Product Spotlight: Health and Safety

Avrilmai

This is a place for FTMs to ask questions and S+TMs to share the wealth of knowledge they've accumulated on baby products. This week is all about baby/toddler health and safety. 

FTMs: what questions do you have? Products you want to know about?

S+TMs: what are your recommendations? think medications, illness, thermometer, gas/colic "treatment," are you a nose frida fan or prefer something else, how do you give baby meds? What's in your first aid kit? teething remedies?  recommendations for clipping those tiny talons (fingernails)? what about in the baby's room? (we do have a planned "baby proofing thread" but can combine that here as well.) 

Share your thoughts

Product spotlight spreadsheet

Avrilmai

My DS had allergies and we utilize saline and the nose frida often, thought DH usually does the "operation" of the frida. I'll never forget the first time I used it I was still on mat leave and DS was so stuffy and wasn't sleeping. I used it and with that little reprieve he was able to fall asleep. big fan. 

we use an in ear thermometer, DS is 2 and now likes to do it himself. I also have one of those smart thermometers that has a bluetooth link to an app to track temp, but we never use it, it was difficult to turn on and DS hated having his arm held down to take the temp.  

we were gifted a lot of baby "meds" and honestly didn't use much I gave a bunch of the "gripe water" away. We were gifted this "little remedies" set that had small bottles of several meds and that was enough for us. We did have Tylenol/acetaminophen at first and then ibuprofen once he got a bit older and just followed the pedi's advice on that. The infant and children's Tylenol are the same, but the ibuprofen is not, so check your bottles. 

Nail clippers, we have like 3 or 4 apparently when you're team green people don't know what to buy...anyway we have one with a magnifying glass that is a good concept, but the glass gets in the way. We use the safety first clippers. I also have a glass nail file that worked well. I would just clip his nails when he was nursing since he was distracted.

other things:
-the oogie bear was recommended by a friend and worked well for us when he was tiny
-we had both the smile frida and the baby banana toothbrush. our pediatrician recommended pumpkin butt for teething relief
-I also kept a ball suction/aspirator thing in the diaper bag/cars bc I was (am?) an anxious FTM and wanted to be able to have some kind of suction device incase he was choking on spitup/etc. 
we also have a cool mist humidifier in his room to help with the congestion. (again allergies)

aloha_mama

@Avrilmai had a lot of great examples so I’m not sure what to add! I will say that under three months, the most accurate temperature reading will be an armpit temp. Forehead is good after 3 months and in-ear are good after 6 months. Really, the only times that really matters is if there’s a fever and you need super accurate readings. And there’s a lot of stuff out there about rectal temps… Please just don’t do it. 

I didn’t use nail clippers on DD6 until she was about a year old, I would just bite her nails ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I was always so afraid of cutting her!

I love the mesh crib liners that wrap around the crib railing right next to the mattress. DD6 got her arm stuck in the slats between railings before, everyone had a bad day. Mesh so that if baby’s face is pressed against it they can still breathe. 

Love having a bulb syringe or something similar in the car or diaper bag. DD6 had reflux and I was always afraid she would spit up and aspirate while we were driving. It’s good to have something handy nearby. 

Yes to the gripe water, we used it a few times and it tasted good so we wouldn’t have to struggle so hard to get her to take it. It’s also nice to just go ahead and have some kind of pain reliever on hand so you’re not rushing to the store at 3 am one night when baby is sick. NICU RN trick is to put a bottle nipple in baby’s mouth, wait for them to start sucking, and then squirt the meds in. Keep them upright when you do this or they may choke a little. If you’re handy you can use your finger or a pacifier and squirt the meds on the side into their cheek. You can also mix 10-15mL formula or breast milk with the meds and then give it that way through a bottle, just don’t add too much or baby may not finish and you’re not sure how much of the meds they got. 

I would love to know what FTM questions yall have, I’m having a hard time thinking of things off the top of my head!

Blondesweety444

The nose frida was great if you can get past the sucking out their boogers with your mouth. But it really is worth it for everyone, even if there's a lot of crying involved. When they are babies its easy enough to swaddle them. Once they get a bit older and stronger the easiest way is to sit on the ground with their head between your legs and then use your legs to hold their arms down. This way your hands are free to hold their head still. I realize this sounds like torture, and it is, but everyone will be much happier with all the boogers cleared. Otherwise it becomes a 2 man job! The saline spray is great here too to help loosen everything up.

Don't get anything special for medicine administration. Tylenol is so sweet that DS5 loved it. His reflux meds we would just put the dose in a bottle nipple and let him suck it out of there while laying down.

You can't use regular Vics vapor rub on babies, but they do have a lavender version that we would put on the bottom of his feet to help him sleep when he was sick. We thought it worked pretty well. We also had a very little wedge that we put under his crib mattress (not sheets) to elevate his head ever so slightly. 

I didn't use gripe water. I tried it once and he fell asleep so hard I thought I had killed him. So that wasn't worth it to me.

Pay attention to other potential safety hazards. Outlets within reach of the crib, curtains/strings within reach of the crib, etc. We liked the magnetic locks for our kitchen cupboards. Although DS5 never tried getting into cabinets, so we only had to put a lock on the one with slicers/sharp things and chemicals.

You will want lots of baby gates all over the house to confine them to manageable and within sight areas. 

kiwi2628

@aloha_mama why no rectal temps? I ask because in vet med that’s the most accurate way to temp and I always did rectal with my kids (frankly half the time still do as I haven’t found a forehead one that is ever accurate)

doxiemoxie212

My biggest teething tip is that teething doesn't usually cause as many problems as parents think they do/will (see article below), so if you suspect teething is the cause of something make sure to still reach out to your pedi because it often is an ear infection, etc. 

https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/teething-symptoms-in-babies-are-not-as-bad-as-parents-think.html

Blondesweety444

@doxiemoxie212 I agree with this! We usually had a cranky day or two when the tooth was first making a move (but before it was even visible) and then a few days later we'd start to see it popping through. He just drooled a lot, but that was pretty much it. The cranky days were always realized in hindsight and so by the time we knew it was teething it didn't matter. We did end up with a double ear infection when his molars came in, but he was fairly prone to ear infections anyways.

I will say our worst time ever was a perfect storm - teething, 9 month leap, vacation, and learning to pull to stand but couldn't sit back down. We got nearly 0 hours of sleep for an entire week. But there's not much you can do for any of that besides just survive. That time was worse than newborn week for us.  Definitely not looking forward to this again! haha!

aloha_mama

@kiwi2628 Rectal temps are far and away the most accurate for a true core temp reading, but there is a danger of perforating something when done in the home environment by anxious, untrained parents. I was trained to only do it as an initial temperature check immediately after delivery because peripheral circulation isn’t yet established well enough for good axillary readings, but one of my hospitals now doesn’t let us do it at all unless we’re consistently getting super wonky axillary temps.

doxiemoxie212

@aloha_mama don't most rectal thermometers now bend so that perforation isn't really possible?

kiwi2628

@aloha_mama oh good. I have never been panicky about medical stuff. We have a rectal thermometer that only goes in about 2 cm anyway so I feel pretty confident using it considering I do it to wiggling, noodling animals several times a day

aloha_mama

@doxiemoxie212 I’ve never heard of those, most of my patients have the rigid drugstore ones that have a silver tip when they go home, so we always have to include it in our discharge instructions to not do rectal temps.

rbflei

You know, a good humidifier that runs cold and warm but not hot has been worth it's weight in gold. We bought this one...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O3I2CG/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_SQX3F41WC70FWY3AE6JZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

But we use it to keep bedroom at night more humid while sick and to help the shower get the bathroom more humid quickly. Especially helpful with croup. I've had that 4 year from Amazon est. Have had no issues and use it about once a season on average way more when she was 1-2 years old.

I agree about the Frieda being super effective at getting stuff out but the filter is not very think or HEPA so if you thought your kid might get you sick before imagine sucking it right in your lungs. My husband's running joke was that's how he got all her colds like 3 days later.

My husband is a pharmacist and as such he is super sparing with all meds. She has to be dying. But we always kept children's Tylenol just in case late night runs to the store are inevitable if you don't have it. But I think the first bottle expired before we used it all. Not a Terrible problem.

I've never stressed about the kind of thermometer because our pediatrician will always ask what type we are using as the acceptable range is just different a little bit for each type and they know that range so calling in asking for help they always ask where we took the temp and go from that. I'd say if it really concerns you ask what your pediatrician recommends. 

Speaking of, finding your pediatrician should start soon. You will want to register with a pediatrician if you haven't already so when your child comes if they have hospital privileges they will be the first ones to do the exam in the hospital and make sure all the first shots are given etc. They also will schedule at that time for first follow up visit and second set of shots. My daughter's birth weight dropped concerningly (normal to drop just not that much) at hospital so this changed home plan and timeline for first follow up. Ours did interviews first to make sure we fit well and our philosophy of child care on things like vaccination was similar before they agreed to take us on. We looked for an office that had multiple doctors so if yours was out you could see another in a pinch. A sick and well waiting room so sick kids didn't go in the same door or waiting room as well kids. Now ours only sees well appointments in the morning and sick in afternoon. A separate infant room so vaccine visits you aren't in the waiting room with everyone and you have a kid with no immunity. 

Find out where your nearest pediatric urgent care is so much easier to just know where you need to go in an emergency just in case.

 Now I live in medical mecca in Houston TX so I'm sure this isn't everyone's experience just things to think about. 

Sure I didn't edit all the spelling errors but I tried. 

Ivorytower2

I agree with others who have said to keep gripe water on hand. That stuff is great! Also as someone who has mastitis a few times and had to be on antibiotics, baby probiotic is necessary if your are nursing so not to mess up their stomachs. (we used Gerber Soothe)

rbflei

Oh and if you have the time or inclination, I really recommend a basic CPR class as they spend time talking and training infant CPR, choking protocol, and what to do for seizures which happen to kids sometimes with fever. Best to have been exposed and have some clue what to do in an emergency rather than not know.

winterviolethope

I definitely only bother with a rectal thermometer. I have ear ones, forehead ones, patches, and scans and they all suck and read drastically different. 

The newer digital rectal ones have a cut off so you can’t put in too far. 

Love the nose frida and I see they have a new battery operated one so I’m curious about that one.
We also use the frida baby nail clippers and like those. 

Blondesweety444

Omg @winterviolethope I had no idea about the electric one! I added it to my list!

aloha_mama

@winterviolethope My mind is blown with these new rectal thermometers! Definitely going to start adding that to my patient teaching. I feel so behind on the times! And also, battery-operated NoseFrida = game changer. Love the concept of those but can’t get over the mechanics of it. I can deal with any and all bodily fluids but mucous is where I draw the line (I shudder just thinking about it!).

SmashJam

@aloha_mama I have never seen battery operated Nose Friedas! I have no issue snot sucking but H gags while holding baby down. 

Also I am laughing that we have spent so much time on rectal thermometers! 

aloha_mama

@SmashJam I know, totally my fault, giving nurse information that’s apparently from the Dark Ages lol