Since the day I wrote about my journey leaving the anti-vaccination movement, I have experienced the wrath of the anti-vaccination community. When I write about how important it is to vaccinate your child, I regularly receive comments like this: “It is worse than pre meditated MURDER to be telling people that vaccines are safe.” “You cannot […]

I received a lot of great responses after publishing this post about dry drowning symptoms. So many parents are concerned about their children dry drowning, and it’s been great to set some of those fears to rest. I’ve updated the end of this post with more water safety tips and a free printable — my hope […]

One of the top struggles of parenting sick children is giving them yucky tasting medications. As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I’m no stranger to watching a fresh dose of medication get spit right back up. With sick babies, this situation can be extra difficult, because they do not understand that the medication will actually resolve […]

As pediatrician Paul Offit said, “There’s no such thing as conventional or alternative or holistic medicine. There’s only medicine that works and medicine that does not.” Most of us parents today are constantly being fed information and suggestions from our friends and family, healthcare providers, and of course, from the internet. I regularly see articles […]

Constipation. It’s something most children have dealt with at least a few times. No doubt, constipation can be annoying and uncomfortable at any age. This is one of the most common concerns I encounter as a pediatric nurse practitioner. Most of the time I hear “It’s been X days since my child pooped. She must […]

One of the most common concerns from parents of newborns revolve around the issue of reflux. “My baby has been spitting up – do you think she has reflux?” or “My baby has been fussy this week – do you think it’s because of reflux?” These are questions I hear all the time, both in […]

Last week, I had the wonderful pleasure of going to Chicago to attend the 39th Annual National Conference on Pediatric Health held by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). The NAPNAP conference was truly excellent, and Chicago is such a lovable city! Being the Irish girl I am, I couldn’t resist going a […]

Seizures are very scary for parents, especially when a baby or young child is seizing. While seizures can be serious, not all seizures carry the same risks or complications. The febrile seizure is an important example. Most febrile seizures end without treatment and do not require seizure medication for prevention. What Is A Febrile Seizure? […]

When caring for children with special needs in a medical setting, it is imperative to truly understand what those special needs are. This helps us to better meet the child at their level and make medical appointments as minimally traumatic as possible for them. Just because your child has special needs of some kind does […]

With colds, influenza, and RSV in full force, I know many parents are stocking up on cold survival products. There are so many out there to buy, it can feel a little overwhelming. Which cough and cold medicine is right for your child? When caring for sick children, it’s important to not just get any […]