Friday, December 16, 2011

Part 6 - Walden by Henry David Thoreau (Chs 16-18)

Part 6. Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of Librivox. Read by Gord Mackenzie. Playlist for Walden by Henry David Thoreau: www.youtube.com

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Friday, December 9, 2011

Your Healthy Newborn - First Days at Home

!±8± Your Healthy Newborn - First Days at Home

So you came home with your baby. Whether it is the first-born or not, it's always an exhilarating experience and an opportunity to learn new things everyday.

Your baby probably already had the first Hepatitis B vaccine and the newborn screen at the hospital. Also, he or she already passed the hearing test. Congratulations! This article reviews what you need to know about your newborns developmental milestone, feedings, elimination, and safety.

There are some essential things to know when you bring your neonate home. First of all, per the hospital's recommendations, set up a follow-up appointment with your baby's health care provider (usually 3-4 days post delivery). It is important to evaluate your infant, i.e. check the weight, listen to the heart, etc. Also, you may have questions that need to be answered: prepare a list before the visit so that nothing gets forgotten! Most health care providers like when patients come to the appointment well prepared. It helps us address all of your needs!

Below, I outlined some important things to know about your baby from the very first day.

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Your baby should respond to noise. For example, she should startle at the sound of a slamming door or a barking dog. By one month of age, she should be able to distinguish between the mom's voice and voices of other people. However, some babies have this ability from the very first days after birth. Your baby's vision is intact, but right now she can best see objects and faces placed 8-12 inches away from her face. Also, she does not like bright lights. Babies like to open their eyes in dim light by the adult standards.

FEEDINGS

During the first few weeks, don't worry about schedules: your baby should eat on demand, on average every 2-4 hours. However, babies experience rapid growth spurts from time to time, and during those times they may be hungry every 1-2 hours. Just play it by ear. Also, keep in mind that your baby's stomach is very small (about the size of her fist), so it can't hold more than a couple of ounces at the time. If you feed your infant formula and notice excessive spit ups, decrease the amount of the formula but feed your baby a little more often. Don't let more than four hours pass between feedings. You do not want you baby get frustrated with hunger and make the feeding experience unpleasant. At any time, your breastfed or formula fed baby spits up excessively, talk to your health care provider. She may suggest a formula change or, on rare occasions, medication.

ELIMINATION

A healthy newborn should pass the first bowel movement (BM) within 36 hours after being born. After establishing a healthy BM pattern, your baby may go to the bathroom once or a few times a day, or every other day, or so. One thing to keep in minds is that not everybody has a BM every day! As long as you infant is comfortable between BMs and they do not look like pebbles, there is no reason for concern. Also, keep in mind that breast milk has much less waste than formula. Therefore, your baby may have less frequent and malodorous BMs than a formula-fed infant.
Urination is a good indication of hydration. A few days old baby should have at least 4-5 wet diapers and work her way up to more than 6 a day!

SAFETY

The safest sleeping position for your baby is on her back. It decreases the chance of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) (See Box 1). Co-sleeping of infants and parents is no longer recommended. Such sleeping arrangements create an unsafe environment for the baby who can suffocate on bedding or be crushed by a sleeping adult. Every baby should sleep in her own bassinet or crib. Smoking should not be allowed around your baby as well. Cigarette smoke exposure not only increases the risk of SIDS, but it also increases your baby's susceptibility to catching upper respiratory tract infections.

Practice measuring your baby's temperature. Should the temperature be 100F or above, undress the infant and let her cool off. Small babies overheat easily! After 15 minutes, check the temperature again. If the temperature is still 100F or above, your baby needs to be examined by a health care provider right away. That is true until the infant is 3 month old, because until then the immune system does not know how to work efficiently and fever may be a sign of a serious illness.

The series on newborns will cover in the future issues topics, such as jaundice of the newborn, the senses, primitive reflexes, six states of consciousness breastfeeding, reactions of older siblings to the newborn, postpartum depression, and infant's social development. If there are other topics that you would like to read about, email me at health@pluggedinparents.com

Box 1. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

SIDS is a sudden and unpredictable death of a seemingly healthy infant younger than 12 months of age. The diagnosis comes only after other causes of death are ruled out. You can take steps to reduce your baby's risk of SIDS by placing her to sleep on her back even though she might prefer to sleep on her belly! Make sure that the mattress in her crib is firm! Also, offering a pacifier to your infants (only if she does not reject it!) may decrease the risk of SIDS. Avoid cigarette smoke exposure and do not overdress your infant as overheating may contribute to SIDS.


Your Healthy Newborn - First Days at Home

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Friday, December 2, 2011

Children's Thermometer Review

!±8± Children's Thermometer Review

There is nothing more important than the health and safety of babies and children. When they get sick parents often panic and hope that their child does not have a fever. High fevers in children have been associated with some pretty scary illnesses.

Although not every fever is going to be serious it is important to be able to have a thermometer to check for fevers and give medicine and seek medical attention if the fever is extremely high or does not go away.

There are many different kinds of thermometers to get for kids. Some are fairly high tech, while others are more old fashion and simple. While electronic thermometers will give you digital and accurate results, they require a battery to operate. And simple old fashion non-digital thermometers may not be battery operated, they do take longer to read and it can be harder to see the results.

Safety 1st prograde thermometer is a thermometer that is designed for many uses. It has an auto sensor and can recognize each tip; for the rectal, underarm and oral. This device can give a five second reading and has ten memory recalls with the temperature and time. It also has a clean me alert signal. This product will flash with a red bar when a fever is present, which takes out any guess work, which is quite handy if a child wakes in the middle of the night.

The summer infant grow with me ear thermometer is a great one to have. It has two probe tips for extra sanitation, and it was a fever alert glow light for easy viewing. This thermometer comes with 12 memory storage of past fever amounts and times.

Safety 1st hospital choice thermometer gift set is an ultra fancy one to have. It comes with probe cover free technology for rectal, oral or underarm. The tips are also cleanable instead of having to buy them and keep reapplying. This device can also give a three second reading for even faster results.

Safety 1st Accu-Touch forehead thermometer is a simple one to have. This product is designed for the whole family in mind, so you can use it with a baby or an older adult. This thermometer can give results in seven seconds which is still fairly fast. It can do a reading on the forehead or underarm. A forehead reading is not very popular but can still give you accurate results and may be easier for a sick child to cooperate with.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a thermometer. You will want one that is easy to use and fool proof. Many times you may be wakened in the middle of the night and you may be half asleep, so fumbling with anything complicated might not be convenient for you. Sometimes buying a thermometer with removable disposable tips can be trying at times. If you run out and are having trouble finding them in the store to refill, your thermometer will not work without them, and because fevers often happen with no warning, it might be a better idea to have one that is error proof and easier to use in all environments. You will also want to consider a travel size thermometer, so that you can take it on the go and have room to put it in diaper bags and purses if need be.


Children's Thermometer Review

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