whooping cough photo provided compliments of amyvangsgard.com

A news story was published regarding an outbreak of the whooping cough which started in the pediatric ward of a childrens hospital in the boston area. A young baby was diagnosed with the whopping cough ailment initially and before long it was determined that the disease had spread among three dozen of the hospital's own employees.

Later tests which were done to substantiate the initial whooping cough lab results came up inconclusive. Those infected all showed the signs and symptoms typically associated with the whooping cough. The baby that initially tested positive for the upper respiratory infection with had a persistent cough, running nose, and sneezing. Health officials were baffled when the second round of tests came up showing no signs of the whooping cough virus which is commonly known as pertussis; and to be honest we were baffled too.

We were baffled because this winter our own toddler came down with the same symptoms and she had to be hospitalized. Even after she was released the symptoms still persisted. In our community we have come in contact with so many people that have complained of having a horrible cough that has lasted... not for days... not for weeks... but for up to an entire month!

Another ironic thing is that no one is calling this whooping cough... even more ironic to me is that this has not gotten more wide spread media attention. I find this very ironic given the severity of this disease and the toll that it can take on young infant babies. At times the cough can get so violent that it has the potential to shatter bones in the rib cage... this clearly is not a virus that should be left unchecked.

Students are being hit by this in some parts of the U.S. as well. In one Nevada community an entire high school has been rocked this winter by the whooping cough disease. Only four whooping cough cases were confirmed but half of the school kids did not come to school fearing an out break.

Typically babies will get the vaccine to prevent pertussis in 5 stages. The shot is given to the infants during there 2,4,6, and 15-18 months. The final shot will be given between the ages of 4-6. The challenge is that this vaccination only reduces the risk of getting the disease and it wears off once the child grows into their teenage years. There are some new vaccines that are coming on the market for teenagers and adults though.

If you want more information about the whooping cough we suggest that you check out this site on whooping cough http://www.whoopingcough.net/index.htm

Have you seen any symptoms of whooping cough in your community this winter? If so please give your experiences here... we'd really like to hear from you!

Pregnancy photo compliments of fitpregnancy.com

Some doctors advise that overweight moms considering another pregnancy try to lose the extra pounds first. The reason is that the baby may become larger as a result of the mom being larger and this in turn could make the delivery of the baby more difficult due to the baby's size.

Our family recently had a baby girl and we are struggling with this issue... so I thought that I would blog about it. Are there any ladies out there who have struggled with their weight after a pregnancy? If so, what have you done to shed the extra weight that you gained while carrying? Please post your comments.... we'd love to hear what you have to say about how you have gone about losing your weight after your baby's birth.

A Crib Rail Cover is a very affordable product that you will want to get just to be safe. Teething babies enjoy biting on things. The Crib Rail Cover provides the perfect testing ground for new babies to practice using their new teeth. At times teething tots will stand upright in the baby crib and chaw down on the sides of the Teething Rail and this isn't safe for your baby. During the teething stage you may notice that the little tot can accidentally chip their teeth on the Teething Rail. The Crib Rail Cover will help lower the chances of these accidents from happening. The Crib Rail Cover is designed to help safeguard your teething young infant from broken pieces of wood and harmful paint.

Teething is a real important time for infants. All infants respond differently to the teething stage, but teething is something that all teething tots really like doing. The Crib Rail furnishes teething children with the perfect chewing opportunity. The Crib Rail Cover will help you and your baby during this period of time. You have to make sure that you invest in the right kind of Crib Rail Cover. If you decide to purchase a Crib Rail Cover it is very essential that you make certain that it is made of a soft material. Some Crib Rail Covers are made of a pliable plastic. This might fit on top of the wood, however it may be too hard and it could still traumitize your baby's brand new teeth.

This helpful Crib Rail Cover Article was created and written by John Hall. John is a author and website designer. You may contact john for more help and information on buying a Crib Rail Cover.

Kathy is the author of the complete teething guide and Bach flowers for children. The Expo is sponsored by many notable and reputable organizations such as The Whole Foods Markets grocery chain and Organic Family to name a few. You can find a complete list of their sponsors here: Natural Expo Sponsors

Kathy is committed to helping families find a natural alternative to caring for the medical and emotional needs that both children and families have. This expo is on the cusp and cutting edge of providing a unique networking forum where families seeking natural solutions can interact and share their ideas. This expo will provide a special opportunity for families wanting to follow natural parenting to develop community amongst themselves.

It is our hope that The momentum built from this event will continue to build as the particpants reach out to each other. This will hopefully lead to the establishment of think tanks and institutions that will further make the public aware of the many natural parenting options that are available for them.

If you are in the Los Angeles area this weekend and are interested in attending the Natural Parenting and Family Expo you can visit their information page here: Visitor Information

For further networking after the event you can also reach Kathy arnos directly via her website at: http://www.spiritdancepublishing.com/

Is your family in a situation where you are raising an infant and you want find a nice affordable home in a decent neighborhood to raise your child? If so, there are other options than traditional home buying and you may want to look into them. For example, you may want to consider purchasing a manufactured home as an alternative way of finding affordable housing for your family. There are many nice mobile home parks which you can find in various parts of the U.S. This is an option that you may want to consider for you and your baby.

There are Pro's and Con's to having a manufactured home just like there are for buying a regular home. The price of a modular home or manufactured home may be a lot lower than what you'd pay for a regular home. Consider your options, and see what happens....

Do you have a mobile home? Have you raised your family in a modular home? Are you just starting a new family or are you looking for a new home for you and your baby? If so, let us know your thoughts about mobile or modular homes. Your experiences could help some one else... make a post and let us know what you think.

If you find that your baby is producing more saliva in their mouth than normal, this could be a teething side effect. If your baby is placing their hand in their mouth this could also be a teething symptom and teething side effect. Teething babies may place their hands in their mouth in order to try to relieve some of the pressure that the emerging teeth may be placing upon their gums.

Believe it or not, in some rare cases ear infections have been found to be teething side effect. Ear infections can occur when the excess saliva gets backed up into the nasal passage area. Ear Infections are not normally associated as a teething side effect, but it does occur.

Teething affects babies differently. Have you ever had a teething baby? Did your baby have teething side effects? Did your baby have an ear infection? What were your experiences? Please drop us a line and let us know what happened to you... your teething experience could help someone else.

In some little baby infants there is a dandruff like condition which is called cradle cap.This condition is similar to that of dandruff and it occurs in young babies. Here is some information about how cradle cap is caused... older adults are constantly regenerating new hair skin cells at approximately or near the same rate at which they are losing their old dry hair skin cells. In many of the adults that have a healthy scalp condition, the old skin will just fall off and really don't even notice the process.

However with babies and young infants, the new hair skin cells may grow much faster on their scalp than they can fall off. This is the start of Cradle Cap. Cradle Cap usually will leave a dandruff like layer of somewhat crusty, extra skin. Cradle cap is a crusting and scaling rash and it is found in the hair of young babies may look somewhat similar to dandruff. The cradle cap condition will usually start at 3 months of age. The cradle cap condition will usually will disappear by the time the child is 1 year of age.

Cradle cap, can be treated in this way... rub a small amount of olive oil or a similar type of baby oil onto the infected scalp area of your baby infants scalp. Then wait several minutes to give the oil a chance to loosen and soften the dandruff like scales. One this has happened you should be able to easily brush them away.

You can find more information on cradle cap by clicking onto this dandruff link.

Breastmilk has been found to take on the taste of the food that the mother has been eating. Infants enjoy the variation of breastmilk taste and it provides the infant with their first introduction to the various types of foods flavors that are there for them to eat and enjoy. Sometimes though, the things that moms eat the babies are not quite ready to experience yet... and you will know because the baby may begin to start fussing and pushing your breast away as a sign that they don't like the menu for today.

When breastfeeding mothers may want to avoid some foods all together because they can cause your baby to become gassy. Examples of these types of foods are cabbage, garlic, chilli & curry. As we said earlier, sometimes mothers get that craving, and no food is known for this more than caffine... and it hides in many forms like coffee, soda, and tea. This stuff will keep you up and if you are breastfeeding if could possibly keep your baby up so please try to stay clear of this while you are nursing.

For some more information on foods to eat during breastfeeding please visit here: Breastfeeding... foods to eat and avoid
What foods did you eat when you were breastfeeding? Did you yield to any of your breast feeding cravings? If so, please write about your experiences here... you may be able to inspire a new mom and dad with your testimony.

Momentum is being built in favor of breastfeeding. For many years the trend had been to have the baby and give them formula as a way of replacing the natural nutrients found in breast milk. As a result of this many mothers have not been made aware of the benefits that breastfeeding has on the development of young babies. We wonder if a study has been done amongst doctors who care for newborns to see how they recommend that babies should be fed?

There are two ways that moms can approach breastfeeding. The first is the " natural approach"... which involves allowing your baby to nourish on your "paps". The other approach we will call the "storage approach"... this approach makes it possible for moms to pump their own breastmilk and then store it for feeding at a later date.This approach is helpful to allow moms to free up excess breastmilk and it is also helpful for moms who work and are not at home with their babies.

Here is a post that I read recently from a reader that was a bit concerned about the lack of information and attention that is being given to the positvie effects of breastfeeding. You can read it here: breastfeeding

Have you ever breastfed your baby or have you ever formula fed your baby? Do you have a preference? If so please share your thoughts here... Maybe your experiences can inspire a new mom.

It has been said that some studies show that delivering by C section will cause respiratory problems for the child in later on. Have you had a C section? How was your C section experience. Have you delivered by natural birth? Would you change to a C section if you had to do it again? Please let us know what you think...

Oh and BTW, if you want to read an article on C section you can do so here... C section We don't agree with their premise though. Given the opportunity, we personally believe that a Natural birth should always be taken as the first choice for delivery. What do you think?

What we did find is that teething does effect babies differently, and we also discovered that you can glean from the collective global experiences of parents the world over to get a pretty good idea of what you can do to help your teething baby. Here are a few things that we have learned about teething from our baby... a cool object to chew on will really help your baby to soothe their teething gums. Teething rings really help in this area, only want to make sure that you find ones that do not have any liquid filling because this can be punctured by your baby's new teeth.

One of the joys of having a baby is that you get to hold and cuddle them, we find that during teething you may want to provide a little extra TLC (Tender Loving Care). Hugging and touching your baby can help them to calm a little during teething.

Do you have a teething baby? Have you been through the teething stage? Please feel free to post your experiences here... you can provide some help to that new parent who is still "green" so that they can get on the teething fast track.

How can a mother really know if she has post partum depression though? I ask this question because as I look at the symptoms post partum depression they parallel what the majority of mothers might deem the normal after effects of a pregnancy. In a recent article that I read about post partum depression some of the symptoms that were listed as being associated with post partum depression were sleeping problems, mood swings, and fatigue. I wonder if all mothers experience these emotions at some level after they have given birth.

The other thing is this... it appears like there is not a root cause that has been associated with post partum depression. In other words, what causes post partum depression? Are there any blogging moms out there who have experienced this disease? If so, share your experiences here, maybe you can shed some more light on the subject for someone else who has questions about post partum depression...

Personally, I think it strange to prescribe medication to a disease when you are not exactly sure what the root cause of the disease is... that's my opinion though. Any other thoughts...???

Pregnancy by Darran Mccague.

Studies are showing that there is a direct link between Folic Acid and healthy babies. The Press release states that Birth defects of the spinal cord and brain can be avoided by a healthy diet that is rich in Folic Acid. The Article further states that " Between 1995 and 2002 neural tube defects (NTDs), including spina bifida, have declined by 36 percent in Hispanics and 34 percent in white, non- Hispanics. Yet Hispanic women are 50% more likely than white, non-Hispanic women to have a child born with these serious birth defects of the brain and spine. Folic acid fortification of enriched grains was mandated in the United States in 1998 and since then products -- like bread, crackers, bagels, pasta and tortillas -- made from enriched white flour have been important for growing fetal development. In fact, enriched grains have been fortified with twice the amount of folic acid found in whole grain products." The assertion made in the article is that the increase in Folic acid will better prepare the body for pregnancy... even before conception.

This is not the first time that we have heard of a link between the benefits of a healthy pregnancy and Folic Acid... If you would like to read the article on Folic Acid yourself you can get the link here: Folic Acid Article If you have not already done so, we suggest that you look into finding some ways of adding Folic Acid into your diet before and during pregnancy.

]]> http://www.babycareblog.com/2005/11/what_to_expect_when_you_are_ex.htm http://www.babycareblog.com/2005/11/what_to_expect_when_you_are_ex.htm pregnancy information and discussion Sun, 06 Nov 2005 17:11:02 +0000