"I'm not cold!!"

Seems just about right Piffka.

I actually had this problem last night: l'Jane had her friend
Jenny sleep over and we went to the California version
of Oktoberfest. Being only 100 feet from the Pacific, around sevenish
it really got damp and cold. Jane wore a long sleeve t-shirt
and a warm poncho while Jenny wore only a camisole and constantly got out of the jeans jacket I made her wear.

Poor thing got annoyed with me, but I was almost hysterical
thinking she could get sick on my time.

Hah -- CJane, save yourself and remember, it's not your fault she might get sick on your time. This is when you get the mildly annoyed look that her mom sent over a bacteria-laden child.

A California Version of Oktoberfest sounds fun.

Aren't ponchos great?

Another note: I've known girls who like to wear only a camisole because they're in the first stages of enjoying and displaying their figures. Does Jenny have older sisters? Women on display generally don't mind some discomfort -- witness goosebumps on bare arms and youthful stylish shoes.

That's great advise Piffka!

Don't scare me that 10 year old ones are already enjoying to
display their figures. No Jenny is also a single child, but now that you mention it: her mother is practically an open display
case, haha. That might be the explanation.

Hehe My mom had your problem grin. I hated clothes and more so shoes. I think I was about your daughters age when I got off the buss and started stripping down before I got to the front door LOL. My mom lost it to say the least. Never did that again. But I remember her having many talks with teachers about why she sent no jacket with me. She did and the mailman would return it to her every afternoon so he could put the mail in the box hehe. Maybe you can put all the more summer stuff away so she only has the warmer stuff to choose from.

These young ones are acting older and older, but I'm sorry to scare you since, of course, I'm sure your immediate thought is of little Calamity. Ten is pretty young for figure displaying activities but not out of the question. Just wait... the worst years for me with my daughter were from 12-15. After that, if you're lucky, they start getting some sense back again.

"Open display case"? LOL

I like the idea, Shewolf's I think, of having Sozlet design and or embellish her own clothes. Actually, I think little kids should have a lot of leeway in choosing what they wear.

Another idea: buy the Soz some really nice warm clothes... like a stretch velvet dress that she can wear schlepping around the house. Anything beautiful to look at and wear that is both stretchy and warm would do the trick. This one is a little spendy at $48, but looks warm & comfy, to me:



Do any of you young moms shop at Hanna Andersson's? She has great clothes... worth the price and lots that are on sale. Here's a couple that look great and seem like they'd be nice & warm:

Yep, we love Hanna Andersson! There used to be an outlet near my mom's house and we're well-stocked.

The comfort or style angle hasn't really had an impact, though. (It's been tried in a few ways.) She has picked out, helped pick out, or had power of veto over virtually every item of clothing she now has, and loves all of her clothes in terms of picking out an outfit for school et al, loves the idea of clothes and putting them together. (I recently got her a Gymboree black cotton stretch velvet knee-length skirt at a second-hand store and she was as thrilled as a more normal kid would be with a new Barbie.) Almost everything she has is selected for the style + comfort combination; while she doesn't have any of those exact dresses, all of her clothes are right along those lines. We're not talking poky seams and tight waists.

She accepts direction when she's getting dressed about what kind of a day it is. (Like, "Hey, those look good together, but I think you'll need tights today, not just socks, it's pretty cool outside." She'll trot back to select some tights, no problem.) Just, once she's home (often, but not always), the peeling starts.

Last year she coveted some pink fuzzy slippers and promised up and down that they were the one thing that she was sure to wear all the time because she loved them so much (she tried them on) if only I'd get them for her please please please?! So after a lot of discussion, got them for her. And she wears them... occasionally.

She just likes having bare skin. She's said as much. She accepts that she needs to have a minimum of clothes on, but often tries to keep it at the minimum.

I don't think she's purposely setting out to annoy me by saying she's not cold when she is -- I think it's just that, at that moment, she doesn't want to put on more clothes and knows that if she says she's cold, I'll tell her to.

Bottom line, I'm not going to mess with things if there is no good reason -- I very much agree with "pick your battles." So that's why I'm focused on trying to figure out if there is a good reason, or if it's fine for her to wear a short-sleeved shirt and miniskirt when it's mid-60's. (Oh and shewolf, we put away all of her summer clothes but she has lots of winter skirts, meant to be worn with tights, and short-sleeved shirts are still useful under sweaters.)

By the way, how does that starve a cold feed a fever thing work, exactly? That if you don't feed a child who has a cold enough, they'll get a fever? That if a child has a cold, don't give 'em a lot of food, but if the child has a fever, give 'em a lot of food?

Anyway... thanks for the tips. Still mostly comes down to, she'll wear more clothes if I make her, but do I need to make her?

Oh and incidentally, sozlet has just recently become the Amazing Snot Machine. Sigh. We've gone through about a box of kleenex today, I think, but she's otherwise fine, so still hopeful that it's nothing that fluids, steam, vitamin c, fresh air, and sleep won't fix.

Feed a cold and you'll starve a fever.

If you don't feed a kid with a cold, they will get much sicker and not be able to keep anything down.

Remember, before sulfa drugs and antibiotics, people with colds were weakened for any other infection that happened to mosey down the pike.

Hmmm... that much mucus from an otherwise active kid makes me think that she could have seasonal allergies rather than a cold virus. Testing is a bummer that I don't recommend unless it gets really bad, but you could ask the MD if she could try a sample of Flonase to see if that makes a difference. It's supposed to be okay for kids as young as four and says it can work in as quickly as 12 hours. It certainly has been a help in this allergy-prone family. One of us takes it year-round, the other needs it in the Spring and Fall.

Special tip -- if you use tissue with aloe vera, it really will save her tender nose.

For me, "feed a cold/starve a fever" was a reminder to not encourage anyone with a fever to eat. Don't expect an appetite or worry about the lack of an appetite when the fever is active. Certainly, if a child is hungry... let her eat whatever is appealing, but don't fret if the child isn't hungry at all. (Always push liquids, however.)

I wouldn't be worrying about the clothing issue in terms of getting sick, especially when you say your house in 68F. In the PNW we have pretty chilly weather in the fall and winter -- about 50-55F -- certainly cooler than your house. There are plenty of kids who never wear anything but shorts, year in, year out. Shorts and t-shirts. Moms are happy when their kids wear a backpack 'cause it makes them LOOK warmer.



This sounds so darling! I rejoice with the Sozlet on such a great find! Glad to hear that the problem isn't uncomfortable clothes.

As a person who goes barefoot in the house year-round, I totally relate to the Sozlet's preferences. Next time she comes to you and says she's cold (while barefoot) put a hat on her head. She'll probably think that's funny. And yeah, that's another aphorism -- When your feet are cold, put on a hat.

If Americans would - like the Europeans - adopt a heating system where the floor is heated up, going barefoot wouldn't
be an issue at all.

We're wondering about allergies, too, it's a possibility. There is definitely a ton of illness going around, though, and activity doesn't seem to be much protection. Both of her teachers were out sick all last week, and the class was down to about 2/3 attendance when I observed on Friday. The director sent out a sternly-worded missive last Monday about keeping your kids home if they are snotty/ sneezing/ coughing. Sozlet played with family several doors down on Wednesday -- the oldest brother was terribly ill. She played with next-door neighbors on Saturday -- the little brother was extremely sick. (I found out about both AFTER she had been playing with them, which pisses me off but is another story. At least with the first family it was in the context of that's why she stayed outside [the way-sick bro was inside], but the other bro and sis she was playing with hadn't been exposed, themselves? Deep breath...)

And on it goes. It's just the season. I'm thrilled she's come through this far without being sick.

After the sternly-worded missive, I wrote to the preschool director asking where to locate the line as sozlet has had a stuffy nose but not more than that for a couple of weeks. Typically she wakes up, blows her nose several times and gets the stuff out, then is fine for the rest of the day. The director (who absolutely rocks btw), said that should be fine, especially if sozlet can blow her own nose (she can). The director added that she has the same problem when the weather gets cool (and I have, too), and that her doctor said that there is just something in the central Ohio air that many people are allergic to.

I remember reading about that when we came here.

One thing I want to be really careful about, though, is not treating the congestion in a way that makes ear infections more likely. I spoke to her ENT about what to do if she does get a cold to stave off ear infections, and he emphasized that while there was no one fool-proof way, to avoid decongestants and antihistamines and focus on the fluids, steam, and immunity system boosters like vit c and fresh air.

If the congestion continues, I can contact him to ask what to do about allergies specifically, since we addressed it more in terms of colds.

Anyway, while she's had the morning thing for a while, on Saturday it was more and more often, and on Sunday much more yet. We spent pretty much the whole day outside yesterday, and it was a much nicer day, and if she gets a ton of sleep (she's sleeping as of now, fingers crossed), hopefully that'll be enough to turn the corner.

Of course, the moment I hit "submit" she came downstairs, which meant she probably woke up while I was typing that she was still sleeping. Still a good chunk, and she's looking better than last night.

Realized that the "active child" part could have meant if she's only snotty but otherwise fine, yep, that's true that it could indicate allergies. Whatever was going on Sat-Sun was something more though I think, her eyes weren't right and she was more tired than usual.

Good point, CJane. I've been to a few places that have this... it is very nice. Our neighbors here are wildly allergic to everything and told me that is why they heat their entire house with heated floors. It required a lot of extra plumbing and all their floors are tile. I wish we had this as the forced air gas furnace we have spews dust everywhere. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'm sure that the dust in the house is part of the cause of indoor allergies. Underfloor heating systems are just altogether more healthy.


Sozobe -- Schools are such a hotbed of bacteria and viruses. I hope you are practicing your "annoyed look" at mothers who don't keep their sick kids away from yours. They are also probably not as particular about washing their hands after coughing, sneezing, wiping their noses, etc. as I'm sure the Sozlet is.

Too bad she woke up... but of course, that SUBMIT button makes an awfully loud sound, doesn't it?

Hope she's well today and that both she and the Young Miss Calamity enjoy a very Happy Halloween.

Sozobe--

A thermometer is a great comfort. Viruses and Bacteria increase body temperature--allergies don't.


Soz--you have my sympathy. I'm sure I spent four straight winters in the house with my sons' childish ailments. They didn't inspire to infected ears or any other ailment that might affect the rest of their lives, but even so I was very, very weary of the Mommie Nurse role.

I hope you got some bulbs planted this year--if not, you can still get some in the ground. February is a lot closer to the end of winter when you can admire snowdrops and hardy crocus.

I'd describe her as precocious, not snotty.

Thought:

Could her strip-down ritual be a way of saying "I'm so glad I'm home and safe and not in public any more?"

That's interesting... could be.

Meanwhile, she's sick. Arghhhhh. There are a number of "on the bright side" aspects, paramount that she is so far not pulling the Compleat Invalid routine, starting with barfing and going through not being able to sleep and not being able to keep anything down and getting progressively weaker with all that entails. This is mostly just a whole lotta snot, some extra tiredness/ moodiness, and... here's where the music swells ominously... "my ear hurts."

Goddammit.

I have her on Motrin and will give it a day or two, see how things develop. I'm very happy that this year I have a good ENT all set up, so can go straight to that step if need be. (Skipping pediatrician, OK ENT, terrible ENT, and mostly bad ENT.) 3/4 of the battle last year was just figuring out what/ who to believe, and I trust this guy.

Meanwhile, things could definitely be so much worse, that just made my heart skip a beat. We'll see.

Yes, Noddy, there are few things so draining as being Mommie Nurse, and last winter was pretty much nothing but. I just KNEW I was feeling too caught up and on top of things... -sigh-

We'll see.

Oh but we did go trick-or-treating and she did have a great time. Lots of oohs and ahhs over her costume, which was fun for both of us. (As I said to the friend who walked with us; "She gets to show off her outfit, be admired, have tons of chats with neighbors, and get candy to boot -- from her perspective, it just doesn't get better than this.")

Oh and Drewdad, heh...!

One more thing to add to the "good news" column, no temperature.

Sozobe--

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

No fever = no infection. Perhaps the ear ache is just pressure?

Hold your dominion.

Dunno why no fever, but her eardrum perforated (again) last night after about 10 minutes of horrible screaming pain (when she lay down to go to sleep). She was chipper pretty much as soon as it happened, but still an extremely rough night. I got 4 hours' sleep I think, and my tell-tale lymph node is swollen. (Always does when I get sick.)

Back on the rollercoaster we go. Yay.

Could be worse. No barfing (she was talked out of a couple of episodes) and she's tired but mostly normal this morning. Waiting to hear back from the ENT about what to do next.