Healthy Toys

With the Holidays around the corner, all of us parents have toys on the brain. The other day I was watching the news and they had on the CEO of Toys R Us. He was saying that his company has not at all been affected by the recession, because even in the hardest economic times, that last thing a parent will cut back on is toys for the kiddies.
I am sure all of you are as concerned as I am after last years recalls on so.... many toys that were made in China.
I came across a great website called Healthytoys.org. HealthyToys.org includes test results for more than 1,500 toys and children’s products. This site is a first step in providing parents, grandparents, and others who care about children with the information they need to make better choices when purchasing toys and other children’s products.

Happy Shopping!!!

Keeping Your Child Safe Over The Holidays

During the holidays, you should be extra vigilant to keep your children safe. There are many extra factors that put your children more at risk for injury during the holiday season, including gatherings at the homes of friends and family that may not be childproof, home decorations such as Christmas trees and lights,and menorahs and traveling.

- Be careful with high risk foods and holiday treats that can pose a choking hazard to children under age four. This includes nuts, hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, popcorn, and apples.

-When visiting the home of someone else, make sure their house is childproof, and be extra vigilant

-If at a party or hosting a party, make sure that their is an adult assigned to watch your child. The more adults around, the more prone a child is to injury, because every adult assumes that someone else is keeping a watchful eye on the child.

- If decorating your house for the holidays with a Christmas tree or lights, be mindful of your child's age. Younger children are likely to play with ornaments and lights on trees. Only place unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches and make sure the tree is stable. Keep the tree's stand full of water to prevent it from drying out so that it doesn't become a fire hazard and keep lights and extension cords out of reach.

-Make sure a menorah is completely out of the reach of children.

-Don't overload electrical outlets.

-Do not leave lights or candles on when you are not at home and keep them out of younger children's reach.

-Buy and accept as gifts, only toys that are appropriate for your child's age. If older siblings receive as gifts toys with small parts, keep them away from younger children in the house.

-If your child has food allergies, be sure to keep this in mind when visiting others and having holiday meals. Be certain that the host knows of your child's allergies and does not offer foods to your child that he is allergic to. They should also be careful to not reuse dishes or serving utensils that come in contact with the allergic foods. Many children are exposed to new foods over the holidays, and it is not known whether or not they are allergic, keep a a close eyes for signs of an allergic reaction.

-Many holiday plants such as holly, can cause illness if ingested. Keep plants out of the reach of children.

-Make sure your child's car seat is installed properly. If you are not sure if your seat is in correctly, please feel free to call us for guidance.

FDA is Allowing Trace Amounts of Melamine in Infant Formula

Friday, the FDA said it's "concluded that levels of melamine alone or cyanuric acid alone, at or below 1 part per million in infant formula do not raise public health concerns." Melamine is a chemical approved for use in plastics and the liners of some food containers in the U.S. The chemical itself is not approved for use in food.
Yes, this is the same chemical that sickened more than 50,000 children in China since September.
Here is the full article.
Companies coming forward claiming their own testing shows no melamine content:

* Hain Celestial Group Inc - Earth’s Best Organic Formula
* Privately held PBM Nutritionals (store brand formulas)

Baby Bodyguards Gives Back Holiday Contest

With the Holiday Season in full swing, Baby Bodyguards wants to give back to the community. We would like to give a New York City area family the gift of safety and peace of mind. If you know a family who is in need of our services, nominate them. We will be picking our winner on December 26th, 2008.
To Nominate a family, all you need to do is click on our CONTEST page, fill out the nomination form and click send

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Ikea Blinds Recalled Due To Strangulation

Karen, our friend at A Child Grows in Brooklyn posted this recall yesterday on her blog. With Ikea in Brooklyn now, I know a lot of us are trying to save money these days buy furnishing our homes there.

FYI

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: IRIS and ALVINE Roman Blinds

Units: About 670,000 (an additional 4.8 million were sold outside of the United States)

Distributor: IKEA Home Furnishings, of Conshohocken, Pa.

Hazard: Strangulations can occur when a child places his/her neck in an exposed inner cord on the backside of the roman blinds.

Incidents/Injuries: On April 4, 2008, a 1-year-old girl in Greenwich, Conn. became entangled in the inner cord of an IKEA Roman Blind and strangled. The child was in a portable playpen that was located underneath a fully lowered roman blind. She was found partially suspended with the inner cord of the blind wrapped twice around her neck.

Description: This recall involves all sizes of IRIS and ALVINE Roman Blinds in white. The blinds have a sewn-in label at the top edge of the blind with the IKEA logotype, article name (IRIS or ALVINE), 5-digit supplier number 19799 or 21369, four digit date stamp (YYWW) and the words “Made in India”. On the bottom edge of the blind there is a sewn-in orange/white safety warning label. The blinds are made from 100% cotton.

Sold at: IKEA stores nationwide from July 2005 through June 2008 for between $7 and $30.

Manufactured in: India

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Roman Blinds and return them to any IKEA store to obtain a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact IKEA toll-free at (888) 966-4532 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.ikea-usa.com

Note: CPSC reminds consumers to examine all Roman Blinds and shades in their homes. If looped pull cords are present or exposed inner cords are found on the back of blinds or shades and children are in the home or occasionally visit your home, please consider replacing them with blinds or shades that do not have exposed pull cords or inner cords.

Flu Vaccine May Have Extra Benefit for Pregnant Women

As I lay in bed with the flu, I came across this interesting article on the web. I received a flu shot when I was pregnant, but I know a lot of women are not comfortable getting any type of immunization during pregnancy.

Flu shot season has arrived, and immunization is a good idea for anyone older than 6 months. According to a study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, unborn babies could also benefit from the flu vaccine. When moms-to-be opt for the flu shot they may get a "two-for-one benefit" — they could very well be passing the immunization's protection on to their babies.

Researchers found that women who were given the flu shot during their pregnancy reduced their infants' risk of getting the flu by more than 60 percent in the babies' first six months of life, when infants are at the greatest risk of flu complications. Plus, the shot fended off more than a third of fever-inducing respiratory illnesses in both the mothers and their babies.

Although the flu shot is recommended for pregnant women, only about 15 percent get the vaccine each year, says the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose researchers led the study. It involved 350 women during pregnancy and their infants 6 months after delivery.

Many moms-to-be are hesitant to get any immunization when they're expecting — and with good reason. Doctors recommend skipping most vaccines during pregnancy. But that's not the case when it comes to the flu. In fact, the flu vaccine is recommended during any stage of pregnancy. And doctors even go so far as to say that any woman who might be pregnant during flu season should get the vaccine — that's even those who are trying to conceive but aren't pregnant yet.

According to the 2008 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the flu vaccine during pregnancy:

— Is safe. Studies show "no adverse fetal effects and no adverse effects during infancy or early childhood."

— Can curb flu-related problems for expectant moms, who are at higher risk of complications from the illness

WHAT SHOT TO GET

Pregnant women should get the flu shot made only with the inactivated virus. That means the flu nasal spray, FluMist, is out of the question since it's made with live flu virus. That's because live-virus vaccines (those containing a live organism) carry the risk that the weakened virus in the vaccine may be passed along to an unborn baby and cause illness.

The influenza vaccine is now recommended for all children 6 months and older. FluMist vaccination is approved for children as young as 2 years old.

Dr. Shahida Naseer, a pediatrician in the primary care University Pediatrics office at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, says her office has been giving about the same number of FluMist doses as injections this year. She expects nasal spray immunizations to far outweigh the traditional injections, once parents become more aware of FluMist.

"Kids are getting so many shots these days, I think having FluMist as an option is very welcome news for children and their parents," says Naseer, who also is an associate professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine. "Nasal spray is a very good option for vaccination, provided there is no chronic respiratory issue, such as asthma."

Be sure to ask your child's pediatrician about getting immunized now, to help prevent illness when flu season kicks into high gear.

Breastfeeding Support 24/7

La Leche League has a 24 hour breastfeeding helpline 1-877-4-LALECHE (1-877-452-5324).
This helpline provides information, education, and support for women who want to breastfeed, and to healthcare providers and others. Callers have access to the most current breastfeeding information, receive support from a helpline volunteer who is an accredited La Leche League Leader, and receive contact information for local LLL Leaders and Groups. They have live operators or callers can choose to leave a voicemail.

I have heard so many stories about how difficult and painful the breastfeeding relationship can be in the beginning, and experienced it myself, when I was told my new born had what is called a "barracuda" style of nursing OUCH!

I remember scouring the web trying to find answers to my breastfeeding questions at 2 AM and being constantly being disappointed by the lack of information out there.

Hope this helps some of you in your time of need.