Tag Archives: childcare

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When Your Baby Hits Their Head

When your baby falls and bumps their head, mama calls the doctor and the doctor said..

When your baby hits his/her head for the first time it is no joking matter. A wave of fear, nervousness, and helplessness overcomes you. I was out at a work meeting when I came home to my husband and baby. My baby was cheerful as usual, but then my husband looks at me intently and says “I **cked up.”

I immediately get that sinking feeling in my stomach and he goes into how the baby fell out of his swing. I remain as calm as I can and pick up my baby, analyzing his body for any bumps or bruises. He looks fine. I then call my sister who has toddler twins (that fell constantly) and asked her what she recommended. She gave me a few stories about how the girls fell and then said to call the pediatrician just in case. We make the call and the doctor calls us back within 20 minutes.

The doctor was calm and asked us for a play by play. She said the couple she spoke to prior to us had the same thing happen.

We were instructed to do the following:

1. Scope out his body for any bumps or bruises.
2. Pay special attention to the baby’s head exactly where he fell.
3. Be aware of any troubled breathing or changes in breathing patterns.
4. Be aware of any projectile vomiting.

I couldn’t hear the monitor well at night, so I slept in the nursery with the sleep machine off to hear better. I checked on him every hour or so (I couldn’t sleep anyway), and then monitored him for a full 24 hours for any changes in behavior, vomiting, or trouble breathing.

He seemed fine. In  the end, I’m glad we called the doctor and I stayed in the same room as him. It gave me a piece of mind.

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Written by our Founder & CEO, Lindsay Bell

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Installing a Nanny Cam

Thinking of installing a nanny cam? Make sure to read these laws first!

What Nanny Cam Laws Should I Know?
It can be difficult to make the decision to purchase a camera, but if you choose to, it’s important to know the legalities. Families can choose whether or not to tell their caregiver that they have a nanny cam. And there are two types of laws you need to be aware of: ones for video surveillance and ones for audio recordings.

  • Video surveillance laws: It’s legal to install a nanny cam in all 50 states, even if you choose to videotape your nanny without her consent. However, you can’t tape her in private areas of your home, such as the bathroom or a live-in nanny’s bedroom. If you do install a nanny cam, be sure to do so in common spaces, such as the kitchen or playroom.
  • Speech laws: While you can videotape your nanny, several states have laws to protect against audio recordings. If you live in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania or Washington, you must notify your nanny if you have a nanny cam that records both audio and video. Not only could you be prosecuted for violating this law, but any evidence of abuse or neglect found on the tape could be inadmissible during legal proceedings.

For more information, read the full article provided by Care.com here.

We also found two other articles that provide helpful info if you are still debating on the nanny cam purchase.

For the NY Times article, click here.

For the Brick House Security article, click here.

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Sitter 411

Are you looking for a refresher on caring for children. Here are some helpful posts we have done over the past few months to help guide sitters. It is always a good idea to stay informed and updated on the latest childcare trends as methods do change.

1. Diapering
2. Burping
3. Nap & Bedtime Schedules
4. CPR
5. Bath Time
6. Teething
7. Entertaining Kids
8. Bee Stings, Mosquito Bites and Food Allergies
9. Swaddling 

If you have any questions please contact us! We are always here to support our sitters in providing the best of care.

Ava_pushing stroller

 

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Treatments for Kids

Are you looking for ways to treat some of the common pests that wiggle their way into your child’s life?

We found some great treatments that we wanted to share with you all when it comes to bee stings, mosquito bites, and food allergies. Take a read below and find pests no more!

 1. Bee Stings

What’s a normal reaction? It often includes, pain and swelling or redness around the bite. Swelling may extend beyond the sting site.

What can you do? Make sure you clean the area and apply ice if necessary, but make sure you have a garment of some sort between the ice and the child’s skin so that the ice is not directly on the skin.Then per the family’s permission you can use calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream to ease the pain or discomfort of the child. If the child is struggling with the pain, tell the parent and the child may need an antihistamine.

When to call the doctor? If you see hives, swelling near the face or mouth, wheezing, restlessness or anxiety, rapid pulse, or dizziness.
— At home itch remedy: mix baking soda with water to make a paste. If you see the stinger, make sure the stinger is taken out. If you can pull out with your nails, make sure they are clean. Or if you can pull out with tweezers.

For more information on Bee Stings click here.

2. Mosquito Bites

What’s a normal reaction? When a child gets a mosquito bite they may have itching, swelling and red lumps. The size of the bite varies.

What can you do? Mosquito bites often do not require treatment, but you should encourage the child not to scratch the bite. You can apply calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream, but speak to the parents first.

When to call the doctor? If it is large in size, yellowish drainage, crusting, warm to the touch, or the child has a fever and muscle weakness.

For bug or mosquito bites, some parents use calamine lotion. Make sure this is okay with the parents first! This will dull the itch.

For more information on bites click here.

3. Food Allergies

Overall – Make sure you get the rundown on any food allergies from the parent upon arrival. Most families keep their profile updated with this information, but in case they don’t, make sure you ask.

What can you do? You’ll want to review each ingredient label of the food the child eats. If you are still not sure, snap a photo of it and send it to the parent to review before you give the food to the child.

If the child needs an epipen, make sure you carry that at all times. The parent can train you on how to use it, or you can read and watch a tutorial video here.

For more information on food allergies click here.

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

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Learn to Be a Diapering Master

There are always questions that linger about the proper way to diaper an infant or toddler. We put together some basic rules to keep in mind so the next time it’s time to change, you’ll be taking care of business like a pro!

1. Remove the used diaper and clean between the folds of baby’s skin. Use gentle diaper wipes if the baby has very sensitive skin, or if he/she seems allergic use a wet cloth (with luke warm water).
IMPORTANT: Remember to always wipe front to back.

2. Raise baby carefully by the ankles and slide a clean diaper underneath. The colorful markings should be on the front, facing you. The stretchy tabs are in the back and get wrapped to the front.

3. Close the diaper and adjust the stretchy tabs. Make sure it isn’t too tight or too loose. You should be able to fit two fingers snuggly between the diaper and their stomach.

Top Tips:

Remember it’s important to check the baby’s diaper frequently. Change after every poop, and after every nap or feed (on average this is every three hours).

Cover the baby boy’s penis with a diaper or burp cloth while changing him to prevent getting a surprise shower yourself.

If you start to experience frequent leaks, it might be time to move up to the next diaper size.

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell

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Nap Schedules and Bedtimes for All Ages

Are you uncertain if your baby or toddler is on track with the number of hours he/she sleeps each day? Is your baby’s bedtime normal?  When will your child sleep through the night?

Checkout these age-by-age charts that are helpful to see where you are now, and where you need to be next. It also includes a printable PDF and resources to get you help!

And if you are looking to compare, here is a sleep chart from Parents Magazine, which offers a quick and to the point guide.

Once you have the norms from these two sources, read up on Parents Magazine’s, “10 Steps to Sleep Training Success.”

Happy sleeping!

Ava_sleep

Written by our Social Media & Marketing Coordinator, Taylor Bell

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Know Your Nanny Reference Is Real

We all have a go-to list of questions that we ask on reference calls. It gets really impressive (or sad, not sure) once you’ve reached a point where you don’t even have to look down at the paper for what question to ask next. Then you think, if you can go on autopilot asking these questions, can your reference go on autopilot answering them?

This begs the question, how can you determine if a nanny reference is real? It’s easy for friends to team up, give a false name, and rave about him/her to their potential employer. Today, parents are lucky that there are a variety of ways that they can make sure the references they receive are real. In a recent article published by  Nanny Interview Questions, they discuss how to recognize if the nanny is right for the family, as well as if the family is right for the nanny.

We outlined a handful of the asking questions from the article below:

1. What’s the worst discipline experience you’ve had?
2. How many nannies have you had?
3. How do you plan to support me when I discipline your children?
4. Do you offer healthcare?
5. What’s the one thing you’re really looking for in a nanny?

For the full article, “How to Verify a Nanny Reference is Real?” click here.

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Written by our Social Media & Marketing Coordinator, Taylor Bell

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Have Your Own Mommy Assistant and Helper

Giving birth is intense! The recovery should not be.

We have a dedicated trope of professionals who specialize in post-partum care, as well as general assistant duties.

The role includes:
1. Meal prep (light to medium level)
2. Help with laundry
3. Help with keeping the house tidy (empty dishwasher, wipe down tables, sweeping)
4. Make beds
5. Ordering groceries
6. Assist in scheduling (doctor visits, ordering food, cars, scheduling appointments)
7. Help with errands (post office, drug store, grocery store)
8. Assist with baby (bottle prep, diaper changing, swaddling, holding or soothing, bathing)
9. General comfort of having a professional there to help talk through questions, get opinions, etc.
10. Companion as you recover (help walking, getting up)

We have developed a training program for our sitters and nannies to make them the best New Mommy Assistants and helpers in the business.

New Mommy Assistants are typically hired for 30 days of service as live-in, but can also be live-out, and either full- or part-time. E-mail us today if you are interested in hiring a New Mommy Assistant!

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Written by our Founder & CEO, Lindsay Bell

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Swim Lessons with Kids

There is a lot of pressure being a mom these days. There are many factors weighing on our backs: should my child be potty trained by now, am I disciplining correctly, are they eating right, and so on. My current dilemma has been swimming, I guess because it’s the summer months and kids need to cool down.

I enrolled my twins into swim class for 3-5 year olds at our community recreational center. My husband and I took them to their first lesson with everyone in their swim suits ready to go (since last year we had to go into the water with them). We get to the rec center pool and notice all of the other parents have their street clothes on, which was kind of concerning. I did not trust that my girls get into the water by themselves, especially because on the other side of the median there were 6ft deep signs. Um, no.

I soon told the instructors my concerns and led the girls into the water. I kind of hung around (because I was super paranoid) watching them get used to the water and noticed one of my daughters start walking deeper and deeper into the water. At this point, the water was up to her shoulders. I frantically got into the water because no one was paying attention to her, and I pulled her back to the group. I stood back and watched them again, and saw that my daughter was losing her footing. She started bobbing up and down in the water, flailing her arms. I panicked. I yelled at the lifeguard who pulled her from the water and handed her to me. Needless to say she took a break from the water, while I stayed in with my other child.

I called and voiced my complaints to the director who assured me she would monitor the next class to make improvements. I was thankful, but still not comfortable. With that being said, yes, getting your kids exposed and involved in various activities is important, just make sure your child is ready.

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Written by our Sitter Services Coordinator, Courtney Bell Garvey

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Keeping Kids Hydrated

In a recent article published by Parents.com, they spoke about how to keep kids hydrated during the heat of the summer.

Hydration for the little ones is very important in order for the fluids to be replaced in their bodies that are being sweated out. Ensuring they have plenty of liquids will keep them healthy and active this summer, and help them develop good hydration habits as they grow older.

Try these methods below:

1. For a Long Day. If you have a strenuous day ahead, add some extra hydration with your child’s first meal. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking the equivalent of a standard bottle of water (16.9 oz.) about two hours before vigorous exercise.

2. Don’t Wait. Don’t wait until your child is thirsty to offer refreshment; by that time they are already dehydrated.

3. Six Glasses. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children drink six glasses of water on an average day.

4. Frozen Bottles. When you pack a cooler for a game, freeze a number of water bottles ahead of time. The frozen bottles will keep the others cool and you will be able to pack more drinks in the cooler instead of filling the cooler with ice.

5. Flavor Wins. Studies have shown that children routinely prefer flavored beverages to plain water and will drink up to 90 percent more when it is offered to them.

6. These Don’t Win. Avoid those drinks that have caffeine, such as iced tea or many sodas. As a diuretic, caffeine can contribute to the dehydration process by increasing fluid loss.

7. Fun Hydration. Offer a popsicle to get kids to jump at the chance for a rest period. These frozen treats have high water content (a two-stick Popsicle has just about the right amount for a young child’s needs).

For the full article on Parents.com, click here.

Popcicle

Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell