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New recommendations have been released regarding the influenza vaccine. Currently it is recommended that children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years be vaccinated against the influenza virus annually. This age group is most at risk of suffering from a fatal case of the influenza virus.
Starting with the next flu season the CDC is recommending that all children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years be vaccinated against the influenza virus annually. The hope is that by vaccinated children the rates of influenza among adults will also decrease. Often it is the children who bring the flu home to their families. It seems to me that this should have been the recommendation a long time ago. Children often don’t get as severe a case of the flu as adults do after age 5, but it still makes sense to help prevent them from getting it at all.
Talk to your child’s pediatrician regarding these new recommendations and find out how it affects your child.
Do you have a little one who is now on the move? Those little hands will be into everything now that she can get around on her own. Now is the time to childproof your home if you haven’t done so already. Babies and toddlers are very curious little beings and they love to explore. They don’t know the difference between something that is safe and something that is dangerous, you have to help them with that.
To help keep your little one safe now that he is on the move here are a few tips for childproofing your home and making your baby’s environment a safe one.
- Put up baby gates. Gate off any area that you don’t want your baby to get into. Be especially careful to gate off stairwells as your baby will most certainly take a tumble if you don’t.
- Install safety devices in your outlets, on the knobs on your stove, and on any cupboard you don’t want you baby to get into, you can find these in any baby department.
- Move all dangerous substances, particularly cleaning supplies to higher ground. Even with safety devices on the cupboard it is probably not a good idea to keep your cleaning supplies on that baby’s level as they can pose a dangerous poisoning risk to your little one.
- Get down on their level and determine if there is anything within their reach that may be dangerous and move it.
- Be sure to secure large pieces of furniture like bookcases and wardrobes to the wall to prevent your child from pulling them over if he decides to climb it.
- If you have furniture with sharp corners consider placing a protective device over the corner, there too can be found in any baby department.
- Check for choking hazards like the ties on blinds and curtains. Keep your child’s crib and away from blinds once they can pull themselves up.
- Check all doors and windows and make sure they are secure and that your baby or toddler can’t get them open.
The best thing to do is to go around on their level and find anything that may be interesting to your baby and determine if it poses any kind of risk to your child, if it does move it. You will likely need to revisit your childproofing several times throughout your child’s life. As your child grows determine what additional childproofing needs to be done in order to continue to keep her safe.
There are experts you can hire to assist you in childproofing, but I think most parents can handle this on their own. If you aren’t sure about something ask your child’s pediatrician or other mothers for advice.
Good luck, it will be so much fun to watch your little one explore his world now that he can move around it, you just need to make sure it is safe for him.
There is nothing worse than being pregnant and sick all at the same time. Not only do you have to deal with the normal aches and pains (and exhaustion) that come with pregnancy but you get the added pleasure of also dealing with the annoying symptoms of the flu. When you come down with a virus during your pregnancy you are rather limited on what you can take. Those over the counter medications that you relied on in your pre-pregnancy days are of limits. You are probably stuck fighting the flu the old fashioned way.
So, since over the counter medications are off limits what can you do to make yourself feel better? Here are a few tips to help ease the discomfort of the nasty flu.
- Listen to your body when it comes to eating. If you are hungry and can keep food down than eat. If you can’t stomach anything than don’t worry too much about it.
- Get plenty of fluids. Drink as much water as you can. Being hydrated will help your body fight the virus and if you are throwing up or have diarrhea the water will help keep you from getting dehydrated.
- Get plenty of rest. Enjoy the comfort of staying in bed. Take a sick day from work and life when needed. Rest will help you get over the flu a little faster.
- If the symptoms are really bothering you talk to your doctor to find out if there is anything safe for you to take during pregnancy.
The best tip, of course, is to avoid the flu if you can. However, we all know that can be impossible. If you start getting extra rest and drinking plenty of fluids at the first sign of flu symptoms you may be able to keep your bout with the flu a short one. No one likes to be sick, especially a pregnant woman. Remember to talk to your doctor if you are concerned at all about your symptoms.
Before you start trying to get pregnant you want to do everything you can to make sure you are ready emotionally, physically, and financially for this life changing experience. Being ready physically means being healthy. Being healthy is important to help support a growing fetus but also to help you conceive in the first place. Good eating habits and a healthy diet are an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Getting pregnant comes easy for some women but for others it isn’t so easy. There is a lot about our daily lives that can impact our ability to conceive such as our stress level, our work/life balance, the safety of our job, how or if we exercise, and what we eat.
What we eat can have a big impact on our ability to conceive, but it also has a big impact on that tiny little baby as soon as it begins to grow inside of you. We all know that good nutrition is important during pregnancy but it is also important before you get pregnant as well. What goes into our body seems to have an impact on fertility.
Here are a few things to consider about your diet when you are trying to get pregnant.
- Reduce your intake of alcohol. You shouldn’t drink alcohol while you are pregnant so this is a great time to get used to not drinking. Skip that extra glass of wine with dinner.
- Eliminate caffeine if you can, if not at least reduce your intake of caffeine. Caffeine has been linked to miscarriage risk early in pregnancy so it is a good idea to cut your caffeine intake before you get pregnant anyway.
- Eat whole grains instead of a lot of refined carbohydrates. Skip the white bread and pasta and go for the heartier whole wheat versions instead.
- Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Pick fruits and vegetables with a lot of color.
- Watch your fish intake. Limit how much fish you consume each week and make sure what you do eat is low in mercury. Steer clear of those high mercury fish like tuna, swordfish, etc.
- Increase your iron intake. You can get iron from foods like red meat and spinach. You can also consider a multivitamin with iron (most women’s multivitamins contain iron).
- Eat a well balanced diet, try to avoid fad diets especially those that limit any one food group.
Talk to your doctor about your current diet and what changes he or she recommends for women trying to conceive. If you think your diet may be impacting your ability to get pregnant consider going to a nutritionist for help. The saying goes that we are what we eat. By starting to maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating habits you may be able to impact your chances of getting pregnant.
Teething is a right of passage for all babies and all new parents. You suddenly find yourself dealing with a fussy, drooling baby, what could be the cause? Look in his mouth, you may find red, swollen gums, a sure sign your little one is getting his first tooth.
Every baby is different when it comes to teething. Some breeze through the whole process without ever batting an eye. One day they wake up with a little tooth peeking through their gums and yet never broke a sweat. While other babies have a terrible time. You won't know how your baby will react to teething until you get there. Although you could try asking your parents what you were like, how a baby handles teething seems to run in the family.
On average babies get their first tooth between 4 and 7 months, although some get them earlier and some later. For example I got my first little tooth when I was just three months old while my one brother was nine months old before he sprouted his first. Your baby will likely take after her parents so if you got your first tooth early she probably will too.
So how do you know if your baby is teething? Well the only sure sign is red, swollen gums followed by a little white tooth peeking through. However, there are a few other symptoms to look out for that can be signs your little one is about to get a new addition to her mouth.
- Excessive drooling. All babies drool so it can be hard to determine if the drooling you see is just normal baby stuff or a sign of teething. Typically if your baby is teething he will be drool much more than normal.
- Irritability, fussiness and mood swings. The pain and pressure from the new tooth trying to break through the gums is enough to make a grown up fussy, so it isn't any wonder that babies typically get rather fussy when they are getting a new tooth. The fussiness will typically be worse at night when they aren't distracted by the activity of the daytime.
- Biting and chewing. If you notice your baby is biting and chewing on everything in sight it may be a sign that she is teething. They bite and chew on things to help sooth the discomfort of their inflamed gums.
- Sleep problems. A teething baby will often have a hard time sleeping because of the pain and discomfort.
- Diarrhea. This can also be a sign of many other illnesses so don't assume that your baby is teething, check with your pediatrician.
- Low-grade fever. This is not a common symptom of teething but does happen in some infants.
- Refusing food.
If you are in doubt about whether your baby is teething feel or look inside his mouth. If you see inflamed gums or a little tooth trying to make its way to the surface you can be sure that your baby is teething.
There are a few things you can do to help ease the pain and discomfort associated with teething.
- Try rubbing your baby's gums periodically. This provides counter pressure and can be very soothing.
- Provide her with things to chew on like a teething ring or a cold cloth.
- Talk to your pediatrician about possibly giving her some children's pain reliever if nothing else seems to work.
Teething is something all babies and all parents have to get through. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones and your baby will breeze right through it. If not, do what you can to ease her discomfort and remember that this too shall pass.