OPINION and NEWS: Kids' Lunches Harboring Bacteria--So What?

I was watching CNN this morning when I saw this bit on kids' lunches and how they are too hot and harboring bacteria by lunch time. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, reported on how the University of Texas in Austin conducted a study and found 98 percent of the lunches tested were too warm by lunch time. The study was done on 700 packed lunches of 3- to 5-year-olds attending day care.

CNN.com in this article quotes Dr. Steve Abrams, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition as saying, "This is a red flag. This means that the recommendations for food safety are not being followed."

Simple recommendation is to pack more ice-packs into the lunch-bag, and one pack may not be enough.

What the article fails to show, and the blurb on TV for the most part, is to say why should we care if our kids eat a little bacteria? Isn't it good for them to eat a little bacteria now and then to get their bellies used to things not being 100 clean? If my daughter is encouraged to eat dirt once in a while, what's a little warm turkey sandwich going to do? Make her burp a little? Maybe boost her immune system so that if she visits Mexico one day she doesn't automatically have to run to the bathroom after the first piece of unfiltered ice chip slides down her throat?

Aren't we getting a little too sterile and scared of a little not-so-fatal bacteria? Ok, I wouldn't be giving sushi to my kid for lunch without tons of ice-packs being involved in their lunchbox, but I probably wouldn't waste sushi on a child's palette anyway.

In my unmedically sound opinion parents are way too concerned about bacteria and a little dirt: hand sanitizer in every corner of every library, classroom, and playzone and anti-bacterial soap in every bathroom. I know superbugs are not a real concern just yet in this country, but it seems to me they will be one day and we're doing all we can to create them. Let the kids eat some warm sandwiches once in a while, let you kids play on the ground and get a little dirt under their nails, let them eat some bread that fell off their highchair from lunch, their kids they're supposed to be growing an immune system not living in a bubble.

PERSONAL: Daycares, home versus centers

Since we're moving and I'm trying to get back to work part-time, the great daycare debate has taken over in my head as to whether we go with a family-run daycare or a center. Also my daughter is an incredible extrovert (no idea where she got that from), so even if I wasn't working I think she'd still do better going part-time to a daycare.

Since my daughter is so young still, only 14 months, I have repeatedly thought and heard that we really should go with a smaller family-run setting rather than a center, but I do see benefits to both.

Small family-run care benefits: Personalized care and attention, lots of time spent with child one-on-one, in-depth communication with parents, deep connections with children in group, and can be cost-effective.

Center-run benefits: More people working at the center means employees are less likely to stray from a set plan of care, large amount of oversight from parents, corporate HQs of center and other employees, and lots of other children to socialize with.

Some downsides for each

Family-run: Possibly less secure of an environment, can be harder to reach someone if a trip or outing is planned, many of them take vacations or breaks and other care is needed for that time-period.

Centers: Lots of kids means lots more can go wrong including bullying by other kids or impatient employees, can be very costly, usually there are more older children which can be a good or bad thing, needs of children are met at a slower pace and less individualized care is provided.

Like I said, we're leaning more toward a family-run daycare, but are doing extensive research for them because care provided for my daughter not given directly by me or a family member makes me extremely nervous.

Tips? Send them my way!

NEWS: This Ridiculous Heat Can Cause Heat Stroke

This heat is out of control right now. It's so hot my daughter's crayons are practically welded to our back deck. In this kind of heat, it's important to be careful with infants and toddlers that they do not get too hot.

Heat stroke, a temperature of 105.1 degree Fahrenheit or above, is a serious condition that can lead to organ failure, brain damage and even death. Twenty-one children died of heat stroke after being locked in hot vehicles this year already, according to the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University.

Some symptoms of heat stroke, according to BabyCenter.com, include:

Rapid pulse
Restlessness
Confusion
Dizziness
Headache (which may make him irritable)
Vomiting

If you think your child has heat stroke, immediately call 911 and get your child to as cool of an area as possible, preferrably a cool room. Sponge down the child and fan the child. For more information on cooling down a baby, visit NYU's Department of Pediatrics' site, it's pretty easy to follow and informative.

To PREVENT Heat Stroke, which is probably the best way to go about this heat, some things you can do is keep your babies and kids out of the sun/heat for extended periods of time.
Go to a cool place like the mall, a public library, or somewhere with air conditioning.
Provide lots of fluids to your kids if they are out in the heat, preferrably ones with electrolytes like Pedialyte (cheaper generic versions are available).

These prevention tips are just some taken from the CDC Extreme Heat site, for more of their tips, click here.

PERSONAL: Icky Momma

When baby licks airport windows, baby gets sick. When baby gets sick, momma gets sick. When momma is sick, no one is happy. :(

NEWS: NASA Has Fed Thousands of Babies

I thought this was a cute tidbit I found in the news about babies this week, the space shuttle program has helped developed a number of things one never thinks about, including today's baby formula recipes.

After researching algae as a recycling agent for space travel, scientists at NASA found one algae nutrient only found in human breast milk. Today, 95 percent of the infant formula out there is made with this algae-based additive called Formulaid. This ingredient is thought to be highly beneficial to infant mental and visual development, read NASA's press release.


“Millions of babies have been fed (by) NASA; that beats Tang,” Dan Lockney, NASA's spinoff technology manager, said to the Associated Press.

Read the full AP article here.

NEWS: 10 Things Worse or New Now For Parents to Worry About

I was in a discussion with a Patch.com mom council about teens and sex and it made me think of sexting and that sparked this idea for a post:

10 things that we, as parents, have to worry about that our parents didn't have to worry about as much: (Feel free to tell me I'm wrong or add your own points)

1) Sexting
2) Facebook and predators online
3) Harassing text messages from bullies
4) Guns in school
5) Cocaine and other hard drugs at especially early ages
6) Pesticides on food
7) Childhood obesity
8) Being inside too much and forgetting how beautiful/fun nature is
9) Watching too much TV and too old-for-them TV
10) Spending too much money on materialistic crap.

PERSONAL: Idiocy Strikes Bedtime

Ok, we all make mistakes, sadly as a Full-Time Mom if you mess up, you run the risk of harming your kid. Thank GOD it turns out the little one wasn't poisoned by her idiot mother!

Last night my husband finally noticed something was up and asked, "Umm, honey, where is the toothpaste up here? Are you using this teething gel on her teeth every night instead of toothpaste?"

I scoffed at him from downstairs as I prepared dinner and told him that it indeedwas toothpaste, it was just made by Orajel.

Um, no I was incorrect, it wasthe teething gel I had been putting on her teeth instead of the baby toothpaste. Whoops! I think I must have switched them when I cleaned out her bathroom and put all her toiletries away, about a month ago! Nice work mom!

A quick call to the pediatrician office and Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) confirmed it was not lethal and could only be really harmful if symptoms like difficulty breathing occured or her nails started turning blue or if she exhibited other signs of a rare disease called methemoglobinemia.

Don't be dumb like me, though, double-check everything before giving it to your kid please! It, at the very least, will save you from feeling horribly guilty and scared!

NEWS: Never Too Young To Be On A Diet

The Institute of Medicine warn parents and pediatricians alike that obese infants and toddlers can lead to adult obesity. Today, the IOM published in a report today, 10 percent of infants and toddlers are already obese. Childhood obesity can lead to adult obesity and so, the IOM is advising less TV and video time and making sure the kids are getting enough sleep and eating properly.

Interesting! I'd agree it's weird to see a baby who is already obese at only a few months old, and it's probably not the healthiest, but I'm not seeing anything earth shattering in this press release. Don't we all already know to limit TV and video time and be sure our kids are getting the right amount of sleep and veggies/fruits?

PERSONAL: Tick Check Months Are Here

You know when you find a tick in a belly-button, it's tick season. Massachusetts is one of those places too where ticks are super prevalent.

According to the CDC, on the East Coast, we got the

American dog tick
Blacklegged tick
Brown dog tick
Lone Star tick.

And according to the CDC you should avoid trying to detach the tick like many people think. Don't suffocate, burn or wait for the tick to detach, get it off you as soon as possible by using tweezers. Don't twist it and break off the head, though. Here are the full tips: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

Good luck out there and don't forget to check yourself and your babies/kids every time you come home from outdoors if you can.

PERSONAL: Baby Go Boom

All kids who walk try to run. And at some point all kids who try to run, or walk, fall. And all kids who fall eventually bang their heads. Sometimes they fall into corners and that looks like it really hurts.

Baby girl hit her head some kinds of awful last night after refusing to go to sleep (see? I told ya you should have just gone to bed!). She was running around, all amped up that dadda was home and while I was busy squirting ketchup on a leftover cheeseburger from her birthday bbq, bam! She slammed her forehead into the corner of a wall in our dining room.

The wailing was nothing too unusual, the bump on her head was extra large but nothing too scary either. Overall it is huge and I felt bad for her but I know these things are going to happen regularly. What my husband did after that I lost a lot of sleep over--he googled "baby" and "concussion." Thanks honey!

Since it was her bedtime anyway, yes she was lethargic and a bit confused. No I didn't really think she had a concussion, but thanks to my husband's reading everything he found out loud I woke up half the night double-checking the monitor to make sure she was moving around in her crib as normal.

She's fine, but if you ever have your kid pass out after hitting his/her head, definitely visit the doctor. Other bad signs are vomiting the day after a bad spill, disorientation and eye trouble.

See Dr. Sears site for more information on all head injuries.

NEWS: Breastfeeding Linked to Lower Risk of SIDS

As if you moms needed another reason to breastfeed, here's yet another benefit of giving babies the boob over a bottle at first--a possible lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome--the most common cause of death for infants, about 8.1 percent of all infant deaths, in 2006 according to the American Lung Association.

Breastfeeding has been linked to babies having better immune systems, less gas, linked to a lower rate of diabetes and a host of other diseases as well as possible higher IQs.

In this study from one of my alma maters, The University of Virginia, the researchers combined data from 18 studies asking mothers about SIDS and feeding methods. Those babies breastfed appeared to have a 60 percent lower chance of SIDS than those babies not breastfed. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics on June 13, 2011.

The researchers did note they needed more data to link the two conclusively. Read the abstract on the study here.

NEWS: When Miscarriages Are Not Normal

This one came via my friend Kristel, from CNN.com. This story is about a woman who had four miscarriages by the time she was only 26. She lost four pregnancies and one was a set of twins in three years. The real issue is her OB didn't want to test her for any problems because she had one live, full-term, birth in the midst of all her miscarriages.

I did not know this but apparently, according to this article, an OB generally will not check for any genetic problems with the mom or dad unless the mom has had three miscarriages in a row without any live births.

This woman was found to have a genetic mutation that some believe can cause miscarriages. She was prescribed aspirin and her last baby was born full-term and healthy.

Read the full story here.

NEWS: Best Children's Hospitals 2010-2011

God forbid that any of us ever have to use a children's hospital for such things as cancer or a genetic disorder, but it does happen. And if you find yourselhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giff in need of a good doctor or hospital, then check out U.S. News and World Report's Honor Roll as well as their pediatric care rankings by specialty.

NEWS: Babies Born 'Full-Term' Fare Better

When I was pregnant I had false labor, a lot of women do. But it was thought that even if I had gone into actual labor my baby and I would have been fine, because I was 37 weeks pregnant--37 weeks is considered "full-term." Today, that idea may change.

A new study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology journal reads that babies born during week 37 and 38 of gestation are twice as likely to die during their first year than a baby born during the 39 or 40 week of gestation. Not anything a mother wants to hear.

The researchers analyzed the data of 46.3 million live births, using the National Center for Health Statistics database, from 1995 to 2006. The good news they found, generally, infant mortality has decreased for early-term and full-term births; however, they did also find babies born in the 37 or 38 week are 2.6 more likely to die pre- or post-birth for Hispanic and white babies, and 2.9 times more likely for black babies.

The abstract of the study can be found here.

NEWS: Reannouncement of Maclaren Stroller Recall (2009)

Additional fingertip amputations and cuts have caused the Maclaren company to reannounce their stroller recall from November 2009. An additional 112 injury incident reports have been filed since 2009, making the total reported injuries at 137.

About a million strollers are being recalled in total (from before 2009 and now) after a total of 17 fingertip amputations were reported and multiple laceration and finger-entrapment and bruising reports.

The strollers being recalled are the double-wide and single-wide umbrella strollers.

For many women, buying a stroller brand new is not an option. If you buy a used stroller, however, make sure there are no recalls on the item by checking online through the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

PERSONAL: Miscarriages Are No Fun

So yesterday I had a miscarriage and I wasn't TOO upset because I wasn't too psyched on the idea of having a new baby (especially in the dead of winter) so soon after my first one. BUT as the time had gone on, mind you I'm talking a week, I had started to come around to the idea and was starting to look forward to the little rascal. Guess there was something wrong with the baby-to-be or my body wasn't ready after all cause resident numero due was kicked out.

I can understand how this could take a huge emotional toll on someone who had their heart set on a baby. Even though I wasn't super down with the idea it still stung a little bit. But what people fail to really tell you is how physically unhappy the whole process is. We're not talking about period cramps, we're talking major major cramps and I was only 6 weeks or so. For someone even further along it would even worse I can imagine.

And let's not forget that it does not end in one day. No my friends this process can take weeks, about two for most people. First the miscarriage, then your missed period soon follows, the nurse explained to me. So much fun I think I'll ask God to come back as a boy next time around!

GUIDELINES: Safe Bottle and Formula Guide

So apparently I'm the only mom in the world (probably not which is why I'm posting this) who didn't know BPA isn't just leaking from plastics, but also http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giffromhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifgif cans into food. All these years I've been thinking that making pasta sauce was so super beneficial to my health, even if I make it 99 percent of the time with canned tomatoes (sorry but most tomatohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifes in America taste like water really) and now I have rethink the whole process.

So this study from the Environmental Working Group back in 2007 is the main one talking about how BPA (Read on BPA here) was leaking into ready-made liquid formula containers into the food. I only use powdered formula but I know that I have been tempted sometimes to buy a couple of these ready-made cans when out and about. Now I'll probably never even consider it!

Here are some safe baby feeding guidelines from the same group. The group is a non-profit company that deals pretty exclusively with nutritional, agricultural and food industry issues. They also have a sister lobbying organization that helps push their cause.

PERSONAL: Not Look Forward To/Looking Forward To

Here are the things I remember I hated the most about being pregnant and then the things I loved. And assuredly what I will love and hate again this time around!

Hated

• Not being able to poop
  
• Charlie Horses waking me up in the morning
  
• Heartburn, mostly after lunch
  
• Nausea in the mornings
  
• Insomnia (only mildly though)
  
• Having to pee every hour
  
• Not having a steady flow of pee from month four - end (trickled)
  
• Not being able to drink coffee without guilty complex kicking in
  
• Not being able to take ibuprofen for arthritic knees
  
• Did I mention the no-poop thing?
  
• Not looking pregnant for five months and instead looking like a bloated doughnut-hoarder
  
• Not being able to reach my feet
  
• No seeing my ho-ha for two months
  
• Unsolicited advice came from every angle
  

Liked

• People were way friendly to me
  
• Everyone opened doors, let me cut lines
  
• I could use the bathroom anywhere I went
  
• People would strike up conversations with me everywhere
  
• I got free cookies at sandwich shops
  
• Feeling the baby move in the third trimester
  
• Pushing on one side of the belly and having the baby push back
  
• Sudden bursts of energy and love for everyone and everything
  
• That I can eat whatever I feel like eating (meaning sweets and stuff) without feeling guilty about getting fat
  
• BIG BOOBS
  
• Wearing bikini bottoms that cover my fat and blaming it on the baby bump
  
• Being crabby and having an excuse you can't argue with
  
• My husband cleans more and gets me water
  
• BIG BOOBS!!!!
  

NEWS: FDA Warns Against Using Teething Gels

You know that any medication has side effects, tylenol can do harm to your liver, ibuprofen can cause heart arrhythmia and even allergy medicine can cause allergy-like symptoms. So it should come as no surprise that even medicine for babies and toddlers can cause harm too. The difference is your baby's immune system has not fully developed, like yours, so they are at more risk with medicines causing side effects.

Long story short the FDA has issued a rare (and take that into account here please) but fatal (also note that) side effect to using teething gels that contain benzocaine. Benzocaine can lead to lack of oxygen in the blood stream and in extreme cases a disease called methemoglobinemia that can be fatal.

If your child experiences any of these symptoms, the FDA says to immediately seek medical attention for your child: pale, gray or blue colored skin, lips, and nail beds; shortness of breath; fatigue; confusion; headache; lightheadedness; and rapid heart rate.

Click here for more on this safety release.

NEWS: Brains of Autistic Children Bigger

I am not up on my autism news, hopefully I will never have to be, but I found it pretty amazing that this research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical School is finding children with autism have larger brains even up to the age of 5.

These researchers apparently already knew that children with autism had larger-sized brains at the age of 2, but this new paper they published reads this enlargement continues on for more years to come. Their research, albeit not with a large group (only 59 kids), shows that the brains of these children started growing extra "matter" as (possibly) early as before the babies turned one.

So whereas people who feel their doctor(s) may be over-diagnosing and perhaps their child is not autistic can now have one test done to rule it out or prove the doctor correct.

The CDC's site reads that one in every 10 children is born with the disorder now, hopefully places like the University of North Carolina can continue their research with larger groups and find undeniable indicators at an early stage to help treat, and ultimately find a prevention or cure for, autism.