Choosing the Right Dog Breed for Your Child
One of the most important things you must consider when choosing a dog for your child is that you will probably be the one taking care of it even when your child becomes older. For that reason you want to choose a breed that will be easy to feed, groom, and walk. You also need to look to dog breeds that are good with children and not ones that are overly aggressive like a Pit Bull. Under no circumstances should any parent take a chance on a breed that has the potential to turn even on its owners. Of course, some people will tell you that even Collies or German Shepherds have that potential, but you certainly don’t read it in the newspapers.
For a small child, a small dog is your best choice. Children tend to want dogs with which they can play and that are smaller than they are. The toy and small breeds such as Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Boston Terriers, and other similar sized breeds are perfect for children. Chihuahuas are very noisy, but they are also very gentle and lovable with their human families as are Yorkies and Boston Terriers. The small breeds are also better for your child to learn to feed and walk. It would be rather difficult for even a six year old to walk a Collie or German Shepherd no matter how gentle it might be.
Some breeds tend to be one-owner dogs, and since you will be sharing the care of the dog with your child, this is not the breed you want. If it becomes attached to you instead of your child, he or she will become very upset. Some breeds are also very picky about who feeds and bathes them, and though this may not be a problem when your child is young, it may be a potential problem as he or she grows older and wishes to take over care of their dog.
Before choosing a dog for your child, make sure the two of them are going to get along. This may require a trip to the pet store or breeder so that your child can interact with several dogs and choose the one that best suits him. A dog will attach to a person even as a puppy, so you want to choose the one that chooses your child. Never go out and just buy a puppy for your child because just like humans, they have their own personalities and may not be the right match for your child.
Even if you decide to get a dog from the animal shelter, let your child pick the one with the sad eyes looking to go home with him. Instead of saying there is a dog for every child, you must understand there is a child for every dog, and each dog will pick out the child he feels is right for him or her. Allowing it to happen naturally will assure you that dog and child are a perfect match for one another.
Labor varies form woman to woman; even in the same woman labor each is different. Some labors are very fast, lasting only a few hours; some are average in length [about fifteen or sixteen hours for first time mothers and seven or eight hours for women who have had babies before]; some are very long, lasting a day or two. Some start slowly and then speed up unexpectedly; others start rapidly and then slow down. The amount of pain and fatigue varies also. It is best not to have definite expectations, but to prepare yourself for the wide range of possibilities.
As you recognize your life to adjust to having a baby, do not forget your own requirement to have some time for yourself, however difficult it may be to schedule. You need private time to be a person in your own right and not only a parent, a homemaker, a spouse, and perhaps an employee. You need the time to build and maintain the self- esteem that makes you effective in all those roles and effective at being yourself. You need time to exercise, to groom yourself, to read, or to work on a hobby… or to look at sky or water and let your mind wander. Finding this time will probably never be easy for you again, but it will continue to be very important that you do find it. Always look on it not as a luxury or a reward, but as an obligation to yourself. You won’t always be able to have the hour or more that would do you the most good and be the most enjoyable, but you’ll find that even a few minutes snatched from a busy day will refresh you.
You’ll probably feel a little awkward and clumsy the first few times you diaper and dress your baby, but with a little practice, you’ll be handling him with ease and confidence. Use a waist high table of some kind even for a tiny baby so you won’t have backaches. An old dresser with a pad on top will now, but modern changing tables have built-in safety straps to hold your baby when he is old enough to squirm and resist. If you use disposables, diapering is almost automatic: lay the baby on the diaper, fold the front half of the diaper up over the baby and fasten it with the convenient attached tapes. [Those tapes sometimes tear, instead of throwing a diaper away, mend it with masking tape.] To keep wetness from soaking into outer clothing, use disposables with elasticized legs and turn the plastic top of the diaper to the inside. A cloth diaper can be given a figure eight twist at the crotch for both double thickness and a tighter fit. Pin the back of the diaper over the front, slipping one or two fingers between the cloth and the baby’s skin to keep the pin from sticking the baby. Use a pincushion or bar of soap to hold diaper pins [do not use ordinary safety pins, and keep them out of the baby’s reach] Never hold pins in your mouth. Whichever kind of diaper you use, lay an extra one over your baby boy to avoid being squirted while you change him.
Most babies come home from the hospital with remnants of the umbilical cord still attached to the belly button, or the umbilicus. Until this falls off give your baby only sponge baths. Clean the navel area twice a day or so with a cotton swab dipped in antiseptic. Do this gently but thoroughly, making sure to get to the base of the cord stump. Watch for yellow matter, a sort of “weeping” that may develop, and for redness. These are signs of possible infection-notify your doctor if they persist. Keeping the top edges of the baby’s diaper folded down below the navel will help to keep the area dry. When the cord falls off, usually within ten days to two weeks after the baby’s birth, it is not unusual for a few drops of blood to be left on the navel. No bandage, binding, or tape is required. If the umbilicus doesn’t dry up in a few days after the cord comes off, an umbilical granuloma may be present. This is a little nubbin of tissue in the umbilicus at the junction of the old cord and the new skin. Your doctor can remedy the situation easily at the baby’s first checkup. If there is much bleeding or a foul odor coming from the cord, consult your doctor earlier for any special instructions needed.
It’s almost certain that every parent trying to find a good day care situation has thought of the sexual abuse that has been reported in the media. How do you know that you are leaving your child in a safe place and what are the different options?
Learn to save your strength as you care for your twins [or any baby] by lifting them as seldom as possible, and when you do lift them, by using the muscles in your legs instead of those in your back. When they can crawl or walk, save steps by letting them come to you for playing and loving as you sit on the floor. Childproof your home very carefully, two inquisitive little people will find more than twice as many things to get into as one.
Whenever your child is ill, your observations of what’s going on are very important. When you are assessing your child’s illness, you’re really looking at two different things-signs and symptoms. These terms have specific meanings to your doctor.
Your doctor’s well-baby examination consists of many different parts, each designed to help her find certain information. You may have to watch closely to see her do each part of the exam because she probably has developed her own tricks and techniques. Some doctors like to have the baby on the examination table; others prefer that the parents hold the baby. Sometimes the doctor will be talking to you while examining your baby.
As your baby grows, he will not need to be seen routinely as often as when he was an infant. Instead of every three months, most doctors see children once every six months. These visits are for the same reasons as the earlier ones-to make sure your child is growing and developing as he should and to provide you with an opportunity to ask questions. New topics will become important, although many of the old ones such as behavior and eating may need to be discussed again.
From your discussions with your doctor, you will know how she wants to deal with emergencies and after hour’s calls. Keep her guidelines in mind when you think about calling her. However, if you are very concerned about your child, then call. Most childhood illnesses can be handled over the phone, and the child won’t have to be seen by the doctor until morning.
Over the years, a commonly accepted immunization schedule has evolved. Most doctors follow it, although there are some acceptable variations. The schedule is designed to give your child the maximum protection available as soon as possible. The reason some shots are not given earlier is that the child’s own defense system hasn’t matured enough to develop immunity. For example, a number of years ago, the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were given to infants at twelve months. It was discovered that many of these infants didn’t develop protection against these illnesses because their own defense systems weren’t able to react to the vaccine correctly. The date was changed, and now the vaccine is much more effective.
It’s often helpful to know your child’s temperature. It is sometimes an indicator of the seriousness if the illness, although this isn’t always true. A normal oral temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A rectal temperature is one degree higher; an axillary [armpit] is one degree lower. “Normal” means average-some people run a slightly higher or lower temperature, and that is “normal” for them. Temperature varies throughout the day; a person’s temperature is usually a little higher in the afternoon and evening.
There’s nothing scarier for a new parent than a sick baby. Your infant is fussy, not eating well, and has a fever. Should you take her to the hospital? Should you call your doctor? Or are you overreacting? As a well-informed parent, you want to know what you should do-when to be concerned and when not to worry. You want to know when to call the doctor and what to tell him. That’s what this section is all about.
An important part of most 
Fever in a child strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. They wonder if their child will have a seizure and develop epilepsy, or if the temperature will go high enough to “cook” their child’s brain and cause permanent damage. You may be concerned about the proper way to treat your child’s fever and when you should call your doctor. Fever is perhaps the most misunderstood sign in all of medicine. It’s the body’s normal response to infection.
Doctors like to see infants at regular intervals to monitor their growth, development, and health. These visits are important because if any health problem is developing, it’s best to find it early and treat it appropriately. Although your doctor may have a slightly different schedule of visits, most infants are seen when they are two, four, six, nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, twenty-four, thirty, and thirty-six months old.
During your baby’s first three years of life, she will see the doctor a number of times. These visits are important to make sure she is growing and developing appropriately. Your doctor will ask you a number of questions to see how things are going, and he will examine your baby, checking for normal growth and looking for problems. Routine and regular checkups are particularly important for you r baby during her first three years of life. Problems at this age, if not treated early, may have serious implications for her later in life.
Two relatively new health care practitioners are seeing more and more children. These are nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants-often collectively referred to as physician extenders. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who take one or two tears of further training in physical examination, diagnosis, and prescribing medicines. Many work with physicians, although a number of them practice by themselves. Physician’s assistants graduate from a two year program in which they learn the same things as the nurse practitioner.
When you go for the “get acquainted visit” before your baby is born, you should bring with you a list of questions. The doctor’s answers to your questions are important and you should make notes. Follow up on any answers you don’t understand. Be aware of the doctor’s style and how he answers the questions.
There are two different specialists that take of babies-family practitioners and pediatricians. Both have completed a residency [extra training after graduating from medical school]. A family practitioner’s training covers all areas of medicine including adult medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and surgery. A pediatrician’s residency is focused primarily on pediatrics. He has spent more time dealing with ill children and children with special problems. A family practitioner will take care of your entire family-from the very young to the very old. Most family practitioners encourage this. They find it easier to treat an individual if they know the whole family. Family practitioners frequently are better able to deal with emotional or family problems that affect everyone in the household… A pediatrician takes care of children exclusively. Usually they stop seeing a child when he is in his mid teens.
One of the most important decisions you’ll make about your baby’s health is selecting his doctor. Finding the right doctor isn’t easy. There are many questions that must be asked and answered before you make the selection. It’s important to find a doctor you feel comfortable with-someone whom you can talk to and who’ll answer your questions to your satisfaction. The doctor’s style must be right for you!