Tips For The Week…..Sleep Training Newborns, Halloween Safety, Halloween Decor

Alison’s Tip

I am going to gear off of the topic of veterinary medicine and cooking and recommend  a great feeding/sleeping tip for newborn babies.  With our first son, our pediatrician told us to feed during the day every 2 hours and then at night time feed them when they want to be fed (on demand) for the first month of their lives.  You wake them up, get them to eat and be alert during the day, and then you place them where you want them to sleep at night and let them tell you when they want to eat.  This sets up for 2 things 1) they start to distinguish between day and night (day is when we are awake and up and eating) and 2) They can go longer at night because they take in more nutrients during the day and require less.  This technique has worked well for us however ALWAYS speak with your pediatrician.  Many babies are not big enough to let feed on demand during the evening and need to be woken up.  Hope this helps and happy sleeping.

Katie’s Tip

Glow sticks, necklaces, and bracelets are very popular during Halloween.  The substance inside these glowing items is usually dibutyl phthalate– a clear, oily, colorless liquid. It is generally low in toxicity but can cause irritation to any part of the body that it comes into contact with, including the eyes, skin and mouth. Here are the following recommendations if your child comes into contact with the liquid inside glow sticks:

Ingestion:

• Wipe the mouth with a clean wet washcloth; go over the tongue and around the gum line.
• Give the child up to one-half cup of water.

Eye Exposure:

• Irrigate exposed eye(s) with a generous amount of room temperature water for at least 10 minutes.
• Call the Carolinas Poison Center for ongoing irritation, swelling, pain or sensitivity to light.

Skin Exposure:

• Remove any clothing that is wet with the liquid.
• Wash exposed areas of skin well with soap and water.

Carrie’s Tip

Halloween is around the corner! If you know my sister Alison then you will understand her love for all things Fall! Halloween is the first holiday of the season. Lot’s of fun decorating and activities with the kids. And if you know my sister Katie, you know her love for mason jars lol. I saw this article and thought of both of them. How cute are all of these mason jar halloween activities?! The perfect activity for anyone having a party with kids. There’s 30 different kinds you can make. Happy Halloween!