Baby's first head cold

At the end of our Thanksgiving trip baby began to show symptoms of a head cold.  It's inevitable; eventually was going to get sick.  We visited my wife's family for Thanksgiving and not only was he exposed to lots of people, but lots of people from different areas.  We traveled to New Jersey, people came from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and any time you travel you're exposed to different germs.  A few relatives were in various stages of being sick, so it really was inevitable.

The morning before we left the in-laws he woke up earlier than usual, but during the whole trip his schedule was a little off anyway so we didn't think much of it.  Throughout the day it seemed like he was sniffling a little, but he was enjoying all the attention he got from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles so much that he was in fine humor.  Naps were a bit short, but again, he was in a strange environment so we didn't think much of it.  

The day we drove home probably messed with his schedule and wore him out even more.  Driving for four hours (perhaps more) through New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island isn't fun for anyone.  Driving four hours with a baby makes things even more complicated.  We used to stop along the way to give him a bottle and a chance to stretch, but this trip we decided to just push through and be  done with it.  On the way down we left about an hour before his bedtime so he would be awake for a while at least.  I know I get stiff when I'm sitting in the same position for too long so I'm sure the same is true for a baby.

We took his temperature that night, and there was some debate as to where to do it.  He's 8 months old now and can move himself around pretty well, flipping himself over when he's on the changing table, kicking, and pulling away when we're trying to get him dressed.  We've never had any success taking his temperature under his arm, and the pediatrician always does it rectally, so that's how we've done it.  I don't think it would have been possible to do it if my wife and I hadn't done it together.

His temperature was 99.1°, which falls well below the 101° threshold when we would give him tylenol.  A nurse from the pediatrician's office told me several symptoms to watch for in which case we would then need to bring him in.  If he develops any of these symptoms we should call again: a fever, a cough, a wheeze, loss of appetite, or if he is continuously crying and inconsolable.  She advised we use a cold mist humidifier, keep him upright as much as possible, and use the bulb syringe in his nose to remove mucus.

It's been four days now and his mood is greatly improved, although his nose is still running all the time. He had interrupted sleep the first night we were home, and more short than full length naps.  He's required almost all my attention, which was something else the nurse told me.  She said babies need lots of attention when they're sick "just like adults do," or something to that effect.  That made me laugh because it's pretty true.  

Natural cleaning products

This is a video that was posted by Seventh Generation, a company that makes all natural cleaning products.  We started purchasing their products recently because of the baby; we didn't want to expose him to the chemicals used in most commercial cleaners.  Babies learn about objects by putting them in their mouths, and when I see the TV commercials for Lysol it makes me cringe.  

This was a video that first came to my attention from a Seventh Generation ad on facebook.  There is a registration website (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons) where you can sign up to receive coupons and other promotional material.  They carry a lot of products now, and I can't speak to the cost of all of them, but they seem to be competitively priced.  

Petrochemicals and the adverse affect on our Hormones

Pointing with his index finger

In the last few days baby has begun pointing with his index finger.  We don't think he's actually pointing at anything, he's just practicing using his index finger.  It's cute, except when he's using it to scratch my face or pick my nose.  But even then it's pretty cute.

Practicing with pointing helps develop his finger dexterity and fine motor skills.  When he's playing with his blocks he'll use his index finger to flip the block over or move it around.  He also grabs things between his index finger and thumb now, rather than with his whole hand.

I found this website from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research about communication and the connection between thought and language.  According to the site, pointing is a direct precursor to speaking, but my child isn't exactly pointing in a communicative way yet.  Pointing for communication is supposed to begin somewhere between 8 - 10 months old.  We're still trying to teach him sign language, so we'll see how that factors in.  

Britax car seat recall

Britax has recently recalled some of its car seats, citing the possibility that a child could bite off part of the harness and choke on it.  I hate to think about how they discovered this flaw, but the Britax website has a safety notices page where you can select a product to find out if it has been recalled.  You'll need to find the model number and manufacture date of your infant seat.

They call the harness "HUGS," short for Harness Ultra-Guard System.  The new harness was designed to be more flexible than previous models, but small pieces of the strap can come off when children bite and chew on it.  Britax will send replacement straps, made of a harder material that is more resistant to being bitten off, for registered owners of the effected car seats.  If you haven't registered yet, you can do so at http://www.britaxconvertiblerecall.com.

This is a good opportunity to pass along some advice we heard in one of the Isis classes we took in preparation for baby's arrival.  Always fill out warranty or registration cards for everything you get for your baby.  By registering you provide the company with contact information so that in a case like this the company can contact you directly with recall information.  Britax automatically mailed this notice, along with the replacement harness, to everyone who registered.

Attaching the straps

The video is also available here on the Britax website.

Teaching baby to drink water

We've started trying to teach our now 7 month old baby to drink water, and he loves it.  Drinking water seems pretty simple, but there are several things to consider.  My wife read that you should start by teaching the baby to drink from a regular glass before giving baby a sippy-cup.  This is not a neat process, but at least it's only water.  We got new waterproof bibs that serve merely to deflect the water to soak such areas as the pants, the floor, or your clothes.  Unless you employ my new "Bib Over Bib" technique, but I'll explain that in more detail later.

They say not to give a child water until they're at least 6 months old; they get all the hydration they need from the milk or formula.  It can be dangerous to give a baby water before 6 months because it can upset the balance of baby's electrolytes causing serious problems, or at the least filling baby's stomach with water when they need the nutrition of milk or formula.  Up to this point he's had both milk and formula, always from a bottle.  For a few weeks now he's been fascinated by our eating and drinking, and watches us intently when we have a glass of water.

I try to keep the glass of water out of his line of sight behind me until he's stopped eating his oatmeal and fruit or vegetable.  I'm trying to set up a one to one relationship between sips of water and bites of food, so I have to be able to switch between the spoon and the cup quickly.  If he has enough room to drink water he has room for more food, although he does protest when I switch to food.

He only drinking about half a cup of water in a sitting, if that.  At this point it's more about learning to hold the cup and tip it back rather than staying hydrated.  We use water filtered with a Brita water pitcher (that I then pour into glass bottles and store in the refrigerator).  We use water from the tap when mixing formula for the bottle, but I don't like the taste of tap water because of the fluoride and other chemicals they use to treat the water.  I'm conflicted as to the use of fluoride in water; there are dental benefits but what are the side effects?  People existed long before we had fluorinated water, and I'm nervous about all the chemicals that have worked their way into everything.  We're compromising by using a little of both.

Bib over bib technique

The bib over bib technique works pretty well, and I'm sure you have it half figured out from the title alone.  Up until now we've always used cloth bibs.  They get dirty when he eats solid food but never so bad that his clothes get food on them.  Now we have waterproof bibs for drinking water, but when used singly they only keep the area directly underneath them dry.  At first we would feed baby with the cloth bib as usual, then put the waterproof bib on over it when it was time for water.  His pants would get wet, the bottom of his shirt would get wet, and sometimes I would end up wet too.  By putting the cloth bib over the waterproof bib the water is absorbed by the cloth and the waterproof bib keeps the clothes from getting wet.  The key is that the waterproof bib is larger than the cloth bib.  It works well to keep him dry, but it's inevitable that he gets a little wet.

Media and children

I came across this video a few months ago, and it's really worth checking out.  This video featuring Dimitri Christakis gives some concrete reasons to restrict your child's TV viewing.  This video is the reason I'm strictly keeping the TV off when baby's in the room until he's at least 2 years old.  

The video is a little more than 16 minutes long and makes some good points about ADD and other theories on the effects of TV exposure in children.  I think it's important to allow your child some recreation time with the TV and technology, but not until 2 years old.