I am not too keen on outer beauty as much as the inner but I am sure a little bit of external charm would do no harm.
As long as you ensure that the kid is not obsessed with self and gets looks conscious, it is perfectly alright.
Kanti has shared an amazing collection in her blog, which I am posting here for reference.
Please check the compilation over HERE.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Functional Constipation
functional constipation; you need to work hard a bit to train regarding her potty habits, so that she passes it well at least once a day.
Avoid fruit juices, in place try to give meshed fruits as such, cos they contain good amount of fibres like cheeku, papaya and mango. No dal ka pani, give dal as such. Curd is really good for tummy, add it wherever possible.
You can also try giving some honey may be one tsf in night time milk. That may help; take some branded one only like dabur. Still if it gets something serious and persistent you need to talk with your doc for some short term laxatives, which may help.
Most of this functional constipation is transient which improves with age, so don’t worry.
Avoid fruit juices, in place try to give meshed fruits as such, cos they contain good amount of fibres like cheeku, papaya and mango. No dal ka pani, give dal as such. Curd is really good for tummy, add it wherever possible.
You can also try giving some honey may be one tsf in night time milk. That may help; take some branded one only like dabur. Still if it gets something serious and persistent you need to talk with your doc for some short term laxatives, which may help.
Most of this functional constipation is transient which improves with age, so don’t worry.
Stool Concerns in Kids
Bile is secreted by liver, which is green in color, when it passes down, gradually from small intestine to large intestine, color changes from green to yellow due to other intestinal secretions. But if transit time (time it takes to cross both intestines) is less, it doesn’t get time to change to yellow, and stool passed as green in color. So green stools just means that intestinal motility is increased.
It may or may not be infection.
If it is associated with high grade fever, vomiting or associated with blood or mucus in stool, then
it’s probably due to infection, which needs stool examination, otherwise you can wait it to settle down by itself.
Usually such stools if it was because of infection may follow to persist for some weeks, esp in top feed children, because of secondary lactose intolerance (acidic stools) afterwards. Such problems are not common if child is exclusively breast feed in first six months. For this, you just need to wait for some time to settle down gradually. But if this extent for long period, you need to discuss with your doctor too, which may need repeated stool tests. In most cases, it settles of its own.
It may or may not be infection.
If it is associated with high grade fever, vomiting or associated with blood or mucus in stool, then
it’s probably due to infection, which needs stool examination, otherwise you can wait it to settle down by itself.
Usually such stools if it was because of infection may follow to persist for some weeks, esp in top feed children, because of secondary lactose intolerance (acidic stools) afterwards. Such problems are not common if child is exclusively breast feed in first six months. For this, you just need to wait for some time to settle down gradually. But if this extent for long period, you need to discuss with your doctor too, which may need repeated stool tests. In most cases, it settles of its own.
Deworming..
Regarding parasitic infestation in children, cos they are not common here.
Common infestations in these small kids are pin worm and round worm infestations. Usually comes when something coated with dust particles goes in. I understand it’s difficult to prevent such infestations, few precaution are like this :
1. It’s advisable to wash hands of children esp between 1-3 years at least 5 times a day. (Children of this age will keep on putting hands and everything in mouth, which you can’t prevent every time).
2. Be persistent in washing kid’s hands before eating food and also after passing stool. (I know you do that every time for yourself, but make it also for the kid, so he develops this habit from early age)
3. Always eat fruits and vegetable after proper washing them (Never Never without washing, as it’s the most common source of these worms).
4. Avoid things available in market which are open esp. in India like golgappe, open fruit chat etc.
These are few small things which you must be following; just need is to sustain these habits.
Common symptoms of worms in children are abdominal pain, itching in perianal region.
Regarding regular deworming, as such there are no guidelines; still it’s advisable to get your children dewormed every 6 monthly in age group 1-5 years.
Deworming before the kid turns a year old is strongly not advised, also talk to your doctor before doing it.
Common infestations in these small kids are pin worm and round worm infestations. Usually comes when something coated with dust particles goes in. I understand it’s difficult to prevent such infestations, few precaution are like this :
1. It’s advisable to wash hands of children esp between 1-3 years at least 5 times a day. (Children of this age will keep on putting hands and everything in mouth, which you can’t prevent every time).
2. Be persistent in washing kid’s hands before eating food and also after passing stool. (I know you do that every time for yourself, but make it also for the kid, so he develops this habit from early age)
3. Always eat fruits and vegetable after proper washing them (Never Never without washing, as it’s the most common source of these worms).
4. Avoid things available in market which are open esp. in India like golgappe, open fruit chat etc.
These are few small things which you must be following; just need is to sustain these habits.
Common symptoms of worms in children are abdominal pain, itching in perianal region.
Regarding regular deworming, as such there are no guidelines; still it’s advisable to get your children dewormed every 6 monthly in age group 1-5 years.
Deworming before the kid turns a year old is strongly not advised, also talk to your doctor before doing it.
Less Sleep In Kids
Regarding less sleep, you must understand one thing that sleep patterns are different for different children, some sleep more and some sleep less. I have seen many gifted children, who don’t need more sleep. It’s their nature, their sleep demand is less. But what is important to us is whether your child has any sleep disorder or not. So to differentiate it, we need to see her growth and development. Cos, sleep disorders will cause serious impact on the growth of your child.
Ok, if she is growing otherwise well, and doesn’t seem irritable all the time in the day, probably she is getting enough sleep. I feel it will take some more time for her to get adjusted to sleep pattern, what you expect from her. Till than you need to struggle bit more.....hey, why don’t you try some newer techniques, as you seems to have good interest in child psychology. May be something like making some fancy tent over her bad, or sleeping early, so some soft music while sleeping, it may work. What I feel you should not run for how long she sleep, try to make her relax as much as possible, it will automatically solve the problem.
Ok, if she is growing otherwise well, and doesn’t seem irritable all the time in the day, probably she is getting enough sleep. I feel it will take some more time for her to get adjusted to sleep pattern, what you expect from her. Till than you need to struggle bit more.....hey, why don’t you try some newer techniques, as you seems to have good interest in child psychology. May be something like making some fancy tent over her bad, or sleeping early, so some soft music while sleeping, it may work. What I feel you should not run for how long she sleep, try to make her relax as much as possible, it will automatically solve the problem.
Breast Pump Review - Medela Swing type
It was in my 3rd trimister that I came to know about a breast pump. I came across a discussion in a forum about expressing the BM using a pump, storing it and using it later. Thought "Ok, this is for working moms, since I am gonna stay at home I don't really need it" and then totally forgot abt it. I initially thought once I deliver the baby, I'll automatically produce milk and the baby will latch on easily. But, I was totally wrong.
Breastfeeding was not that simple n easy as I'd thought. I had cracked nipples, wasn't producing enough milk for the first few days and when the milk production was good enough baby wasn't latching properly. So I ended up having lumps in my breasts which were even more painful. My gyny suggested me to use a breast pump. I could get only a manual pump in our town which looked like an auto horn just as Sree mentioned in her review. It took 1.5hrs for me to pump just 4oz of milk :(( and after each pumping session I almost collapsed. So finally decided to go for an electric pump. Called up Sree and she suggested me to go for Core. Finding an electric breast pump in our town was out of question (none of my family members've heard abt a breast pump till then) and so I asked my aunt in hyd to get one for me. She couldn't find this Core breast pump and hence my next option was Medela. Though it was a bit expensive (around 10K) for my requirement, since I wasn't sure about other brands I had to go for this Medela Swing type Electric breast pump. This brand was suggested earlier in the forum by many of our friends.
This breast pump was absolutely one of the best purchases I've ever made. It made my job easier. I expressed almost 8oz in less than 20min. It can be used both electrically and battery-operated. I mostly used with the battery operated mode. It has a 2-phase pumping programme, phase 1 is the stimulation phase where the nipple is stimulated just like when the baby is sucking rapidly. Once the milk let down starts phase 2 - Expression phase begins in which the pump speed slows down. It is portable, easy to clean n sterilize. For the first one month I used this pump almost everyday. Finally my baby got adjusted to latching and I slowly reduced expressing milk. I prefered to feed him directly than using a bottle. The only draw back I found with this was, it makes some noise in the stimulation phase.
I haven't made use of this pump to its full extent, because I'm a stay-at-home mom. Once the latching issues were resolved, I used to express only when I had to go out for shopping or when I needed some rest. I used this for 4 months and passed it on to one of my friends who is a working mom. She has been using this for the past couple of months and had no issues till now. And yeah, this comes with a one-year warranty. I got this from Mothercare, Hyderabad. I would recommed this to working moms who express milk at a regular basis.
Thanks to all my TIA friends and especially Sree for their suggestions.
Breastfeeding was not that simple n easy as I'd thought. I had cracked nipples, wasn't producing enough milk for the first few days and when the milk production was good enough baby wasn't latching properly. So I ended up having lumps in my breasts which were even more painful. My gyny suggested me to use a breast pump. I could get only a manual pump in our town which looked like an auto horn just as Sree mentioned in her review. It took 1.5hrs for me to pump just 4oz of milk :(( and after each pumping session I almost collapsed. So finally decided to go for an electric pump. Called up Sree and she suggested me to go for Core. Finding an electric breast pump in our town was out of question (none of my family members've heard abt a breast pump till then) and so I asked my aunt in hyd to get one for me. She couldn't find this Core breast pump and hence my next option was Medela. Though it was a bit expensive (around 10K) for my requirement, since I wasn't sure about other brands I had to go for this Medela Swing type Electric breast pump. This brand was suggested earlier in the forum by many of our friends.
This breast pump was absolutely one of the best purchases I've ever made. It made my job easier. I expressed almost 8oz in less than 20min. It can be used both electrically and battery-operated. I mostly used with the battery operated mode. It has a 2-phase pumping programme, phase 1 is the stimulation phase where the nipple is stimulated just like when the baby is sucking rapidly. Once the milk let down starts phase 2 - Expression phase begins in which the pump speed slows down. It is portable, easy to clean n sterilize. For the first one month I used this pump almost everyday. Finally my baby got adjusted to latching and I slowly reduced expressing milk. I prefered to feed him directly than using a bottle. The only draw back I found with this was, it makes some noise in the stimulation phase.
I haven't made use of this pump to its full extent, because I'm a stay-at-home mom. Once the latching issues were resolved, I used to express only when I had to go out for shopping or when I needed some rest. I used this for 4 months and passed it on to one of my friends who is a working mom. She has been using this for the past couple of months and had no issues till now. And yeah, this comes with a one-year warranty. I got this from Mothercare, Hyderabad. I would recommed this to working moms who express milk at a regular basis.
Thanks to all my TIA friends and especially Sree for their suggestions.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tearing/Crusting Eyes -- Infants
Kanti Pusulu -- Yellowish wet/dry crusting around the eyes of the babies is one of the common things that might be encountered in India. Some doctors actually give some antibiotic drops to the newborns in anticipation of any infection from the mother but in India, only when there is a problem do they give the drops.
There can be several reasons for tearing/crusting in an infant.
Make sure that the kid is not near any irritant or allergic object which is causing the tearing and crusting. If the tearing is accompanied by red shot eyes, runny nose or cough it might likely be an allergic reaction but this is indeed very rare in infants...
When there is such an occurrence, make sure the eyes are cleansed every once in a while before the discharge is crusted in the corners of the eye.
**Wipe the eyes clean with warm water cotton balls and clean them delicately.
**Do not let the kid rub the eyes excessively.
**Contact doctor immediately if there is any redness or swelling in the eye.
The reasons can be
* a blocked tear duct.
* a bacterial infection.
* a viral infection.
While the other two require medical intervention and confirmation that it indeed is an infection.. we can at home try some remedies to open up the blocked tear ducts as per my doctor.
A simple tip to stop tearing and crusting is
***When LO had crusting of the eyes, doc suggested me to press slightly on the nasal ridge and the place where the eye sockets meet the nose. Gently massaging the area between the eyebrows and eyes, around the eye sockets. It did help instantly. I was told to repeat the same gentle tapping massaging around the eyes and nose for about 20 times in the day, say 6 to 8 times rounds each time, 3 times a day.. ideally feeding times as the baby wont usually mind us doing that :).
If anyone at home has conjunctivitis be it bacterial or viral just keep everything separately including towels and bedsheets and if possible do not let them come near the infant. If it is you (the mom) who is infected take enough care not to stare into the eyes and take care of hygiene as much as possible.
If it is in the newborn stage, before 3 months of age, then it is most likely something to do with blocked tear ducts or nasal bone development or something like that, just the crusting and tearing, so do not worry...
watch out for external objects, redness, foul smelling crusts and keep the surroundings absolutely clean.
Thanks Renu for reminding me this one... LO had this as a newborn, so kind of missed my notice to update here.
There can be several reasons for tearing/crusting in an infant.
Make sure that the kid is not near any irritant or allergic object which is causing the tearing and crusting. If the tearing is accompanied by red shot eyes, runny nose or cough it might likely be an allergic reaction but this is indeed very rare in infants...
When there is such an occurrence, make sure the eyes are cleansed every once in a while before the discharge is crusted in the corners of the eye.
**Wipe the eyes clean with warm water cotton balls and clean them delicately.
**Do not let the kid rub the eyes excessively.
**Contact doctor immediately if there is any redness or swelling in the eye.
The reasons can be
* a blocked tear duct.
* a bacterial infection.
* a viral infection.
While the other two require medical intervention and confirmation that it indeed is an infection.. we can at home try some remedies to open up the blocked tear ducts as per my doctor.
A simple tip to stop tearing and crusting is
***When LO had crusting of the eyes, doc suggested me to press slightly on the nasal ridge and the place where the eye sockets meet the nose. Gently massaging the area between the eyebrows and eyes, around the eye sockets. It did help instantly. I was told to repeat the same gentle tapping massaging around the eyes and nose for about 20 times in the day, say 6 to 8 times rounds each time, 3 times a day.. ideally feeding times as the baby wont usually mind us doing that :).
If anyone at home has conjunctivitis be it bacterial or viral just keep everything separately including towels and bedsheets and if possible do not let them come near the infant. If it is you (the mom) who is infected take enough care not to stare into the eyes and take care of hygiene as much as possible.
If it is in the newborn stage, before 3 months of age, then it is most likely something to do with blocked tear ducts or nasal bone development or something like that, just the crusting and tearing, so do not worry...
watch out for external objects, redness, foul smelling crusts and keep the surroundings absolutely clean.
Thanks Renu for reminding me this one... LO had this as a newborn, so kind of missed my notice to update here.
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