What is a medical diary?

You've heard about medical diaries, but what really goes into a good one? While outlining what goes into a child's medical diary, you will soon see a pattern which can easily be applied to teens or adults with any medical or mental malady.

Keeping a child's medical diary will ensure that your child gets the proper medical attention in the fastest way by eliminating many avenues pursued in search of the best way.

The medical professional will have a complete history without compiling research from every doctor and hospital in your child's past. Why waste valuable time that could be the difference between life-saving measures and long term effects?

Preferred medical diaries will be bound editions that will not collect stray information or allow for information to be removed.

Begin with the basics
At birth your child begins to receive medical care. They will receive an APGAR score within sixty seconds of birth. Don't be surprised when he is five and his doctor asks you what it was.

Ask your nurse in the hospital to record his vital statistics at birth. The nurses will keep the diary in the nursery upon request. Include the following:

Place, time and date of birth
Hospital name
Attending pediatrician
Temperature
APGAR score
Audiogram result
Weight and length
Immunizations
Car seat test results (if given)
Tests and results

First trip home
Before the two week well-baby check up, note everything that you find. Much like a baby book, include any of the following:

Sleep pattern and total hours slept
Coughing or fever
Vomiting (not spit up during burping)
Excessive gas
Diarrhea
Date lost umbilical stump

Professional visits
Record everything from the first visit and all other professional visits that follow to doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, orthopedic, dentist, optometrist or any specialist:

Doctor's full name, address and telephone number
Time and date of appointment
Vital statistics (blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, weight, length)
All vaccines
Tests performed
Treatment received (fillings, glasses, hearing aids, orthotic devices)
Prescriptions (dosage, prescribing physician, pharmacy-with address and telephone number, pharmacist, prescription number)

Back at home
Over the next months and years, your child will change. Record everything that affects health, including the following:

First tooth (which one and date)
Loss of teeth (which one and date)
Fevers (temperature and duration)
Colds
Rashes (include diaper rash that occurs for more than 72 hours)
When and what new foods/juices are introduced
Changes in baby's reaction to light and sound
Childhood illnesses (chicken pox, measles)

Get the rest of the recipe for a great medical diary!

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Breastfeed in the closet?

Having breastfed and used a bottle with our many children, I found the arguments why women should not "be allowed to breastfeed in public" astonishing. Enjoy this foray into why asking breastfeeding women to cloister themselves is equal to a human rights violation for both mother and child...as well as a look at why the "against" arguments are anatomically incorrect.

Segregation is equivalent to assigning a lower class ranking to breastfeeding mothers for choosing the best for their children.

Proponents of public breastfeeding stand on the time-tested argument of breast milk's natural and nutritionally unequalled content as the perfect food for babies delivered in the most convenient, natural way. Feeding directly from the breast is how all other mammals distribute milk.

Breastfeeding mothers are the largest proponents because they have more intimate knowledge than any other in the argument arena.

Breastfeeding desensitizes the breast. After nursing an infant, women are unlikely to receive any sexual stimulation from the breast. This is the natural maturation of the breast and the maternal reception of the nervous signals.

Prior to birth, the breast has not experienced nervous stimuli such as the let down reflex, correct latching or a baby's natural pecking signal. Once these signals are received for the first time, the breast interprets all other signals thereafter as prompts to perform or incidental contact to be ignored.

Societal taboo attached to an sexualized image is mistakenly associated with breastfeeding. Suckling the breast is not a sexual act for the mother.

Opponents believe the nipple covered by the baby's lips is vile, embarrassing, and cause for shame. Ironically, the nipple covered with a smaller amount of spandex is beautiful, sells products and is to be coveted.

These opponents do not take into consideration the function of the breast. In fact, the breast's main purpose is the nourishment of offspring. The secondary issue of bonding is the proximity of the breast to the mother's heartbeat. This anatomical design is of note.

And there is more...read on.

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No Disrespect from Children

Did you raise a smart aleck? It is not necessarily a bad thing. When your child is not just sarcastic, but disrespectful, there is a problem.

Children talk back to adults, especially parents, disrespectfully when they feel authority is unjust, unreasonable or unfeeling. This ten step strategy for dealing with children's disrespectful back talk works like a charm.

1. Respect.

~Earn it, and then demand it from your children once you have it. Respect their right to an opinion by listening to what they have to say. Make it obvious that the reciprocal is expected.

2. Educate.

~Let your children know that there is a respectful way to voice opinion and dissent. Show them how to employ it by example. Rather than saying, "Your suggestion is stupid," try saying, "I think we need to reassess what you suggested because some of the foundation information is incorrect."

3. Enlighten.

~Show them how they react to being disrespectfully spoken to by speaking in like fashion. Show them how negativity cannot bring about a positive result. A video of their negative reaction is a better tool than parental acting skills, and far more persuasive

4. Discover.

~The source from which their disrespect springs. Is it an outside influence or you? Disrespect is most often a reaction to another's action, and negativity is contagious. Be objective in your own self-reflection because you may not see how your actions could cause disrespect. Repeat what you have said before a mirror for a good idea of how it sounded to them.

5. Restrict.

~Access to others who are disrespectful is counterproductive to having respectful children. Restrict that access. Negativity is contagious. Children and adults who are disrespectful to everyone as a reaction to being hurt by one person are not respectful influences on your children.

6. Question.

~Why has your child chosen that manner to speak to you? You have already self-reflected and looked at other sources. Go to the horse's mouth. Ask you child, point blank.

7. Listen.

~Your child will answer this question. Listen very carefully. Maintain eye contact. Sit in a receptive posture. Actively listen. Respond appropriately to what is said. Before you defend your position, be sure it is defensible.

8. Reverse.

~What will it take for your child to be more respectful? Ask your child. By respecting the fact that your child feels slighted, you show your willingness to help rectify the situation.

9. Help.

~Take your child's suggestions and incorporate them into your parenting style. This is the ultimate act of mutual respect. Provided your child provides a viable reason for being disrespectful, you can implement tactics like waiting two minutes before you respond to give him a chance to amend what he has said or making appointments to talk about matters once tempers have cooled.

10. Enjoy.

~Your respectful children will bring you joy. You have cultivated a mature and respectful relationship with your children. Most importantly, you have taught them how to build respectful relationships with others.

Caution: If you have not taken steps 1-3, you will definitely have to take 4-10. The first three tips will help you never have to determine a punishment for disrespectful children. They will not talk back to you or any other authority figure disrespectfully.

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No time to clean house?

With more children than the old lady in the shoe, I can guarantee I don't have a ton of time to clean...and then again, the only thing domestic about me was I was born in this country. If cleaning is just not your bag or does not fit in your schedule, take these time-saving tips.

Busy moms do not have time to spend two or three hours a day cleaning. Pick up a few of these quick cleaning tips to make cleaning a breeze for busy families. Singles can learn these cleaning tricks before they pick up "dirty" habits!

Organize:

Have a cleaning station where all household cleaning items are kept. This can be under a sink (for those with older or no children), top shelf in the laundry (for the toddler stage) or in a carry-all in a closet (great teen-aged access).

If you have cleaning items you only use in one room, keep them organized together. Consider a carry-all or basket under the sink for bathroom-only cleaning supplies like toilet tabs and pads.

Schedule:

Clean bathrooms and bedrooms on Tuesdays & Fridays; Common areas Monday, Wednesday & Saturday; Laundry room & appliances on Sunday afternoon.

Make the carpet an everyday affair. Before you go to bed, all items need to be off the carpet. Share this duty. Children should pick up their own messes.

Cannot do it all? Break it into smaller parts. Stick to your schedule, and you don't get behind!

Make a chore chart. It helps keep track of progress and aids in delegating tasks to other family members.

Down Time:

While a machine does a task, do something else. Do you have five minutes? Clean the tub. Waiting for the dryer? Dust the living room. Dishes drying? Collect the garbage from around the house.

Everyday:

Simple tasks like making the bed go a long way to keeping your house clean. Clean as you go when you are cooking. If you take out a project, put it away as soon as you are finished. Adopt the rule that you are not finished until the mess is clean.

Mail:

It comes six days a week. Read it over the garbage can or paper shredder. Do it now. When you put mail down, it should be in the trash can/shredder, in a return envelope, filed for tax time or in your scheduler to be paid on the appropriate day. If you bank online, you reduce the amount of mail you get and have to throw away.

Dishes:

Empty the dishwasher in the morning. Fill it during the day. Run it when you go to bed. No shortage of hot water, it helps heat the house (if you use the heated dry cycle) and is ready in the morning with clean dishes. Good for the psyche: Wake up to no mess.

Laundry:

When you take it off, put it away. Hang up your coat when you come in the house. In stocking feet? Put shoes away. Time for bath? Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket. If it is clean, put it in the closet or dresser.

There is more, so read on....

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Flip that house!

After buying and selling foreclosed homes to fund my early retirement, I have gathered a few tips anyone in the real estate market can use when looking for a cost effective solution to getting a home or making money providing homes for others.

Know how to turn a foreclosed home into cash? To borrow a quote from the stock market: Buy low. Sell high. Sounds simple, but let's arm you with some powerhouse weapons: Auctions, reaching potential home value, REO properties and knowing how to finance.

Foreclosures up for Auction

Not all auction foreclosures should have starred in "The Money Pit". Many are valuable. The trick is figuring out which is which. Start with an auction list. While online sellers will tout huge directories, start with the auctioneer. Auction houses provide bidders with the specifics from the owner, a lender who foreclosed on the property. But don't just take the lender's word for it.

Visit the Property

Some foreclosed property will not be accessible until the day of the auction, but the overwhelming majority will be opened for bidders prior to the auction. Take advantage. You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it. Don't bid on a house you have not seen inside and out, either.

Rarely, foreclosures can be inspected by a professional prior to the auction. Literature on the house will admit if an inspection has been made since the property was vacated.

Know what you are viewing. What should pipes under the house look like? What are the indicators a roof needs to be replaced? Can you tell if a wall has been patched? What are the signs of water damage? If you haven't seen an inspection in person, it is an educating experience.

Take Notes

You need to remember all the blemishes the house has to determine how much you are willing to pay for it and how much the house could potentially be worth at resale. This is how you determine on which houses you should bid. The equation for a winning house looks like this:

Your Maximum Bid + Taxes <>

What is my "Maximum Bid"?

The opening bid is up to ten per cent less than what is owed on the foreclosed home. This ensures the lender gets most of its money back. Since you want to make money, you cannot bid up to the actual value of the foreclosed home. Your maximum bid needs to be at least ten percent lower than the current value of the home.

Is that set in concrete?

No. Some distressed homes, ones which need a lot of repair, are actually worth more in the long run. For example, 123 Hickory Street is 1,600 square feet, four beds, two baths. It is valued at $36,000 because it has not been updated since the 1950s. It needs a new roof and the carpeting replaced. A few new windows would not hurt it.

Find rest of the answer and much more!

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