Parent Extremis

Have you gotten a flu shot yet? Have you gotten one for your children? The Flu is more dangerous for children than a common cold. When they are under the age of five influenza can frequently send children to the hospital for dangerously high fevers and dehydration. Complications occur most often in children younger than two. Children with asthma and diabetes are at especially high risk for complications. The CDC reports that during the 2007-2008 flu season, 86 children died from flu-related complications.

You do not have to get the flu.

There is a vaccine. You have to get vaccinated every year for a new strain of flu. The virus mutates from year to year and that is why a vaccine from last year won’t protect you this flu season. The CDC recommends that all children over the age of six months get a flu vaccine.

The first time a child under the age of nine gets a flu vaccine he will need two doses of vaccine given at least 28 days apart or more. The first dose “primes the immune system and the second dose provides actual protection. My own pediatrician explained to me that young children have immature immune systems and in order to have complete immunity to the flu virus, they need two doses of vaccine.

The sooner you get vaccinated each year the better. If you find it is November or even December you can still get a vaccine. The peak of flu season isn’t until later in the winter. It’s never too late. Get the vaccine. You can get it at your doctor’s office or even more easily at a local grocery store pharmacy or local drug store flu clinic.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in conjunction with Carter’s are advising parents that their clothing with tag-less heat transfered labels are causing rashes in some children. A small percentage of babies and children have developed rashes on their upper back and neck. The affected clothing was manufactured in various countries and sold at Carter’s stores and other retail chains as well.

The clothing that is causing this rash is associated with the Carter’s Fall 2007 line of clothing. It uses a label on the inside back of the garment that has a raised surface with a solid background. This advisory does not apply to the current product lines that use a label with a stenciled background. See the photo below for an image of the label.

If your child develops a rash stop wearing the garment and if the rash persists contact your pediatrician. Some doctors will recommend applying a little bit of anti-itch cream or a moisturizing cream like Aquaphor.

These labels are safe and are not the ones included in this advisory.

Babies and young children are also very susceptible to rashes and a variety of skin conditions including baby acne, eczema and impetigo.

Babies and children have very delicate skin and soon after birth it is common for them to get minor rashes and bumps on their skin that don’t offend them.  However, more severe rashes and allergies are also all too common and require diet modification and sometimes antibiotics.  If you aren’t sure what is appearing on your baby or child’s skin you should see your pediatrician for a diagnosis.

We’ve all heard stories of a friend who was in Wal-Mart and witnessed a seven-year old using a pacifier and a one-year old with a bottle full of Coke. Some of us prefer to feed our kids as much organic food as possible and some of us just try to get something, anything edible into our kids mouths a few times a day and then hope for the best. Coke in a baby’s bottle is largely WRONG but aside from that little sugary snafu, where do you draw your line and how do you determine what kind of nutrition your kids get?

With advertising being what it is today it can be tricky for busy, unknowing and first-time parents to decide what to feed their children. Food labeling is at an all time marketing-led high of misinformation and misleading claims. Whole grain - Heart Healthy - Low Fat - No Trans Fat - DHA/ARA! - Omega 3 - It’s enough to make even the rare calm level-headed unstressed-out parent-shopper a little frazzled.

A quick Google search for _kids nutrition_ and _nutrition for kids_ doesn’t yield many definitive or direct answers. There are quite a few pages, indeed but no simple charts or lists saying that kids need X amount of vegetables and Y amount of calcium each day. Rather, most websites I found referenced the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. Also, the USDA Food Pyramid for Kids.

I also came across several mentions of a campaign to combat a severe lack of calcium in kids diets these days. Calcium is a nutrient found in dairy products (yogurt, cheese, milk, cottage cheese) and green leafy vegetables that is responsible for helping to build strong bones.

When I started this article I had hoped to find more definitive information about children and nutrition. I wanted to pass on facts and guidelines but there wasn’t anything very easy to locate. How do you feel about this? Are you confident about what you feed your kids? Could you use an update on nutrition? Where do you look for this sort of information?

It’s that time of year again folks, the time we put away the shorts and pull out the sweaters and coats. However, many of us will take vacations to warmer locales in the next few months and its important to keep kids safe in the sun.

Kids Health gives some great tips for kids in the sun. Kids Health also recommends this for wearing sunscreen: Use a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 15 or higher. Put on sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes before going out in the sun. If you are fair skinned, you should use a sunscreen with a higher SPF rating such as SPF 30. The letters SPF stand for sun protection factor, and the number rating tells you how much longer you can stay in the sun without getting sunburned. So if you normally burn after 20 minutes and you put on a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 15, this sunscreen may give you 15 times the protection. That’s 15 times 20 minutes, or 300 minutes (5 hours).

The suns rays are the strongers between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Avoid direct exposure during those hours as much as possible. Hop into the shade as much as you can.

This EPA website provides some great options for protecting yourself in the sun, like wearing sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.

More sun saftey tips from the Sun Safety Alliance

• Keep in mind the sun is strongest between 10 am and 4 pm.
• Wear clothing that’s dark and tightly woven.
• Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
• Remember that UV rays bounce off sand, snow, concrete, and water.
• Do not use sun tanning beds.
• Keep very young children (6 months or less) out of the sun.
• Sunscreens need to be applied liberally and evenly over all exposed areas.
• Apply a sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher whenever you’re outdoors. To achieve adequate UV protection you should use products that provide broad spectrum protection, which means protection against both UVB and UVA rays. For broad spectrum protection, look for products that provide an SPF of at least 15 and contain ingredients like Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) or zinc oxide.
• For children, the SSA recommends sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher.
• Apply sunscreen before going outdoors and reapply often.
• Reapply sunscreen after swimming, perspiring, and toweling off.
• Provide complete sunscreen coverage for your skin (including neck, ears and lips!).
• For people with thin or thinning hair, apply sunscreen to the scalp as well.
• And rememberstay in the shade whenever possible!

Wow! Here we are nine months old and just finally getting around to baby’s first cold. Me? I have been sick since Saturday morning so we’re going on a week-long cold for me at this point. Noah didn’t get a runny nose until very late Tuesday night. It was so sad really, to see usually smiley face all covered in sniffling, drippy snot.

Once I had been sick for a few days and continued of course to nurse him I was prepared and fully armed to care for a potentially sick baby. Ironically, we had been at the doctor on Monday for his nine-month well-baby check-up.

Recent controversy aside, it is usually best to let a cold run its course without the use of symptom-treating over-the-counter medications. Most doctors will recommend for adults, extra rest and sleep, increased fluids (water, hot tea, juice) and Tylenol for a low fever and general malaise.

For babies older than two months you should always contact your pediatrician for the baby’s first cold as the doctor may want to see them to rule out any other illness. But, you should take an occasional temperature to make sure that any fever is low, as that is just the body fighting the germs. Fevers higher than 100 (one hundred degrees Fahrenheit) are cause for more worry and you should visit the doctor.

For babies and toddlers who have a common head cold, the following is suggested:

Saline nose spray, infant Tylenol, the use of a cool mist humidifier, extra fluids (water, breast milk, formula), rest, a warm bath is relaxing and sitting in a steamy bathroom while the shower runs is also good for loosening chest and nasal congestion.

Wine! I highly suggest keeping a good bottle of cheap wine in the house at all times. It’s very nice to have a calming glass of wine after the kids go to bed each night. There are nights when that little treat renews me and lulls me into a ready-for-sleeping calm that I haven’t been able to channel sans alcohol since well before I had a baby.

I’m not at all advocating alcoholism or drinking as a means of managing the stresses of parenthood, however, it is a good coping tool! But, if you would rather consume a more benign substance, try an herbal tea or warm milk which is proven to help you sleep, and gives you a good dose of calcium and protein. Milk contains very small doses of melatonin and tryptophan that tend to have a sleepy calming effect on the body and mind.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is not recommended, however if you are breastfeeding it can be safe, in moderation. Alcohol can be found in breast milk but the amounts are small, however, it is recommended that you have only one and no more than two drinks per day while nursing. Although, two drinks each day and every day isn’t suggested, so, you know, be smart about it. Alcohol doesn’t stay in breast milk, it does get metabolized by the body so you don’t necessarily need to pump and throw away the milk. For more information about alcohol consumption while breast-feeding, visit Bella Online.

A good nighttime tea to try is Celestial Seasonings Sweet Apple Chamomile. It is all natural, free of calories and caffeine. If you prefer an organic tea, try Sweet Clementine Chamomile Organic Herb Tea, also by Celestial Seasonings.

Julia wrote about vaccinations awhile back and she basically said everything that I felt. So perhaps you can just go read her posting and then we’ll be done? Oh… you actually want me to put actual words here? In this space? Oh. Alrighty then.

Wow. I never should have attempted such an often times controversial subject this early on a Monday, but my goal isn’t to say what I feel is right or even try to sway anyone to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. Ultimately, it is a personal decision. I will say that the arguments are in favor of vaccines as they are overwhelmingly safe. The public health defense being is at the top of PRO list, as is personal health. It is much better to let your child get a short-run, controlled fever than say, a case of the Mumps. There was an outbreak of the Mumps in 2006 which was a real reminder that we have let our guard down in terms of diseases once thought to be eradicated, or at least, totally off of our radar.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a very extensive web page detailing recommended vaccine schedules and a chart that suggests how to catch up when vaccines have been missed or skipped for whatever reason.

The biggest vaccine controversy today is a concern that vaccines have contributed to the rise in Autism rates. However, there is no proven link. In the past two decades the number of available vaccines has grown quite a bit, and coincidentally, so have the rates in diagnosed Autism. At this point, this is really is a coincidence, there is no proven scientific research demonstrating any link.

It is difficult to watch your babies getting shots but it is ultimately better to have the sting of the shot than the disease it is preventing. Some pediatricians recommend a delayed vaccine schedule for babies who were born prematurely or who have stronger reactions to the shots. This option should be discussed with your pediatrician if you think it would benefit your child.

In the wake of a recent tragedy, a friend of a friend just lost a baby, an 18-month-old baby who drowned in a hot tub, I think it is important that we all take a minute and read over some good tips to keep our kids safe around water, specifically, pools. It’s summer time and we all want to take a dip to cool off. Young children and babies have no concept of the dangers of water and also, the double edged sword is that they are fascinated by water and can get away from us and out of sight in the blink of an eye.

The American Academy of Pediatrics makes the following statement:

A swimming pool can be very dangerous for children. If possible, do not put a swimming pool in your yard until your children are older than 5 years. Help protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

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Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment. An adult who knows CPR should actively supervise children at all times.
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Practice touch supervision with children younger than 5 years. This means that the adult is within an arm’s length of the child at all times.
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You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children’s reach.
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Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd’s hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.
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Do not use air-filled “swimming aids” as a substitute for approved life vests.
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Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to reach for them.
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After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can’t get back into it.
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A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) may add to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.

Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

Red Cross Water Safety
Also, the American Red Cross makes the following recommendations for HOME POOLS:

I just got an email from another blogger who has a baby the same age as Noah and after reading one of my postings about finally getting the baby to sleep for a nice long period of time, things are about to hit the fan because it is just about TEETHING time. Can I get a collective sigh of URGH.

I think the baby is starting the whole dreaded teething phase. He drools like a fountain and gnaws excessively on his hand, my hand, my shoulder, the dirty washcloth in the bathtub, you get the idea. His top row of gums have puffed up in the shape of little baby teeth. The bottom hasn’t shown too much action so far.

Babies can start teething as early as three months and some don’t show any signs of teeth appearing at their one year birthday but for most babies, the little nubs start cutting through that soft gum tissue somewhere around seven months of age, just for an average.

Sometimes breastfed babies will start to bite when they are teething. They are not doing it to hurt you, but rather because their gums are sore and biting down feels good but rest assured you can teach them not to bite. Moxie has written a good piece about breastfed biters.

The teething ring pictured at the top of this article is made out of all natural maple wood. It is made in the United States and is free of chemicals, most importantly, lead but also there is no potentially toxic gel inside. It is sold on Amazon.

When your baby starts teething and you want to offer some organic means of gum soothing, consider offering them a washcloth damp with cool water at room temperature or one that has been refrigerated for awhile. The cool sensation will gently and naturally numb their gums. Some babies will take to chewing on a pacifier. Even if the baby hasn’t liked a paci in the past, consider showing them they they can chew on it now. Sippie cup spouts are just about the right size to be chewed on. Overall, just choose something safe and large (READ: NON-CHOKE-ABLE) that your baby likes to chew on. Anything that takes the edge off of their discomfort is a good option.

There are also a hot of over-the-counter medicines including Tylenol and Orajel, a benzocaine-product. It is recommended that you speak with your pediatrician before offering any of these products.

At some time or another every baby gets a bit of diaper rash. It can range from a mild irritation to severe sores in the diaper-covered area. The rash is a result of wetness being held against the skin for prolonged periods of time. Other factors include baby’s degree of sensitivity to the wetness and the skin’s ability to ward off the rash.

Noah went a few weeks before he had any diaper related issues and I was anxious to use my stockpile of diaper creams, lotions, and potions. Finally he got some redness on his lower cheeks and some irritation from being wiped so much. Babies tend to poop constantly in their first few weeks, (I hear this is more common and even more frequent with breastfed babies, but I don’t have a formula-fed baby for reference) and the frequent wiping can make the skin a little chapped too. Back then I treated his diaper area issues retroactively. I cleaned him and applied some diaper cream, anything with zinc oxide, the thick skin protecting agent.

With Noah sleeping for long periods of time at night, sometimes as much as ten or eleven hours at a time without a diaper change I was worried he would get a rash. I am proud to say he has been totally rash free now for over a month. I treat him PROACTIVELY every night with Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. After his bath I dry him thoroughly and apply a thin coating of Butt Paste to his entire hind end area and the sensitive nooks and crannies of his upper diaper-covered regions and the areas that get frequent wiping. I close up the diaper and put him to bed.

Boudreaux’s is not as thick as Desitin Original. It also has a very pleasant odor, similar I think to that of cookie dough.

Chances are you are reading this if and only if you are faced with the dilemma of a helpless infant who has thoroughly nasal passage-blocking boogers that vibrate with each breath causing a sound easily mistaken for a train plowing through your backyard and sucking on your boob simultaneously. Babies obviously can’t blow their noses and they aren’t as good at moving nasal mucous as adults are. They can’t hold one nostril and blow snot out the other one in a good athlete-type fashion until they are at least ten months old, so for now, read the instructions below, follow my ritual for baby-nose cleaning and your little bundle of snot joy will be back to his giggling little self in no time flat.

So you notice that your little bruiser has a rather indelicate nasal situation. If the booger is visible but only slightly out of reach you can try a warm wet q-tip. Be extra careful to not stick the q-tip too far into the nostril, you don’t want to hurt the baby. Using a slight twist of the q-tip the booger may dislodge and move just close enough to the opening of the nostril that you can grab it with a tissue.

If this less, yeah! less intrusive method doesn’t work, here’s the champion way to get a booger out of a baby’s nose. Hold your baby on your lap, or in a sitting position on a changing table so that you can give each nostril a quick spray of saline. Wipe any runoff with a tissue and entertain your baby for about a minute while allowing the saline to do its job of moistening the tissues and loosening the boogers. Finally, lay your baby down on his back, hold his head with one hand and the nasal aspirator in the other hand. Pinch one nostril and suction the other one at the same time. This should bring the boogers into view and you can wipe them away with a tissue. Repeat on the other nostril. Your baby will wail while this happens, could be the slurping the sound could be the discomfort of having something enter an orifice that is preferably exit only, but, the relief they gain is well worth the few seconds of discomfort. When using the nasal aspirator squeeze the bulb before your put it in the nostril, practice a few times before you actually do this procedure to get the real hang of it to minimize the child’s discomfort.

I use the American Red Cross brand nasal aspirator, available at Target for about $3.99. I like that it has an extra small tip that keeps you from pushing it in too far. It is also recommended that you suction a baby’s nose as little as possible, over zealous nasal aspiration can cause swollen tissues which actually make the baby feel more congested.