Parenting Catch-all

Dee, you are evil and do not match the carpet. It took me two days to get rid of that song when my friend Yuki sent that link to me.

So a febrile seizure is pretty much the scariest thing ever, that luckily turns out to be relatively benign; Notwithstanding a 3 am trip the emergency room.

Guh. That sucks man. Hope it all turned out okay.

Badferret wrote:

So a febrile seizure is pretty much the scariest thing ever, that luckily turns out to be relatively benign; Notwithstanding a 3 am trip the emergency room.

Totally agree, we had one with our youngest. Scary. As. f*ck.

Yikes, Badferret!! That must be terrifying!!! Glad to hear it was benign and that the little one is doing okay. All the best wishes.

Googles "febrile seizure" regrets parenthood.

Dayum, that looks terrible. Bad enough to feel guilty that I gave my baby the flu this week, I wouldn't want to go through that terror.

So sorry, ferret! That must have been so scary!

momgamer wrote:

Dee, you are evil and do not match the carpet.

...how would you know? Anyway, isn't this a PG thread?

Thanks everyone!

Little man is much better today.

Since the seizure and the subsequent arrival of the EMTs, we have been giving him regular doses of children's Tylenol which has kept the fever in check. Actually, the fever might have already subsided as we have stretched out the time between doses and it hasn't come back, but we will stay vigilant through sun down and into the evening.

A bit more about febrile seizures that the ER doc and our pediatrician's on call nurse have told us. While they don't cause any brain related issues and are not a precursor for other types of seizures, the occurrence of one with a spike fever means he is at risk for more during future fevers, until about the age of 3.5 and there are almost no recorded instances of them past the age of 6. So, for the next year or so we will aggressively treat fevers with Tylenol, and depending upon the severity of the fever are prepared to rotate Tylenol and Motrin on an every 3 hour schedule.

As luck would have it, my wife had literally just read about febrile seizures earlier last evening when looking up children's fevers on the internet. She told me this morning that she thought at the time, that they sounded scary and was glad that our little guy was not likely to deal with that and then of course two hours later, he had one. But, she knew exactly what to do; roll him on his side, hold him and not try to open his mouth during the seizure. They normally last for 1-2 minutes and I'm pretty sure that was the case last night, though it felt like it was much longer at the time. After the seizure he fell into a deep sleep until the EMTs arrived, and was very groggy for the next hour or so after that.

The EMTs actually suggested that we not take him to the ER, and after verifying that he was stable and going over what we should do in the short term (lukewarm bath and continued Tylenol) they left after having us sign some paperwork. We then called our pediatrician's office and the after hours nurse said that it was our pediatrician's standing recommendation to take any first time seizure patient to the ER to rule out other more serious conditions. A quick call to my wife's best friend who is a nurse and who is married to a doctor produced the same results, so off to the ER. Luckily at 3:00am this particular ER was deserted, and we were quickly ushered into a ER room and were seen by the doc and discharged within the hour with a temperature at that point back down to 99 degrees.

Today, he has been happy and hungry so, hopefully, the worst is behind us.

YMMV, BadFerret, but if it helps, we only had 'the one', and she's turning 5 in just over a month from now, healthy as too!

We too became super vigilant with the fever watching, and found if she did get a flu/fever that damp face cloths on the back of her neck reduced them in a controlled/gradual manner, along with children's Panadol, which I'm guessing is the Australian equivalent of what you're using for yours.

Best of luck

m0nk3yboy wrote:

YMMV, BadFerret, but if it helps, we only had 'the one', and she's turning 5 in just over a month from now, healthy as too!

We too became super vigilant with the fever watching, and found if she did get a flu/fever that damp face cloths on the back of her neck reduced them in a controlled/gradual manner, along with children's Panadol, which I'm guessing is the Australian equivalent of what you're using for yours.

Best of luck :)

Yes, Panadol/Paracemetol = Tylenol/Acetominophen

I'm glad BabyFerret is doing better!

sometimesdee wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

YMMV, BadFerret, but if it helps, we only had 'the one', and she's turning 5 in just over a month from now, healthy as too!

We too became super vigilant with the fever watching, and found if she did get a flu/fever that damp face cloths on the back of her neck reduced them in a controlled/gradual manner, along with children's Panadol, which I'm guessing is the Australian equivalent of what you're using for yours.

Best of luck :)

Yes, Panadol/Paracemetol = Tylenol/Acetominophen

I'm glad BabyFerret is doing better!

Quick, non-kid story: I am allergic to Tylenol. I got sick on our honeymoon to Australia and the people we were staying with gave me Paracetamol. A few minutes later I broke out in hives all over my body, and they had no Benadryl (or whatever the AUS equivalent is) so I just had to tough it out until the reaction went away on its own. I now carry all sorts of meds with me with I go on a trip, just in case.

Since October of last year I have been in charge of our nearly two year old in the evenings since my wife got a new job that runs late. Thus I am also in change of making dinner for said two year old. She likes lots of healthy things like peas, corn, carrots, mashed potatoes, etc. She also really likes some other not so healthy things like hot dogs (of the turkey variety only), meat balls, chicken nuggets (real ones, not fast food), etc. Basically, I'm appealing to the goodjer brain for some ideas for other things to make for her that don't take a ton of time and yet are healthy and that she will eat.

I'd love some suggestions too.

Does your daughter like scrambled eggs? However, it may not be what you like for dinner. Personally, I could eat scrambled eggs anytime.

concentric wrote:

I'd love some suggestions too.

Does your daughter like scrambled eggs? However, it may not be what you like for dinner. Personally, I could eat scrambled eggs anytime.

She doesn't really like them all that much, and I'd rather not have them for dinner. I'd also like us both to eat the same things if possible, although some times due to lack of time I make her a Kid Fresh frozen dinner. I don't feel good about it, but it's better than nothing.

padriec wrote:

Since October of last year I have been in charge of our nearly two year old in the evenings since my wife got a new job that runs late. Thus I am also in change of making dinner for said two year old. She likes lots of healthy things like peas, corn, carrots, mashed potatoes, etc. She also really likes some other not so healthy things like hot dogs (of the turkey variety only), meat balls, chicken nuggets (real ones, not fast food), etc. Basically, I'm appealing to the goodjer brain for some ideas for other things to make for her that don't take a ton of time and yet are healthy and that she will eat.

Good topic, I need suggestions too. Since Baby Domano turned 1 and is eating with us now we're constantly trying to come up with meal ideas (aside from pasta/meat/veg which we end up doing a lot). So far the only thing we've figured out is that if it's covered in sauce he's more likely to eat it. It must only be fun if it's messy.

I'm also looking for main course food for a 15 month old. One thing he does like that is reasonably healthy is Stroganoff made with ground turkey. Still a little greasy but not bad. Other than that it is lots of chicken nuggets, pasta, and cheese quesadas.

We try to avoid grilled food for him but he also was a big fan of thinly cut pork chops and chicken. I just try to avoid any charred parts as much as possible.

Cut up chicken breasts in pesto pasta.
Chicken Caesar salad.

PoderOmega wrote:

We try to avoid grilled food for him but he also was a big fan of thinly cut pork chops and chicken. I just try to avoid any charred parts as much as possible.

Why? Is there something bad in the charred parts or does your son just not like it?

I think a lot of dinner prep for kids comes down to finding recipes the kids like and just iterating on them. Having scheduled recipe days can be great too, both to free you from the burden of figuring out what to cook and to give the kids something to look forward to. Around here, Sunday night is pizza night, and it's a high point of the week.

Beans and rice is easy. Or with chicken, you can pretty much just dump some Italian salad dressing on it and bake it and have it come out great. For other stuff, I've found that if I can keep the flavors mild or make the dish a little bit sweet my kids will probably eat it.

I do a salmon rub sometimes that tends to go over well. I just halve the amount of spicy ingredients in that recipe. I also made fish sticks once that killed, and they were really easy. I used Tilapia for the fish, as it's mild and super inexpensive.

My kids eat salad with pretty much every dinner. So long as the ingredients are kinda crunchy (I tend to go for the Hearts of Romaine in a bag) and the dressing in sweet rather than tart (some kind of rasberry dressing, generally) they're all over it. Carrots are a guaranteed winner too, and red/yellow/orange bell pepper strips.

It might be a bit much for a 2 year old, but tacos work as well. All my kids really ever want is meat, cheese, and maybe some lettuce in a taco shell. They're less fond of refried beans, but I keep trying. Also, enchiladas are pretty easy as you can just fill a casserole dish with them and bake them. For the meat, I generally get a roasted chicken from the grocery store and shred it. Maybe throw it in a pan for a few minutes if it's for tacos. It's a huge time saver, though obviously not as free of additives as doing the chicken yourself.

Homemade pizza can be a lot of fun. It's really more of a weekend thing if you're making the dough yourself, but again not difficult or time consuming so much as that you have to plan ahead so the dough has time to rise. It's difficult to find a good slow rise pizza dough recipe online, but if you're interested, post to the cooking thread. I know there are a few other people here who are even more hardcore about pizza prep than I am, so there's a lot of good advice to be had.

Also, for most things, it's handy to make a full recipe (most times they're for 4-6) and freeze half of it. Then when you're having an off day you can just thaw something out and heat it up.

One thing i make that my boys won't stop eating is pasta with a red sauce and cannelini beans. I use rotini or something easy to eat, and make the red sauce from onions, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, with a little garlic. Throw the white beans in the sauce, and serve over the rotini. I will also chop up a bunch of Kale and throw it into the pasta pot, about 5 minute before it's done.

padriec wrote:

Why? Is there something bad in the charred parts or does your son just not like it?

The actual cancer risk to humans is not proven yet but we are being paranoid with our little one. I eat it without worry.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/01/cancer_risk_from_grilled_meat_is_it_time_to_give_up_smoked_and_fried_foods.html

mudbunny wrote:

Cut up chicken breasts in pesto pasta.
Chicken Caesar salad.

I did cut up chicken parmesan for my 14-month-old a few days ago. We also did cut-up steak fajitas. Kid loves his guac. Also saltfish (aka bacalao).

My son, a little over 2, has unusual taste...

Loves:
Okra
Mushroom
Onion
Blueberries
Strawberries
Mango
Most kinds of noodles
Steak
Honey Bunches of Oats (just the oat clusters)
Kroger brand cereals (they are really good!)
Nuts. I think he likes crunchy stuff because he's still teething somewhat, and anything firm feels good to bite into.

Doesn't mind:
most other vegetables, but you never know when he'll eat them.
Rice, but again some days he'll eat it ravenously, and some days he won't touch it
Chicken, on and off
Tortillas, plain
Fried wantons

He's starting to like spicy foods, thankfully.

Doesn't like to have his foods mixed together though. He'll pick even the tiniest speck off a dish if he doesn't think it belongs there. I'd worry except I was exactly the same way at his age.

And he won't touch egg at all.

Aw, all these children who don't like eggs. MORE FOR ME! One of my favorite lunches is a bacon and egg sandwich.

I've posted this before in another thread but I am reposting it here because it really is a big hit with my children. And it is easy. I think it's delicious, and it's one of my husband's favorites.
It's also great warmed over.

From C. Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food
Chicken with Pasta (Jaj bel Lissan al Assfour)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 chicken, about 3.5 pounds (I usually use chicken thighs, total equivalent weight)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom or crushed cardamom seeds
1/2 teaspoon ginger (listed as optional but I always add it)
salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups orzo
2 tablespoons butter (I always omit this, the dish is plenty rich without it)
In a pan large enough to contain the chicken, fry the onion in oil until soft. Put in the chicken and pour in 4 1/2 cups water (it will not cover the chicken entirely). Add garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger if you like, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours, until the chicken is so tender the meat falls off the bone, turning the chicken over once halfway through. Take out the chicken, and when it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones.
Bring the sauce to the boil, add the lemon juice, and throw in the pasta. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until tender, adding boiling water if necessary, and more salt and pepper.
Stir in the butter and put the chicken pieces back into the pan, over the pasta. Heat through before serving. The pasta becomes soft rather than al dente.
You can substitute rice or vermicelli broken into small pieces for the orzo.

Chili. Cut the vegetables small enough, and they can't eve be seen. If you feed them in the little bowl-style tostitos, it is a big hit.

Great ideas so far! Thanks!

Yeah this gives me a lot of ideas. The meal nights actually seem like a great idea since I despise meal planning (pizza every night!). A lot of good suggestions here.

Most of our new meals come from pintrest, there have been some gems in there.

A lot of my family meals involve not mixing ingredients, and letting the kids leave out the parts they don't care for.

So I have a turkey-chili-mac recipe, but instead of cooking the noodles in the chili sauce, I just prep them separately, and the kids can eat just pasta with a no-thank-you portion of sauce if they want. (Or pick the onions and beans out of the sauce if they're feeling picky about it.)

Some fast and popular meals:
Tacos. (I use diced red peppers instead of tomatoes for topping, as they're more generally liked. I need to watch my daughter so she doesn't load up on just cheese in a taco shell, though.)
Chicken fajitas. (I'll slice up a pepper and cook half of it with onions, the other half stays raw, which the kids prefer.)
Frozen pasta (ravioli or tortellini are the favorites), basic jarred red sauce and a side of veggies. (Frozen peas or frozen green beans, generally).
Sandwiches aren't just for lunch -- sometimes we'll do grilled cheese or tuna salad sandwiches for dinner. That's got to be a family consensus, though, as some people really want a hot meal for dinner.
Basic chicken noodle soup from scratch with rolls. (Bag of frozen mirepoix, chicken broth or bouillon, pre-prepped shredded chicken, noodles.)

Less fast, still popular:
Lasagna.
Chicken parmesan. (I use the "lighter" baked recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.)
Pasta salad. (My recipe loads it up on veggies: carrots, peppers, cucumber, plus hard boiled egg or tuna for some protein. It suffers from the American tendency to mix something with mayonnaise and call it "salad", however.)

Katy wrote:

A lot of my family meals involve not mixing ingredients, and letting the kids leave out the parts they don't care for.

We do this a lot. Tacos are fun for this very reason (but not on Tuesday, and especially without CraGle)

*everything is awesome*