Win a $30 Visa GC, Ricola Kit 1/12

$30 Visa GC, Ricola Soothing Relief Kit

Ricola's #SwissHerbs Extra Strength Review and

$30 Visa GC Giveaway ends 1/12 on Barbara's Beat.

Hosted by: Mommy Knows What's Best

Sponsored by: Ricola

If you haven't been sick yet, you're lucky. The news is full of flu stories already. One thing you need to keep on hand is Ricola before you get sick.

Taking your child to the doctor? Enter to win a gift pack with a toy doctor kit, fun bandaids and a $20 Baskin Robbins gift certificate 12/7

Luca listens to the nurse as the doctor gets ready for the checkup for Luca's doctor visit!

Five tips to help your child say “ah” with confidence.

Guest post by Nicole Fonovich, co-creator of the “Luca Lashes” app/eBook Series.

 

Winter is on its way and everyone knows what that means. Not skiing, not hot chocolate, not kissing under the mistletoe. Colder temps bring cold and flu season, sick kids and doctor’s offices. (Cue sniffles and sneezing.)

 

Any self-preserving individual will avoid sick people like the plague. But if you’re the parent of a young child you might not have a choice.

Buy any one LYSOL® product, get$5 toward your flu shot program

Join the Flu Shot Challenge sponsored by Lysol and join my network. Get a badge for your Facebook page, too.

Take the Pledge to Help Stop the Spread of Germs; Get a coupon

Take the Pledge to Help Stop the Spread of Germs: Pledge today to help keep your family and community healthy this cold and flu season. You'll get a $1.50 coupon and we'll provide a donation to The Kids In Need Foundation, a national organization that provides school supplies to children in most need, for the first 100,000 pledges submitted.

Keeping hands clean is the best defense against the spread of germs this cold and flu season.

That's why renowned pediatrician Dr. Sears is partnering with the Wet Ones® brand, to educate families about his five-step flu prevention plan and how to help stop the spread of germs.

Download his Flu Prevention Plan.

William Sears, M.D., is the father of eight children as well as the author of over 40 books on childcare. Dr. Sears is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Dr. Sears received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto -- the largest children's hospital in the world, where he served as associate ward chief of the newborn nursery and associate professor of pediatrics.

Dr. Sears is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a fellow of the Royal College of Pediatricians (RCP). Dr. Sears is also a medical and parenting consultant for BabyTalk and Parenting magazines and provides advice to millions of parents through his Web site.

When the baby is suffering, we are all suffering

It's been a scary week with all the discussion about the swine flu, only to have have our 1-year-old granddaughter become sick.

Her symptoms kept changing so rapidly even the doctors couldn't keep up with her diagnosis. She started out with a slight fever and rash, red throat, and a little vomiting. Her strep culture came back negative. So the doctor didn't prescribe any medication.

Within hours her fever spiked and she began vomiting profusely. Then came the cough, followed by diarrhea. She cried all the time. Nothing made her feel better. She didn't even want to be touched.

It broke my heart every time she would close her tired little eyes, only to start coughing her head off and wake up crying and choking.

Several follow-up phone calls to the doctor and a day or two later, he finally put her on antibiotics and she started taking prescription cough medicine.
Now she is starting to feel better. We even took her and her mommy out to dinner.

Tonight, when I saw that precious smile, and heard that little giggle for the first time in a long time - all was right with the world.