This Week’s Sproutings Saturday is featuring nutrition pointers and guidelines for Toddlers and Preschoolers. If you missed “Nutrition in a Nutshell for Your Sprout: Infancy,” be sure to check it out!
Quick Clicks:
General Pre-School/Toddler Nutrition Guidelines (2-5 Years) Includes calorie requirements for each age
Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Toddlers
Toddler Nutrition (1 Year Old) Continue reading “Nutrition in a Nutshell for Your Sprout: Toddler & Preschooler” »
Staci, one of my really good college friends had a baby a few months after Jia was born, so we exchange thoughts and ideas since her son, Benji, is not far behind Jia (in age, though developmentally they are neck-and-neck)! Anyway, Staci wanted me to write a post about baby proofing, so I wanted to list the changes we’ve made to our house. As a warning, I didn’t go and get every baby-proofing device out there. Baby-proofing gadgets are pricey and add up very quickly, so I am going about baby-proofing in sort of a “buy as we need” fashion.
The Important Part
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) lists 12 must-have devices to childproof your home. The most important tip they stress is that in order for childproofing equipment to be effective, it must be installed correctly. Be sure to read instructions on all products that you purchase to ensure your child’s upmost safety. Also, they want you to remember that children are smart, crafty, and persistent. Even if you childproof your home, that doesn’t mean your child can’t figure out a way around it. Click here for the link.
Remember to ALWAYS lock away chemicals, medications (prescription and over-the-counter), alcohol, ammunition, knives, and other harmful products! This cannot be stressed enough!
The National Capital Poison Center states that in 2013, 44% of poison exposures were found in children under 6 years of age.
They identified the most common exposures for these children to be cosmetics, cleaners, pain medications, and foreign bodies. Others include vitamins, antihistamines (benadryl), batteries, plants/mushrooms, antimicrobials, pesticides, arts and crafts supplies, and “gastrointestinal preparations.” (I’m a nurse and I’m not sure what this refers to but it doesn’t sound appealing) Click here for other statistics from poison.org.
All of the products I am listing (besides our safety gate and trashcan) were purchased at Buy Buy Baby, and the prices I list are pre-20% off-coupon. Remember, save those Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons, because if they are NOT expired, you can use them! (expired ones, unfortunately can’t be used) There are other products out there, these aren’t the only “good ones,” and there are others that look less obvious but I am just writing about what we have, in case it helps guide your choices! Continue reading “Baby-proofing (for) My Sprout” »
OK guys – As a healthcare provider (even if I’m on an extended “break”) I wanted to put this out there as my nurse’s Public Service Announcement for all parents who have babies, young children, kids, if you have little baby cousins, nieces and nephews, best friends who have little babies, or who are pregnant… GET A FLU SHOT!
Flu season is September 1st through March 31st (that’s the guideline we follow in the hospital) and the best way you can protect your child against a whopping case of sleepless nights, fever, crying, irritability, difficulty eating, etc etc is to get vaccinated and to vaccinate your kids!
Why Vaccinate?
In general, your baby needs to be up-to-date on all vaccines. ALL VACCINES. There really is no excuse for this. So much media sensationalism exists trying to unjustifiably pin long-term health effects on vaccinations, but no. Don’t buy into it. It’s ridiculous. It leads to worse problems, like the resurgence of diseases that used to be things of the past. Here on Little Sproutings, I try not to be incredibly opinionated about some issues, but failing to vaccinate your child is a whole other story.
For more about vaccinating your child overall, see the “Additional Info” section below and additional resources at the end of this post.
Flu Vaccinating You & Your Sprout
The flu virus affects everyone. Babies and young children especially need a vaccine to defend their little bodies against the flu, because their immune systems aren’t at full strength and the effects of a flu illness are worse for them. Additionally, the course of a flu illness is more easily complicated with pneumonia because of a developing immune system. Continue reading “Avoiding a Sick Sprout…” »
I figured after a few weeks of fun posts like diaper bags and baby goodies, I would publish one on a more serious note.
Recently, one of my friends from nursing school posted on Facebook about how she just performed the Heimlich maneuver on her choking toddler, who accidentally swallowed a screw. Now, Heather is a really attentive and caring mom (who is also an ICU nurse) so I figured well if this can happen to her, it can happen to anyone!
I myself am not sure I would be able to witness my baby choking or cardiac arrest without completely losing it, so I figured I would brush up on my infant CPR and guidelines in response to choking and share them on Little Sproutings. After all, my Basic Life Support (BLS) certification online training has expired, so I need to review it for work anyway. Plus, if anything, readers can familiarize themselves with an overview so they can try on their own if they are ever put in this scary position, instead of freak out and call 911, resulting in delayed treatment.
So here goes… (the below information is what I have learned from onlineAHA.org through my own BLS certification) Continue reading “Infant CPR & Choking” »