another reason the school lunch provides by his daycare bothers me, but again, I digress...

 

Dr. Mom's Bag of Tricks

So like a good, educated mommy, I have armed myself with a tool kit.
What's in it, you ask? Well, I have included a variety of tools I've picked up each time the monkey has gotten sick (in no particular order):

• Stethoscope: this was from his weekend stay at CHOC. Great place to take a sick child, but not recommended if one can help it.
• Otoscope: Arguably less capable than the ones doctors carry around, but for $11 the peace of mind is pretty satisfying. It includes an ear piece, nose piece throat mirror, and 2 sizes of tongue depressor.
• Thermometer: one quick read forehead version and one (free when you have your kid) digital version.
• Aspirator: The hospital issue booger sucker that no other aspirator comes close to. Read my post called Gagging the Monkey!
• Medicine dispenser: one pharmacy issue syringe type, one safety first spoon type
• Ear/eye droppers: I haven't tried them yet, but they will come in handy for some of the homeopathic earache remedies and such.
• Hand sanitizer: germs are yucky and spreadable.
• Hylands teething tablets: because these really are indispensable. I think I have 3 bottles.
• Dr. Mom bag: this little bag is from Daiso and has been hacked to hold the stethoscope in the top flap.