Childcare

Your child comes to you with a rather widespread and unsightly rash. You’ve consulted your sister, your neighbor, and the helpful UB online community, but you’re still not sure exactly how to best handle the outbreak. The authors of The Baby Book, which is widely regarded as the “baby bible,” have just published the newest must-have resource for parents and caregivers that can guide parents to help heal and protect their child.

The Portable Pediatrician: Everything You Need to Know About Your Child’s Health by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, Robert Sears, MD, James Sears, MD, and Peter Sears, MD is an encyclopedia of trusted and accessible information on every pediatric concern, illness, and emergency from birth through adolescence.

A thorough list of topics are arranged alphabetically for quick reference and include:

* acne
* allergies
* autism
* bedwetting
* choking & cpr
* colic
* eating disorders
* lice
* obesity
* sleep problems
* speech delay

Other important information presented in The Portable Pediatrician:

* Choosing a pediatrician
* Getting the most out of every check-up
* The Four things all parents must do to keep their child healthy
* Treating at home vs. Time to call the doctor

This thorough guide is an invaluable resource for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers that comes from years of experience from trusted doctors.

Available at Amazon.com

We’ve all wished, at one time or another, for that ever elusive infant manual; the one that clearly and successfully decodes your infants every cry, every expression, and every need. While such an oracle does not exist, Your Baby Is Speaking to You: A Visual Guide to the Amazing Behaviors of Your Newborn and Growing Baby begins to unlock the mysteries of babies’ behavior.

“No other book so beautifully captures and decodes the astonishing way babies ‘speak’ to us. A new-parent classic.” - T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.

Dr. Kevin Nugent, director of the Brazelton Institute at Children’s Hospital, Boston, created this book from his years of experience working with children and their parents. He believes that infancy is a fleeting time of subtle yet crucial communication, “A baby’s behavior is a reliable, dependable window into his mind, into his brain. Whether it is a prolonged full-blown cry, a flicker in the upper eyelids, or a full smile, it is an authentic response, one that you can trust unconditionally.”

According to Dr. Nugent, infancy is a critical touch point across the lifespan of a child’s learning and communication that is satisfying for both parent and baby can be an important code for future behavior. Parents can hone their observation skills to better understand their baby’s cues and gain confidence in themselves as parents. The book is not an advice book, as Dr. Nugent believes that the only teacher we have is the baby. The rich content is based on cutting edge research and years of evidence. Above all this book is about respecting your baby and giving him the chance to tell us who they are.

The striking photos were taken by Abelardo Morell during real-life newborn examination sessions conducted by Dr. Nugent with the babies and their parents during their first days of life and later in the home.

“The way you act toward your baby gives him an internal model, an expectation, for the way people should behave with one another. The give-and-take of your play together offers your baby a critical lived experience of respect and tolerance, of forgiveness and restoration.” Dr. Nugent

Available at Amazon.com

Or, at least, that’s according to this poll, “How often do you have ‘date nights?” The answer? Not very often.

A full 22 percent of poll respondents admitted that they “never” bother with date nights. An additional 21 percent copped to having them just a few times a year. Oh, hiring a sitter for hubby’s big office Christmas party? Yeah, I can relate.

Meanwhile, 22 percent have dates once a month, 18 percent once a month, and an additional 18 percent “a few times a week.” Um, what? A few times a week? I cannot leave my house without my five year old daughter guilt-tripping me about it for a period of time at least equal to, if not greater than, the total amount of time I will be out of the house, even if she will be asleep during said time period.

Plus, night-sitters usually charge a cool $15 per hour. Add that to the tally of what it costs to go out for dinner-and-a-movie, and you’re spending, um, carry the one, several million dollars for a few measly hours together. Is it any surprise that many parents rein in their special time to those magical two hours between when the kids drop off and mom falls asleep with her mouth open on the couch?

As a popular post on UB illustrates, finding a babysitter in the Age of Neighbors as Strangers is not an easy task. But most people want to get out with their spouses occasionally without the kids, and if you can find someone to sit for less than the going rate for adults ($15 for one kid in big cities), all the better. Children as young as eight can be a “mother’s helper” (i.e., you stay home and do something else in the house while the helper plays with your child) for a few bucks an hour, and older teens can babysit much like an adult, for less!

But you don’t want to be stalking teenagers on the corner or anything; you want someone who’s responsible, and who comes recommended. Here’s how to find that sitter.

1. Consider your neighbors. Is there anyone living in your building or on your block who might be a good fit? Knock on a few doors, talk to a few parents. Most parents are thrilled to have their kids work for a trustworthy neighbor, and you can discuss what level of responsibility their child is up to, how much they should be paid, and what hours they should work (for instance, would the parent prefer the child not to work after 10 p.m.?).

2. Ask your child’s teacher. Many teachers know teens within the school, or those who used to be in their classes. Ask the teacher if he knows a particularly responsible teen who’d be good with your child. When you get a few names, call their houses and see if you can come over to meet the teen and his or her parents. Bring your child to see if there’s a spark.

3. Ask around at school. Don’t limit your queries just to your child’s teacher. Other adults at school (lunchroom staff, part-time teachers, other parents) will know babysitters, and may even have used some for their own children.

4. Put up a notice at your child’s school, at nearby high schools, or any place where your child takes classes. These are all good places to put up a small notice with your needs and your phone number; if a teen or a parent calls you, arrange a time to meet them both.

5. Look around at your child’s afterschool activities. Many ballet schools, karate dojos, soccer clubs and the like have divisions for younger and older children. Is there an older teen your child connects with and likes? Or even someone she just finds interesting? Approach that teen and ask if she ever babysits.

6. Ask everyone you come in contact with and trust for referrals. Don’t give up your search until you’ve found someone. Ask your dentist. Your florist. Your mail carrier. Someone has a teenage daughter or neighbor who’s just dying to come over and make your kid’s night. And yours.

Finding a teen or friendly neighbor to babysit your child for a reasonable fee is tough enough. But when the child in question has special needs, finding someone reliable becomes both more fraught, and more difficult.

Care.com, a site that connects those looking for sitting with those who do the work, doesn’t look like that special of a site; nothing about it that makes it canonical. But it’s frequented by an unusually high level of quality special-needs nannies, leading special needs moms in various areas across the country (New York, Miami, San Francisco) to recommend it to each other.

Parents who are looking for help (babysitting, nannies, tutoring) can either post a Craigslist-style ad with their specific needs, or search through Care.com’s roster by ZIP code. All of the caregivers recommended by Care.com have been background-checked, information which is available free to members, and many have references provided by other members who have used their services. Most have photos, and some even have videos of themselves, a fantastic tool for picking out those you may be simpatico with.

Care.com is particularly stocked with high-quality special needs sitters and nannies, but they also offer pet sitters, senior home help, and housecare help.

She’s in your house almost every day; she bathes your children, she eats at your table, she knows your schedule. You are far more involved than roommates. And yet you may never know what your nanny’s life is really like or what she thinks of yours. But you may be able to catch a glimpse in Just Like Family: Inside the Lives of Nannies, the Parents They Work for, and the Children They Love, a new book by Tasha Blaine.

Blaine worked as a nanny after earning her MFA, thinking it would be an easy job that would leave her with time to write. She planned to be a nanny for a year. She only lasted six months. And now, five years later, her book condenses a wealth of research and investigation on the lives of professional caregivers into the tales of three different nannies: Claudia is a Carribbean immigrant working for a wealthy NYC couple, Kim is a wannabe-mom and divorcee in Texas who takes in a live-in gig that she soon has cause to regret, and Vivian is the highest of high-class nannies in Boston. Their travails form the backbone of the book: frustration over parents who don’t value their input or pile them with menial jobs, the difficulty of staying quiet when a parent is making decisions the nannies disagree with, personal problems that hijack the energies they need on the job.

Portraits of the parents they work for emerge through the nannys’ filters, but this is no Nanny Diaries-style slag on parents. All of Blaine’s characters are flawed and real; take, for instance, the lengths to which Claudia’s employers go to help her after an ex drains her bank account and she faces eviction. On the other hand, witness Vivian’s mother-like pain over her four-year-old twin charges readying to go to school, a pain callously ignored by her discomfited employers.

Anyone who’s been on either side of the nanny-parent relationship will find Just Like Family absorbing; a good, long look at this relationship that’s so complex, so guarded, so intimate and so important all at once.

Cloth or disposable? Do you even need to ask? Even the greenest of them all cannot convince herself to wash diapers when the trashcan is so convenient.

Think again: Bambino Mio has come up with a simple diapering system that gives you the best of both. This popular European brand (big in the U.K.) has revolutionized the idea of “reusable nappies” with a biodegradable liner (to flush), cotton diaper and waterproof cover (to wash and wear again) that extends through the potty training years. Not only will you do the environment a favor, but you will save some money in the long run after the initial investment of a starter set.

Don’t knock it ’till you try it.

Available at giggle.com.

This Father’s Day, you want to initiate your favorite dad-to-be into the club — too bad he’s a nervous wreck about holding a newborn.

Comic and filmmaker Chris Mancini explores impending fatherhood in his new book Pacify Me: A Handbook for the Freaked-Out New Dad. The Los Angeles-based pop presents a modern take on what to expect from a male perspective (Mr. Spock vs. Dr. Spock). This play-by-play for dads, from pregnancy and delivery to the adjustment period and the infant years, includes anecdotes from the author’s time in the trenches that will quell the nerves of many fathers-to-be.

Available at amazon.com.

Memorial Day kicks off the summer travel season — and those who find a good deal will be hitting road or taking to the friendly skies. But what to pack in baby’s suitcase? Below, the expert physicians at MommyDocs share their must-haves to avoid a vacation-induced flu:

Nasal aspirator: Babies haven’t quite figured out how to clear their own tiny nostrils and will need help from Mom. A nasal bulb syringe can help remove bothersome boogies from the nose.

Medicine: Talk to your doctor about what is best to have on hand for your child. These may include items such as nasal saline drops, fever reducing medications, and drinks to rehydrate and replace electrolytes. You’ll also want to make sure that any medicine you carry has not expired, and that you’re aware of the appropriate dosages based on your child’s weight. Never give medication to an infant, especially under the age of 3 months, without first consulting your physician. And always contact the doctor for a fever (100.4 F or greater) in an infant under 3 months of age or for any medical concerns in a child of any age.

Thermometer: Make sure you have a good thermometer and know how to use it. For infants, especially under 3 months of age, temperatures should always be taken rectally with a digital thermometer, like a Vicks digital thermometer. A great option once children have graduated from rectal temps is the Braun ThermoScan ear thermometer.

Your doctor’s phone number: Always have your doctor’s number on speed dial or somewhere very easy to find, such as in your wallet or glove compartment.

Hand sanitizer: Limit your child’s germ-spreading and germ-getting by enforcing a strict hand-washing policy. If available, use water and soap, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. Another great option is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Just be sure it is completely rubbed in and kept out of reach of children.

Tissues: Teach children to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth as much as possible since germs can spread this way. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and remember to throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Also, encourage everyone to direct coughs and sneezes into their elbows, not their hands.

Visit mommydocs.com.

A string around your finger, a Post-it on the bathroom mirror or an Outlook calendar was enough reminder to eat during your busy pre-baby life, but now you’ve got two mouths to feed.

The Essential Breastfeeding Log: A Feedings Tracker and Baby-Care Organizer for Nursing Moms is just that — a spiral-bound journal that helps your tally feedings, diaper changes and naps, not to mention your own post-partum workouts and any noteworthy milestones. Whether you’re exclusively breastfeeding, pumping or supplementing with formula, this log will keep you on track.

Now…what was it you were doing?

Available at essentialbreastfeedinglog.com.