Product Spotlight 02/17: Health and Safety

wanderlustsoul · February 2021

Definitely thought today was Tuesday!

Today I'm asking for contributions to discuss generally on the topic of Health and Safety, which admittedly is a pretty broad topic! How do we keep our babies healthy? How do we keep our babies safe? That's, like, all of parenthood!

I think in a most immediate sense, let's think about stocking our first aid kits and medicine cabinets: what kind of thermometer do you have for babies? Do you use Infant Tylenol or Advil? If so, when? For a fever, or discomfort, or teething? If the baby is congested, do you use one of those manual bulb snot-extractors or do you swear by the Nose Frida? (And... on the other end... have you tried the Windi?) And speaking of gassy babies, do you use any products for that, like gripe water? How about keeping those sharp little talon nails safe from scratching their face? Do you clip, file, bite, or use one of those motorized kits?

And then there are outlier items that most people may not stock but some people love: do you have an owlet monitor? Humidifier/air purifier? Crib-rail covers for baby to chew on?

The big safety topic down the road is baby-proofing, which we will likely discuss once our babies are out and mobile, but if anyone has pressing advice or product recs to share with FTMs to keep in mind for the future, don't hesitate to speak up!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

wanderlustsoul · February 2021

I used the thermometer that came in my welcome packet from the insurance until we lost it.

I love Camilia for teething. I use tempra on the really bad teething days but these are very rare occurrences and Baby Advil if it's REALLY bad - luckily only 1 day of this. We've been lucky enough to only ever a fever 1 time in his life and it was after his dairy allergy challenge so it was likely allergy related so I gave him his 2nd dose of allergy medicine and it went away.

Nose Frida is AMAZING. Best investment. Definitely recommend it. Bbluv electric nail filer is great and super easy to keep those nails short. My son had eczema so I cut his nails all the time since he would scratch his head and face. I still use the bbluv nail filer on him.

My son never chewed on his crib and Amsterdam is super humid so we never needed anything. I do have a Dyson air purifier upstairs but that's about it. And that reminds me I need a new filter.

marebear15 · February 2021

Thermometer: The best one I've found was a cheap Vicks oral/rectal thermometer. Unfortunately my toddler took it apart and I have yet to find a good replacement.

Nose Frida: Yes! Buy it! You won't regret it.

Medicine: I keep Infant Tylenol and Motrin on hand. You can't use Motrin until 6 months I believe, but I only use either for fevers or when super fussy at bedtime and I know a tooth is coming through. I use gas drops also when nothing else will work for a gassy baby.

Crib rail covers: I had to get some for each of my girls once they started pulling up on the crib. We have some unfortunate marks on the crib.

Others: We did get the Owlet mainly for peace of mind and to help calm anxiety. Doctors will warn against it because they've seen people use unsafe sleep practices thinking the Owlet will save them incase anything goes wrong. We use the Owlet in addition to safe sleep practices, and have never had any issues. We got a free replacement after about 9 months with DD1 when the sensor went bad, and the replacement worked through 12 months of DD2.

DoubleUp8 · February 2021

Thermometer - We use a forehead thermometer and then I had a rectal thermometer if I got a fever reading, especially a higher reading, and wanted to confirm.

Nose Frieda - DS hated it, but I loved it. It really worked to clean out gross noses and was easy to clean out (unlike the bulbs). I just saw Frieda has an electric nose sucker now, so I may get that so we don't need to provide the suction ourselves.

Medicine - tylenol and gas drops were what we had for DS in the early months. Tylenol for fevers and gas drops, are obvious. I wish I had know more about baby gas stretches early on! They are magic. Lay your baby on his back and gently cycle his legs in a bicycling motion toward his tummy to manually help push out trapped air. Or gently push baby’s knees up to his tummy and hold for 10 seconds, then release and straighten baby’s legs. Repeat several times.

Nails - If I recall for DS, as first I kind of peeled the long parts of the nail off (that now sounds horrible). We have a little nail clipper as well I used. I always clipped his nails when he was asleep to start. When he got older, during story time with Daddy so he was distracted.

Nursery - we had a humidifier for DS in the nursery, especially because he was born in late fall and we had forced air heat. Our house was super dry. For our summer babies, this might not be as needed, though it was a great substitute for a noise machine.

I have been looking at the Owlet sock for piece of mind. I feel like I am a little more anxious about this one than I remember being while pregnant with DS for some reason, and I think this might help me.

ramzlau · February 2021

Tylenol for fevers before 6 months, Motrin seemed to work better as DD got older. We have an in ear and forehead thermometer from Amazon, and probably a rectal from one of the gift bags.

We used gripe water on bad days early on, and for stuffy nose we used saline drops or breastmilk. Be careful with the nose suckers because they can irritate their little nose passages.

Nails, I used just a file when she was little and then little clippers as she got older.

We had a cold air humidifier that was nice during winter when heater was on and the air got dry or when she got a cold. I have a new one on the registry for this time around as DD’s got some nasty build up.

I have an owlet on my wishlist for this time around. I remember postpartum anxiety being so high last time and I want to be able to have another layer of monitoring.

We also use Think Baby sunscreen (some pediatricians say no sunscreen until 6 months so just check with yours), it is zinc based. And Camilia for teething. Aquaphor for dry skin/eczema (although I may try Tubby Todd’s this time too).

Other safety: a friend bought DD some noise canceling headphones. We used them on planes and in loud places like concerts or bars to keep her ears safe from loud sounds.

Edited because wow lots of extra words and letters.

mc0303 · February 2021

- electric nail filer when little, clippers as he’s gotten older

- Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl. LO had a lot of reactions so we gave Benadryl often per our pedi.

- Infant CPR class - good to brush up on for anyone watching the babe

- car seat safety class

- we used an electric nose sucker and saline mists for kids. My kid loves getting squirted in the nose ☠️

- we used gas drops... our LO had awful reflux and nothing seemed to make it better. I have a feeling it was bc I was eating milk & dairy which we later found out he was allergic to

- thermometer - we have a forehead one

- used the owlet and it helped with anxiety a lot

- Nanit baby monitor to keep an eye on him

wanderlustsoul · February 2021

Oh! Some advice if you suspect a dairy allergy/intolerance in your baby, don’t use Tylenol. It’s not recommended as it may likely have dairy in it though the company is very antagonistic about confirming.

For cradle cap, mustela cradle cap foam is the best thing ever.

laurad75 · February 2021

I always have infant Tylenol – I also always travel with it. Nothing worse than baby getting fever and someone having to make a run to the store for it. DS can’t take NSAIDS so don’t use those.

Nose Frida is the best. I also used a saline spray a few times when he had a super stuffy nose.

We just use a forehead thermometer

Nails – I got this thing on amazon and loved it for filing baby's nails (link)

We keep a humidifier going in DS’s room 24/7 in the winter to help his dry skin.

Skin – I like Tubby Todds but it’s a little messy, babygeneics makes a good thick eczema cream. We got a ton of J&J, Aveda bath kits at my shower and it took a year to get through that stuff before we switched to safer products. I like Sunbum products and Burts Bees.

Our crib (pottery barn) came with a rail protector. It’s invisible and has kept the crib in good shape.

+1 on a CPR class and having a certified car seat professional check your installation. Some people just go to a fire station but they are not all certified.

MelissaMay82 · February 2021

Thermometer- I have the same brand or DD as my BBT thermometer. I think the brand is iProven. It works fine.

Medicine- I have (and always travel with) Infant Tylenol, Advil, and Benadryl. I have actually never had to give any to DD.

Congestion- I have a manual bulb snot-extractor (blue bulb type, we use the same ones in the OR). I am interested in the electronic Nose Frida so I might buy that soon.

Gas- I never used gripe water, usually just stretches/bicycles. I did have a windii that I used once or twice.

Nails- Nail file when DD was little, I would
file her nails while she was sleeping. Now I just use baby nail clippers.

Owlet- I absolutely love the Owlet, DD wore hers until a year. We used it with safe sleep practices. I will definitely use it with #2.

Nanit- Nanit is a great baby monitor. It has sleep sacks and breathing bands that track the baby’s respiratory rate. DD was wearing the breathing band until a couple of weeks ago (she can take it off now). They also just released new sheets that can track the baby’s growth.

Humidifier/air purifier- I registered for one and got it for my baby shower, we never used it for I returned it to BuyBuyBaby. DD was a May baby.

Crib-rail covers- I should have gotten some because DD has chewed up the rail. DH will eventually have to sand it down and repainted those areas.

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