Barb's Daily Dose

Excellent Question Regarding Swine Flu

A question was posed to me from a mom who was sent a link to my segment on a local ABC channel. She believes it was from a parent at her son's school.  Here is her question:

QUESTION:

I have a question about siblings of a swine flu patient.  Should they be staying home from school if they don't have symptoms?  My daughter is 4 and was diagnosed yesterday at the doctor's office as being positive for flu A.  My 6 year old son's school does not want him to come to school for 5 days after she is free of fever.  I can not find that guidance on the CDC or the SCCGOV.ORG.  Do you have anything to show when a sibling should (or shouldn't) go to school? 

Mercury and Autism

 

A recent study found that Mercury levels are similar in children with and without autism.  This is reassuring and brings us closer to finding out what is involved in autism.  The blood mercury levels in children with autism or autism spectrum disorders were no different from those found in children without the disorder. "This is an excellent study that has addressed a very important question for many families about the role of mercury [in  autism]. It's a very clear study [in] that no differences in mercury were seen," one autism expert said.

Just as a reminder, vaccines in the U.S. can contain mercury.

Breast or Bottle Part II

Moms Want Choices and Support

A recent survey from Healthy Women, a not for profit source of credible, unbiased woman's health information found that mothers not only want support for their feeding choices, but they need support. 

You can read the entire article here.

Vitamin D and Your Kids

Now that winter is upon us, it's even more important to make sure that children are getting enough Vitamin D.  A recent Study found that 1 in 5 U.S. children are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for so many aspects of our lives.  It keeps bones healthy, helps prevent colon cancer, and low  levels of vitamin D are associated with depressed moods.

Tantrums Part 2 - Solutions

My friend, Mary Beth, is a 2nd grade teacher and has twins. She talks about the importance of remembering the long term consequences of short term decisions. This really applies when it comes to tantrums.  Give in early to a child with tantrums, and you can bet that you'll be giving in and plan to give in often for the rest of your child's life.  In effect, when you give in, you give away all your power as a parent.

Tantrums Part 1

I was talking to a mom, Kate (not her real name)  the other day who’s struggling with her 9 year old daughter’s tantrums and she said, “I didn’t know….that by when I thought I was being a good mom and gave in to her when she was younger that now she’d be defiant and out of control.  I was just trying to be a good mom.”

I bring this up, because an ounce of prevention can change your life and make things so much easier in the long run. Parenting isn’t easy.  And what preparation do any of us have?  Maybe we were lucky with great role models, maybe not. How many people take classes in child development? Here's a confession.  I took classes in child development, I even taught it for a semester before I had my own child.

Infant Feeding & Nutrition

What Is The Difference Between Milk-Based And Soy-Based Infant Formulas?

The protein in milk-based formulas comes from cow's milk which has been heat treated, making it easy for a baby to digest. The sugar in milk-based formulas is lactose, unless specifically manufactured as lactose-free. Soy-based formulas are milk-free and lactose-free; the protein in these formulas comes from a soybean source that also is easy for a baby to digest. If a baby exhibits signs of lactose intolerance or certain allergic reactions to milk protein, the physician may recommend a soy-based formula to help treat these conditions. A baby with confirmed milk protein-induced colitis could also be sensitive to soy protein so might be given an extensively hydrolyzedsate formula, one in which the protein has been predigested so it will decrease the likelihood of a reaction. Parents who seek a vegetarian-based diet for their healthy infant may want to discuss the use of soy-based formula with the pediatrician

Are All Herbs Completely Safe?

If it comes from nature, it must be safer, right?  Not necessarily.  More and more, as patients seek alternatives to pharmaceuticals, we are seeing people have side effects from natural and alternative treatments including vitamins, supplements and herbs.

Many herbs are beneficial, in fact I like peppermint tea, grow my own basil for homemade pesto, have used black cohosh for hot flashes (in Remifemin) and use thyme in cooking.  But, some herbs can be dangerous  including foxglove, which is the source of digitalis, a powerful heart medication. 

Click here:  To view more on CNN Health with a great list for you.

Under Feeding

This week I received a lot of questions from moms whose babies who were 5 or more weeks old and seemed to need to eat every 2 hours.  The moms were becoming sleep deprived and felt like their babies were constantly hungry. It didn’t matter if they were using pumped milk or formula, all were having the same issue. After a few more questions, I realized that they were not offering enough in the bottle.  Some were  only offering 1.5 ounces (40ml), others only 2 ounces (60 ml) and others 3 ounces (100 ml).

The Baby K'tan Carrier

The Featured Guest Product Today Is: 

The Baby K'tan Carrier

The Baby K’tan Baby Carrier is a one-of-a-kind double sling design carrier which is perfect for preemies, babies with developmental delays and even twins.

Customer Tamara Bellinger says:

“Finding the right carrier was hard.  I couldn’t carry around my newborn and take care of my two year old simultaneously.  I tried a number of different carriers but my baby just wasn’t happy.  He was never comfortable and wouldn’t sleep in them, and none were easy to put on.

Then I got a Baby K’tan and fell in love!  The K’tan is great because there is a position for everything – when he wants to nap I use the Cradle position, when he wants to look out – I use the Adventure position…..I can even use it with my two year old”!

Check it out at:  www.babyktan.com