Teasing out Teething – Part 1

Teasing out Teething – Part 1

Medical history can be a funny thing sometimes.  Take for instance this quote by Hippocrates (c. 440 B.C.), “At the time of dentition there is pruritus of the gums, fever, convulsions, diarrhoea, especially when cutting the canine teeth and in those who are particularly fat and have constipated bowels.” Many of those physicians that followed Hippocrates shared similar thoughts about teething even going so far to recommend cutting open the gums to “relieve” teething pain.  Well, thankfully in the 21st century with great advances in medicine, we have learned that such extreme measures are, of course, not helpful and in fact, clearly harmful, but even today there is much discussion about the process of teething and just what symptoms, if any, infants and children can be expected to experience. “Within the first 2-3 years, children will have 20 teeth emerge in their little mouth.” The eruption of teeth generally begins between 4 months and 12 months of age, but even if your child has not a single pearly white in their mouth by their first birthday, do not worry.  They are most likely coming.  Within the first 2-3 years, children will have 20 teeth emerge in their little mouth.  Teeth are present from early on in fetal development, and gradually, they make their way to the surface with the most common age for first tooth eruption to be 6-7 months.  The first teeth to come in are usually the central incisors, which are those teeth in the middle of mouth either on the bottom or top, and on average, the process of actual tooth eruption takes about 1 week....
Catching those ZZZZ’s

Catching those ZZZZ’s

Do you remember the last time you got 8-10 hours of sleep per night?  For me, I think it was about 4 ½ years ago just before my first kiddo, Mr. J, was born.  Oh, how I miss those days, or more correctly, those wonderful nights.  But enough daydreaming!  Eight to ten hours is actually how much sleep per night the National Sleep Foundation recommends for 14-17 year olds.  Studies show that chronic sleep deprivation in childhood and adolescence can lead to a multitude of health problems ranging from obesity and high blood pressure to depression and poor academic performance.  So exactly how much sleep are teens getting these days and what can be done to improve the quality of sleep they are getting? After age 16, the majority of teens reported getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night, let alone the recommended 8-10 hours. A study that will be published in the March 2015 issue of Pediatrics (click here to read the full study) evaluated the sleep patterns of over 270,000 teens spanning a 21 year period from 1991-2012.  The teens in the study were asked two important questions: 1) “How often do you get at least 7 hours of sleep?” and 2) “How often do you get less sleep than you should?”.  The study found that while ⅔ of 13 year olds reported getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night, only ⅓ of 18 years old reported getting that much sleep.  After age 16, the majority of teens reported getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night, let alone the recommended 8-10...
“Plugged in” at 2?

“Plugged in” at 2?

  I know everyone has seen it- while sitting in a restaurant, you look around the room to see more than one table where everyone is on their phone. There is no family discussion about how the school day was or what projects they are working on. No laughter over a goofy Dad joke. Not even the usual sibling bickering. Instead, everyone has an eerie white/blue glow on their face as they peer intently into their Facebook page or Twitter feed. We live in a world where advances in technology have allowed us to have the world at our fingertips. Everything from the latest news headlines, to our mail, to TV shows and games, to the latest, cutest pictures of friends are now at the swipe of our finger. But how does this “plugged in” mentality translate to our children?  “But in a world that is so saturated with screens and media, could there be a place for certain screen activities?” According to a 2013 study from Common Sense Media, 38% of children less than 2 have used a smartphone or tablet, and usage among children 2 to 4 years of age has doubled to 80% over the past two years. The current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages parents from allowing screen time of any kind in children under 2 years of age. It is easy to understand the basis for this recommendation…during the years of substantial brain growth, you would not want to substitute human interactions for a TV (or smart device) babysitter. But in a world that is so saturated with screens and media,...
Let’s Talk

Let’s Talk

  Numerous studies have shown the importance of talking to your child from the start of life as hearing the human voice helps to facilitate an infant’s growth and development. In a landmark study from 1995, it was shown that academic success as well as IQ were influenced more by parental speech patterns early in life than by education and socioeconomic status.1 An interesting new small study that will be published in the December 2014 issue of Pediatrics was conducted to find out who does more talking to infants- mothers or fathers? “This study concluded that mothers spoke nearly three times more words per hour to their infants when compared to fathers at each of the study time points.” The study measured the amount of “communication” between infants and both moms and dads at three points: at birth, around 1 month of age (1 month after the actual due date), and at 7 months. The infants in the study wore a special “device” that counted their vocalizations as well as those from both mom and dad over a 16 hour time period. This study concluded that mothers spoke nearly three times more words per hour to their infants when compared to fathers at each of the study time points. Also of note, infants “spoke” more to mothers than they did to fathers. The last important take away was that moms responded to “baby talk” almost 90% of the time as compared to dad’s responding only 30% of the time.  “Your precious baby doesn’t care if you are singing the alphabet or reciting your thesis on nuclear power…as far as...
When Your Baby is Sick (from “Baby Grand” @ Woman’s Hospital)

When Your Baby is Sick (from “Baby Grand” @ Woman’s Hospital)

I was honored to have the opportunity to participate in Woman’s Hospital Baby Grand Extravaganza this morning!  I really enjoyed getting to “meet and greet” with many expectant parents, and it was great to teach the class “When Your Baby is Sick.”   I have included my presentation below for those that are interested. As always, please let me know any questions or comments you might have!...