Keeping Little Ones Cool in the Summer

Summers are a great time for swimming and outdoor fun, but remember to keep little ones hydrated and use plenty of sunblock when they will be out for any length of time. There are a lot of good sun protection products for babies to help keep their delicate skin from getting burnt. With all the products on the market these days  it is hard to know what type of sunscreen is best for children, but this article posted on Baby Center may help you when it comes to choosing sunblock for your child.

When you live in the desert like we do staying hydrated is very important. The past few days it has been in the low 100s here in Las Vegas and staying cool has taken top priority. We run fans, the air conditioner and keep our windows covered during the hottest part of the day. The kids want to go out and play, but we restrict them to going out in the afternoon when it is a little cooler. We try and keep them in between the hours of 10am and 2pm if at all possible. When we have to run errands with them we always try to keep plenty of water and juice on hand and keep them in the shade during the hot time of the day.

Here are a few tips to beat the heat and stay cool in summer:

1. Keep a jug of water in the refrigerator for a cold drink. Kids and adults need water to stay hydrated when the temperatures rise. Restrict sweetened beverages like ice tea, juice and soda to meals because drinking sugary drinks does not help in the heat.

2. Drag out the kid’s wading pool or turn on the sprinkler. A quick way to cool down is to fill up the pool or bathtub with cool water and let the little ones splash around. We just recently bought the kids a new pool and it is big enough that the adults can sit in it after the kids have gone to bed on those nights that it stays hot later. A sprinkler is also good for cooling down and keeping the lawn watered at the same time.

3. Place fans in different rooms facing the windows. If you want to stay cool but don’t want to run the A/C too much put a box fan in one of the windows in the front of the house and one in a window in the back to create a cross breeze and draw cooler air into the house when the sun goes down.

4. Dunk your head under the sink. A quick way to cool off when it’s hot is to get your hair wet. I take Aiden in the stroller when I go the grocery store which is right down the street and to keep him cool, I’ll wet both my hands and run them through his hair and over his face, then when the air hits him it’s like being in front of the air conditioner.

I’m a green mama and we walk just about everywhere, so keeping the kids cool and protected from the sun is a top priority.

Baby Care: Lactose Intolerance

Issues with milk: Lactose Intolerance in Children.

Now that Aiden turned a year old he is supposed to be able to drink regular milk but he is lactose intolerant. He has had this problem since he was born, even when he was breastfeeding. I have scoured the internet looking for information to explain the problems he has been having, and one day I happened to find the right page that explained it all. I forget that when searching for a diagnosis, the symptoms reported on internet sites are not all symptoms, just the most common ones.

My little guy had mustard-yellow, runny stool that escaped from every crease of his diaper. He would experience several "blowouts" per week and never had the typical light yellow seedy-looking diapers with hardly any smell to them. He ruined several outfits and a bouncer with this mustard-colored mess.

He would poop within 20 minutes of drinking any milk products including breastmilk. I read several articles that said it is unusual for breastfed babies to be lactose intolerant, but I want everyone to know that if you are experiencing the same issues I did, it is possible and very likely.

Another issue is a funny smell to his breath. He drools a lot now that he is teething, and I noticed his shirts and neck area had a funky smell from his saliva. I found an explanation to this one, lactose intolerance causing their breath to have a higher concentration of hydrogen. The funky smell is slightly chemical-smelling, not like bad food or typical rancid breath.

So now that he will not be drinking milk I have decided to keep him on toddler formula with a soy-base. I had planned to breastfeed him until he was 16 months to two years old based on the recommendation of the World Health Organization. It is my opinion that babies still need that nutrition for brain development past one year and milk does not contain enough nutrients to supply it. Many health professionals do not recommend soy milk for babies, so I will transition him to a soy-based toddler formula for 9-24 month olds and then to soy milk when he is 3 years old.

For those who suspect their babies may be lactose intolerant here is a list of not so common symptoms and a link to more information:

1. Poop that is light to pale colored. Green, yellow and brown are normal but tan, lemon yellow and white are not and indicate a problem with the digestive tract.

2. Pooping 20-30 minutes after consuming a milk product including breast milk. Sometimes it does not even take that long. Tiny babies do this and it is normal but once a baby is beyond 6 months old his bowel movements should be soft but formed, not liquid and runny.

3. Strange odor to their breath or saliva if teething. This is due to an excess of hydrogen in their breath from undigested lactose in their system.

4. Frequent diaper rash with red, irritated skin. This is due to high acid levels in the stool not due to insufficient diaper changes. Often after applying diaper rash cream it is gone by the next change. Also an indication of a digestive disorder.

If your baby has any of these symptoms or ones similar to these it is very likely he or she is lactose intolerant.

Here is a link to the page where you can get more information on lactose intolerance and lactose overload. Both are very good informational articles.