Some possibly helpful health tips
Those of us who have or are expecting children have no doubt read a lot on their care, including general health/hygiene and safety issues. Some may seem far-fetching, some sensible but we don’t end up keeping to them as a rule for different reasons. I would like to share with you what I find essential and what is important to me as a mother.
Breastfeeding
My standpoint on this issue is clear from the breastfeeding piece I have included. I am 100% in favour of breastfeeding for the first 12 months with absolutely no extra bottles of formula if possible. I understand that everyone has their own approach and some women don’t have a choice, this is just my opinion.
Home-cooked meals vs. shop-bought jars
I cannot say I have never used them. They are convenient and my son, who had a very sensitive tummy, would have colic even after cooked apples, and would only tolerate shop-bought fruit. But do not tell me that these foods don’t contain anything fake! My husband works in the food industry and there is no way a jar can have a shelf-life of 6-12 months and not contain any trace of preservative. I am annoyed because I heard a programme on the radio the other day for young mothers, where the presenter was saying that jars of baby food do not have any chemicals, and that they are more nutritious than homemade soups (pardon me??), also they “save the mother time”. I just wanted to say it took me approx. 20 minutes to cook and mix up a soup for my babies that would do for 2-3 meals. I never froze the food (which you can do), but would let it sit in the fridge up to 48 hours, and my daughter was happy to eat the same thing for 3 days. My son wasn’t, but what is 20 min every 2 days? It is also convenient to take with you as you can put it in small plastic containers. Do not heat them in the microwave though as microwaved plastic is supposed to release toxins into the food. We purposefully don’t own one but I did have my kids’ food microwaved whilst out a couple of times not knowing about this.
Brushing teeth
My kids are now basically preschoolers. Only very recently did I kick myself to start brushing their teeth twice a day (naughty!) but I have been very strict about brushing teeth once a day from the moment they first appeared – with water under age 1 and then using a small amount of age-suitable toothpaste. This way the kids are so used to brushing teeth it is usually not a problem. There have been moments of rebellion usually overcome by letting the kids brush their teeth themselves first and then having Mum “finish up”. The gum-flavoured toothpastes Oral-B produces have been a great help as the kids love the taste. I still have a problem with them spitting the paste out though, they like to eat it…
I was also strict with stopping breastfeeds for the night as recommended at 12 months old, so that after teeth are brushed only water can be drunk. Each child got a non-spill sippy cup of water to bed as of 12 months and they continue to sip it at night even now. In fact, once my husband got our daughter juice when she asked for a drink at the stage when that was all she liked to drink during the day (diluted apple) and she protested “Not juice Dad, water!”
I have also started taking the kids to the dentist. We haven’t been very regular – K has had two checkups in 18 months, but they enjoy going and we will try to obey the 6-month rule. It is definitely important to find a dentist specialised in children. Our child-friendly dentist has toys and gives small prizes to brave patients. The kids are actually looking forward to their next visit!
Immunisation
This is a tough one. When we had K we were all for immunising against everything including those shots that were optional. Only recently have I started hearing conflicting advice. In Poland many immunisations are compulsory but many are also optional. Some we have skipped, like chickenpox, both kids got it and did not suffer excessively. I also think Szymus had rubella at 10 months and it was laughable – a small fever and light rash for 3 days. That’s it! But of course it is much worse if you get it at a different age.
But I have read some horrifying things about vaccinations on the Internet and while my kids have been immunised against most things with no side effects other than redness/soreness at injection site or slight fever, I think that as mothers there are some precautions we can take:
1. Make sure our babies/kids are completely healthy at the time of immunisation – absolutely no signs of cold or fever;
2. Do NOT have too many injections done at the same time. One doctor suggested I immunise Szymus against Tetanus/Diptheria (which has 5 strands of viruses) AND pneumoccocal disease (don’t even know how many strands of that there are in the vaccine) at the same time. I refused. Another doc confirmed to wait AT LEAST 4 wks between those vaccines. We ended up having a four month break.
3. Another thing I noticed is that while kids aged over 2 need only one shot of the pneumoccocal vaccine, babies require three doses that start getting administered from the age of 2 months in addition to all the other vaccines they “need” at that age. That vaccine only came out after K was born and she was vaccinated after completing the age of 2, in time for preschool, same as Szymus.
In consultation with my new paediatrician, I am totally against giving my kids flu vaccines, as they are both generally healthy and should fight the illness on their own.
Regular blood tests
When K was a baby she was late to start eating solids – around 8-9 months. She just loved the breast so much! So at around 12 months our private paediatrician suggested we do a blood test to make sure she is not anemic. Just over a year later, following Szymus’ hospitalisation, we had to test his blood for iron. It made me realise that testing a kid’s blood once a year is not a bad idea. I don’t mean for us to be paranoid that something bad may be happening, but it gives you an idea of what’s going on and it isn’t really much of a pain for the kids. K didn’t react at all at her first blood test (taken from the fingertip) and S enjoyed his this year. So I make it an annual event that, when the school year starts, both kids have blood, urine and stool tests done.
Vomiting
When kids are throwing up a lot they are unlikely to want to drink the foul tasting solution they need to build up the lost minerals so that they don’t end up dehydrated. In Australia pharmacies sell a better tasting version of this kind of solution in the form of icy poles you freeze at home and kids are much more prone to eat these than sip the disgusting liquid mix. In Poland of course they do not have these icy poles, and the mixture is so horrible it’s not even worth freezing, but I came up with the simple idea of freezing sports drinks. They taste ok whilst having extra minerals for sweating sportspeople. The kids LOVE them. So last time K was vomiting, I froze plenty of these in Ikea-bought ice cube trays, and would give her a few at a time to suck on.
Breastfeeding
My standpoint on this issue is clear from the breastfeeding piece I have included. I am 100% in favour of breastfeeding for the first 12 months with absolutely no extra bottles of formula if possible. I understand that everyone has their own approach and some women don’t have a choice, this is just my opinion.
Home-cooked meals vs. shop-bought jars
I cannot say I have never used them. They are convenient and my son, who had a very sensitive tummy, would have colic even after cooked apples, and would only tolerate shop-bought fruit. But do not tell me that these foods don’t contain anything fake! My husband works in the food industry and there is no way a jar can have a shelf-life of 6-12 months and not contain any trace of preservative. I am annoyed because I heard a programme on the radio the other day for young mothers, where the presenter was saying that jars of baby food do not have any chemicals, and that they are more nutritious than homemade soups (pardon me??), also they “save the mother time”. I just wanted to say it took me approx. 20 minutes to cook and mix up a soup for my babies that would do for 2-3 meals. I never froze the food (which you can do), but would let it sit in the fridge up to 48 hours, and my daughter was happy to eat the same thing for 3 days. My son wasn’t, but what is 20 min every 2 days? It is also convenient to take with you as you can put it in small plastic containers. Do not heat them in the microwave though as microwaved plastic is supposed to release toxins into the food. We purposefully don’t own one but I did have my kids’ food microwaved whilst out a couple of times not knowing about this.
Brushing teeth
My kids are now basically preschoolers. Only very recently did I kick myself to start brushing their teeth twice a day (naughty!) but I have been very strict about brushing teeth once a day from the moment they first appeared – with water under age 1 and then using a small amount of age-suitable toothpaste. This way the kids are so used to brushing teeth it is usually not a problem. There have been moments of rebellion usually overcome by letting the kids brush their teeth themselves first and then having Mum “finish up”. The gum-flavoured toothpastes Oral-B produces have been a great help as the kids love the taste. I still have a problem with them spitting the paste out though, they like to eat it…
I was also strict with stopping breastfeeds for the night as recommended at 12 months old, so that after teeth are brushed only water can be drunk. Each child got a non-spill sippy cup of water to bed as of 12 months and they continue to sip it at night even now. In fact, once my husband got our daughter juice when she asked for a drink at the stage when that was all she liked to drink during the day (diluted apple) and she protested “Not juice Dad, water!”
I have also started taking the kids to the dentist. We haven’t been very regular – K has had two checkups in 18 months, but they enjoy going and we will try to obey the 6-month rule. It is definitely important to find a dentist specialised in children. Our child-friendly dentist has toys and gives small prizes to brave patients. The kids are actually looking forward to their next visit!
Immunisation
This is a tough one. When we had K we were all for immunising against everything including those shots that were optional. Only recently have I started hearing conflicting advice. In Poland many immunisations are compulsory but many are also optional. Some we have skipped, like chickenpox, both kids got it and did not suffer excessively. I also think Szymus had rubella at 10 months and it was laughable – a small fever and light rash for 3 days. That’s it! But of course it is much worse if you get it at a different age.
But I have read some horrifying things about vaccinations on the Internet and while my kids have been immunised against most things with no side effects other than redness/soreness at injection site or slight fever, I think that as mothers there are some precautions we can take:
1. Make sure our babies/kids are completely healthy at the time of immunisation – absolutely no signs of cold or fever;
2. Do NOT have too many injections done at the same time. One doctor suggested I immunise Szymus against Tetanus/Diptheria (which has 5 strands of viruses) AND pneumoccocal disease (don’t even know how many strands of that there are in the vaccine) at the same time. I refused. Another doc confirmed to wait AT LEAST 4 wks between those vaccines. We ended up having a four month break.
3. Another thing I noticed is that while kids aged over 2 need only one shot of the pneumoccocal vaccine, babies require three doses that start getting administered from the age of 2 months in addition to all the other vaccines they “need” at that age. That vaccine only came out after K was born and she was vaccinated after completing the age of 2, in time for preschool, same as Szymus.
In consultation with my new paediatrician, I am totally against giving my kids flu vaccines, as they are both generally healthy and should fight the illness on their own.
Regular blood tests
When K was a baby she was late to start eating solids – around 8-9 months. She just loved the breast so much! So at around 12 months our private paediatrician suggested we do a blood test to make sure she is not anemic. Just over a year later, following Szymus’ hospitalisation, we had to test his blood for iron. It made me realise that testing a kid’s blood once a year is not a bad idea. I don’t mean for us to be paranoid that something bad may be happening, but it gives you an idea of what’s going on and it isn’t really much of a pain for the kids. K didn’t react at all at her first blood test (taken from the fingertip) and S enjoyed his this year. So I make it an annual event that, when the school year starts, both kids have blood, urine and stool tests done.
Vomiting
When kids are throwing up a lot they are unlikely to want to drink the foul tasting solution they need to build up the lost minerals so that they don’t end up dehydrated. In Australia pharmacies sell a better tasting version of this kind of solution in the form of icy poles you freeze at home and kids are much more prone to eat these than sip the disgusting liquid mix. In Poland of course they do not have these icy poles, and the mixture is so horrible it’s not even worth freezing, but I came up with the simple idea of freezing sports drinks. They taste ok whilst having extra minerals for sweating sportspeople. The kids LOVE them. So last time K was vomiting, I froze plenty of these in Ikea-bought ice cube trays, and would give her a few at a time to suck on.
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