Baby Dickey » Guest Post

Guest Post: Not On My Watch

babydickey — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:42:00 +0000

*This is a guest post by Barbara from Kimberly-Clark Healthcare about contracting life-threatening infections in hospitals. I am posting this here because.… well, because of my recent complete mis-trust for hospitals. Not only from my own personal experience during labor, but because of my grandpa’s hospital stay–he passed away in December. I absolutely believe in this message and that many people suffer from this.*

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors, nurses, and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management Whether you’re a nurse, patient, or visitor , the most effective way to keep HAIs down to a minimum is to wash your hands or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.

For more information about the Not on My Watch campaign, please take a look at http://www.haiwatch.com

Love Handles: Spring Back Into Shape (guest post)

babydickey — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:17:57 +0000

**This is a guest post written by Joanna, inventor of Love Handles. It was submitted to me by Betsy at Brilliant Baby Products (I recently worked with her for a review/giveaway on this blog). You can find these Love Handles at their online store as well. Disclaimer: I have never used this product, but am interested in it. If anyone out there has tried Love Handles out, I’d love to hear from you!**

The first day of spring is right around the corner and that means time to spring back into shape. Perhaps you are a go-getter and have been working on your “get in shape” routine since the New Year, but either way, now is crunch time.

For new moms (and dads), one way to jumpstart your shape up routine is by adding a cardio boost and resistance training to your stroller walks or jogs with your baby – and targeting your whole upper-body. To help you do that is Love Handles — the first and only product that turns your average baby stroller into a full body elliptical trainer. Founded by Joanna James and her (future) mother-in-law, Mary Moschos, the duo designed Love Handles out of their passion for fitness – to make it easier for moms to get back into shape and lose that baby weight.

Joanna has provided four tips to help new moms (or dads) spring back into shape in today’s busy, multi-tasking world.

1. Boost it up. As a busy mom, time is of the essence so be sure to make the most of your workouts. While walking or jogging with Love Handles alternate your cardio levels by first warming up at a low to mid level speed. Next increase your speed to high for two minutes and really pump those arms. Then stay at a mid– to high-range level for four minutes. Begin the alternating cycle all over again. These aerobic exercises are great for new moms because it really increases your metabolism rate and helps you lose weight easier and faster as opposed to reaching a plateau. And equally important is adding an upper body and core workout, especially after pregnancy – which you can now do it all at once using Love Handles.

2. H2O. It’s important to drink plenty of water to keep you from feeling dehydrated, which you might mistake for a “candy bar craving.” Try to fit in eight glasses of water per day, and if you are breastfeeding, bump that number up to 10. Just remember to always take a water bottle with you – wherever you go!

3. Lift it. By adding a weight lifting component to your aerobic exercise routine, you can speed up your metabolism and increase muscle mass, which will help you burn more calories and fat – exactly what new moms want! With Love Handles you do just that by adding the resistance factor to the full cardiovascular workout you’re getting. Just twenty minutes, 3–4 days a week should do the trick. Do some interval training during your walk or jog by stopping mid-workout to do two sets of 15 reps of tricep push-downs, bicep curls, back/shoulder push-forwards and lunges using Love Handles.

4. De-stress. Even though as a new parent “stress free” may seem like a foreign word, it’s important to have that goal in mind. To reduce stress, try getting out of the house – go for a walk or meet a friend to socialize at the park and enjoy those natural endorphins. Fresh air can have a positive impact on your physical and mental health, which will lead to reducing stress. And that’s exactly why we created Love Handles – to get you out of the house and enjoy a quality workout while spending quality time with your babies!

About the Author: Joanna James is the inventor of Love Handles, the first and only accessory that attaches to your stroller and turns the average stroller into an extraordinary elliptical trainer. Joanna says moms can burn up to three times as many calories using Love Handles over an ordinary stroll. Contact her at www.LoveHandlesInc.com.

Guest Post for CHD Awareness Week

babydickey — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:00:02 +0000

As you (should) know, Feb. 7-14th is Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week. I recently became familiar with CHD by learning from an amazingly strong mama on twitter. She is writing a guest post here today and I strongly urge you to read it and follow her on her mission. She is one incredible woman!

.….….….….……

How Baby Dickey saves lives. A guest post for Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week.

For those who don’t know me, my daughter, Cora, is a good friend of Ryan and his momma, Emily. They never met, but they are forever linked. Here’s why.

Emily and I were “bump buddies,” meaning we followed each other’s pregnancies and moaned and groaned about pregnancy aches to each other on Twitter.

I gave birth to Cora on November 30, 2009. She was dead by the time Emily delivered Ryan a few weeks later.

Cora died in my arms while I breastfed her. She hadn’t been sick. We didn’t know about the congenital heart defect that took her life until after she was dead.

I immediately took to Twitter and social media to spread Cora’s Story. Emily helped in every way possible.

She sent me a picture of herself wearing a bow I sent her in memory of Cora while in labor at the hospital.

And then, after Ryan was born, she sent me this tweet. And, I wept.

See, I learned through research after Cora passed away about a simple test that might have saved her. It’s called a pulse oximetry test. When conducted on a newborn at between 24 to 48 hours, the non-invasive, quick, painless, cheap test can provide early detection of congenital heart defects.

I wept because Ryan was the first baby to ever get tested because of Cora’s work through me. I wept because lives are saved one at a time through spreading awareness and lobbying for newborn screening.

Several groups are currently working to make pulse oximetry tests standard for newborns, but until then, I’m asking women to ask to have the simple test run on their baby. The test doesn’t catch all congenital heart diseases, but it is a start.

I work for Cora now. Raising awareness to bring more research funding and hopefully lower the occurrence of CHDs. Congenital heart diseases are the most common birth defect, reportedly occurring in about one in 100 babies. Luckily, Ryan wasn’t one of those one in 100.

But, unfortunately, many are affected. According to The Children’s Heart Foundation, “CHD is the leading cause of infant death in the US and in every country around the world.”

February 7 to 14 is congenital heart disease awareness week. Help Cora and I spread the word.

Kristine Brite McCormick writes about Cora (almost) daily on her blog http://www.corasstory.org. If not on her blog, she can be found on Twitter, @kristinebrite or Cora’s Facebook Fan page, telling Cora’s Story. Follow Kristine for more information about congenital heart disease or to learn more about the acts of compassion and kindness Cora has inspired.