Life with this Child of Mine

We may or may not ever be able to make an announcement that "we're pregnant"...but we have come to understand that the blessing is the fact that however parenthood happens, it is a miracle! ....... Now we have been home with our precious blessing from Russia since August 2007. Join us on our fun and crazy ride that we call "life with this child of mine."

Monday, September 28, 2009

Fighting ~~Crime~~ Sickness

So I've been meaning to write this post for some time, now.

I can't remember how much I've blogged about Iliya's health when he lived in Russia. Really, especially compared to many children, his health was quite good. He was well taken care of in his baby home and received the medical attention he needed. But the one thing he couldn't seem to shake was respiratory issues - he was (this is gross, but I'll say it anyway) snotty on both of our trips, and his breathing just sounded awful. I'm not really sure how he slept, except for the fact that he was probably just used to feeling that way. He came home with a Russian prescription for Z*rtec, as well as an inhaler/nebulizer. But none of that seemed to work. The doctor at the baby home finally told us that she figured it was just the humid air, and that she felt like he would be better off in a drier climate.

What she didn't realize is that he would be moving to Alabama. Sure, it is probably less humid than a port city...but still, pretty humid.

Anyway, We brought him home in July (2007), just in time for fall & winter. It seemed that - despite all our efforts to get him well - he kept a runny nose and a cough all winter - and then, in the spring, he ended up with pneumonia (which was probably my fault, but he had it nonetheless).

Well, last summer, we decided to (try to) do something about the sickness. Really, medically, we'd done most of what could be done - we'd tried a host of medicines (allergy included) that just didn't seem to work. And at the time, he was old enough that we had started him on a gummy multivitamin. The vitamins were such a huge hit (I even said that I hoped he never tasted a real gummy bear, because then the vitamins probably would lose their lustre) that I decided that we would try to find something similar that had Vitamin C - or some immunity boosting vitamin/mineral - in it.

Now, I'm all about getting vitamins the natural way. We eat pretty healthy & fairly naturally at our house, but he seemed to need an extra kick. So I found these gummy vitamins that were especially for a healthy immune system - with Vitamin C, Zinc, & Echinacea. I picked up a bottle of them and added one to his evening meal (this way, he would have a regular multivitamin in the morning and the special one in the evening).

And, I don't know if it's coincidence or a product of these vitamins...but last winter, Iliya never really had a cough and a runny nose was only seen a few times. It was awesome! And I figure we'll keep on keepin' on....with the hope that his immune system can stay strong - especially through some of our favorite times of the year!

That is all. :) I just wanted to mention that...in case any of you out there might be interested. :)

Written at Monday, September 28, 2009 by Melissa.

4 comments

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this, M! I am so going to do this and see if it works for Jake. He always has respiratory issues like you're describing with Iliya, so I am going to try this and see if it will work for us too. :) Thanks again for sharing!! Love ya! ~Cindi L.

10:31 AM

Carey and Norman said...

Catching up once again. I love the latest posts, photos, and video of Iliya. He is a doll (not that you don't already know). Love the assistant photo as that reminds me of our little one around the house. Boys love to run in their undies, don't they?

4:36 PM

Anonymous said...

It seems all kids are sick the 1st two years. They catch every cold & get every bug. They start to build up an immune system from having the past colds, etc. and suddenly they're around 3 & aren't sick as much. I think you would have seen the same results, with or without the vitamins.

11:32 AM

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8:59 PM