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Dressing Your Baby or Child for Winter

Outside time and play is important for everyone!  Whether it is a winter walk, or an activity like skating or sledding, there are plenty of activities to be had during the long Canadian winters.   But getting outside in the winter is more challenging with the inclement weather, and proper clothing is important to protect everyone so

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Screen Time and Young Children

When I was a child, our television was always on.  My parents allowed my brother and I to watch television as much as we wanted.  I remember wondering why some of my friends had restrictions on how much television they could watch. As a family physician, I advise parents to follow recommendations set out by the Canadian Paediatric

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Dr. Mom blog explores Relaxation techniques for sleep to help with trouble falling asleep

Trouble Sleeping? Relaxation Techniques For Sleep

In my family medicine practice, I often see patients that have trouble sleeping.  Particularly difficulty falling asleep.  In medicine, this is known as “initial insomnia”. I recommend a proper sleep hygiene routine to all my patients that are suffering from poor quality sleep.  But I also talk with them about relaxation techniques for sleep. Trouble

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Medications and Breastfeeding

While it is commonly known that many medications cannot be taken while pregnant, mothers are often left wondering what is safe to take while they are breastfeeding their baby.  The good news is that most medications are compatible with breastfeeding.   Unfortunately, many mothers are given inaccurate advice with regard to medications and breastfeeding or avoid taking essential medications

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What to Know Before You Start Baby Sleep Training?

I think most parents have been frustrated at some point in time when it comes to baby sleep. There are many sleep-training methods out there. Choosing “the best” sleep-training method can be confusing. I know when I was sleep-training Madi and George – implementing the sleep-training techniques turned out to be more difficult than I

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What is Impetigo and How is it Treated?

Impetigo is a contagious bacterial skin infection.  It most commonly occurs in children under the age of 5.  Because it is contagious, it can spread to other areas of the body or to other people easily.   It can spread when someone touches an impetigo rash, or through items that have been in contact with infected skin.   What Causes Impetigo?

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Tips on Returning Back to School

The start of the school year is one of the busiest times of year for many families including my own. Here are some things that we have found help with the transition back to school: Bedtime routine for parents and children. During the summer our entire family was staying up way to late! Over the

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Heat Related Illness

It is not uncommon for people to state “I have heat stroke” when they were out in the sun for too long and feel unwell.   Heat stroke is a term that is loosely thrown around, but the fact is – heat stroke is a medical emergency and requires hospital care.   There are other heat related illnesses

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What is Baby Reflux and Tips to Manage Baby Reflux

Most babies, including my own, spit up. Spitting up, also known as gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is a normal process that occurs in healthy infants. In fact, approximately 50% of infants younger than 3 months of age have at least one episode of spitting up per day. I have partnered with Enfamil to discuss ways to reduce infant reflux. 

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Management Strategies for Colic

Colic is defined as crying for no apparent reason that lasts for greater than 3 hours per day and occurs on 3 or more days per week in an otherwise healthy infant less than 3 months of age. Fortunately, colic symptoms resolve spontaneously in 90 percent of infants by 8 to 9 weeks of age. The following

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