M has sounded hoarse for A LONG TIME...

I started to notice it last winter. I would say it actually started around October or November of 2012 and it never went away! Someone having a hoarse voice doesn't seem like that big of a deal throughout the winter because it's a time when people are commonly sick. BUT as spring rolled around, I knew something wasn't right. I mentioned it to my husband and he didn't seem to think anything it was a big deal. Summer set in. it seemed like it took M effort to talk at times. Sometimes she would stop, not even mid-sentence, but in the middle of a word (to swallow) then continue right on with that she was saying. Soon after I started to notice this difference, my Mom's doctor found a lesion on her vocal cord. Could this be hereditary?

I was ready to make a special appointment, just to have it checked out. Hubs said it was just coincidence, but it was ALWAYS ON MY MIND. My mom has chronic bronchitis, she gets it really bad every year and she stays hoarse throughout the wintertime; Looking at it in that respect, it doesn't seem like it would be hereditary. I did feel better a few days later after hearing more about my mom, what caused it for her, and how they were going to "fix it" (non-surgically). 

M had a random appointment that I had to make and I mentioned it there (it was with one of the other pediatricians in our practice). He had a few more questions about what was going on with my mom before saying anything more about it (in relation to M). Her 2 1/2 year appointment was a couple weeks later with her regular pediatrician and I was planning on going more in-depth at that time. 

After bringing this up with her regular doctor, she noticed what I was talking about. A possible paralyzed vocal cord, polyps on her vocal cords, cysts, and even more things that didn't sound good at all... all possibilities of what could be causing this. She recommended a visit to the E.N.T. I called that afternoon and was able to get in nine days later. I was so happy to get an appointment so quickly. Our vacation was coming up, and a 10 hour drive would be a long time to think about horrible possibilities! 

During our E.N.T. appointment, M wouldn't say a word. The doctor tried and tried everything to get her to talk. He was very patient and ended up watching some videos of her talking on my phone. In the videos, he was able to see the pausing/swallowing and the effort it took to, sometimes, finish a sentence; he said this "swallowing" is the way kids "clear their throats." He decided against scoping her (I was very happy that we didn't have to put her through that) and said he was pretty positive this was caused by reflux. He said 90% of adults have reflux (that it just doesn't affect everyone the same) and 100% of kids have reflux (and it just doesn't affect them all the same). 

He prescribed Prilosec... with lots of instructions. The Prilosec came in a gel cap (that I have to break open and pour the medicine over yogurt or peanut butter or something). I have to make sure she gets EVERY bead that comes out of the gel cap! She has to take it in the evenings prior to dinner, she has to take it on an empty stomach (so she can eat an hour prior to taking this medicine) and she has to have dinner within 30 minutes to 3 hours after taking it. This appointment was 4 days before our vacation; I felt like this was quite the task. We were already going to be out of our routine, she's a snacker, and simply just remembering to do it while we were away. Of course I'll do what I have to do. I wanted to make sure she has what she needs to and I want to make everything better!!! 

It really wasn't hard to get into a routine of this; Although it is a bit easier not that we're home, doing our regular day to day activities. Of the 9 days we were on vacation, we only had one medicine mishap, but she's had it just as she's supposed to all the other times. She was supposed to have a 6 week check up after starting this medicine. The doctor said we should see a SMALL difference by 6 weeks and a huge difference at 12 weeks. Her appointment was scheduled for August 13th. I called and happily reported that myself and other family members can hear a difference in her voice!  After talking to them, with the differences we see, the 6 week appointment wasn't necessary. We go back in October and with the change I've seen so far, it sounds like we'll be able to avoid having her scoped, that this medicine is doing what we need it to do! 

Play-Doh vs Moon Dough

Before I write this, I just want to say that I have no other reason to write this other than, I just never knew. I didn't know the difference of the two. I got opinions of others, read some reviews on Amazon and made the decisions I did. I am not affiliated with either product in anyway, nor is either product endorsing or giving me anything for anything I say or don't say (although I would love that)!

My girls and I love to play Play-Doh. I introduced it to them when L was 24 months; M was a little young, she was 14 months old and closely supervised. The good thing is that she is so "Monkey See, Monkey Do" when it comes with L. L was pretty good about following the rules when it comes to "activities at the table."

THE TABLE: My husband made a table that's the perfect size for the girls to sit on the floor and color at, do activities, play games, etc. There are rules for most things at this table. If they don't follow the rules of said activity, then we put whatever it is away. This sounds stern and maybe mean, but it's not as bad as it sounds. I typically remind them if they need, all it normally takes is one reminder and we're all good!

Rules for coloring at the table: All crayons have to stay at the table. If they get up from the table, they aren't allowed to carry a crayon away with them. Basically the same rules for Play-Doh!

I buy the 2-packs of disposable table clothes from Target and I fold one in half, lay it on the floor and put THE TABLE in the middle. This makes for easy clean up! We are able to get most of the Play-Doh up but there's always a little that we miss. I carefully pick up the table cloth shake it out outside, fold it up and put it away for the next time! 

We started off with the Play-Doh Fun Factory. This is fun, but gets boring after awhile. While at Target one day, there was some Play-Doh sets on sale. They chose The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe and it was fun for them, although I had to help them with making most things. Helping them with these things wasn't an issue, I always sat right there playing along side them. BUT THEY WANTED TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM THEMSELVES. Even though they needed help with most parts of this, they still had fun with it. They would still play with this (if I hadn't have gotten rid of it). The reason I didn't like it, it was so hard to clean and not have Play-Doh dry up inside certain pieces (most of the pieces). This was more ME, that didn't like getting this Play-Doh set out. They couldn't play with multiple colors without mixing them because it was so hard to clean and took so much time to clean (L doesn't like when the colors mix). 

Christmas 2012 they got The Play-Doh Fun with Food - Meal Makin' Kitchen. This was a huge set. Fun to play with (for all of us)! Easy clean up! I would recommend this for anyone! They also received The Play-Doh Zoo Shapin' Fun Set. I didn't get this zoo out until just a few weeks ago. Before opening it, my husband and I started looking at the box and it was a lot of stamps. You weren't really able to "make animals" or do much with the animals. You could go things like make kangaroo foot prints and stamp things with the alligator's mouth. We started talking about how the girls like to MAKE THINGS. They liked making the ice cream, they LOVE all the different kinds of things they can make with the kitchen! I needed to exchange this. 

While at ToysRUS I saw the Moon Dough. I didn't know much about it. I asked on twitter and received a lot of negative comments (messy, crumbly, doesn't stay together). I read some reviews (I read reviews for everything!! EVERYTHING! Several of the reviews mentioned they loved the Moon Dough sets, not the moon dough, so they just threw that stuff out and used the sets with Play-Doh. GREAT IDEA! (I thought so anyway!!

I brought home the Moon Dough Magic Zoo. This was such a hit!! When I opened it, I just put the moon Dough aside (my girls never saw it). They can actually MAKE ANIMALS with this! The crank is easy for them to turn. The animals they make can actually walk. There's a fence mold and we made some fenced in areas for the animals to sit in, they chose one part of it to be the door and they make the animals go in and out and used their imaginations and played with these animals for awhile. There's a penguin mold, gorilla mold, and a bear mold. Very cool idea but I'm glad I went into it  not even expecting to use the moon dough (so I wasn't disappointed with anything). The clean up with it, I don't know what the difference is with the moon dough sets and the Play-Doh sets, but the Play-Doh doesn't stick to any of the MD sets parts! It's pretty awesome! This set made me want to get another one!

L received the Moon Dough Snack Shack for her birthday. They also have a lot of fun with this as well. The popcorn only makes 3 pieces at a time, so that's not the best, but making the ice cream is very easy. This set, they would get bored with quickly if they were playing WITH JUST THIS BY ITSELF. But I still can't get over how easy it is to use the Play-Doh with these sets. Pretty much NO CLEAN UP NEEDED!

I wold buy more of both products! I just know to read specifically what are included in the sets with the Play-Doh. I know what it is my girls like to do/make with them. If there's JUST a lot of stamps, it's not for us. I just feel like we have more options now that I realize we can branch out and chose from the Moon Dough sets.  The Moon Dough is messy, crumbly, we just set it aside; still winning with the toy itself! We have plenty of play-doh we can use with it all!