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  • Summary of week 6: Tips, tricks, scheduling and life

    This week I had the pleasure of having family over the weekend, and for sure, like many of us that don’t live in the same zip code as our family, it’s a blessing to have them here (someone told us that Florida attracts more family… Nobody took into account our new baby to be a better tourist magnet!). Our daughter is starting to form her routine, we already know about her “crappy hour”, and we have established a nice ballet of feeding, burping (I’m becoming an expert), diaper change, activity and happy times. We have gone to the maximum time allowed at night (amazing and extravagant 5 hours between feedings), meaning that we actually get to sleep a 4 hour cycle (GO BABY GO!).

    My wife has given me the opportunity to do the last feeding of the day (no, I don’t use the props from “meet the Fockers”), enjoying a couple of minutes with my baby. The entire philosophy of bonding/feeding time really makes sense, whatever feeding method you use (bottle/breast milk/formula), being there and interacting is just amazing (PLUS YOU GET AT LEAST 10 MINUTES OF SILENCE!). Completely recommended if you have not done so.

    The bath routine is working, she actually, contrary to popular beliefs, she loved the water, probably a genetic trait from my family. She is joyful and having fun (maybe some memories of mommy’s tummy?), making it clear to us that she does not want to leave the bathtub.

    From the water to the earth, we have started her on “tummy time” now that she has more neck control, using our “mini GYM”, she starts on the top and slowly works her way down to the bottom of it to lay her face in the cushion and we start again. A part of stimulating your baby, it has a couple of more advantages, using the wake time for a positive activity. It comes to my mind one thing that is happening a lot with the new recommendations to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, it decreases and prevents unnecessary deaths, but if we are not moving the position of the head of our babies, they start having a “flat head”, that’s way one of the reasons to do tummy time and observe the shape of your baby’s head, if you think it is flat, talk to your pediatrician about it.

    My amazing wife noticed this week that our Baby started to find her hands, it was amazing to see it, how we take for granted, and we forget the little things of our body, I encourage you to take a moment and observe your hands, probably you won’t remember when you saw them for the first time (at least I don’t) J.

    What I’ve learned this week for THE UNOFFICIAL MANUAL ON HOW A PEDIATRICIAN BECOMES A FATHER:

    1)    Tummy time is amazing and fun for the entire family, changing the routine of poop, eat, sleep moments of the day

    2)    Baths are amazing, even for babies!

    3)    Feeding your baby as a father/partner at least once a day creates a special bond for a couple of minutes that will give peace to you and your baby.

     

    PS This is going to be an historic week for the US, whatever decision the Court makes regarding the Affordable Healthcare Act will have an impact on all of us.

  • Do you realy know about the Affordable H

    Do you realy know about the Affordable Healthcare Act? An intresting document from Kaiser, regarding the #ACA http://ow.ly/bN2ZJ

  • I had the honor to be a A. Gene Copello

    I had the honor to be a A. Gene Copello Physician Leadership Fellow for the National Physician Alliance

  • Summary of week 5: Colic’s, crying and the miracle

    It has been an amazing week. Energy started coming back, our regular “not grumpy” soul is starting to sleep a little better. But the week did not start that way… On her birthday, she decided to cry and complain all day and all night (our dog, Nikki, decided to have a muscle spasm on her back, having two patients at home!), she was grumpy, moving, fuzzy and for sure not happy! As a pediatrician, I finished with my mental check list of differential diagnosis, no fever, no crazy cough, no sneezing, not coughing, breathing well… And of course, LACK OF SLEEP for the entire family. We were really frustrated; usually on the 2nd to the 4th week it’s expected to have crying spells (“it’s normal to expected up to 2 hours of crying”, translation: BREATH IN, BREATH OUT, RELAX… IT WILL STOP…). As a textbook girl, she started with everything… Colic in pediatrics is a combination of gas, tummy issues and just plain old “fuzziness”, and she was having everything. We started to notice for a couple of nights that she loved sleeping in her nap nanny (cushion with a nice >45 angle), and each time that she was laying on her back she was uncomfortable, moving, doing funny noises and NOT SLEEPING AT ALL. On the second day, It was enough, consulting with the pediatrician (for objectivity: I’M NOT HER PEDIATRIC-DAD), and we started a trail of antiacids: THAT WAS THE CURE TO HER PROBLEM. Probably she was having some reflux (all little ones will have reflux and spit ups, it’s  a normal process until the Gastrointestinal Track [the tummy and guts] is mature enough), after a couple of doses, our little one started to be happy (Mommy and Daddy were happier!). With reflux the content of the stomach moves up to the mouth and potentially can be painful.

    Moving on to the week, she started to have a social smile, it is a delightful scene, the pooping/sleeping machine is interacting with us more and more each day… For sure, you have shared this feeling before, it’s just pure happiness, at her 1 month of age she is already spinning my world.

    There are different recommendation at the beginning of life to see your pediatrician, usually at birth, 2-5 days after, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months (just to make the list small… also 15, 18, 24months and after that every year), we had our 1 month preventive visit, I’M A PROUD FATHER, she gained her weight, her height and head size, without forgetting how beautiful she is becoming every day. I did assumed, wrongfully, many things in my mind, that thanks G-d my wife asked the pediatrician, it’s a wired interaction, Imagine being a lawyer, and your business partner is now defending your family in a trail, you can give input, but the one running the show is your partner… Plus, going to the other side, your partner has “extra pressure” to perform and do his best. The first time that we were there, she felt like in an exam at the hospital, I smiled and told her: you Aced the exam (plus she is an amazing human being, active, happy, truthful and smart). Then my professional partner and my wife did have a session of questions and answers, at the same time that I ran out of the room to parade my daughter.

    We also had our first real day out to a restaurant, probably one of my favorites in Ft. Myers: her 1st month day out. I wanted to shelter her, have the crystal bubble around her, and limit the amount of dust, UV rays and cosmic radiation (last one was a joke), it seems that the process to train my mind in order to have a balancing act between being a watchdog and “not reacting to my paternal impulses” is a work in process.

    Every week is counting, time is moving and my family is just growing: I’M JUST ENJOYING IT!

    What I’ve learned this week for THE UNOFFICIAL MANUAL ON HOW A PEDIATRICIAN BECOMES A FATHER:

    1. Hear and act upon “maternal instinct”, if you think something is wrong: ASK, ASK and ASK!
    2. Read about colic. But the most important is to have a way to “distress” your mind, and most importantly talk to your partner about it.
    3. Pacifier vs thumb… We passed the “3 weeks” of nipple confusion and now we need to decide were to go with this… In the perfect world babies will have a mute button.
    4. The first of everything (first bath, first going out, etc etc) creates new expectations and the lack of familiarity could create some stress… It will get much better with time

  • Summary of week 4: Reconnecting and taking our first bath…

    When your baby is born, you have many things in your mind, and it seems that the world just stops… You forget about work, friends and family… You are trying to figure out (at least it passed trough my mind) how much money will cost in 2032  to do a Wedding and if there are any recalls on the car seat that I just got 2 weeks ago… Such random things. Suddenly, you notice certain changes in the fridge…  You wonder why the milk is “not good” and the limes look old… Would it be the temperature of the fridge? At that moment I smiled to myself… It has been 4 weeks with multiple visits to the supermarket, but none for the real things that we need it…

    Yes, in the beginning life revolves completely around our amazing daughter; she is a baby and needs a new diaper, food, rest, play… And she is the center of our universe, but the real force creating the unity of her atoms are mom and dad. The unity between partners is one of the most important drivers for success for the baby and the couple. This week, was our 4th wedding anniversary, we celebrated at home with sushi, backgammon and a nice glass of wine, and you know what, we started to un-pause life and reconnect. The renewal of energy was priceless!!! And of course the next day we started calling our good friends. Probably I read it somewhere and the quote goes something like this, “the excuse of ‘I have a baby’ to stop doing/calling/living gets old very fast”… Then, take the first step… RECONNECT WITH YOUR PARTNER!

    After a couple of weeks, we waited until the umbilical cord fell down and was completely healed (no oozing/yellowish/sticky stuff coming out of it), to give her a full bath; the idea is that that umbilical cord contains a central pathway to your baby’s body. If you “wash it” and it is still open, there is a possibility that bacteria can go inside of the blood stream causing a serious infection.  You will see a lot of information on the internet and among pediatricians of “how to take care” of the umbilical cord before it falls out. There are two main ideas: Alcohol vs. Water and Soap. It has be noted (you can go to the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site or HEALTHYCHILDREN.ORG) that using alcohol delays the fall and dryness of the umbilical stump. Today, the recommendation is to use water and soap (drying after the area)… If you have any questions I can point you towards nice articles and information… But going back to the bath…

    The umbilical area was clear and we were happy! We took all the cameras we had, 4 live streaming events,  1 I-Pad, 2 cell phones and the webcam streaming a coordinated attempt of the first bath  (and our own camera filming some videos as well)… You will read tons of articles that will tell you “the first bath is chaotic and usually babies don’t like it”; our daughter just LOVED IT… You can imagine a televised event as important as the Super Bowl happening with 8 people giving advice at the same time… But it was just amazing; I can proudly say that my daughter has my SCUBA diving genes! Using soap and washing her was the easiest part… When you see your kid all covered in bubbles and smiling is amazing, and you are in heaven for a couple of seconds, and then, again, NOBODY TOLD ME HOW TO WASH HER AND “CLEAN THE SOAP” out of her… Then we did a couple of tricks, she smelled perfect, was dry, in her pajamas and ready for dinner, and probably mom and dad were even more tiered then her.

    I will write down a couple of links to articles (read them even if you already feel that you are the fastest and best bath expert in the world), they do have nice tips…

    What I’ve learned this week for THE UNOFFICIAL MANUAL ON HOW A PEDIATRICIAN BECOMES A FATHER:

    1)      The “I have a baby and I’M TIRED” does not excuse the parents to stop calling dear family members and friends… I’m sorry for those friends that I did not call back during these weeks; slowly I’m calling one by one.

    2)      Organize your first bath; you need the correct equipment, the correct utensils and an extra pair of hands if possible to have a successful bath! (By the way, it is not recommended to give a daily bath; the baby’s skin is gentile and delicate, then every 2 to 3 days can be a good average.

    3)      It’s normal for babies to cry around 2 hours a day… It was really easy to explain that to the parents of my patients, but now, after 4 weeks of “normal crying”, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE FEELING OF FRUSTRATION.

    Please do send me emails, comments or questions…

    Ilan

  • Summary of week 3: Reality start to set in: YES WE ARE PARENTS

    After 3 weeks, more than 200 diapers changed, having cleaned all types of bodily fluids from clothes, hands and other places, I’m starting to understand  a famous quote “Aliza, I am you father” (Star Wars…) It’s amazing how many things you can do for you own son/daughter… But you know what I was actually forgetting, OUR OWN MOTHERS that created that opportunity for us.

    This week I had a nice telephone conversation, and the bottom line is: “You become selfless and devoted your life and soul to the new life that has been created”, and every letter of it is real. That’s why EVERY DAY IS MOTHERS DAY!

    Everybody tells you: the first month is the hardest!  But I think (on my 3 weeks of experience), that every stage will have it’s on twist. First it’s lack of sleep, changing diapers… In a couple of years we’ll be installing the GPS tracking device and training the “friendly dragon” to patrol her/him.

    There are so many books, opinions and of course stories telling us how to cure “the hiccups”, clean diapers and avoid having bad dreams…  In the end of the day, consistency from the parents, having  an open communication, setting goals and milestones, ARE THE REAL SMALL ACHIEVEMENTS THAT WILL DO A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR SON/DAUGHTERS LIFE…  Consistency is the name of the game.

    What I’ve learned this week for THE UNOFFICIAL MANUAL ON HOW A PEDIATRICIAN BECOMES A FATHER:

    1)      My diaper changing skills are changing, I’m faster, but the ratios of “diaper changed vs accidents when using diapers” are still high.

    2)      Hiccups are common in newborns, it is more a distress for the parents than the real baby

    3)      We just got some electronic hardware to make life and interaction easier with our family, the hard thing is making the software work

    4)      There are millions of APP’s out there… We found (MY WIFE…) an amazing app to follow/track/measure/time every important aspect of our daughters needs (not including college… heheheh) and you can track (and will remind you) when is the next feed, oz’s, times, diapers (pee/poop), length etc etc… And the most amazing thing is that “Daddy” (AKA: ME) can see the %, numbers and times on his phone to feel less OCD.

  • I’m pregnant… Do I get my baby Stem cells, do I buy it or not?:

    Have you ever thought of getting your future baby  cord stem cells? Do they Work? Is it worth it…

    Well, for disclosure purposes, we did… I will walk you up our, thoughts, ideas and of course the bottom line. On a daily basis we here about all this weird diseases, and how they start from nowhere and they would be saved by stem cells… First of all, stem cell are the type of cells that can potentially  be converted to any cell of the body, technology and medicine has been advancing to cover and to be used for more than 70 diseases, and the potential is limitless , but  sadly, we are not there yet. Making this point, you can potentially, at birth , have a little assurance that in the future, the list will grow and you will have in a  storage somewhere, blood and/or tissue of your baby that could save his/her life. The idea is incredible, but not that simple. We ask ourselves:

    1) Do we want to have it? The answer was simple (and probably all parents will say the same thing) YES YES YES AND YES! Even that the possibility is really  low,  it’s worth it “to protect your baby”   (I imagine that is part of why  these companies marketing, they got us…),   is like buying  life insurance… You aspect not to use it but it’s good to have it.

    2)  What’s the cost? It was a decision “make it or break it” moment… There are a couple of big names… From public to private companies,  with different plans, offers and guarantees. And with monthly plans …  My advice: call every company, ask them to send you information, look at the numbers (how many times the clients have needed the  cells and how many times they actually worked, how long have they been in business, ask for everything…  And If you need more questions to ask just send me a msg, I can gladly help you out) .. We found a nice price, that was the number that we had in our minds,  and we  chose a  company that had good numbers, good quality, long-standing, and a nice  $ package…  You need to consider that if doing this, if your household budget will be painfully affected, DON’T DO IT… I will explain why later on…

    3) Ok… Now, we want this, we have a nice company and a payment plan, do I need to pay for the “special offer” to prepay 20 years for storage? I  don’t think it’s worth it, at the  speed that technology is moving forward, this technology will be obsolete , my best guess is more or less 10 years, when the medicine nobel price will  be “how to create tissue, organs and  fix disease with skin cells” (I chose skin cells because they are  relatively easy to collect… It could be anything…). For this reason, we chose NOT to pay the 20 year something prepaid package.

    After you sign up, they will send you a kit, it has everything that you need to know, and the human salesperson, that will be in contact with you will explain  everything, and most Obstetrics doctors will know what to do with it… IT’S IMPERATIVE TO HAVE IT IN YOUR “WAY OUT BAG” for the hospital.

            4) AND WHAT DO WE DO IF WE DON’T, FOR ANY REASON DO IT, WOULD WE BE BAD PARENTS AND OUR BABY WILL DIE FROM A HORRIBLE DISEASE  BECAUSE WE DID NOT DID IT? The real answer is NO.  Now there is new technology to extract from the “baby teeth” cells that could be potentially used for most of the diseases.

    G-d willing, we would never need to use it… But it will be stored,  somewhere safe  and in our mind will have a check mark, right there with life /disability insurance, looking only to protect our family

  • ARE YOU PLANNING TO BREAST FEED YOUR KID

    ARE YOU PLANNING TO BREAST FEED YOUR KIDS?
    If the answer is yes… Do you know how to start? What are the common pitfalls??? Justa couple of ideas:
    1) READ READ AND READ
    2) Ask people that have done it, you need to be motivated… Trust me… A bottle of “formula” sounds sexy at a 3am feeding with a crying daughter!
    3) Understand that you will have learning process… And that not all anatomies are a like… ANY COMMENTS?? ANY TIPS FOR NEW BREASTFEEDING PARENTS???

  • Summary of week 2: A PARENTS LIFE CYCLE WITH A NEWBORN: Poop, sleep and eat…

    The first adrenaline rush, the sleep deprivation starts to sync in (that by the way, everybody that thinks that a “doctor”  lasts  longer without quality of sleep because of the “training that we did”, ARE MISTAKEN… That training only last for 72 hours… After that, we become humans again…. hehehehe),  timing is everything… My life cycles are 3-4 hour cycles of poop, sleep and eat when I’m at home, and having those AMAZING and REFRESHING conversation with my wife of how we really don’t believe that we have a daughter, that little package that was in my wife’s “tummy” that moved and we saw her grow… That with Alizas’s smile gives me energy to conquer the world!

    I need to ask forgiveness to every parent that I have given encouragement  from the first newborn visit… I always tell you that the first month is hard, I DID NOT UNDERSTAND HOW HARD  WAS IT! Sorry! Now my empathy level has changed, I can actually  see the tired faces of my parents…  And I really appreciate and THANK MY INCREDIBLE WIFE  for the  caring  and love at 3am to my daughter and my extra sleeping time that she creates for me!

    What I learn this week  for the  THE UNOFFICIAL MANUAL ON HOW A PEDIATRICIAN BECOMES A FATHER:

    1) Team work and time off for everyone…

    2) Safety list when your baby is crying (feeding, burping, diaper, rock and everything else…) have a mental list, that will help you troubleshoot your baby

    3) Hear all, Read all… The best advice is the proven REAL ADVICE …  Some old stories  from grandma have changed in the past 30 years… (Back to sleep, demand feeding vs organic feeding,  vaccines, etc etc)

    4) THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR A HUG AND KISS TO YOUR LOVE ONES…  THANK THEM…

  • For Pediatricians… More problems with

    For Pediatricians… More problems with Staph infections…
    http://ow.ly/b9JTF