[blparent] talking rectal thermometer

[Bernadetta Pracon]

I dont' think that in the case of the rectal thermometer discussion 
anyone is passing judgement. People are just talking from experience. 
Tatyana is pregnant with her first child, so she has had no experience 
with taking a baby's temperature with a rectal thermometer or 
otherwise, ; I gather this much from reading her posts to this list so 
far. The purpose of this list is for people to speak their oppinions 
and give advice based on experience.
It's true that it could be risky to take a baby's temperature via the 
rectum, as it could cause some tissue to tare if the baby squirms. If 
you're careful enough and your baby doesn't mind, then by all means, 
excellent--more power to you. But in most cases, a newborn won't 
welcome something foreign invading their rectum, and it takes a 
professional in a lot of the cases to do it in a way that is least invasive.
Tatyana and others will do as they see fit in the end--I  don't think  
that some different advice from other parents will do anyone any 
harm--if anything, it'll broaden their horizon.
Another thing to keep in mind here is that some  doctors and other 
professionals don't really think of the practicality of some of these 
things they recommend. Some strategies may be very effective in theory 
from the professional standpoint, yet for a blind parent, or even a 
sighted parent they may be impractical or can end up doing more harm 
than good. Sometimes it's the experienced parents who can help you  
with tips and hints more so than your one-size-fits-all parenting 
class. I'm not knocking parenting classes--they're wonderful tools, 
especially for new parents. But there's no reason why you can't stray 
from the textbook strategies in some cases, if it means that you might 
get to the desired conclusion faster and through more effective means. 
New parents fervently defend what they learn in first time parenting 
classes because they want to do exactly what's right for their 
children. They want to be sure that they adapt the method that's most 
effective when it comes to every little thing. But just because a 
specialist says that one way is better than the rest doesn't mean that 
the others can't work just as well. I am not trying to overwhelm 
anyone, nor do I want to attack anyone personally or otherwise.
I say this because I'm also, for all intents and purposes a new parent, 
and I remember that not too long ago I was the same way. But I'm coming 
to realize that no matter how much you may want to parent your child 
according to the textbooks, guidelines etc., more often than not, you 
adapt new strategies that work best for you and you stray from the 
rigid advice of the professionals. And then you pass your knowledge 
along to other parents who might be seeking it.
Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about:
Before I had my baby I never changed a diaper in my life. Ever. So the 
nurses, sweet and good-natured and with the best intentions, showed me 
a certain method that they all used. It's the method that you read 
about in every baby manual, every online tip sheet, and every medical 
professional or child specialist seems to use it. Well, I kept screwing 
it up over and over and over again--The first day I was alone with my 
son I swear I went through five or six different onesies in four hours 
because he kept soaking them. I would put the diaper on, think it was 
fitted propperly, and then, woosh!!  The floodgates would literally open.
Then, my mom, who is not a professional of any sort, who never went to 
a parenting class, taught me her method of putting on a diaper. And 
guess what--I use her trick to this day, and each one I put on is 
perfectly fitted.
My point is that sometimes parents, the people who spend up to 
twenty-four hours a day caring for an actual baby or babies, may know a 
little something that perhaps the professionals who study children via 
a textbook and come in contact with them mostly at work might be 
missing. There's no said right way to parent. There are some ways which 
are outright questionable and can raise some eyebrows, but even then, 
everyone has their own system..
In any case, to each his own--But we're all here to give and receive 
oppinions, which is a good thing. I do admit that sometimes the 
discussions on this list get unnecessarily heated and judgmental, but 
we're all only human, and we're fueled by wanting exactly what's best 
for our little ones.

Bernadetta