Rachel Nelson MD – Life & Health Network

Summer Activities to Get Kids Moving

Rachel Nelson MD — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 19:17:29 +0000

Activity is very important for children. One of the contributors to the obesity epidemic is lack of activity. There are multiple factors that contribute to children not moving: lack of safe playgrounds, parents working until late at night, video games, and decreased PE programs in the public school system, to name just a few. Noncompetitive…

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Getting Kids to Drink More Water

Rachel Nelson MD — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:52:15 +0000

Occasionally, my children come to the hospital with me while I round on patients. This morning, they sat in the nurses lounge and happily colored. When I came to collect them, I noticed a Coca Cola truck parked along side the hospital entrance. My son immediately spotted it as well, “Momma,” he said in a…

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How Many Calories Does My Child Need?

Rachel Nelson MD — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 22:15:22 +0000

One of the common questions I get from parents is “How many calories does my child need?” With 1 in every 3 children overweight and almost 2 in every 5 children obese in the United States, this is a legitimate question. Obviously there are quite a few children who are consuming more calories than they…

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Sibling Fight! Dealing With Quarrelsome Children

Rachel Nelson MD — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:47:49 +0000

I groan as my three-year old son jabs his chubby fingers into my ears. “Good morning momma!” He chirps cheerfully. I bury my head into my pillow and try to ignore him. I work late nights at an urgent care so waking up at six in the morning is always challenging. Michael, however, is persistent…

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Vaccines Part 2: Answers to Common Objections.

Rachel Nelson MD — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 23:16:28 +0000

I have two precious children. I hate seeing them sick or suffering. Yet, as a pediatrician, I see lots of sick and suffering children every day, it makes my heart ache. In my last post, I chronicled my experience with mumps. It was awful and could have been prevented had my friends known to vaccinate…

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Vaccinations Part 1: My Story

Rachel Nelson MD — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 17:34:55 +0000

It was August 2013. My 17 month-old son, Michael, had just been released from the hospital after being diagnosed with a very rare intestinal disorder. He had been on continuous intestinal feeding for two weeks and now required a very special diet and multiple specialist appointments. My surgeon husband had just started his first job…

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The Many Benefits of Breastfeeding

Rachel Nelson MD — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 23:55:39 +0000

“Breast is best” seems to be the mantra of new mothers in the 21st century. In the United States, 77% of mothers now choose to breastfeed and half of these are still breastfeeding at six months.[1] This is a huge success for the American Academy of Pediatrics, which urges mothers to exclusively breastfeed for at…

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Teething Baby? 5 Tips to Soothe the Pain

Rachel Nelson MD — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 16:12:31 +0000

At 12 months, my daughter Amy had two teeth and some good-looking gums for her 1st year photos. Even at 18 months, she sported only 6 teeth. Her teeth came in slowly and relatively painlessly. The dreaded teething for her was a breeze. My son, on the other hand, was a different story. He had…

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Picky Eaters: 5 Tips to Help Your Children Broaden Their Tastes

Rachel Nelson MD — Tue, 26 May 2015 22:34:42 +0000

Growing up, my grandmother took it upon herself to ensure that I was not a picky eater. Verbal complaints were met with more of the same food (to give me practice liking it). Food that wasn’t eaten reappeared at the next meal (to give me another opportunity to finish it). It was hard-core and at…

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