Today’s Tip - Protect your baby from mosquitos with insect repellent

Now that mosquito season is in full force, you’ll want to protect your little one from those whiny bloodsucking creatures. They can carry blood-borne diseases like malaria, which isn’t that common in the western world, and West Nile Virus, which can be more of a problem.

When you’re looking for repellent, its important to note that you can use a repellent with DEET as long as your baby is older than two months. Just don’t put it on their hands, head or face. Look for an insect repellent with a DEET concentration of around 10%.

Only put the repellent on exposed areas of skin. Spray it on your hands, then rub it on your baby. Don’t apply it on cuts and scrapes, and it’s probably a good idea to wash off your baby’s skin when you head back inside.

You should always send them outside in light weight clothing that covers as much skin as possible. And try to go for neutral colors, and bright colors and flower prints attract those winged vampires.

If you don’t want to put DEET on your kid, there are some non-DEET products out there, like Little Forest Bug Block. Give it a try and see if it works.

Parenting, Mosquito, Bug, Insect, Repellent, DEET

Today’s Tip - Get your baby vaccinated at his four-month appointment

It’s nearly time for the four month appointment. Along with checking your babies physical development (height, weight, head circumfrance), ears, throat, eyes, and overall health, your pediatrician should recommend vaccinations for your infant. Your doctor will probably also recommend that your baby get on some type of solid foods over the next couple months.

He should be due for vaccines against:

• Diptheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis
• Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)
• Polio
• Pneumococcal Conjugate (PCV7)

While he’s getting the shots be sure to stay near, he’ll need comforting. Afterwords, you should expect your baby to be more tired and fussy than usual, maybe for a day or two. A fever is also a possibility, but if he gets above 102.5, call your pediatrician. The injection site might also be red and irritated, but if it becomes bumped up, call your pediatrician.

Give your baby infant tylenol before the appointment and it may make the shots easier to take. After the shots, give him the recommended dosage of infant tylenol every four hours if he develops a fever.

DIPHTHERIA - Diphtheria is a very serious disease. It can make a person unable to breathe or cause paralysis (unable to move parts of the body) or heart failure. About one in every 10 people who get diphtheria die from it.

TETANUS - Tetanus (lockjaw) can occur after a cut or wound lets the germ into the body. Tetanus makes the person unable to open his or her mouth or swallow,and causes serious muscle spasms. In the United States, tetanus kills three out of every 10 people who get the disease. Those who survive have long hospital stays.

PERTUSSIS - Pertussis (whooping cough) may be mild or serious and is easily passed from person to person. Pertussis can cause spells of coughing and choking that make it hard to eat, drink or breathe. The coughing can last for weeks. Pertussis is most dangerous to babies under one year old. Babies with pertussis are so sick that nearly half must go to the hospital. About one baby in 100 with pertussis either dies or is left with permanent brain injury. Serious illness is less likely in older children and adults.

HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAETYPE B (Hib) - Hib disease is caused by an infection spread by coughing, sneezing or close contact. Hib disease can cause a swelling of the brain that can lead to developmental disability, hearing loss, weakened sight, or speech problems. Before a Hib vaccine was available, Hib infected one of every 200 children before age five. It is most dangerous for babies under age one.

POLIO - Polio is a very dangerous disease. Some children and adults who get a serious case of polio become paralyzed (unable to move parts of their bodies). Sometimes polio may make it difficult to breathe without the help of a machine. In some cases, it can even cause death.

PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE(PCV7) - Pneumococcal disease is a serious illness that is responsible for about 200 deaths each year among children under five years old. Children under two years old are at highest risk for serious disease. It is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. Meningitis is an infection of the covering of the brain.

Parenting, Vaccination, Schedule

Today’s Tip - Have fun on Father’s Day

Sorry this post was late, but I was busy enjoying my first father’s day. I suggest you do the same. Take your daughter to the ballgame. Take your son to the zoo. Have a waterbaloon fight. Take naps. Watch some world cup soccer games. Treat yourself to something you don’t usually do. Most of the time mother’s get pampered for mother’s day, so make sure you get the same treatment, you deserve a break just as much as anyone else.

Parenting, Fathers, Day

Today’s Tip - Take extra protection from the sun when you take your baby to the pool

Took my son to the pool for the first time today with my friend Nick. Just like all guys, he didn’t really like the 74 degree water when it got near his waist, but after awhile he was splashing and having some fun.

If you’re going to take your kid to an outdoor pool, take some extra care with protecting your baby from the sun. The sun’s rays bounce off the water and hit your skin with a double-UV-whammy. Put on plenty of waterproof sunblock, a hat and some baby sunglasses are a good idea too. Once you get out of the pool, have some pants and a lightweight long-sleeve shirt on hand to cover up your baby’s sensitive skin.

Parenting, Sun, Sunscreen, Sunblock, Protection

Today’s Tip - Pay attention to your baby’s mood to get the most out of playtime

As much fun as babies are, they aren’t always in the mood to play or be “ooh’d and ahh’d” at. Whatever you do when playing with your child, you should definitely pay attention to his moods so that he gets the most enjoyment and benefit out of it. For instance, my son’s routine is wake up from a nap, get a diaper change, eat, have active play where he’s free to explore a play mat or the ground on his own, active play with my wife and I, then some quiet reading or “conversation”, and by that time he’s usually ready for another nap.

You can tell if your baby is ready to be done with whatever you’re doing when he starts fussing or looking away. Take his cues and follow them. It’ll also help them get into the routine of being active when they wake up, and then wind down for a nap.

Parenting, Play, Routine

Today’s Tip - Ditch the sleep positioner once your baby can roll over

When your baby comes home from the hospital, you’ll definitely want a sleep positioner to keep him from thrashing onto his stomach and becoming a victim of SIDS. But once he starts to roll over on his own, with strength, the sleep positioner could be dangerous. Since it’s probably soft material, his face could sink down into it and make it hard for him to breathe, suffocating him.

The sleep positioner we have has two velcro “humps” that go along the baby’s side. They’ve got velcro on the bottom, so we put down a blanket in his crib, put the humps on either side of him with the cushy bottom of the sleep positioner gone. That way if he happens to roll over its onto the hard foam of his crib and his face won’t sink into it.

Parenting, Sleep, Positioner, Safety

Today’s Tip - Warm up bottles under running warm water

It’s a lot easier to use microwaves to heat up bottles, but if you do that there could be hot pockets in the milk that can burn your baby’s throat. You can use the microwave if its an absolute last resort and your baby won’t take it cold, but be sure the check the temp every few seconds and swirl the milk around to make sure it heats evenly. Using the microwave also isn’t recommended because the nutrients break down.

The preferred method is to run it under hot water, and you can run it into a dish or container to hold the hot water around the bottle longer. This takes longer but it’s much safer. To check the temp, drop a little milk on the inside of your forearm. Your hands are less sensitive than your arms and if something is too hot it might not register on your arm.

You could also buy a bottle warmer for the purpose of heating up a bottle. The Quick Serve bottle warmer from The First Years is a good bet.

Parenting, Bottle, Feeding, Milk, Formula

Today’s Tip - Teach your baby through affection

You want your baby to learn as they grow, but in the early months there’s not really that much they can accomplish. Grabbing a stuffed animal or holding their head up is important, but isn’t necessarily that much fun for you. Something that’ll help your baby develop immensely and make you feel all warm and fuzzy while you’re doing it is by giving affection.

Through affection, you teach your baby many things. And most importantly, you’re raising a happy baby in a happy environment. And that’s the best environment of all. Here’s how your baby and you can learn through affection:

• Capturing their interest and holding their attention with looks of love and smiles
• Talking or cooing when you’re interacting with them through sound or looks
• Making sounds and motions with their mouth, arms, legs, or body in rhythm with your movements
• Smiling back and forth with ear to ear grins
• Staring at your face while you feed them or play with them (my favorite)
• Relaxing when you hold or rock them
• Sharing laughter
• Strengthening their hands through touch and close contact

Parenting, Affection, Love, Development

Today’s Tip - Take the stroller you want for a test drive before you buy it

My wife and I wanted a smaller stroller than the giant SUV that we have for trips to the mall and off-road adventures, so we picked a cheap-o umbrella stroller up from Target and called it good. Then when my wife tried actually walking around with our son in it, she got annoyed. There was a bar across the back that kept her from walking behind it without sticking her butt out, so she has to walk to the side of it.

Next time, we’ll probably get it out of the box, walk it around the store for a bit, kick the tires, take some sharp turns with it, just to see how she really handles.

Parenting, Stroller, Walk

Today’s Tip - Keep an eye on where your kid can roll into

When your baby starts rolling around, he’s going to throw his body around with absolutely no regard for his safety or where his open mouth could end up. My son’s rolled into a mess of dog hair, under the fridge, into a chair, among other things. When you set him down, wedge something on either side of him (like blankets or a Boppy) if you don’t want him to move. Otherwise, make sure that he’s got clearance for about three feet on either side of him in case he decides to do an alligator death roll. And always keep an eye on him, don’t leave him alone in a room.

Some possible trouble spots could be steps, wheere a rug turns into hardwood, the couch, a bed, table legs and chair legs, pets, dust or pet hair, metal grates, rough surfaces, to name a few.

Parenting, Safety, Rolling, Over