A concise field guide to Alex.
Jun. 27th, 2005 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaAlex and I are spending next week at my parents' house, because Michael will be in Kentucky for a mandatory nine-day business trip. The day after we all get back, I'm starting back to work and the babysitter is coming. Therefore, this week I need to put together an information sheet for the babysitter. I have some idea of what goes into something like that, but I'd love feedback about anything I've left out or misphrased.
This is a single large-print sheet, which I'm planning to post on the refrigerator. I'll be able to update it easily as she gets older (e.g., new feeding amounts, medication dosages, favorite things).
Alexandra Wald (Alex)
Date of birth: 4/11/05
Important numbers:
Mom at work: (number)
Mom's cell phone: (number)
Dad at work: (number)
Dad's cell phone: (number)
Pediatrician – Dr. Fragetta: (number)
Emergency: 911
Our address is: (street address)
House phone number: (number)
Health:
Alex has gastric reflux disease. She takes 0.5ml Zantac at 8am, 4pm, and 12am. Zantac and medicine dropper can be found in the diaper bag (inner mesh pocket).
Infant Tylenol in diaper bag – 0.6ml, only on doctor's orders.
Shield her skin from direct sunlight. She is too young for sunscreen.
Routine:
Alex is fed on demand. She currently takes about 4oz of formula or expressed breast milk every 3-4 hours. During feeding and for 30 minutes afterward, she should not lie flat – hold or prop her upright. Burp her carefully and expect spit-up. She is usually awake 1-2 hours between naps. She naps in the sling, in arms, or sometimes in her car seat.
Alex especially likes walks (stroller or sling – avoid the hottest part of day), ceiling fans, mirrors, lying on her back on a blanket, the mobile over her changing table, her bouncy seat (upstairs in Rebecca and Michael's room), and being held. Her current favorite toys and books are kept in a basket on or under the coffee table.
Where to find:
[gives locations of baby soap, bath thermometer, bathtub, blankets, books, bottles, breast milk, burp cloths, clothes, diaper rash cream, diapers, formula, nail clippers, nasal aspirator, thermometer (rectal), towels, toys, Tylenol, washcloths, wipes, Zantac]
Dirty laundry can be dropped directly into washer and left there for next load of wash.
This is a single large-print sheet, which I'm planning to post on the refrigerator. I'll be able to update it easily as she gets older (e.g., new feeding amounts, medication dosages, favorite things).
Alexandra Wald (Alex)
Date of birth: 4/11/05
Important numbers:
Mom at work: (number)
Mom's cell phone: (number)
Dad at work: (number)
Dad's cell phone: (number)
Pediatrician – Dr. Fragetta: (number)
Emergency: 911
Our address is: (street address)
House phone number: (number)
Health:
Alex has gastric reflux disease. She takes 0.5ml Zantac at 8am, 4pm, and 12am. Zantac and medicine dropper can be found in the diaper bag (inner mesh pocket).
Infant Tylenol in diaper bag – 0.6ml, only on doctor's orders.
Shield her skin from direct sunlight. She is too young for sunscreen.
Routine:
Alex is fed on demand. She currently takes about 4oz of formula or expressed breast milk every 3-4 hours. During feeding and for 30 minutes afterward, she should not lie flat – hold or prop her upright. Burp her carefully and expect spit-up. She is usually awake 1-2 hours between naps. She naps in the sling, in arms, or sometimes in her car seat.
Alex especially likes walks (stroller or sling – avoid the hottest part of day), ceiling fans, mirrors, lying on her back on a blanket, the mobile over her changing table, her bouncy seat (upstairs in Rebecca and Michael's room), and being held. Her current favorite toys and books are kept in a basket on or under the coffee table.
Where to find:
[gives locations of baby soap, bath thermometer, bathtub, blankets, books, bottles, breast milk, burp cloths, clothes, diaper rash cream, diapers, formula, nail clippers, nasal aspirator, thermometer (rectal), towels, toys, Tylenol, washcloths, wipes, Zantac]
Dirty laundry can be dropped directly into washer and left there for next load of wash.
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It's a good list!
Date: 2005-06-28 09:47 pm (UTC)Where is the emergency gathering spot? In case of a sudden emergency like a gas main break, the sitter ought to grab Alex and run. She might not have her cellphone with her, or remember your phone number. Decide on a place your family will go to if the house blows up, where everyone can find each other. Choose one spot in the near neighborhood (that hospital just one block away?) and one at a safe distance in case of general disaster (your office?).
The rest are of less importance, but still...
When you put her in the crib, do you always put her on her back? Or do you prop her on her side, or vary the position?
Under what circumstances do you want to be called at work? (Once while in highschool I called a Mom after her three-year-old son ran into the edge of an open door and cut his forehead. It wasn't a large cut and he wasn't knocked out, but being a headwound it bled profusely. His Mom was annoyed that I called her. If he didn't need to go to the hospital, she didn't need to be disturbed.)
What may the sitter eat? Do you expect the sitter to wash her own dishes? What about bringing her own food into the house?
Will the sitter ever be asked to start dinner for you, or make a salad, or stir something in the crockpot? Will the sitter be expected to run the vacuum cleaner or fold laundry while Alex sleeps?
Are there any TV shows you object to the sitter watching while Alex is in the room? How about music?
She's going to be old enough for sunscreen at the end of August; plan on adding sunscreen location and instructions soon.
Re: It's a good list!
Date: 2005-06-29 11:18 am (UTC)Speaking of gathering spots, it's good to have a virtual one outside the city. In some large-scale emergencies, all inbound landline-based telephone calls are blocked to leave the lines open for outbound calls (though there are some exceptions), with the assumption that the system will be swamped in either direction but there are far more people wanting to call in than out. So it's good to have a designated person outside the city who would act as an information collector/disseminator in such a case. I don't believe cell phone calls are blocked in this way.