What is the best way to take a baby's temperature?

Question

My sister in-law always measures her 5 month old's temperature through his butt and she does it multiple times a day and I feel like theres a better way to do it! He'll have a temperature of 100 and she'll call the ambulance!! Shes constantly sticking that thermometer in his butt and I feel so bad when I hear him screaming. I just wanna know what's the best way and what's a normal temperature?

Answer

Rectal is the most accurate but it shouldn’t be done multiple times a day for no reason.

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Depends.  I usually start with forehead then armpit and if it's high enough (over 101) I'd check it anal.  But what's weird is why on earth is she checking it that many times

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That’s really odd. And crazy obsessive. Get an IR thermometer and stop probing the baby.

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That’s kinda weird. It is technically the most accurate but I don’t see why it would need to be done that often. My son is 4 and I can say we’ve managed this whole time without me sticking the thermometer in his butt.

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She shouldn't be doing it for no real reason that sounds excessive and a her problem she needs to fix. But that being said rectally is the most accurate

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My pediatrician told me that armpit and ear are just fine 
She could potentially be causing an infection or other harm doing so without expertise and doing so so often

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When my baby was in the NICU his temperature was checked every 3 hours in the armpit.  If she wants to check frequently then she should check in a way that disturbs her baby less.  Rest is really important for babies.

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Rectal is the most accurate way but if a baby has a fever, you can find out different ways. My child is now 2 and has never once had a thermometer in his butt, his doctor has never taken it that way and neither have I. Forehead thermometer and an armpit one has worked fine this far. It seems very weird and unnecessary to me that your SIL does it so often.

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Why is she taking it so often?

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I’d check a rectal temp(with a thermometer meant to only check rectal temps) until my son was close to 2 years old. I had a forehead thermometer and an ear thermometer that gave inconsistent readings so I never trusted those. If I called the pediatricians office with him being sick they only want to know what a rectal temp was so hard what I stuck with. I’ve now purchased another ear thermometer that has giving consistent and accurate readings each time I’ve check his temp and compared with a rectal temp so I trust it more. If I get a reading on  my new thermometer that is worrisome I’ll double check with a rectal.