‘baby’

All Articles tagged ‘baby’

You Can Help Prevent Shaken Babies

Posted on April 7, 2013 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 1011 Comment

Babies get shaken most after periods of inconsolable crying. Since April is Child Abuse Prevention month, here’s some information on abusive head trauma (previously know as “shaken baby syndrome”) and ways you can help support new parents with babies who cry.

All babies cry. But some babies cry more (see the graph in the video). Babies do follow predictable patterns in crying: most babies start crying around 2 weeks of age and their crying peaks by 2 months, then tends to resolve around 3 to 4 months of age. But there are some babies who simply cry more than others. Dr Ronald Barr has researched crying in infants for over 30 years and developed the PURPLE period of crying based off data on all types of infants. Learning about the PURPLE period so you can help reassure families that they aren’t doing ANYTHING WRONG when they have a fussy baby. It’s okay that a baby fusses and cries, particularly at peak times (around 2 months of age, in the evening), our job as parents and community members is to support parents dealing with this fussiness.

Crying is aggravating to all of us. When I spoke with Dr Ken Feldman, a pediatrician and expert in shaken baby syndrome (now called abusive head trauma), he reminded me of a startling finding. He mentioned a North Carolina study found that 20% of parents surveyed admitted to shaking a baby out of frustration at some point.

You’re not alone if you’ve felt overwhelmed while caring for a cranky baby.

Take turns soothing fussy babies. Put babies in their cribs on their backs if you get really frustrated. It’s always okay to walk away from a really cranky baby for a 10-15 minute break!

Read full post »

Baby’s Ears When Flying

Posted on February 22, 2013 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 1011 Comment

First off, I have connected with a few engineers and pilots — I may be wrong on one point here: Commercial airplanes typically ascend/climb faster than they descend for a landing. My apologies. I’m clearly no pilot…

That being said, you can help support your baby or child’s potential ear discomfort during flying by having them suck on something like a pacifier, having them breast feed, or offer a bottle during take-off and landing. The motion of their jaw and mouth during sucking and swallowing will help them equalize to the pressure changes. When they move their jaw to suck and swallow this helps facilitate venting in the Eustachian tube that allows your child to equalize pressure from the outside world with the middle part of their ear. That click or pop you feel when you yawn is your ear drum moving back to middle after getting pushed one direction in your ear from a pressure change.

It’s true that discomfort is far greater during pressure changes when there is fluid in our middle ear (from colds to ear infections). Check in with your child’s doctor or nurse practitioner prior to flying if you’re concerned about a potential infection. If that’s not ideal, consider getting Cellscope (an iPhone app that helps you look into your child’s ear, and/or allows you to send the image to their doctor) if you’re a frequent flier and your child is prone to fluid in the middle ear.

Here’s tips for parents about fluid in the middle ear and nice summary about ears & pressure changes from Kid’s Health.

Mix And Match: Goldilocks Formula

Posted on November 30, 2012 in: Infant6 Comments

Often new parents are nervous about mixing and matching infant formula they offer their babies. They worry if they switch from one formula brand to another, they may cause their baby fussiness, stool changes, upset or worse–that they could put their baby at risk.

It’s safe to mix and match infant formulas if you are following standard mixing instructions. Really.

Although spitting up or gassiness is usually not due to the protein in formula (cow’s milk versus soy versus hypoallergenic), sometimes changing formula helps new babies and their parents who worry. Switching them up can even help clarify worries in some scenarios when a parent worries about excessive gassiness, intolerance, or significant urping or spitting up.

Experimentation with formula brands in an otherwise healthy newborn is okay. But it’s not necessary at all, either.

It’s fine to make a bottle that is ½ formula from the blue can and ½ formula from the yellow one. Fine to serve Simulac one week, Enfamil the next, Earth’s Best or Goodstart followed by Soy formula the following day. Fine to buy one brand that’s on sale only to buy the other brand next week. Read full post »

Circumcision For Newborn Baby Boys

Posted on September 7, 2012 in: Infant52 Comments

Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued an update to their circumcision policy statement that attracted significant attention. In it, the task force clarified the previous neutral policy for boys’ circumcision. The AAP stated that research has advanced since it’s most recent report in 2005 to conclude the health benefits of circumcision outweigh the procedure risks. Like any medical test or procedure, circumcision carries both benefit and risk. With global data expanding about benefits of circumcision and protection against sexually transmitted diseases, the AAP changed its stance. Risks from circumcision are reported to be very unlikely and happen less than 1% of the time. Most common side effects can be a small chance of bleeding or a need for antibiotic ointment. The most frequently reported adverse event from parents is a concern not enough foreskin was removed. Fortunately, circumcision revisions are very rare.

The statement doesn’t go so far as to recommend that boys undergo circumcision, rather the task force stated that the procedure should be done under sterile technique by a trained, experienced clinician. Importantly, they stated for the first time that it should be covered by Medicaid and insurance. This with the hope that every family ought to have the right to make a choice for or against circumcision, not just those with private insurance.

Clearly, the decision to circumcise a newborn baby boy isn’t made simply in the content of medical data. Families weigh religious traditions, cultural practices, family history, and medical information when choosing to circumcise or not. The AAP statement maintains and honors this belief. Ultimately, the decision is a private one for families to make. A pediatrician, family doctor, or ARNP should help you go over medical benefits/risks as needed. As a parent, you go over the rest. Read full post »

Reassuring Infant And Toddler Communication: When Not To Worry About Autism

Posted on April 18, 2012 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 101, Toddler8 Comments

Many parents worry about their child’s development at one point in time. With each of my boys, I had worries about their communication and thought their language delays or behaviors signaled something serious. That might just be the “worrier” in me, but it might just be the “mom” in me, too. Competitive parenting makes us all a little nuts…

Here’s a few signs that your child is developing great communication skills on time. However, if at any time you worry that your child isn’t expressing joy, communicating thoughts, or reflecting an understanding of your language, visual cues, and behavior talk with your child’s doctor. If you don’t feel heard or continue to worry, schedule another visit. If you still worry, contact another doctor for a second opinion. Instincts serve us very well when it comes to parenthood. Further, find some peace of mind if your child is doing many of the behaviors listed below!

Reassuring Developmental Milestones For Infants & Children

  • Responds to her name between 9-12 months of age.
  • Smiles by 2 months, laughs and giggle around 4-5 months, expresses great joy to your humor around 6 months.
  • Plays and thinks peek-a-boo is funny around 9 months of age.
  • Makes eye contact with people during infancy.
  • Tries to say words you say between 12 and 18 months of age.
  • Your toddler uses 5 words by 18 months of age.
  • Copies your gestures like pointing, clapping, or waving.
  • Imitates you — ie pretends to stir a bowl of pancake mix when you give them a spoon and bowl or pretends to talk on the phone with a play cell phone.
  • Shakes head “no.”
  • Waves “bye-bye” by 15 months of age.
  • Points to show you something interesting or points to get your attention by 18 months of age.

Baby’s First Shots: Swaddling And Shushing

Posted on April 17, 2012 in: Infant, Vaccines7 Comments

The 2 month-old check up may be harder for parents than it is for babies. Getting the first set of shots is anxiety provoking for we moms and dads; no question that it’s unsettling to allow a medical provider to cause our beautiful, new, healthy baby pain. Research has found that the pain and discomfort associated with shots is one of the primary reasons parents “elect not to perform timely vaccination.”

A study published this week affirms two truths. First, structured soothing may be a great tool for families to control crying after discomfort from shots. A group of pediatricians in Virginia used Dr Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block 5S’s technique (shushing, swaddling, side positioning, sucking, and swinging/swaying) as an intervention for crying after the 2 and 4 month shots. The technique has been advertised to parents as a way to soothe and comfort fussy and colicky babies in the first few months of life. The researchers found that compared to a control group with no intervention and  a group of babies that received a sugary solution for comfort prior to the shots, the 5S technique helped soothe crying and pain more rapidly. Most babies that were swaddled, shushed, swung, and offered a pacifier for sucking stopped crying within only 45 seconds. Second, the great reality is that most babies stop crying within 1 to 2 minutes of getting injections anyway. The study confirmed that, too! In my experience, only rarely does a baby leave clinic still crying. Some of our anxiety about the discomfort as parents can be relieved–we really need to get the word out this is a short process. It’s rare for a baby to cry for even 3 to 4 minutes after their injections. Read full post »

When Is It Okay To Fly With My Newborn Baby?

Posted on March 29, 2012 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 10110 Comments

I think it’s okay to fly with your newborn baby straight away. After 1 week of age the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) says it’s okay, as does the AAP, but always recommends a separate seat for your infant whenever possible.

The biggest risk flying with a healthy newborn is exposure to infection. So, like any decision in life, you have to weigh the risks and benefits of a decision. Because we take fever very seriously in babies under 3 months of age, we want to avoid infections when possible. Take precautions, wash your hands frequently, and wipe down seat backs, tray tables, and seatbelts on board.

All that being said, I flew with O when he was just 6 weeks old. It was important for us to travel to see family in California for the holidays. I took precautions, loaded up on hand sanitzer, and backed extra diapers. It was a wonderful Christmas…

For more on traveling with children, check out:

TSA Tips For Traveling With Children

Is Air Travel Safe For an Infant (the short answer is “yes”)

Sleep Through The Night

Posted on January 27, 2012 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 10139 Comments

Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a major milestone for baby and for you. If I had to distill down the best sleep advice I’ve ever heard it would be these 4 things:

  • Your consistency with the sleep routine is far more important than what method you choose to help get your baby to sleep. The ritual at bedtime (reading, bath, rocking, etc) is one of the most important daily activities you establish for your child from day 1 (or day 30).
  • Letting your baby learn to fall asleep all on her own at 1 to 2 months of age will serve you and your child again and again. Research shows that infants and children who are allowed to learn to self-soothe and get themselves to sleep will often be far better sleepers, even as adults. Consider letting your baby learn to self-soothe and “cry it out” in the middle of the night after 4 to 6 months of age.
  • If you’re concerned about your baby’s sleep challenges, talk directly with their doc. Recent research found that 1 in 10 children under age 3 has a sleep challenge, and often sleep trouble persists from infancy to toddlerhood.
  • Sleep needs to be a priority (for us all). Making sacrifices to support routine bedtimes and sleep routines will always be worth it.

Seattle Mama Doc 101: 3 Month Developmental Milestones

Posted on July 11, 2011 in: Infant, Seattle Mama Doc 1011 Comment


For more information:

Please leave additional topic ideas and suggestions for the Seattle Mama Doc video series as comments at Seattle Mama Doc 101: Introduction.

Seattle Mama Doc 101: Baby Proofing Your House

Posted on May 27, 2011 in: Infant, Parenting, Seattle Mama Doc 101, Toddler9 Comments