baby thermometers?

[thejackpot]

I have a rectal one, not sure of the brand. I have an Exergen that is pretty good for a temporal one.

[JayhawkGirl]

The American Red Cross brand rectal was our hands down favorite. Easy to use, nice shape to hold in your hand, short probe, quick readout. I will get the same one again for this next baby.

[kristie]

I am just going to put this out there. I never used a rectal thermometer on DD and probably won't on new baby. I know everyone here seems to think they are necessary, but ehhhh.... They did one on DD at 6 months when she had flu at the ER, but it was pretty much the exact same temp I had been getting from the temporal and axillary ones.

[mandapanda18]

Aug 4, 2013 21:00:40 GMT -5 kristie said:

I am just going to put this out there. I never used a rectal thermometer on DD and probably won't on new baby. I know everyone here seems to think they are necessary, but ehhhh.... They did one on DD at 6 months when she had flu at the ER, but it was pretty much the exact same temp I had been getting from the temporal and axillary ones.

My ped said that rectal is the most accurate for babies less than 2 months old, I bought then red cross one from amazon.

[rex]

I have the exergen temporal one.

[trafficgirl]

I know several moms that swear by he exergen temporal one. I have that one and a random underarm one on our registry.

FWIW - the nurses who led one of my baby classes said to NOT use a rectal thermometer. That the risk of causing harm is not worth it and an underarm one is fine.

[shepoz]

Aug 4, 2013 21:17:49 GMT -5 trafficgirl said:

FWIW - the nurses who led one of my baby classes said to NOT use a rectal thermometer. That the risk of causing harm is not worth it and an underarm one is fine.

This exactly. Our NICU nurses and our ped said to never do it with DS. We always use an underarm therm. I have a Vicks brand one that does a quick read (5 second I think), so we will use that for baby girl as well.

[snickers]

I will just use the ear thermometer that we have.

[kristie]

And my ped doesn't think it is that big of a deal. ::Shrugs:: the majority of the peds here at the nursery recommend not doing rectal because the risk of damage. When I work in the nursery, we only take the first temp rectally to verify that it is patent. If people think they need the most accurate temp, then by all means, go for it. But it is possible to determine presence of a fever without rectal temp. Treat the patient, not a number and all that jazz. But you will find that nurses tend to be a little more laid back about the accuracy of temps than normal moms, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[sonrisa]

We got a rectal thermometer that has only a very short extension so that the risk of injury is eliminated. My kid spikes 104 fevers every few months, sometimes for a few days. I haven't found any other methods as accurate on her.

[Cheesecake]

I got a free gift of a set of rectal, pacifier and bath thermometers with my.video monitor. We'll be using this.
In NL they require rectal temps, yhe PP doula WILL use your impossible to obtain in NL BBT thermometer rectally on your baby if you don't provide one specifically for the baby.

And I really don't see what the big deal is about using a rectal thermometer, it's not that difficult and it doesn't need to go in very far.

Sent from my Xperia Z, please don't mind typos!

[halfpint]

Interesting, the ped nurse teaching our birth class said a rectal is really the best for accuracy. I have a temporal artery thermometer for a quick scan, but know that they aren't super accurate.
I got this Vick's rectal - it's basically impossible to put it in too far.
But really, I am having trouble imagining someone putting any thermometer in so far that you do damage? Like, how far do they think it needs to go up there???

[SallySparrow]

When I worked as a peds nurse, we never did rectal temps. We always used axillary or temporal. It was beaten into our heads in nursing school that rectal isn't necessarily most accurate and could cause more harm than good. A lot of the pediatric units in this area don't do rectal temps. Nursery nurses still do initially, as kristie mentioned.

I do have a rectal thermometer, but I have a temporal one that I will use. Our pediatrician was fine with that.

[jennifertx]

Aug 5, 2013 11:53:54 GMT -5 halfpint said:

Interesting, the ped nurse teaching our birth class said a rectal is really the best for accuracy. I have a temporal artery thermometer for a quick scan, but know that they aren't super accurate.
I got this Vick's rectal - it's basically impossible to put it in too far.
But really, I am having trouble imagining someone putting any thermometer in so far that you do damage? Like, how far do they think it needs to go up there???

I've seen a lot of great reviews for the Vick's one since it's pretty much impossible to stick it in too far.  I think this is the one we'll go with when we register.  If we never use it that's fine, but I'd rather have one just in case.