What to watch for in a baby younger than 2 months old! It is often hard to tell when a baby is sick. A newborn baby is just beginning to develop a range of cries and facial expressions and you are just learning to recognize the patterns of your baby's behavior. Temperature can serve as an important guide during this early age.

Below 2 months of age, you should contact a doctor if your baby has a temperature above 100.4.

What to watch for in a baby older than 2 months old! As the baby gets older, how a baby is acting becomes a much better guide than temperature to tell you how serious an illness might be. By 3 months of age, parents are very aware of how their baby usually behaves, and the baby has developed a fuller range of behavior. How playful, cranky, active, and alert a baby appears to be are more important things to watch for in an older baby than temperature. Picture two babies, each with a 102°F degree temperature.

• One baby is playing and is alert.

• The other baby is really cranky, doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to play, and keeps crying no matter what you do.

In these cases, forget about the temperature. How the second baby is acting is much more concerning and would need to be seen or discussed with a doctor.

"What's the big deal? Just give my child some medicine so they can get better." Common colds are caused by viruses. Unfortunately, there is no cure yet for the common cold. For the most part, viruses have to run their course. Medicine can help shorten the course of certain viruses, like chicken pox, but there are no treatments to cure most viruses. Tylenol and other fever medications can help bring a temperature down, but they do not cure a cold. These sort of medicines can help make your child feel better until the illness runs its course. Antibiotics do nothing to cure a cold or illness caused by a virus. These medications are only useful if your child has a bacterial infection. Getting antibiotic when your child does not need them, places him/her in certain risks. Any time a child receives medication there is a risk of side effects. Also increased and indiscriminate use of antibiotics may increase the risk your child may become sick with a bacteria that is resistant to more common antibiotics medication.