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April 2022 Moms
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Product Spotlight: Health and Safety

AvrilmaiAvrilmai member
edited December 2021 in April 2022 Moms
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

TTC#1 10/2016
TTC/IF:included medicated cycles, IUIs and 2 rounds of IVF with 1 embryo each. 
BFP finally in 12/2018

TTC#2 06/2021
planning FET


"Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks,
some doors are open, some roads are blocked" 

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Re: Product Spotlight: Health and Safety

  • AvrilmaiAvrilmai member
    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)


    TTC#1 10/2016
    TTC/IF:included medicated cycles, IUIs and 2 rounds of IVF with 1 embryo each. 
    BFP finally in 12/2018

    TTC#2 06/2021
    planning FET


    "Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks,
    some doors are open, some roads are blocked" 

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  • aloha_mamaaloha_mama member
    @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!
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  • Blondesweety444Blondesweety444 member
    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. :s 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. 
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  • kiwi2628kiwi2628 member
    @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)
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  • doxiemoxie212doxiemoxie212 member
    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
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  • Blondesweety444Blondesweety444 member
    @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.  :s Definitely not looking forward to this again! haha!
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  • aloha_mamaaloha_mama member
    @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.
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  • doxiemoxie212doxiemoxie212 member
    @aloha_mama don't most rectal thermometers now bend so that perforation isn't really possible?
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  • kiwi2628kiwi2628 member
    @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
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  • aloha_mamaaloha_mama member
    @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.
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  • Ivorytower2Ivorytower2 member
    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)
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  • rbfleirbflei member
    edited December 2021
    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.
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  • winterviolethopewinterviolethope member
    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. 

    Me: 36 DH: 36
    Married: October 2011
    DS: January 2016
    DS: May 2019
    #3: April 2022
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  • Blondesweety444Blondesweety444 member
    Omg @winterviolethope I had no idea about the electric one! I added it to my list!
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  • aloha_mamaaloha_mama member
    @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!).
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  • SmashJamSmashJam member
    @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! 
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  • aloha_mamaaloha_mama member
    @SmashJam I know, totally my fault, giving nurse information that’s apparently from the Dark Ages lol
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