Thermo Fun

In my childhood there was one test to see if I had a raised temperature- Mothers lips to the forehead. We had a little strip that changed colour too but my mother obviously trusted that she would know if it was ever dangerously high- YET here I am investing in all kinds of gadgetry in order to measure baby's temperature to the nearest point of a degree.

It came to my attention in the midst of a baby ear infection that most modern day thermometers require an invasive ear probe (albeit only very briefly) for their reading. When baby's ears are sore not to mention rather messy this is not exactly ideal.

I have found the Vicks forehead thermometer (suitable for all ages). It is brilliant. You hold it on baby's forehead for three seconds (although it is actually less) and the temperature flashes up on the large screen with the additional comfort of a colour- green for OK, amber for a little bit high and RED for you should be worried. The green light is like a beacon of comfort in the middle of the night- or day for that matter.

Downsides:
Baby might be rather interested in this contraption that you are placing on his head and may try to remove it before you have taken the reading.
Apparently a forehead reading can be less accurate than others due to sweat, however, the difference between red and green is not going to change as a result of this.

At £35 it is reasonable and as it covers the whole family is a great investment. It also has a memory function so that you can record your baby's temperature changes presumably... although from experience it is unlikely you will need this as anything over 100 tends to stick in your own memory pretty well!