I am so excited to bring you this guest post from one of the best mamas, doctors, and friends I know – Annie Ray! We trained together in Residency and not only did I learn so much from her, but she got me though some of the hardest days. Annie just started a blog with some of her High School friends – you should check it out! www.lockerstolittles.com
The inevitable scenario: It’s 2 am, your kid has just woken up screaming, sweaty and with a terrible {rash, cough, stuffy nose, projectile vomit….}. You call your on-call family doctor or pediatrician’s line and they ask you the kid’s temperature… Where is that thermometer again? Then they advise you to try XXX medicine… But, you don’t have that. And the drugstore is closed. Off to urgent care or the ER with you, do not pass GO, do not save $200.
I get the question all the time from patients, friends and family members with kids on the way, “What should we have in the medicine cabinet?”. Here’s a basic list to get you started by age. You can and should always check with your on-call doctor or nurse line if you’re at ALL unsure what to give. We really and truly never mind these kind of questions – especially if you’re prepared with the supplies at home!
When You’re Expecting
Birth to 2 months: 7 items, bonus points if you buy this stuff and give it to someone as a baby shower present!
Rectal thermometer: yes, it is easier to check a temperature with a forehead scanner or ear thermometer. None of them are medically accurate in little babies. Rectal is the gold standard.
**IMPORTANT: If rectal temperature is over 100.4, a baby under 2 months should be seen at a Pediatric Emergency Department if possible, or a regular ER if there isn’t a Pediatric one close enough to you.**
Nose Frida and nasal saline drops: Yep, super gross to consider sucking your baby’s boogers out with a tube. Especially if you’re not a parent yet. However, when those boogs are keeping your sweet angel from breathing well while they’re trying to eat, you’ll use ANYTHING to make it better. The blue bulb is far less effective and can suck too hard, causing swelling in those tiny nostrils that are already blocked up. Get one. Get over the grossness.
A Cool Mist humidifier: You can check Lucie’s List or Consumer Reports for top ratings, just have one ready to plug in!
Vitamin D drops: For breastfed or mostly breast-milk fed babies, supplemental vitamin D is recommended. I prefer Baby Ddrops because trying to get a milliliter of regular vitamin D drops into a tiny baby is impossibly and they will spit up most of it. These, you just put literally 1 drop on your finger and wipe on their tongue. Boom!
Aquaphor or equivalent heavy ointment: put on all rashes
Diaper cream: The best ever is Resinol medicated diaper cream, you can only get it on Amazon to my knowledge. It will wipe out a gnarly diaper rash in 24-48 hours flat. If you can’t get that, Boudreaux’s Buttpaste or A&D Ointment work fine.
Digital scale: Nearly all baby medicines are given based on weight. By weighing yourself holding baby and subtracting your weight alone, you’ll be able to get a fairly accurate weight to help the on-call person from your doctor’s office guide you.
Infants
2 months – 6 months: 4 more items once you’re past that 2 month mark
Liquid acetaminophen (generic for Tylenol): babies up to 6 months old can only have acetaminophen, NOT ibuprofen (generic for Advil and Motrin).
Acetaminophen suppositories: Because if your baby is throwing up or just a frequent spitter-upper, these are easier to get on board.
Prune juice: Many babies get constipated and therapy #1 is a little of this stuff. I keep a six-pack of the tiny Sunsweet cans in the pantry.
If you want organic, this is available through Walgreens (for babies 6 months and older):
Pediatric glycerin suppositories: Step #2 in severe baby constipation
Bigger babies
6 months-18 months or whatever age your kid starts jumping off of things and getting into trouble: 8 more items to grab
Noemi at 7 months
Ibuprofen liquid (generic for Motrin/Advil)
Diphenhydramine liquid (generic for Benadryl): If your kid gets an allergy once they start eating foods or getting into stuff, you want to get this on board as fast as possible. Call your doctor’s office on-call line for weight-based dosing.
Fever-Fish Children’s Fever Monitor Strips: As babies get bigger, it’s harder to pin them down and take a temperature. These things are a parenting miracle, sticking on for 12-24 hours and giving a real-time temperature update. Plus, kids love stickers and generally don’t like having a thermometer stuck in their mouth, armpit or bum-hole. I’ve checked them against our top-rated digital thermometer and they’re always right on.
Rosalyn modeling our fish
Pedialyte or equivalent pediatric rehydration: I keep the powder on hand because it’s easier to hide from my daughters and they love it (pro-tip, if your kids only ever have water to drink, they think this is “soda” and a special treat). Kids inevitably start vomiting in the middle of the night or on a holiday weekend and goodness knows you don’t want to haul a puking kid around in the car looking for a store with this in stock! Yes, you can make at-home rehydration solution with apple juice, salt and sugar, but again – do you really want to be googling the ratios and trying to mix that up when you’re dealing with a puking kid? Not me.
Ice packs: frozen peas or ice in a bag works in a pinch, but having a few Boo-boo buddies ready to go in the freezer will come in handy on a nearly daily basis once your kid is fully mobile.
Bottle of eye saline: I’ll never forget the moment of panic when my 2.5 year old came screaming out of the bathroom holding her eye having gotten her hands on a tube of super-glue. You can lock things up, watch your kids like a hawk and they will still get into all sorts of bad stuff. Grabbing a bottle of saline (contact solution works in a pinch) and squirting the sh!* out of their eye can save their vision and is way easier than trying to hold their head under a faucet.
Actually not from the super-glue incident, but when Noemi had to have stitches from jumping off her bed at 18 months old
Nasal saline aerosol: Much easier for rinsing bigger-badder-boogers out of those bigger baby noses. I like whichever brand currently has a cartoon on it I can distract my kid with before I blast their snot out.
Dark-colored, preferably local honey: FOR OLDER THAN 12 MONTHS ONLY. Once kids are over 1 year, this is the clinically proven best cough syrup. Local honey has the added benefit of potentially decreasing allergies to local pollens. Zarbee’s syrup is an alternative and comes in different flavors if your kiddo hates honey taste.
For the “big kids”
18 months up: just 2 more
When your kid is at least 22 pounds, you can switch to acetaminophen and ibuprofen chewable tablets. The dose is 1 tablet for every 22 pounds. If you’re confused AT ALL, call your on-call doctor and they can give you the up-to-date dosing for your child’s weight. (see digital scale above!)
Miralax: Stage #2 for bigger kids’ constipation issues is Miralax or generic equivalent.
Grand total: 21 items to have you stocked for the most common minor emergencies around the house. Every single one of them can be purchased online, hooray for the modern world! There are, of course, a whole pharmacy-worth of other products you may need in the course of raising your family from gas-drops to hydrocortisone ointment to probiotics. My goal here was to get in one list the universal basics I keep around at all times for the moments you need them quickly.
Again, the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is ask for help when your baby or child isn’t feeling well. This list is not intended to be personalized medical advice and also isn’t sponsored by any of the above products or brands. Happy parenting!!
Annie Ray is a Family Physician specializing in women’s health, pediatrics and wellness coaching in Sacramento, CA. She loves yoga and reading and is also proud mama to two daughters, 3 and 5 years old.
Do you mamas have anything you would add to this list??
