Everyone “knows” that babies have trouble when they are teething. But I think that teething doesn’t cause nearly as much trouble as its reputation suggests. Babies start “gumming” and drooling on hard objects, starting at a few months of age. This might be due to teething, or it might just be oral exploration. You can [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released professional TV and radio “spots”, encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated on time. The ads recall a time when many children were crippled or killed by contagious diseases. Grandparents hold their own young grandchildren, while talking about members of their own families who died or were crippled [...]
If you are breastfeeding, good for you (and your baby!) If you can pump some, and store some for later, so much the better. It can be stored for about 6 months in the back of your freezer. (Click HERE for more information.) Some mothers produce so much milk that their baby can’t drink it [...]
How do you know when your school-aged child can safely come out of the car seat, and use a regular seat belt? It’s longer than you think. The safety issue relates to the way that the safety belts themselves restrain the child. In order for the belt to restrain the child without causing injury, the [...]
How should you take care of your newborn’s umbilical cord? Conflicting instructions confuse new parents. But proper care is not difficult. The most important technique is to expose the base of the cord. If the base is not exposed to air, then bacteria can thrive in the wet, low oxygen environment; this may lead to [...]
Lots of experts give advice about how to care for fussy babies. There are special medicines (such as Mylicon), special formulas (such as Nutramigen), and home remedies galore. (Could someone please tell me what “gripe water” actually contains?) But most babies who cry a lot don’t have colic. I haven’t made this diagnosis more than [...]
A few parents are still asking about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine. Please be reassured! You and your children are much better off with the vaccine than without it. This is certainly not a “new” vaccine; the H1N1 vaccines are just like the regular seasonal vaccine, made by the same manufacturers, who use the [...]
Everybody knows that kids need to wear sunscreen when outside in the summer sun. And it needs to be reapplied every two hours – even if the manufacturer claims that a single application lasts 4-8 hours, don’t believe the label! But what about little babies under 6 months? For decades, doctors advised against sunscreen for [...]
A federal program, WIC (“Women, Infants, and Children”) provides free food to low income families. This excellent program has been funded for many years by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition service. Money is provided to states, who give infant formula and nutritious food to pregnant women and children who qualify. A new [...]
Would you like to have your infant daughter’s earlobes pierced? You might have some difficulty finding someone to do it for you. Some pediatricians have recommended against having the ears pierced until the child is old enough to take care of them herself. Usually this meant waiting until the child is school age. However, I [...]
