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Signs and Symptoms of Dehydration

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Level of Dehydration
Minimal or none
(less than 3% loss of body weight)		 Mild to moderate
(between 3%-9% loss of body weight)		 Severe
(over 9% loss of body weight)
Mental status Well; alert Normal; fatigued or restless, irritable Apathetic, lethargic, difficult to wake,  unconscious
Thirst Drinks normally; might refuse some liquids Thirsty; eager to drink Drinks poorly; unable to drink; vomits most liquids
Heart rate Normal Normal to increased Increased heart rate with weak pulses
Quality of pulses Normal Normal to decreased Weak or thready pulses, or pulses you are unable to feel
Breathing Normal Normal; fast Deep

Soft spot on the front of the head in babies(called the fontanel)

 Normal Normal to slightly sunken Sunken 
Eyes Normal Slightly sunken Deeply sunken
Tears Present Decreased Absent
(cries without tears)
Mouth and tongue Moist Dry Parched, Dry, Sticky
Skin folds 
(gently pinch your child’s skin on their abdomen, hold it for a few seconds and then let it go to see how long it takes to return to the normal position)		 Instantly returns to normal   Returns to normal in less than 2 seconds Either remains wrinkled or returns to normal in over  2 seconds
Capillary refillbriefly press on your child’s skin so that it blanches or turns white, and see how long it takes to return to normal Normal Prolonged Prolonged; minimal
Extremities Warm Cool Cold; mottled; cyanotic
Urine output Normal to decreased Decreased

Minimal
(no urine output in 4-6 hours)
Seek immediate medical attention from your child’s doctor or take him/her to the nearest emergency room

As a reminder, this information should not be relied on as medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice of your child’s pediatrician. 

Published by: KidsGrowth.com

 

Mother’s Intuition vs Diagnosis

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January 21, 2012
by Hallie of “The Bump”

When Jodi Schulz, attorney and mommy blogger brought her three-year-old to the ER with a fever and a rash, she was sure the doc was joking when he announced that he was admitting the toddler. “Michael was running around like a lunatic, as if there was nothing wrong with him. They’d already run a bunch of tests and the nurse said they all looked fine.” The doctor did not immediately explain himself. “In retrospect I should have kept asking questions,” says Jodi. “I should have pushed harder.”

Eventually, doctors informed her that her son was potentially at risk for a rare disease called Kawasaki, even though everyone who examined him said he didn’t appear to have it. Though her gut (yep, that mother’s intuition) whispered that her child was fine, she didn’t initially push back. “You don’t want to be the parent who demands your child be released and it turns out there’s something wrong,” she says.

Over the next 24 hours, her son was placed on IV, poked, prodded, and awakened at 6 a.m. so staff could look at his rash. Eventually Jodi reached a breaking point and demanded Michael’s release. “I should have insisted much sooner,” she says. “Some of the nonsense could have been avoided.”

Jodi’s hesitancy to voice her intuition is hardly unique, particularly when it counters the opinion of medical professionals. Even when your gut is screaming that the doc is off, it’s tough to know how to handle the situation. Read on to find out how to keep Jodi’s experience from happening to you.

Get Familiar With the Patient’s Bill of Rights
This handy document comes straight from the top—the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationwide, hospitals and medical plans have adopted its tenets, which promote communication and understanding between patients and their health care providers. And how does this bill of rights apply to you? Well, when we’re talking mommy’s intuition, the most important thing to note is that insisting on getting all the info and being involved in decision-making doesn’t mean you’re pesky or difficult—it means you’re standing up for your child.

To continue reading: Mother’s Intuition

What Matters Most

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It’s been here since they were both born.

The incessant need to constantly compare them to other kids. Are they sleeping like normal kids? Are they crawling or walking when they should? Are they talking when they should be?

And I see this starting to escalate as David is getting to the preschool age. I see some kids his age reading and he barely knows his letters (not for a lack of trying on my part) and I have panic attacks. What if he is behind? I feel like I’m constantly trying to get around other almost 3 year olds and listen to them talk to see where he is. And the same for Fiona. Why is she not talking more? It keeps me up at night sometimes worried about how each of them will do as they grow up.

This has just been on my mind SO much lately, but I am trying hard to set my “momma mind and heart” and focus on this: [Read more…]

How Important is Dad?

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In June 2012, two studies involving dads and their children were published in scientific journals. The first study was done at the University of Connecticut over several decades. The second one was done by Brigham Young University on the effects of parenting style of dads on their children.

In the first study they found that kids who feel rejected by their fathers show higher rates of behavioral problems than those who feel rejected by their mothers. These children show much higher rates of delinquency, depression, and substance abuse.

Moms may reject their child because they had not wanted to be pregnant, poor bonding soon after delivery, or other problems that drive her away from home. Of course, we expect those children to be seriously affected by her rejection.

But this study showed that if a child feels rejected by their father, the consequences are much more serious. Dads are vital to a child’s well-being. Dads may never have bonded with the child and therefore are more aloof. They may just be so busy or have to be away so much that they don’t know how to respond to the child when they are home and the child feels rejected. Or the child may not be what dad expected and so he rejects the child. His son may show more interest in music and arts or cooking and he wanted a child who loved the outdoors and would go trekking or hunting with him. But no matter what the cause, the effect can be devastating on the child.

In the Brigham Young study children responded much more strongly to the parenting style of the father than of the mother. The father’s style effected the child’s persistence much more than the mother’s style.

If the father showed love and warmth to his kids, held them responsible to obey the rules, explained why the rules exist, and gave them age-appropriate freedom; the children thrived. These children were much more persistent in their school work and had much lower incidents of delinquency. In other words, these were involved dads and they had good kids.

Another amazing fact that came out of this study was that it didn’t matter if the father figure in the home was the biological father or not. What mattered was his involvement and warmth with the children in the home.

So yet again, we see the importance of keeping dad involved with your children. Do everything you can to provide him time with the children when he is able to give them undivided attention. Keep him up-dated on your child’s development. Discuss any concerns you have together and agree on ways to handle those problems. Never put your husband down in front of the kids, but support him in his parenting role.

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