Your Baby Medical Kit

From your first day home, what should be in your baby medical kit?

From your first day home, you'll want to have a well-stocked medicine kit, just in case your baby ever needs it. So here's the ultimate stock list for your baby medical kit.

• Infant rectal thermometer
• Infants' non-aspirin liquid pain reliever (acetaminophen or ibuprofen)
• Topical calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream (½ percent) for insect bites and rashes
• Rubbing alcohol to clean thermometers, tweezers, and scissors
• Petroleum jelly for the rectal thermometer
• Antibacterial ointment for cuts and scrapes

• Tweezers for splinters and ticks
• A pair of sharp scissors
• A pair of safety manicure scissors
• Child-safe sunscreen lotion
• Child-safe insect repellent
• Pediatrician-approved children's strength liquid decongestant
• Nasal aspirator bulb syringe for drawing mucus out of a stuffed-up nose
• Ear thermometer
• Adhesive bandage strips
• Gauze rolls (½ to 2 inches wide)
• Gauze pads (some each of 2x2 and 4x4 inches)
• Adhesive tape
• Sterilized cotton balls
• Cotton-tipped swabs
• Mild liquid soap (antibacterial and deodorant soaps may be too strong for baby's sensitive skin)
• Baby shampoo
• Baby moisturizing cream to help soothe your baby's skin
• A medicine dropper, oral syringe, or calibrated cup or spoon for administering medicines
• A package of tongue depressors to check sore throats
• A heating pad
• A hot-water bottle and ice pack
• A small flashlight to check ears, nose, throat, and eyes
• A First-Aid manual listing all emergency service numbers, local hospital numbers and your family doctor and pediatrician telephone numbers.
• If your child has a life-threatening allergy, keep an epinephrine kit with you at all times.