Seattle Mama Doc

Measles At The Super Bowl

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:22:36 +0000

Like the makings of a Hollywood movie, I learned this week that there were an estimated 200,000 people in Super Bowl Village this past weekend in Indiana. Amongst them on February 4th, was one (or maybe two) child with infectious measles. Fortunately, the child didn’t attend the game. Yet, measles is highly contagious. The period of infectivity [...]

An App For That?

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:10:38 +0000

Stop what you’re doing to read this The New England Journal of Medicine perspective by Dr Doug Diekema. It’s about vaccines, opportunities for health, and physician obligation. Written for physicians, it also speaks loudly to parents and includes a few very essential points. The whole time I read the article, my thoughts kept leaping to [...]

What About Chores? Seattle Mama Doc 101

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:57:24 +0000

So what about kids and chores? My take is that it’s personal. But also I’ll hint that I think chores are a great opportunity to build community and citizenship. Research has found great lifelong reward from doing childhood chores (think: less drug use, higher self-esteem, more sound relationships, beginning a career path, less anxiety, etc). [...]

Carpooling Reduces Booster Seat Use

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:27:47 +0000

Survey results published this week found that the majority of parents report carpooling with their 4 to 8 year-old children. About three-quarters (76%) of those carpooling parents reported that their child used a booster seat when riding in the family car. But when carpooling–the seats were used far less often. For example, the survey found [...]

Sleep Through The Night

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:59:20 +0000

Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a major milestone for baby and for you. If I had to distill down the best sleep advice I’ve ever heard it would be these 4 things: Your consistency with the sleep routine is far more important than what method you choose to help get your [...]

To Make Time Stand Still

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:13:58 +0000

It would be nice–every once and a while–to make time stand still. To catch the blades of a propeller mid flight and have the ability to hover effortlessly. Just for a moment so that we could look over, savor our children…their beauty and all that they are all in one precious moment…all to ourselves. The [...]

What Does TV Do To My Kid’s Brain?

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:39:34 +0000

If you want to understand more about the effects of television on the brain, you need to watch this TEDx talk by Dr Dimitri Christakis…the science around television and its effect on children and concentration astound me. Not because any of it is counter-intuitive, but because television is as powerful as it is. Television is a [...]

How To Pack A Healthy Lunch: Mama Doc 101

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:11:27 +0000

Although you’ll see these lunch ideas don’t look exceptionally fancy, I think the point is this: you don’t have to spend a ton of time or money giving your children healthy lunch choices. But you do have to spend some. After the pizza debacle (“a slice of pizza still counts as a vegetable”) bubbled up [...]

Snow Day

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:16:59 +0000

It’s a snow day. Snow day is a word combination in the English language that has two meanings, divergent and separately defined only by age. To a 5 year old–”snow day” sounds a little bit like “Nir-va-na”–a day that is one of life’s greatest gifts. To a 37 year-old with a few jobs, it sounds a [...]

Learning To Lose?

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:19:00 +0000

We spent a fair bit of our time on vacation last week playing two games with the boys: UNO and Spot It. Our son F is wholly competitive; he likes to know all the answers and he likes to win. He really likes to play and giggles when things go his way or when throwing [...]

Preschoolers: Movers And Shakers

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:22:42 +0000

The most amazing thing about vacation is how much time you get to spend outside and how much time you get to move. We’ve just returned from a week away where the boys spent the far majority of their days without a ceiling. Delicious. Sure, it’s easy to live outside when you’re on vacation. The [...]

Ode To My Medical Assistant

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:07:53 +0000

I feel really connected to my medical assistant at clinic. The most incredible thing about her is she just “gets it.” She gets the pace of parenthood, the pace necessary to keep patient care moving in clinic, and the pace of my patient–even the very little ones and the big ones. She’s compassionate. She’s invested [...]

Preventing Scald Burns: Mama Doc 101

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:09:10 +0000

Scald burns are common injuries for young children that arise when our skin or our mouths and mucus membranes have contact with burning hot liquids or steam. Children under age 5 account for nearly 1 in every 5 burn victims each year in the United States. The bathroom and kitchen are the typical danger zones. [...]

2011 Greatest Hits

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:08:35 +0000

I continue to feel privileged to share my thoughts here. Blogging has become a huge and stable part of my life. When I celebrated my 2-year blogging birthday back in November, I realized sharing insight online is a pillar in my job as a physician. I suspect providing insight and expertise will be more and more [...]

Pee, Patience, And Parenting At 35,000 Feet

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:54:32 +0000

Recently while on the plane, O wet his pants. Lovely really. He’d refused to pee prior to getting on the plane. Refused to pee at home. Essentially, O refused to pee “on command.” No surprise for a strong-willed-spirited just turned 3 year-old. And after he wet his pants, he then proceeded to have about 14 [...]

7 Truths About The “Stomach Flu”

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:22:10 +0000

As we hit hour 40, heading into day 2 of vomitorium here at our house (O has been sick), I will suggest a couple of things I know as a mom and pediatrician about gastroenteritis or the “stomach flu”: Hand-washing and keeping things clean is your best defense from getting ill with a stomach bug. [...]

What Is A Foreskin? Mama Doc 101

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:37:34 +0000

Caring for your son’s foreskin is pretty much a hands-off job. But knowing what is normal and how your son’s foreskin develops and changes over time is essential for every parent to a boy with an uncircumcised penis. In the beginning, during infancy, your son’s uncircumcised penis needs no special care. The foreskin is a [...]

5 Things I Say (In Clinic)

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:03:47 +0000

Five things I say in Clinic (in no particular order). After reading this, you’ll be all set for Family Feud when the category is Things Pediatricians Say. Number One: I’m so sorry you’ve been waiting for me. The reason is often varied. I’ve not been picking my nose or even doing something as productive as [...]

Preventing Sexual Abuse: Seattle Mama Doc 101

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:44:54 +0000

With the Penn State tragedy and recent news out of Syracuse this past week, most parents have thought of, and/or worried about sexual abuse more than once this month. The wretched reality is, we will keep getting reminded about sexual abuse in children because it is so common. Thankfully, we can help our children define, get [...]

Plan B Back Behind The Counter

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:06:31 +0000

I was disappointed to hear the news that Kathleen Sebelius blocked the FDA’s recommendation to make Plan B available to all girls, over-the-counter (OTC). Plan B is an oral tablet containing hormones (similar to what is in a birth control pill) that when taken within 1 to 3 days of unprotected sex, can prevent an [...]