{Guest post by Lindsay}
I am mom to 2 wonderful kids, my daughter was a 27 week preemie and has PVL, and my son was born with Shone’s Syndrome (a congenital heart defect). The thought of leaving them with someone else has always worried me just a bit. Of course I leave them with grandparents and aunts and uncles, but even then I worry about if something would happen while I was not with them. Even though my daughter is now 2, I still fight the urge to call and check on her every hour as though she were still a newborn and me a first time mom.
To ease my worried mind, I put together “baby binders” (although my daughter is no longer a baby…sigh). The binders are full of useful information for anyone watching my kiddos. There are sections about their daily schedules, eating habits, likes & dislikes, if they have any allergies, and emergency contact information for me, my husband and a number of other family members.
Because both of my kiddos, especially my son, have special medical needs, there are also sections about which hospital we prefer they go to, the numbers to their specialists (cardiologist and neurologist), a list of their meds, their doses and when to take them, a history of hospitalizations and surgeries, and much more. My husband is a paramedic, and when I was putting the binders together, I asked him what would be the most important information if he were called to see a child. I used a highlighter and highlighted those sections in the binder so that information could be easily found by emergency personnel. The list he gave me …
*Child’s full name and birthday
*Brief medical history (if your child has any medical conditions)
*Brief description of what your child is usually like (how responsive to others, any differences that are typical to your child, etc…)
*Current medications (including vitamins)
*Any allergies
*Parent names & telephone numbers
*Hospital preference
I had previously typed up my own information and made the sections up (after my daughter was born), but recently a friend brought the Akron Children’s “All About Me” binder to my attention. It is located on their website and there are all kinds of useful forms you can choose from to print off and then fill out and make into a binder about your kiddo. I put each page in a plastic sleeve so it stays nice and update the binder every few weeks.
This binder has helped me to not worry quite so much and everyone who has watched our kiddos has found it useful. My daughter has reminded me more than once to bring their binders when we go somewhere. It’s an easy to-put-together-item I think any parent can benefit from.
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Lindsay is a SAHM to her beautiful daughter and adorable son, and both have unique needs. She was a teacher in her previous life (before kiddos) and all that organization has carried over into her parental life. She is hopelessly addicted to her laptop. She is always working towards being a better wife, mother & person…but it takes baby steps. Lindsay blogs about her family’s life at Our Ordinary Stories.
Tracy here, I also created a binder to cover a variety of family things. To see that post with pictures, click HERE. If you haven’t yet, you might want to SUBSCRIBE HERE to get my updates by email or RSS.
