News Moms Need

You’re pregnant and getting regular prenatal care – great! You’re all set. So how do you find a good health care provider for your baby once she or he has arrived? This provider could be a pediatrician, a family physician or another kind of health care provider.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says parents should ask the following questions when choosing a baby’s pediatrician, but this list can apply to any health care provider:
• Does the doctor accept your insurance? What are the office hours? Is the doctor taking new patients?
• How often should a baby see the doctor during the first year?
• Which hospital does the doctor use? What is the doctor’s preferred method of contact?
• How much are office visits, immunizations and other care costs?
• Is after-hours care available when your child is sick or when you have questions?

Make sure you feel comfortable talking to him or her. Also make sure their office is in a place that you can get to easily.  Try to decide on and meet with a provider before your baby is born.

It’s hard to believe, but my Hannah is one today. I have no idea where this year went. What a whirlwind filled with anticipation, difficulties, excitement, exhaustion, worry and fun! I have to admit that I’m a little sad today. I’m shocked that I feel this way. I’m realizing that the very early stage of our daughter’s life is over. That’s it. The bassinet is in the garage. She’s a toddler who’s drinking from a sippy - cup and loves Sesame Street. She’ll be walking any day now and…oh, brother! I’m tearing-up. It’s been a wonderful experience and I can’t remember life without her. However, I do remember what sleep feels like and I would like to have that back again (LOL).

We have her one-year check-up on Monday. It’s been a couple of months since our last visit to the pediatrician, so I’m curious to know how much she’s grown. She needs a couple of immunizations. The doctor will most likely give us the green light to start whole milk. I need to think about questions that I want to ask and write them down. We have so much to look forward to in the upcoming year in terms of her development. It’s been fun sharing stories with you and thanks for reading them. There’s certainly more to come…

So, happy birthday to my precious little girl!

And P.S. - you’ll always be my baby.

It’s only natural to be concerned when your child’s temperature goes up. But not all fevers are a cause for worry. In fact, many fevers don’t need treatment. By activating your child’s immune system, a fever can actually shorten your child’s illness. Normal temperature is not a specific number. Instead normal temperature usually ranges from 97° to 100.4° Fahrenheit. Body temperature also varies according to time of day, age, and physical activity. Pediatricians do not consider a fever significant unless it rises above 100.4°. Treatment is rarely required for a child older than three months who has a mild fever but no other symptoms. But if other symptoms appear along with the fever, you should call your pediatrician. For children younger than three months even a mild fever means you should call your pediatrician right away. To learn more about caring for your baby, visit our website or the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Bacteria have been around for more than 3 billion years and have plenty of practice in fighting antibiotics. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians issued treatment guidelines for middle ear infections that include, in certain cases, delaying prescriptions for antibiotics. There are concerns that the bacteria that cause middle ear infections, or Acute Otitis Media, are becoming resistant to antibiotics. In reality, 80 percent of children with Acute Otitis Media get better without antibiotics. Plus, each antibiotic given to a child can make future infections more difficult to treat. This creates drug-resistant bacteria, which a child can pass along to siblings and classmates. Also, antibiotics can cause diarrhea or vomiting, and up to 5 percent of children are allergic to them. If you have questions about middle ear infections, talk with your pediatrician. For more information on your child’s health, visit www.aap.org.

Pediatric growth charts are a standard part of any checkup.  They have been used by health care providers and parents to track the growth of infants, children, and adolescents in the United States since 1977. They show us how kids are growing compared with other kids of the same age and sex. They also show a pattern of height and weight gain over time, and whether they’re developing proportionately. Girls and boys are measured on different growth charts because they grow in different patterns and at different rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has growth charts available on their website. They are not meant to be used as the only diagnostic tool for evaluating a childs’ health. Instead, growth charts are intended to help form an overall impression. If you have any questions about your child’s growth  (or growth charts) speak to your health care provider.

Click here to view Birth to 36 months: Boys Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles

Click here to view Birth to 36 months: Girls Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles

Believe it or not, the human foot is one of the most complicated parts of the body. It has 26 bones, including a complex system of ligaments, muscles, blood vessels and nerves. The feet of young children are soft, pliable and grow quite rapidly during the first year. For these reasons, podiatrists consider this period to be the most critical stage of the foot’s development.

Here are some suggestions from the American Podiatric Medical Association to help promote normal development:

Look carefully at your baby’s feet. If you notice something that does not look normal to you, contact the baby’s pediatrician or a podiatrist. Many deformities will not correct themselves if left untreated.

Keep your baby’s feet unrestricted. No shoes or booties are necessary for infants. These can restrict movement and can inhibit toes and feet from normal development.

Provide an opportunity for exercising the feet. Lying uncovered enables the baby to kick and perform other related motions which prepare the feet for weight bearing.

Change the baby’s position several times a day. Lying too long in one spot can put excessive strain on the feet and legs. Be sure to limit how much time your baby spends standing in an activity center to no more than 15 minutes at a time.

It is not recommended to force a child to walk. A child will walk when physically and mentally ready. When a baby first begins to walk, shoes are not necessary indoors. As a toddler, walking barefoot allows the youngster’s foot to grow normally and to develop its musculature and strength, as well as the grasping action of toes. When walking outside or on rough surfaces, babies’ feet should be protected in lightweight, flexible footwear made of natural materials.

Towards the end of my pregnancy my husband and I emailed our siblings and close friends for recommendations to pediatricians.  We asked them all a ton of questions, but still needed to call a couple of doctor’s offices for additional information. Things that were important to us included:

First and foremost, did this doctor accept our insurance?
Was the doctor a board certified pediatrician?
What hospital was the doctor affiliated with?
Was the doctor nice and well-liked?
Was he/she supportive of breastfeeding?
Was it easy to get an appointment at his/her office?
Were the staff and the office itself pleasant?
Did they have well-baby office hours?
Was the office close to our house?
How were calls and emergencies handled after hours?

With the exception of the occasional lengthy wait in the waiting room, we’re having a good experience with the doctor that we picked for our daughter. He is very friendly and throughout the visit asks, “so, what questions do you have?” I never feel rushed. I trust him. I actually enjoy taking her for her check-ups. This was not apart of the criteria for a selecting a pediatrician, but he happens to wear funny ties and the baby loves to stare and grab at them. So we think she likes him, too : )

How did you find your baby’s doctor?

Happy Friday! See you next week.

My roommate was very uncomfortable. She pressed the call button every hour complaining of pain. Sharing a bathroom postpartum was icky.  The laundry carts squeaked up and down the hallway. Dietary dropped off and picked up trays. Some guy woke me up to ask if I wanted the phone turned on.  The nurses constantly took my vitals and the baby from me every time their shift changed. Sixteen relatives showed up at once during visiting hours.  Exams and discharge instructions from my doctor and the pediatrician created an endless stack of paperwork. We were surrounded by strangers and noise and fluorescent lights.  I wanted my baby out of this chaotic environment. She belonged at home with me and her Dad. I wanted those bulky hospital bracelets off her tiny ankles. Her bassinet was waiting for her. I desperately needed a nice big mug of tea and some privacy.  Taking our baby home from the hospital couldn’t come fast enough.

It was a cold February afternoon. She was all bundled up and snug in her car seat. I sat nervously beside her in the backseat. Pink balloons and flowers surrounded us.  I reminded my husband not to drive too fast. We arrived in our driveway and I sighed. We made it.  Now what do we do? LOL!

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t rest or relax in the hospital. I wanted to care for my baby by myself and in the space that we so lovingly prepared for her at home. Did you feel anxious during your hospital stay?

To me, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than hearing a baby cry from being hurt. Whenever I’m at the doctor’s office and I hear a baby crying from an examination room down the hall, I can usually guess what happened – time for baby’s vaccine shots. Some vaccine shots are more painful than others, but they all are important in helping a baby stay healthy.

The New York Times recently reported on a study showing that it might be possible to lower a baby’s pain by switching the order of the DPTaP-Hib vaccine (diphtheria, polio, pertussis, tetanus and Haemophilus influenzae Type B) and the PCV vaccine (pneumococcal disease). Most babies receive the DPTaP-Hib and PCV vaccines during the same health visit. The study, which appeared in this month’s issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that babies who got the DPTaP-Hib vaccine first experienced less pain than those that got the PCV vaccine first. The researchers found that if the PCV vaccine (the more painful of the two) was given first, the baby was more likely to focus his attention on the situation at hand, which could make him more aware of the pain and could speed up his response to the hurt he feels. In other words, a baby is already hurting from the PCV vaccine, which can make him more sensitive to the less painful DPTaP-Hib vaccine.

Keep in mind that this study is very small, so we don’t know anything for sure. But since a baby usually gets both vaccines on the same health visit, it wouldn’t hurt (no pun intended) to talk to your baby’s provider about giving the DPTaP-Hib vaccine shot first, followed by the PCV vaccine. The March of Dimes article on vaccines has more information.

I remember my pediatrician very well. Kindly, soft-spoken Dr. Weir. My mom loved him; my dad loved him; my sisters loved him; and I loved him. My cousins, too, since they also went to him.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is asking all of us to honor the outstanding pediatricians who care for our children. Check out the nomination form. If your child’s pediatrician is a hero in your eyes, tell AAP about him or her.

What do you think of your baby’s doctor?