One way to ease the pressure of communicating with loved ones is to choose a person from each side of the family to be your spokesperson.
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How to Wean Babies from Bottles
Most pediatricians (me included) recommend weaning babies from formula at 12 months. I learned many years ago that this is also the ideal time to wean them from bottles.
What is Hand, Foot, Mouth Syndrome?
Hand, foot, mouth syndrome (HFM) is a common viral infection most often seen in young children. It’s most common during the summer months, but can occur at any time of the year. A child may get HFM more than once because different viruses cause the infection. When a...
How to Put Drops in a Child’s Eyes
Instilling drops in a child’s eyes can be difficult because they're often afraid it will hurt when the drops go in. Although some drops sting, children often complain simply because a drop “fell” into their eyes. The following technique often makes the process easier....
Be careful when buying over the counter medication
Non-prescription medicine is not regulated by the FDA and doesn’t have to work to be sold in the US. The best example of this is cold medication. The “cold industry” is a billion-dollar business with little to no data showing their products work. This is especially...
What’s a strawberry hemangioma?
Strawberry hemangiomas are a collection of tiny capillaries located on the skin. Most resolve without treatment by the time a child is 5 to 10 years.
What are the incubation periods of some common childhood illnesses?
There is a lag time between being exposed to an infection and coming down with the disease. This time frame is called the incubation period.
What’s in a teaspoon?
Nowadays, doctors and parents need to be more precise in the way they give medicine to kids.
Are febrile seizures dangerous?
Febrile seizures occur in 3 percent of children between 6 months and 5 years. The seizure is triggered by the rapid rise in temperature that accompanies an illness.
It’s common for fathers to bond with their babies after mothers
I have made a point of telling new fathers that it’s “normal” for moms to bond to babies before they do.
Kids eating too many Halloween treats? Try this trick
Despite my confession, it used to drive me crazy to watch my kids gobble up pounds of candy every fall. My wife came up with a perfect solution to our dilemma.
Limit visitors the first week you are home with your baby
While it helps to have friends or relatives assist you in taking care of the baby, what begins as a 5-minute visit can easily stretch to an hour or more.
How to make tummy time easier
Once parents start tummy time, lots of questions come up. How long should it last? How many times a day should we do it?
How to clean a newborn’s vagina
Cleaning this area often makes parents nervous. I recommend two things to make this easier.
Why newborns poop when they’re nursing
When a person’s stomach fills with food, it triggers a reflex that stimulates peristalsis.
FEATURED POSTS
How often can you take ibuprofen for menstrual cramps?
I often joke with parents that my gynecologic knowledge is limited because most female adolescent patients prefer seeing a woman doctor. However, my daughter suffered with severe cramps, and I...
How should you talk to your daughter about puberty?
In my experience, 90% of girls are not excited when puberty starts. And it’s not just their impending period that’s on their mind. Most girls are happy with the body they have and see no reason for...
Tips to help adolescents avoid drugs and alcohol
While every parent hopes his or her teenager will be able to “just say no” when asked to use drugs or alcohol, it’s clear that many adolescents will have difficulty resisting peer pressure. One way...
Can a teenager be immune to mononucleosis and not know it?
It’s common knowledge that people are usually diagnosed with mononucleosis (mono) during adolescence. This is the reason it’s often referred to as the “kissing disease.” What lots of people don’t...
An uncommon, but serious side effect of acne medication
Tetracycline and its derivatives (doxycycline, minocycline) are commonly used to treat acne. I have noticed that dermatologists sometimes forget to warn patients that a severe sore throat may occur...
Have You Ever Heard Of Testicular Torsion?
Most parents know that certain symptoms that can be associated with serious medical conditions. The most common ones are as follows:stiff neck may mean meningitisabdominal pain may mean...