Blisstree » infant care

Five-in-one vaccine for children now OK – FDA

Grace Ibay — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:35:42 +0000

Tomorrow, my son is going for his sixth month wellness check, and routine to that visit is immunization. Ugh. I know these are necessary for him, but there could be anywhere from 3-4 shots depending on what vaccines he needs to receive.

Well, now the FDA has approved a vaccine (Pantacel) against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

The vaccine was approved for four-dose administration at two, four, six, and 15-18 months, but the initial dose may be given as early as six weeks. Full administration should be completed before the child’s fifth birthday.

It’s well tolerated in the clinical trial and the most frequently reported serious adverse events were bronchiolitis, dehydration, and gastroenteritis.

I guess it’s biggest pro is fewer number of shots per visit. I’m not sure if this vaccine is available to the medical community but I’m gonna ask the pediatrician about this. I’m not recommending this either, but I do want the word out.

Post from: Blisstree

Five-in-one vaccine for children now OK – FDA

Cats may increase risk for infant eczema

Grace Ibay — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:18:53 +0000

Some children who are exposed to cats in their first year of life may have an increased risk for eczema, a new study reveals.

What’s responsible for the increased risk?

Mutation in the gene for filaggrin, a protein on the skin that helps reduce water loss and protects against harsh environment.

As reported in Medpage Today, scientists from the Copenhagen Study on Asthma in Childhood found that eczema was likely to develop among children who have the mutation and who have a cat in their home at birth. Only those children with the mutation have the increased risk. Likewise, exposure to dogs at home did not increase the risk of developing eczema.

source: medpagetoday;
image: sxc

Post from: Blisstree

Cats may increase risk for infant eczema

Water safety for children – is learning to swim enough?

Grace Ibay — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:32:54 +0000

When Alicia of Mental Health Notes showed me this video of a 6-year old saving a drowning friend, I realized how important it really is to teach our children water survival techniques. The American Red Cross wrote a comprehensive list of water safety tips for children, from pools, lakes and rivers, ocean, water parks, scuba diving and many other venues and activities. I’ll summarize some of them here.

Keeping Children Safe In, On, and Around the Water

Maintain constant supervision. Watch children around any water environment (pool, stream, lake, tub, toilet, bucket of water), no matter what skills your child has acquired and no matter how shallow the water. For younger children, practice “Reach Supervision” by staying within an arm’s length reach.

Don’t rely on substitutes. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace parental supervision. Such devices could suddenly shift position, lose air, or slip out from underneath, leaving the child in a dangerous situation.

Enroll children in a water safety course or Learn-to-Swim classes. Your decision to provide your child with an early aquatic experience is a gift that will have infinite rewards. These courses encourage safe practices. You can also purchase a Water Safety Handbook at the Red Cross Store.

Parents should take a CPR course. Knowing these skills can be important around the water and you will expand your capabilities in providing care for your child. You can contact your local Red Cross to enroll in a CPR course.

General Water Safety Tips:

Learn to swim. The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim. Always swim with a buddy; never swim alone.

Swim in areas supervised by a lifeguard.

Read and obey all rules and posted signs.

Children or inexperienced swimmers should take precautions, such as wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device (PFD) when around the water.

Watch out for the dangerous “too’s” – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.

Set water safety rules for the whole family based on swimming abilities (for example, inexperienced swimmers should stay in water less than chest deep).

Use a feet-first entry when entering the water.

Enter headfirst only when the area is clearly marked for diving and has no obstructions.

However, reading a post of Marijke at WombWithin – prevent drownings – made me question if learning to swim is enough. There is a difference between learning to swim and learning to survive in water. Children may panic when they fall into the water unexpectedly. Knowing what to do may just save that child’s life. There is a swimming school in Florida that teaches children and adults water survival skills, but we really need more of these programs across the nation. ~~Marijke has a~~ ~~contest~~ ~~that gives away a DVD from the Baby Otter Swim School on just that – life-saving pool and home safety tips.~~ Contest ended, sorry.

image: sxc

Post from: Blisstree

Water safety for children – is learning to swim enough?

Medical miracle of a baby born twice

Grace Ibay — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:47:32 +0000

Here’s a literal meaning to the term “born again.”

A fatal tumor was found in the fetus of Keri McCartney, bigger than the baby itself and robbing needed blood for her to completely develop. So the doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital performed what would be a medical miracle!

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Post from: Blisstree

Medical miracle of a baby born twice

Kids Health Notes give-away: Kushies cloth diapers

Grace Ibay — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:18:59 +0000

Let me tell you, new babies can be very expensive!

Diapers alone can cost up to $1,500 to $2,000 or more on disposables by the time baby is done with them. That would be anywhere from $0.16 to $0.25 cents per diaper. Now compare that reusable or cloth diapers at around 12 cents a diaper with a washing service, or 3 cents if you wash them yourself. But that’s not all the difference between cloth and disposable. Rashes happen at about the same amount regardless of the type used. Obviously, disposables are a lot more convenient, but they do fill up the landfill fast!

Which one to use? This white paper from the University of Michigan recommends you take advantage of both, or try both to see which one you end up more inclined to… but while you are still thinking about it…

Kushies, the world’s leader on washable diapers, is sponsoring to give-away three Starter Diaper Packages (retails at $90 each)

Infant Ultra Diapers 5 pack
Flushable liners
Infant/toddler washable diaper liner
And…for something fun for winners a Kushies Kritters Max Monkey Pillow (picture below the fold)

How to join?

In the comments, can you share a funny potty/diaper humor? (I’ll start – tonight my infant son farted really loudly in the middle of a prayer meeting! LOL ).
Additional entry will be given to those who link this contest post on their site! You need to include your post URL.
Eligibility – one entry per person per email daily (so you get more entries if you come back tomorrow, but I want to head different stories each time).
It’s open to residents of the US, Puerto Rico and Canada. If you have a blog, do post your URL as well, as I love to visit my readers’ sites and catch a conversation.

Contest ends 12:00 midnight EST on June 23, 2008 (Monday). Three winners will be randomly chosen and announced via blog and email the week after. If the winner does not reply within 3 days, he/she forfeits her winnings and an alternate winner will be chosen.

Kushies has a huge clothing line for children. Check out this website www.kushiesonline.com for more products!

images: Kushies

Post from: Blisstree

Kids Health Notes give-away: Kushies cloth diapers

Stand Up to Cancer

Grace Ibay — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:55:18 +0000

Sometimes, pain brings people together. Other times, it is victory.

On September 5, television, sports, journalism and music will come together in a primetime television event called Stand Up To Cancer to raise cutting-edge funds for cancer research.

The three major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, will join forces and donate an hour of their primetime on September 5, 2008 (8 pm EDT and PDT), and rally the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death.

The Stand Up To Cancer special will feature live performances by legendary recording artists and stars from film and television who will perform as well as present filmed content giving viewers insight into cancer. Various screening tests will be demonstrated in novel and entertaining ways. Television anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will report on potentially life-saving research, speaking with both patients and scientists.

Katie Couric returned to The Today Show and talked about the cancer charity event with the other TV anchors (watch the video).

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and was established by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders, whose lives have all been affected by cancer in significant ways.

Post from: Blisstree

Stand Up to Cancer