Selling ADHD

Here's a video from another article on ADHD in children, found at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/health/the-selling-of-attention-deficit-disorder.html.  It examines the rise in ADHD diagnoses as well as the rise in prescription drug use by children, as well as the commercial campaigns promoting these drugs.  Personally I believe that some children probably need medication, but the human brain is an incredible thing, and before we dope up our kids we should try every other avenue first.  I've written before about another article, entitled Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD, which is worth a read as well.  In France it's treated first as a sociological issue, and the article cites that less than .5% of French children are medicated, whereas 9% of kids in the United States are medicated.
 

Halloween 2013

Gosh, it's been so long since I've posted here!  Here are some pics of us as a rebel soldier and an Ewok with a speeder bike.  There were so many things I wanted to do for the speeder, but I just ran out of time.  Paper mache takes a long time because each application has to dry completely before the next can go on, and I didn't start doing it until the week before Halloween.  

The Ewok hood covers his helmet perfectly

Side view

The bike in motion

New Child Car Seat Guidelines

Here's an article I found on child car seat guidelines, and it would seem they've changed again recently: http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/aaps-new-car-seat-guidelines-change-rear-facing-booster-rules-2466904.html.

The new recommendation from the American Association of Pediatrics is that children sit in a rear-facing car seat until 2 years old or the maximum size for the seat.

They recommend a child sit in a booster seat all the way until they are at least 4 foot 9 inches tall, sometime between the ages of 8 and 12.  I couldn't imagine sitting in a booster seat in middle school, and if anyone ever found out I'd have been a laughingstock.  Not that I wasn't, but a booster seat adds fuel to the fire.

Kids should not sit in the front seat at all until they're 13 years old.  I remember what a special treat it was to sit in the front seat when I was a kid, although I guess they didn't have air bags back them so it wasn't as dangerous.  But we only had lap belts then, so at least things are improving.

Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD

Here's a very interesting article about why less than .5% of French children have ADHD while 9% of U.S. kids do.  The difference, the article finds, is that in France ADHD is treated as a psychological problem, whereas in the U.S. it's considered a biological problem and is treated with medicine and prescriptions.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/why-french-kids-dont-have-adhd

The whole thing is reminiscent of this book which my wife purchased and neither one of us ever read.  I really need to pick it up again (find it first) because we're getting to the point when our son is expressing his opinions, usually in the form of crying out.  This link is for the audiobook, which could be the solution to my never having a chance to read.

Sending your kids outside to play

This is a very interesting article entitled "The Convincing Case for Sending Your Kids Outside to Play."  When I was a kid I spent countless hours outside by myself or with friends riding bikes, following streams, and exploring the seemingly endless woods of the local parks.

These days people worry about disappearances and abductions and any number of horrible things that can happen in the big, modern world.  Read this article and be at ease:

http://www.inhabitots.com/the-convincing-case-for-sending-your-kids-outside-to-play-alone/

Baby's First Time at the New England Aquarium

Last week we took our son to the New England Aquarium for the first time, and although the central tank was closed for renovation he had a great time.  It was a little bit sad to see the tank empty and all the fish in the penguin area, not to mention the fiberglass smell that permeated the place, but I know we'll be back many times in the coming years, so I'm not too sad.  Except for the poor fish who I'm sure were stressed by the move.

They warned us before we purchased tickets that the tank was under construction, and my wife had seen it on the website, so we knew what we were getting into.  Because we went just after the marathon bombing there was a bag and stroller check before the line to purchase tickets; there weren't many people there that day.

The parking garage at the aquarium is always an issue.  The garage that is closest to the aquarium, the one that shares its entrance, is NOT the one the aquarium validates for (unless you're an aquarium member).  There is another garage to the south that the aquarium does validate for, and I know I've parked there before, but when the time comes I always forget which garage it is.  Since my wife is a teacher and our son is under 3 they both got in for free, so we only had to pay for my ticket.  And the $35 parking.  If you are thinking of going I recommend you either take the T or know which garage you're parking in.  There is a Parking Options at New England Aquarium page with the most current information.  Take the T.

Toddlers addicted to iPads and technology

This is quite an interesting article from The Telegraph, a UK newspaper: Toddlers becoming so addicted to iPads they require therapy.  Children in the UK are seeing therapists at a very young age because of their addiction to iPads and similar technology.

The youngest child was four years old, and was inconsolable when the iPad was taken away from her.  The child was using the iPad three to four hours a day and would get upset when it was taken away.  The doctor goes on to say that the child was exhibiting the same symptoms as alcoholics or heroin addicts, but I don't know if I'd go quite that far.  I'll believe it when I see a physiological reaction taking place in the brain similar to what happens in chemical addiction, but of course it's possible.

Some parents in the UK pay up to £16,000 (almost $25,000 at the current rate) for a 28-day detox for their kid.  It's a sad commentary on society, but at least they're willing to get help for their child (if not do some parenting themselves).

I know our son pretends to talk on the phone with objects around the apartment like the TV remote, the camera, a toy sea horse, and anything about that size.  I'm sure it's from seeing us on our phones, although we don't use the phones for internet at home because we have computers.  He does come over  and try to hit the keys whenever we use a computer within his reach, and we quickly move the computer to a table or shelf.

I've posted before about not allowing our child to watch TV, at least for the beginning of his life.  I posted about it and included a TED talk that convinced me: Media and Children.

At the Boston Marathon

Today we took baby to the Boston Marathon.  We left soon after his morning nap, and drove to where we used to live near Coolidge Corner in Brookline.  We went to the same spot last year, when he was only a few weeks old.

Before baby came along we'd walk down to the finish line and enjoy the positive energy of the marathon.  Unlike adversarial sports like baseball, football, and most other sports, at a marathon you cheer for everyone participating.  There is no opposing or visiting team.  Everyone is there to cheer the runners on.

We got to the marathon route at around 11:30, and I had baby in his Kiddy backpack.  The first time we approached the crowd he started to cry; we think he doesn't like the loud noise of the crowd.  Thinking he was hungry, we went to Rami's for delicious falafel sandwiches.  He ate some cheese and asparagus we had for him.

We went back to the route after lunch, but he started crying again.  I didn't want to give up, so we went back to the car and switched him into his stroller.  We went back again, but he cried again.  We'll have to try and make him more comfortable around crowds, and I'm going to have to research how to do that exactly.

In a way we were lucky he was acting up.  If we had followed the plan and walked to the finish line, who knows, we could have been there when this attack happened.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected by this tragedy.

Reflections on Baby's first year

Our son had his first birthday almost a month ago, but I thought it might be nice to reflect on what I've learned and what I should try to do better on next time.  It's amazing how the time has gone both quickly and slowly; one year is such a short amount of time but the growth and change we've seen have been astounding.

One of the most valuable things we've done since the beginning is keep a daily journal of his activities and achievements.  How that he's one, as I write each day's entry I look back and see what we were doing one year ago today.  At the beginning I missed a few days, but now I'm in a pretty good rhythm. The trick is to never go more than two days without writing in it.  And not to get upset when your spouse stops making entries and the entire thing falls to you.

He's had the flu twice.  At least one ear infection.  The stomach flu.  He went to the ER four times (if you include our return to the NICU when he was 4 days old).  I couldn't guess how many times we took him to the doctor.

It's all worth it, what a great first year!

1st Birthday Party

This morning Watching Baby passed the 10,000 view mark.  Thank you so much for visiting, and coming back!  There are so many topics I want to cover, but it's been hard to make time to really go into depth about things we do like cloth diapering, making his baby food, and living without daycare.  My saving grace is the diary I've kept since baby was born, and while I missed a few days here and there at the beginning for several months I've written in it every day paying special attention to milestones and behaviors as they develop.

Baby turned one this week, and we had two birthday parties to celebrate.  The first with my wife's family in NJ last weekend, and we tried something new when traveling there.  It's about a 4 hour ride depending on the traffic, and it can be much worse when there's a lot of construction in Connecticut.  We packed the car after work and treated it like a regular evening, feeding him and getting him ready for bed at around 6:30 or 7pm.  Instead of putting him to bed we got right into the car and left.  He only drank about half of his bedtime bottle, so he was able to finish it in the car.  He opened his eyes occasionally during the ride, but slept for most of it; when we arrived, however, he was wide awake and wanted to show off his walking ability to his grandparents.  He stayed up about an hour then went down sometime in the 11pm hour.  My wife read that at around 1 year old a child will start to show separation anxiety, especially around bedtime.  He's definitely been putting up more of a fight going to bed for my wife, but he goes down for his naps for me with no problem.  I try not to take it personally.

The next day we had his actual birthday party; his grandparents and uncles with their significant others were there.  My wife and I had talked about making a special cake with less sugar and fewer ingredients for baby, but we didn't have time in the end to make it.  He ended up eating the same funfetti cake that we all had, although we took away most of the frosting after he had a little taste.  We've heard of people making a smash cake; a cake that is just for the child, as the name suggests, to smash and throw all around to their heart's content.  We'd rather start teaching him right away that certain behaviors aren't acceptable when eating, and smashing up your food and throwing it around is one of them.  That said, he still gets to eat with his hands and have a little fun, but only because it's a special occasion and if he had gotten out of control we probably would have taken it away.

Baby gets the flu, influenza A then influenza B

So January was a tough month for sickness in our house, as baby got the flu twice and at least one ear infection.  We thought that we would be good for a little while after he got the flu the first time, but almost immediately after he was sick again.

The flu comes in many different varieties, and each year they choose what they think will be the prevalent flu strain and develop the vaccine to fight that flu.  They spend the year incubating their vaccine and producing enough for the population.  If they choose the wrong flu, and another such as bird flu or swine flu hits instead, the vaccine will be ineffective.  The same concept applies to many colds.  Once you've had it your body still has the antibodies to fight that cold for some time after it's gone; you can't get the same cold twice in a row.

Our baby didn't get the same cold twice in a row.  He got influence B, then influenza A.  My wife took him to the doctor on a Friday for his amoxicillin rash, then on Monday she took him again and he was diagnosed with the flu.  His temperature was a little high leading up to his trip to the doctor's, but our pediatrician's office doesn't even want to see him unless his temperature reaches 101°.

It's a bit scary when your infant is diagnosed with the flu, because the reason I always cite for not getting a flu shot is that only the elderly, babies, and people with compromised immune systems really have complications when they get the flu.

We ended up taking him to the hospital when his temperature went up to 104°.  I guess I always thought that was when the temperature begins to effect the brain, and we weren't taking any chances.  We were only giving him acetaminophen (Tylenol) and didn't know that you can use ibuprofen as well.  From hearing my coworkers talk about putting babies in ice baths and other drastic measures to get their temperature down I wasn't sure what to do.  It was cold outside, but we couldn't just take him without a jacket.  I wet a towel and put it on his head, we bundled him up as usual, and were off to the hospital.

By the time we were there his temp was down to 102.5° or so, and after we were seen by the triage doctor it was time to wait.  In the ER they determine how critical your condition is and assign a priority accordingly.  The triage doc told us he can take ibuprofen at the same time as acetaminophen, so they gave him some and his fever went right down to a safe level.  A baby with a slight fever is low priority, and we ended up spending more than three hours there.  When the doctor did come to see us, she asked us why we were really there.  Those were her exact words, "why are you really here?"  We told her we thought 104° was a dangerous temperature, and she told us some higher temp is really okay; she seemed to think we panicked for nothing.  I don't even remember at what temperature she said to bring them in, because I think if his temp gets to 104° again we'll probably take him to the hospital again in spite of what she said.

Baby's Amoxicillin Rash

We went in for baby's 9 month checkup last week, but he had some fluid in his ears so the doctor prescribed some amoxicillin to help it on its way.  The doctor didn't know if it was a bacterial ear infection or a viral ear infection, but she prescribed him antibiotics to be on the safe side.  He got the pink bubble gum flavored liquid that I didn't mind taking when I was a child but that my wife absolutely hated.  At first he didn't like it either, but by giving it to him at about 1ml at a time he got better and was even opening his mouth to take it after a few days.

In the afternoon of the 8th day of baby taking amoxicillin he developed an amoxicillin rash on his face and torso.  It showed itself during his afternoon nap, which usually starts close to 2 o'clock and lasts about an hour.  Of course the day it appeared I had to work that night, and during his afternoon nap his mother came home and I left for work.  When she got him up from his nap he had red spots on his face and torso.  I was already at work and felt awful; I was completely powerless to help and could only wait for news via text as my wife took him to the doctor's.  Most of what I learned about it comes secondhand from my wife, who heard it from the doctor.  The best website I found was the aboutkidshealth page, by a doctor out of Toronto.

Amoxicillin rash

They said it's a fairly common reaction, and he's probably allergic to penicillin and other -illin antibiotics.  I didn't see the spots the first night, because I was at work, but according to my wife they were worse the next morning.  She had given him another dose of the antibiotic the evening after his reaction, and it seems like a safe bet this caused its worsening.

This is not a picture of my baby, but this is about what it was like the morning after.  He was like this on his torso, face, and head.  It was scary to see, but at least we knew why it was happening.  Another reason we weren't very concerned is that his mood was fine, he was his usual happy self.

The rash is supposed to clear up as soon as baby stops taking the medicine, so we'll see what happens.  He had taken 9 days of the 10 day prescription, so hopefully his minor ear infection is gone.

Baby learning to stand

In the last three weeks or so our baby has started pulling himself up to stand!  He's now 9 1/2 months old, and has no problem pulling himself up on the coffee table, the end tables, his Little Tikes Activity Garden, or anything he can reach.  It's a very exciting time, but also very nerve wracking because learning to stand also means learning to fall.  A lot.

Before he was able to stand on his own, he really liked being held in the standing position.  When he'd wake up in the morning or from a nap I'd hold him standing in the crib before taking him out.  I also spent some time teaching him air guitar while standing; I would sit behind him and move his hands as if he was playing the guitar.  Eventually when we would try to put him down on his play mat he would stiffen his legs and not want to go down to the ground.  He would cry when we put him down because he wanted to stay standing (with one of us holding him steady).

We didn't get a bouncer for him until recently, and we ended up getting a used one and saving a bunch of money.  I guess they call it a jumper; it's a Disney Baby Einstein jumper that usually runs around $100.  Ours isn't the most recent model, and I think one side is missing it's toy, but we got it for $30 from a local mother who purchases and resells used baby toys as a home business.  He loves playing in it and bouncing, and it gives his leg muscles a good workout.

Now that he's discovered standing, that's all he wants to do.  He pulls himself up on the coffee table, on his Little Tikes Activity Garden, on the couch, and in his crib.  It's becoming the norm to find him standing up in his crib when he wakes up from his nap.  When I go in to get him up from his nap he'll be standing in the crib and start bouncing up and down when he sees me.  It's adorable.

When it comes to falling, our baby is becoming an expert.  It's actually important for your baby to fall when learning to stand and walk.  It shows that they're pushing themselves and trying to stretch their limits, and the pain of falling down and hurting his head acts as an incentive to not fall down anymore.  He's getting better at putting his hands out to catch himself, or going to his knees before sprawling out on the ground.

We have an alphabet play mat, similar to this 56 Piece Build And Play Alphabets Play Mat 7X4 Feet (Google Affiliate Ad), although ours also has the numbers 1-9 instead of a star and moon.  It provides a little padding for when he falls, but he'll still cry if he falls on it hard enough.  I'm not sure how much they're charging for them in the ad, but we got ours for around $25 at BJ's wholesale club, and it is well worth it.