Sorry to disappear for a bit here, I’ve been on vacation!

It looks like I completely forgot to keep going after Treatment Tip #1 in the last post. Here are a few more tips (and again, some of these apply to any medical procedure):

– Mom (and/or Dad): Be prepared to cry. Putting your precious offspring in someone else’s hands for medical care will go against EVERY GRAIN OF PARENTAL INSTINCT in your soul. It’s okay. We’ve all been there. Choke up. It’s cool.

– Ask a nurse for an anesthesia mask so your kid can play with it ahead of time. Put it on your own face, too, so your child sees you at ease around it. (Children’s Hospital gave us an extra one for Addy to take home. I’ve had that thing plastered on my face MANY times as she played “doctor” with me.) Also ask them if your kid can put some yummy-smelling-stuff on the mask; Addy’s favorite flavor is “pink”, and they let her swipe the mask with some bubble-gum-flavored lip balm before going under. These actions give the kid more control and less anxiety over the whole process.

– If your kid goes under anesthesia for any reason, remember that it can take 3-5 days for a person (child or adult) to shake the effects of anesthesia. Basically, expect them to act emotional for up to a week. Weepy? Yep. Volatile? Yep. It’s like they’re teething or having a growth spurt, and it’s totally normal, even for grown-ups. Give them some grace, they’ll be back to normal soon. (Warn caregivers.)

– Also with anesthesia: it’s possible for their body to wake up before their brain. In other words, your kid looks awake, but their brain is still working off the anesthesia. I’ve seen Addy freak out when she woke up too early. (She was like the girl from the exorcist, totally weird, not my kid.) So now I ask them to MAKE SURE that she SLEEPS it off. I don’t care if it takes two extra hours; keep that kid asleep until her brain is de-fogged. Feel free to ask your anesthesiologist about it, or leave me a comment if you want to ask me for more info first.

– If your kid’s port wine stain reacts with eczema after a treatment, try Aquaphor. We’ve used Vaseline and bacitracin, and have settled on the awesome Aquaphor. It’s related to Vaseline, but is magically better. Don’t know why. Worth a shot. (And FABulous on your lips, mama. Feels soooo good!)

– Lip balm w/ sunscreen: When Addy was a squirmy baby, we used a sunscreened lip balm on her face to kill two birds with one stone: a single quick swipe provided 1) moisture (take that, eczema!) and 2) sunscreen (especially important for port wine stains). We used Shaklee’s Enfuselle SPF 15 lip balm, because we love it (so much so that we sell the stuff), and it doesn’t cause a reaction. Find whatever works for your kid’s skin. It saves you from having to apply sunscreen lotion with your fingers on your squirmy baby’s face, or worse, spraying one of those sunscreen sprays by her eyes. Very convenient while they’re small.

Even little things like laser treatments can cause parents stress. I hope these might help you if you’re bringing your little one into the hospital. And, as always, feel free to leave me any questions or comments here if you want further insights. 🙂