If you opt to use your infant car seat as a carrier, realize that it can be a killer on your wrists, elbows, lower back, and neck if you tote it by the handle or if you put it on your forearm like a handbag.
“The greater the horizontal distance from the weight you’re carrying to your torso, the more stress on your joints, discs, ligaments, and muscles,” says Mary Ellen Modica, a physical therapist from the STEPS program at Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital in Chicago, Ill. It’s equivalent to walking around with three or four full paint cans in one hand—something most people wouldn’t do, but yet, they’ll carry a car seat that way.”
Instead, “Carry the car seat in front of you so you have both hands on the handle,” advises Diane Dalton, orthopedic clinical specialist at Boston University’s Sargent College of health and Rehabilitation Sciences, in Boston, Mass. With the weight of the seat and your baby centered and close to your trunk, the force on your body will be reduced, Dalton says.
Another option: Leave the infant seat in your car and transfer your baby to a soft infant carrier, backpack carrier, or stroller, or use a travel system. Or simply carry your baby in your arms.
How do you carry your young baby around? Let us know in comments!
Swine flu vaccines approved. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved swine (H1N1) flu vaccines, and says they'll be distributed nationally within the next few weeks. We recommend it for all children 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, and people who live with or care for infants under 6 months old. Anyone who has severe or life-threatening allergies to chicken eggs should not be vaccinated, according to the FDA. Learn more in the full Health blog post.
Infant car seats can restrict babies oxygen levels (CNN.com). Infant car safety seats can—and do—save newborns' lives in traffic accidents. However, these seats, which require infants to be placed in an upright position, can also cause breathing problems when babies sleep in them.
More states require booster seats. More children under the age of one are placed in child safety seats than ever. And booster seats, which are designed to protect older children, are now required in 47 states (not including Arizona, Florida and South Dakota) and the District of Columbia. While all 50 states require car seats for those under age one year, laws governing booster seats vary from state to state. With the child seated in the car against the seat back: Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat? Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm? Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs? Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip? If any of the answers are no, the child should be riding in a booster seat. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.
Recall: 2,000 pairs of Clarks children’s shoes (sold under the “crawlers” and “hazy daze” style names). Molded rubber pieces on the sole of the recalled shoes can detach, posing a choking hazard to infants and young children. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.
Bad bugs are everywhere. Here’s the dirt on some of the sneakiest places nasty germs commonly lurk and what you and your family can reasonably do to guard against them.
Bug magnet: Bathroom towelsFecal bacteria from your child’s hands and body after a bath or shower or going to the bathroom, as well as mold, can grow on towels. In addition, rotavirus, hepatitis A, and bacteria that cause staph skin infections won’t grow but can remain for days on towels. These germs are tough. “Given the right conditions, they can survive your laundry’s wash and dry cycle,” says Reynolds.
Your defense: Wash your towels in hot water and disinfect them with diluted bleach during the wash cycle; follow the manufacturer’s instructions so your towels don’t discolor. Then dry them in the hottest cycle of your dryer until there’s no hint of dampness. Replace any towels that smell mildewy. That’s a sign they’re incubating mold and bacteria, Reynolds says. (See home cleaning tips without chemicals.)
Bug magnet: Pet fur and pawsAn affectionate lick from your family dog on healthy skin isn’t likely to make your child sick. Dogs have cleaner mouths than many other animals and their lack of exposure to agricultural situations where other animals might acquire E. coli means they are generally harmless, Dr. Nowalk says. But pets can track germs from feces into the house on their fur and paws.
Your defense: Make sure your child washes his hands properly after contact with pets, especially before eating. Disinfect your home’s entryway, especially if you have an indoor/outdoor pet. “That’s where most pet germs in the home get deposited,” says Reynolds, adding that germs come in on shoes as well. (Read more general safety tips for children and pets.)
Bug magnet: The playgroundIt’s more germ-infested than a public rest¬room, according to a recent University of Arizona study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. Why? “Restrooms tend to get disinfected and cleaned often,” says Kelly Reynolds, the university’s public health professor. Playground equipment doesn’t, which means harmful germs—mostly from mucus that gets on equipment after kids wipe their noses with their hands—accumulate. Because dirt can protect these bad bugs from drying out and dying, they can survive on equipment for up to three days.
Your defense: There’s no way you can keep up with all the germs that get spread when kids play. But eventually, you can teach your child to not touch his mouth, nose, or eyes when he’s outside so the germs he picks up can’t gain entry. While hand washing is best, if there are no facilities, bring alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel and have your child use it when you both leave. For the greatest germ kill, make sure your child rubs his hands together with gel for a full 20 seconds—to the tune of “Happy Birthday” twice. It takes that long to dislodge stubborn germs. (Learn more about washing hands and hand sanitizers.)
Bug magnet: Your pediatrician’s waiting roomDon’t be fooled by the antiseptic smell. With all the runny-nosed, coughing, sneezing little patients who visit the doctor, especially during cold and flu season, you can bet your pediatrician’s waiting room is a virtual petri dish.
Your defense: Wash your baby’s hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer before visiting the doctor so she’ll be less likely to pass something along to other kids. Even if she’s well, she could be harboring an infection but not yet showing symptoms. Use the well-child waiting room if she’s just coming in for a checkup. There’s bound to be less germ load there than in the waiting room for ill kids.
If your child is ill, bring along toys to keep him occupied in the waiting room instead of playing with the toys provided. “Your own toys will be infected with germs from your house, but at least they won’t be infected with someone else’s germs, which could expose your child to a different illness,” says Andrew Nowalk, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. (See how to boost your baby’s immunity.)
Well we spent some time at Turtle Bay today…we had family in town and since we have a “contributor” membership we can bring up to 8 people into the museum…so…
The kids had the most fun at the bird exhibit…if you go there have the docent spray the birds lightly with water and they all start flying around…its fun to feel them all flying around you!
The big talk was about “Scoop on Poop” the new exhibit that starts tomorrow. Its dedicated to the study of the poop of animals…they’ve even got items for sale in the gift shop that are made of 100% poop! The exhibit is free with your paid admission so stop by…bring the kids…and let them learn all about poop. It may be the only time in their lives that they get to learn this much about the topic and have fun doing it!
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There’s a growing selection of organic formula brands on the market. To date, they include Baby’s Only, which makes dairy, soy, and lactose-free formulas for toddlers (the company’s philosophy is that breast milk is best for the early months), Bright Beginnings (dairy), Earth’s Best (dairy and soy), Parent’s Choice (dairy; Wal-Mart’s store brand), and Similac Organic (dairy). Each of these formulas includes iron, DHA, and ARA. (See how to save on infant formula, at right.)
Organic formula costs slightly more than nonorganic, but there are deals to be had online and by buying the store brand. Using organic formula is a matter of personal preference.
Learn more about DHA and ARA in baby formula, and probiotics in baby formula, in our previous posts.
A popular classic comedy written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman and directed by Tess O’Connell at the Riverfront Playhouse.
“You Can’t Take it With You” runs weekends from September 19th through October 17th on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30pm. There will also be Sunday matinees at 2pm. Opening and closing nights include complimentary champagne, beverages and finger food.
For ticket information call or visit The Graphic Emporium at 1525 Pine Street or via phone at 530.241.4278.
September 25th from 10am – 12pm at the Cascade Theater! Tickets are only $4.00 each!
The North State Symphony’s annual youth concert is perfect for all ages! In this concert, the symphony will be playing some of the most famous music ever written, part of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, as well as a wide variety of other tunes.
And they have a special guest: Dr. Noize!
Dr. Noize (Cory Cullinan) has been a friend of North State Symphony Music Director Kyle Pickett since college. He performs across the country in family-oriented shows sharing the glory of music in all its varieties.
Contact:Cascade Theatre Box Office by phone at 530-243-8877.
Click Here to purchase tickets through the Casade Theater Box Office!
Redding City Musical Theatre Company presents FOOTLOOSE on September 18, and 19 at 7:00 pm with a special 2:00 pm matinee performance on September 19 at the Cascade Theater in Redding.
Tickets are $16.00 – orchestra and balcony, $12.00 for seniors and children 12 1/2 and under – orchestra and balcony, and $20.00 for all loge seating (no discounts apply.)
FOOTLOOSE—with lyrics by Dean Pitchford, book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, and music by Tom Snow and others—is based on the hit film of the same name which launched a string of popular hits including, “Almost Paradise,” “Let’s Hear It For The Boy,” “Holding Out For A Hero,” “The Girl Gets Around,” and the hugely popular title song. One of the most explosive movie musicals in recent memory bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results.
When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, Ren is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school. What he isn’t prepared for are the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher, determined to exercise the control over the town’s youth that he cannot command in his own home. When the reverend’s rebellious daughter sets her sights on Ren, her roughneck boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation, with many of the locals eager to believe the worst about the new kid. The heartfelt story that emerges is of a father longing for the son he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him.
Nestlé Good Start Natural Cultures (including Nestlé Good Start 2 Natural Cultures, for babies and toddlers 9 to 24 months) is the first brand of infant formula to contain probiotics—the friendly bacteria that normally reside in the gut, where they help break down foods and medicine and keep disease-causing bugs in check.
Several studies now suggest that infants on antibiotics or suffering from diarrhea may get some relief when they’re fed infant formula containing probiotics. To produce any benefit, a serving must contain at least 100 million live cultures.
Talk to your pediatrician to see if you should try a formula with probiotics. If you supplement infant formula with breastfeeding, a probiotic formula isn’t necessary since breast milk is a natural source of probiotics. (See formula and breast milk storage guidelines.)
For related information, learn about jaundice in newborns.
