Ellenton Pediatrics

13/08/2025

!!! Great tips. We know diaper rashes can be worrying, but they’re not all the same—and it’s hard to give the right advice without seeing them. The best way to help if the rash has failed to improve with routine home care is to bring the little one in so we can take a proper look and help them feel better soon.

At least half of all babies will get a diaper rash at some point. Most cases of diaper rash can be treated at home by using a fragrance-free zinc oxide or petrolatum diaper paste and cleaning the area gently and regularly. But some cases might need to be treated with a prescription medication. Here’s when to call your pediatrician about your baby’s diaper rash: https://bit.ly/3Sx8CyY

13/08/2025

Many new parents aren’t quite sure how to tell the difference between spitting up, regular vomiting, and projectile vomiting—and that’s completely understandable. The image below does a great job illustrating the distinctions, but here’s a quick breakdown:
Spitting up is a gentle, often effortless flow of a baby’s stomach contents—usually a small amount of milk—out of the mouth, sometimes accompanied by a burp (also called a “posset”).
Vomiting, on the other hand, involves a more forceful expulsion of stomach contents. Instead of dribbling out, the milk or formula comes out with noticeable force, though usually not far-reaching.
Projectile vomiting is a step beyond that—it’s a sudden, powerful ejection that can send stomach contents flying several feet, sometimes even across the room.
While spitting up and occasional vomiting are common in otherwise healthy infants—often related to gastroesophageal reflux—the term "projectile vomiting" raises a red flag for pediatricians. It immediately brings to mind a condition called pyloric stenosis, the most common surgical emergency in young infants during the first few months of life.
Before jumping to conclusions or ordering tests, it’s important to clarify what kind of vomiting is actually occurring. Is it truly projectile? Understanding this can help determine whether we’re dealing with a benign issue or something that needs further investigation.
More info about Pyloric Stenosis, here: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/abdominal/Pages/Hypertrophic-Pyloric-Stenosis-HPS-Babies-Forceful-Vomiting.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawMI5lNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCVnZyQTQ2VXhYam1aRGg0AR4YdThDntasLPhZDo2LtMMRgyQgW7wYOYYVVmeK1s6OlKY_iK0pRgzU1goAwg_aem_PJ1IvI9zAFGd47xCCZeKPg

13/08/2025

💛 Need help for your mental health during pregnancy, postpartum, or after loss? You're not alone — and support is just a call or text away.

Here are three trusted helplines to guide you based on your needs:

📞 PSI HelpLine – Call or text 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD)
• Not a crisis line — it's a safe and confidential place to get support, information, and resources
• Staffed by trained volunteers who return messages within a few hours during business hours
• Available in English and Spanish
• For pregnant, postpartum, and post-loss individuals and families worldwide

📞 National Maternal Mental Health Hotline – 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)
• For 24/7 support from licensed counselors
• Free and confidential
• Serving pregnant and postpartum individuals in the U.S.
• Offers real-time support and warm handoffs to services in your area

📞 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline – Dial 988
• For anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis
• Free, confidential, and available 24/7
• Connects you with trained crisis counselors, with access to maternal mental health resources when needed

👉 Visit: postpartum.net/get-help

✨ You are not alone. You are not to blame. With help, you will be well.

12/08/2025

Great read!

Boys' self-confidence can be undermined by gender stereotypes, too. How to help them handle competition and bullying, and express feelings.

12/08/2025

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Is your Little just starting school? There is often a push to move from a car seat with a 5-point harness to a booster seat to make school drop off faster. Keep in mind, booster seats have height and weight minimums (and maximums) but they also require that a child is mature enough to sit correctly all the time. Many Littles meet the height and weight requirements but just aren't there when it comes to maturity. Here is our article about how to tell when your Little is ready to make the switch from harness to booster.
https://csftl.org/harness-or-booster/

11/08/2025

Great article. First connect, then direct. "Maybe we should call a tantrum what it really is: a stress response to a prediction error!"

One of the most significant shifts in understanding the human brain, especially the developing child’s brain is that the brain loves predictability. This article explores transitions.

11/08/2025

Many parents are excited yet apprehensive about starting solids with their infants. So many questions... so many fears. Many food introduction guidelines have changed in recent years. What you did with your older kids might not be following current recommendations.

11/08/2025

Viral Gastroenteritis in Kids (AKA "Stomach Flu") – What Parents Should Know
Vomiting in children can be caused by a range of illnesses — some serious and requiring prompt medical attention. Thankfully, most episodes are due to self-limited infections like viral gastroenteritis, upper respiratory infections, or strep throat.
Stomach flu (not actually the flu!) is one of the most common culprits. It often starts suddenly — usually in the middle of the night — with repeated vomiting. While the vomiting typically improves after several hours, it can come back over the next few days, especially if fluids or solid foods are reintroduced too quickly. That’s because the digestive tract remains inflamed and isn’t quite ready to handle a full diet.
Key points for parents:
Dehydration is the main concern, but it’s uncommon in otherwise healthy children sick for less than 48 hours.
Adjusting the diet temporarily can help the gut recover faster and prevent dehydration.
Pedialyte is ideal for kids who are already dehydrated.
For prevention or mild illness, diluted apple juice, clear fruit juices, or even sports drinks (like Gatorade — avoid red flavors!) can help keep fluids up. While not perfectly balanced, their taste may help kids drink more.
Small, frequent sips are better tolerated than large amounts all at once.
Medications are rarely needed, though anti-nausea prescriptions may be helpful in certain cases, once other causes of vomiting are ruled out.
If diarrhea follows, it may linger 1–2 weeks, but usually improves (less frequent, more formed stools) within the first 5–7 days.
Remember — stomach flu is always making the rounds and never any fun, but most kids bounce back quickly with a little TLC, rest, and hydration.

It’s that time of year again when many kids are afflicted with vomiting and diarrhea.

11/08/2025

Periodic breathing is a normal variation of breathing found in premature and full-term infants. It is characterised by pauses in breathing that last for up to 10 seconds, followed by a series of rapid, shallow breaths, and then a return to normal breathing. This usually occurs when the infant is sleeping deeply, but it can also occur during light sleep or even when the infant is awake.
Periodic breathing is common in newborns. In fact, studies show that up to 78% of healthy, full-term infants experience episodes of periodic breathing within the first two weeks of life. This pattern—brief pauses in breathing followed by a few faster breaths—is usually normal and reflects the immaturity of a newborn’s respiratory system. Their airways are smaller and more easily obstructed, their chest walls are more pliable, and their breathing control is still developing.
However, certain symptoms may indicate a medical concern. If a baby shows signs such as frequent coughing, difficulty feeding, changes in skin color (such as turning pale or blue), or visible chest retractions (where the skin pulls in with each breath), it's important to have the baby evaluated by a healthcare provider right away.

Parents should always feel comfortable seeking medical attention if they’re concerned about their baby’s breathing or behavior. Even when symptoms turn out to be normal, it's always better to have reassurance and support from their pediatric clinician.

Here's why your little one is grunting, snorting, whistling and wheezing.

11/08/2025

Tania Johnson | August 5th 2025 There is something incredibly comforting about the familiar. A morning hug. The smell of pancakes on the weekend. A

11/08/2025

Children's well exams are not only about filling out the required school forms.
Back-to-school check-ups are often the only visit kids and teenagers have with their pediatrician every year. The annual physical gives the pediatrician a chance to give the child a thorough physical exam but also to address any emotional, developmental, or social concerns and to update the immunizations. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advocates that every child and youth receive care through a family-centered medical home, where care is provided continuously over a long period of time so that as your child ages and develops, his or her care is never interrupted. When you have a long-term history with your pediatrician, it allow him or her to the opportunity to follow your child's progress and development over time. This helps detect emerging problems, as well as stay informed on any new details of the patient's history―like past illnesses or injuries and immunization records. Pediatricians use this annual visit to discuss diet, exercise options, provide pediatric vision and hearing screenings, and testing for cholesterol, diabetes and anemia. It's also an opportunity to address with teenagers important issues of drinking, smoking, drugs, sexual activity, and depression. If the child has a chronic condition for which he/she receives medication at school, the required authorization forms may also be completed at the time of the back to school visit.

Learn how a back-to-school checkup supports your child’s health all year long. Find tips for annual exams and sports physicals, getting school forms filled out & more.​

09/08/2025

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀!
Do you have a child age 4 or younger? Your family may qualify for FREE swim lessons through Florida’s Swimming Lesson Voucher Program with the Florida Department of Health (DOH)!

Apply for the swim lesson voucher at https://www.watersmartfl.com/ or scan the QR code below!