Meredith's Page - Welcome Baby!



April 29 , 2009 Dear Parents, As some of you may know, due to budget cuts in Skagit County, the Health Department funding for the Welcome Baby coordinator position was eliminated March 31, 2009. This is very sad news for me. Visiting new families at the hospital, writing the newsletters, facilitating more than eight years of Mother-Baby groups and teaching many parenting classes, has been more than deeply rewarding. I can't think of much work that I'd rather do. If you have enjoyed your contact and experience with Welcome Baby through the groups, classes, visits or newsletters, I encourage you to write to our County Commissioners and let them know what this program has meant to you and your family. You can send your letters directly to the Commissioners or by email to me, mbaker@skagitvalleyhospital.org and I will forward them along. Your voice is important. In the past 12 years, the parents of more and 16, 435 parents had contact one way or another with Welcome Baby, and more than 437 parents attended the Mother-Baby (Dads are always welcome) groups. Every month we sent out more than 1900 child development newsletters to families and gave away almost 100 new books to families. Some of you may still have your baby's first book from Welcome Baby. If you have something you'd like to say about the program, I urge you to call me, 360-419-3324, or write. During these difficult economic times families, just like yours and mine, can use support and good information about their children's growth and development. It has been and honor and joy to be your Welcome Baby coordinator. Meredith Baker Also: Flu season is still a concern, particularly this strain of Swine Flu. Please call the Heatlh Department with any questions, 360-336-9380. Please ask your doctor or nurse about getting a flu shot if you haven't gotten on yet. Flu shots protect you from the flu, and when you are protected you also protect your young children. Remember good hand washing for all members of your family will do a lot to help protect you and your baby. There are a number of local organizations that offer flu vaccinations, and this year there is plenty of vaccine to go around. Skagit County Public Health provides flu immunizations for the general population from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Health department is on the 3rd floor of the courthouse annex at 700 S. 2nd Street in Mount Vernon. Children's vaccine is also available. For more information, please call 360-336-9477. Here are some links that speak to toy safety. CPSC Delivers the ABC's of Toy Safety ... ABC's of toy safety will make for happy holidays: (A) awareness, and knowing the ... Look for toy labels that give age and safety recommendations and use that ...www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/080... www.toyinfo.org "Safety is and always has been the number one priority of the U.S. toy industry. ... What is the toy industry doing right now to ensure that products on the ...www.toyinfo.org/ toy safety information for fathers Toy Safety. Guidance for Grown-Ups. ... information on Toy Safety including important safety tips from the ... Toy boxes, too, should be checked for safety. ...www.menstuff.org/kidstuff/toysafety.html more... *** Here is a link to some ideas for feeding your family on $3 a day. It's from Grocery Outlet, but is not an endorsement or advertisement for their products, it's just a suggestion for easy meal planning. http://www.groceryoutlets.com/3dollars-a-day.pdf Meredith Baker 360-419-3324 Many of you have asked for information about health for your children. I am going to put some links here for you that we recommend from Skagit County Public Health. There is a lot of information on the web and it can often be confusing and conflicting. If you have questions about what you find or worry about, be sure and call for more information. Maryl Skjei, our Public Health Nurse, is a wonderful resource for up-to-date information; she can be contacted at: 360-336-9382. She is my source for health questions - and no question is ever too embarrassing for her. http://www.aap.org/parents.html This is the American Academy of Pediatrics http://www.aap.org/ner/toyrecall-FAQ-2007.pdf http://medem.com/msphs/msphs_entry.cfm This is Smart Parents Health Source http://www.medem.com As you have probably heard or seen in the newspaper there have been a number of product recalls for children's toys. In the Seattle Times, Wednesday, August 8, 2007, there was the following information: "Last week Mattel's Fisher-Price division announced a recall of nearly 1 million Chinese-made toys because their paint contains lead. This recall involves 83 types of toys, including Seasame Street and Nickelodeon characters Elmo and Dora the Explorer. (See the complete list with this story at http://www.seattletimes.com) The recall involves only toys sold in the U.S. between May and August this year. To check whether a toy you own is affected: 1. Go to Mattel's product-recall Web site http://service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp- and click on the first link. 2. Click on "View and print the recall brochure." You'll find pictures of affected toys and a guide to finding the product number and date code on each product. 3. Fisher-Price is exchanging recalled toys for vouchers. You have to mail the toys back to Mattel using a prepaid mailing label available here: http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/39054_IVR.asp 4. You'll also need to include the final two pages of the recall brochure with your return, noting which products you are returning and your contact information. For more information, contact Fisher-Price at 800-916-4498. The author of the Seattle Times article is Jolayne Houtz: jhoutz@seattletimes.com; 206-464-3122.