Baby Care

Archive for June, 2009

Let’s start with an advice: Do not feel guilty if you decide to switch to bottle-feeding. It always requires a large excerpts from the mother and courage, so if you are unsure of your decision, please follow the maternal instinct and do not be afraid of the condemnation of others.

In some cases, artificial feeding is more appropriate for the child than breastfeeding, especially if the mother smokes, drinks or takes harmful drugs (certain drugs, alcohol and nicotine can be transferred to the child with the mother’s milk). In addition, bottle-feeding is the only acceptable solution for women living with HIV or suffering from other serious diseases, such as anemia, tuberculosis, or kidney disease. Also, switch to bottle-feeding is recommended for mothers taking certain medications.

Milk for the artificial feeding will provide your child with all necessary vitamins and minerals, and its nutritious properties are close to the properties of breast milk. Typically, milk for replacement feeding is an ordinary cow’s milk, only it has received special treatment and is easy to digest.

However, today one can find an alternative to this milk. For example, soy milk is specially designed for infants who are not carrying lactose, or kids with allergies to milk. However do not get involved in new developments: use a standard milk formula, if the doctor had not recommended otherwise.

When making milk for replacement feeding, it is important to accurately follow the instructions on the package. Feeding from a bottle can cause cramps, if you cook too weak or heavily concentrated milk or feed baby milk, heated to the wrong temperature.

Ready milk packaged in cardboard boxes or bottles will help you on the trip, but it is almost twice the price of conventional milk powder for artificial feeding.

You can keep the milk with a margin of 24 hours, leave it in the refrigerator and use as needed. However, after 24 hours from the time of preparation any unused milk should be discarded. Never reuse the remaining milk – it is popular place for breeding bacteria!

The temperature to which you need to heat the artificial milk to feed baby is individual – some kids love milk, heated to room temperature, and some like warm milk. To warm up the milk put the bottle in a pot with boiling water for a few seconds and then check the readiness of milk for feeding, dropping a few drops on your wrist.

If your baby swallows the milk too quickly, find the dummy smaller, and vice versa – if the child is not in a hurry to swallow, look for big dummy.

If you’re a smoker, you’ve probably been planning for some time to quit. You know you need to stop, you’ve just been waiting for the right time–and for the willpower to stop.  Now that you’re pregnant, this not only is a great time to stop–it is a critical time.  Not only will you find more energy to get you through the pregnancy, but you will also greatly diminish the risks of health problems for yourself and for your unborn child.  True, stopping will be difficult. Some people say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done.  And for the pregnant woman, who has enough stress already, it might be even more of a challenge. However, you’ll be glad to know that there are some tips that will make this easier for you, and there are numerous resources that will assist you as well.

When you smoke, poisons from tobacco smoke pass through your lungs and into your blood stream. They are carried around your body and interfere with the way it works. Every puff you take on a cigarette increases the carbon monoxide in your bloodstream which takes the place of oxygen in your blood. The nicotine in the smoke immediately increases your heart rate and blood pressure. It causes your blood vessels to narrow, reducing blood flow. The combination of these causes great stress to your body, especially your heart.

If you smoke when you are pregnant the combination of carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarettes makes it harder for your baby to get the oxygen and nourishment it needs.
Your baby smokes the same cigarette you do.  As you inhale the poisons that tobacco contains (such as carbon monoxide and nicotine) these same poisons infiltrate into your placenta.  This then sends those poisons, along with the oxygen and nutrients that the placenta is supposed to send, directly to the baby.

Pregnancy smoking is sometimes a cause of pre-term labor, low-birth weight, and even death of the baby.  Here’s a sobering number for you: Studies show that somewhere between 20 to 30% of low-weight babies got that way because of the mother’s smoking. What’s more, about 10% of all early infant deaths is attributed to smoking by the mother.

Smoking during pregnancy by a mother is a major cause of sudden infant death syndrome. It also has the following effects:

• Increases the risk of miscarriage
• Increases the risk of complications during the birth
• Increases the likelihood of having a low-weight baby who is more vulnerable to infection and other health problems
• Increases the chances of the baby dying at or shortly after birth.

Feeding a newborn baby is not only pleasant, but also a lengthy process. It can take 20-40 minutes, and there are kids who do not release mother for an hour. If mother holds her still quite small (4-5 kg) baby for so long, at the end of feeding she fells it is physical fatigue, heaviness in arms and tension in the back. Can this be avoided? How to make the process of feeding a real pleasure?

There is an advice in many books about caring for children: «… if you want the process of breastfeeding to be comfortable, you’ll need to store up to five pillows. Mom sits on the sofa or chair, puts on his knees two pillows (so that baby is at breast height), two more pillows she puts a under her hands, the last pillow is placed behind her back ».

I do not think that any time you need to feed the baby, you will resort to such a complex structure. And why, when there is an excellent alternative – a special pillow for breastfeeding!

Pillow to feed is in the form of split-lifebuoys, which is tightly enclasps around the waist of a mother. Pillow does not allow mother to move when she feeds a baby. The front of the feeding pillow is densely filled, so it helps the baby lying on it to stay at the level of mothers breast. The ends are rounded cushions to pad for the feeding was based on mother’s waist. Moreover, the construction of a universally valid for mums of any size. You can use such a pillow from birth and until you breastfeed a baby.

Pillow for feeding makes breastfeeding comfortable for mom and baby. Mom does not have to hold the child with two hands. Mother can drink tea or read a book without interrupting breastfeeding. Pillow allows you to change the chest and rotate the position of the child to different angles of the chest. The alternation makes it easier to generate a different proportion of empty chest, and this decreases the likelihood of lactostaz.

When selecting pillows for breastfeeding pay attention to its completion. It is best if the pillow is attached to feed removable slip at a lightning. In this case, you have no difficulty to withdraw pillow for washing – it’s convenient and hygienic.

Breastfeeding pillow should be made of solid teak, with 100% cotton pillowcase. This is an environmentally friendly material that retains good form, does not cause allergic reactions, does not absorb odors.

Cough, runny nose, high body temperature are all signs of respiratory infections (ARI, pharyngitis, tonsillitis), we rarely understand what the child’s illness, compiling all of these concepts in one – a cold, it is one of the most common diseases of children. The cause of the disease might be harmful germs, infections or viruses.

Children usually get through catarrhal condition without complications, if the symptoms were detected on time and your child gets adequate therapeutic support. If the cold is not treated, the complications do not pass, it could go with a more severe form and become chronic.

Children’s body is most vulnerable during the cold season of the year and especially the period of early spring or late autumn. It is rarely cold in summer. Just a small exposure of temperature and viruses and infections’ in the air (the main route of transmission of diseases cold – the air-filter) introduced in the mucous membranes and begin to actively develop. For example, a child drinks cold juice or eats too cold ice cream, when hot and sweaty after the game, the child ran into the street, wet feet, etc. Sometimes it takes only a few minutes to viruses and bacteria, causing inflammation of the breathing organs to start its operation.

The main symptoms of cold diseases

Cold can be easily identified on a variety of symptoms: cough, throat ache, pain when swallowing, runny nose, increase of body temperature (38 degrees).

Pay attention to all of these symptoms. Cough may be “dry”, “barking”, with expectoration, spasmodic. “Dry” and “barking” cough are symptoms of upper respiratory tract (pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis). Long, spasmodic cough with expectoration is a symptom that the disease descended further and reaches the bronchi and lungs.

Cough is a natural reaction to a stimulus falling in the respiratory system. Cough accompanied by allergies, stress is expressed (usual cough, with a nervous tic in nature). The nature of cough can help you put a more accurate diagnosis of ill child and save him from the cause of cough.

Runny nose may also be allergic in nature, stuffed up nose can be an expression of stress and to be a consequence of excessive consumption of allopathic drops for the nose.

In light cold temperature can rise dramatically, and also drop sharply after some time. If the temperature does not drop below 37 degrees for several days, it is a serious reason to call a doctor.

For many years pediatricians gently (and sometimes rigidly) convinced parents that their children should sleep in cots, carrycots, cradles, baskets – anywhere, just not in the parental bed. Mothers and fathers – especially in the last few years – on the contrary, continue arguing with the doctors, claiming that the most natural and beneficial for the child is to share a bed with parents. Those preferring to sleep with a child believe that it contributes to successful breast-feeding, strengthening the connection between mother and child and even helps to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SVDS). However – is there any actual confirmation of this? And besides, is it safe to sleep with the child?

Here is the answer. Recent studies have confirmed everything that pediatricians have been saying for many years. For children there is nothing good in sharing a bed with parents. Moreover – there is a certain risk. And before putting baby to sleep with you in one bed, you need to understand the possible consequences. The study involved cases of infant mortality in the United States over a twenty-year-period ending with 2004. Researchers collected information on all children who died suddenly. Causes of death in most cases have not been established – they were explained as SVDS. SVDS statistics, for a twenty-year-period showed a favorable trend in the time when the campaign «sleeping on the back» was being carried – after a study it was found that for children who sleep on the stomach, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome is higher than for others.

But there is another category of infant deaths that pediatricians find an explanation: the accidental asphyxiation and strangulation in bed. The number of cases increased four times during the last 20 years. Of course, some of these cases have nothing to do with this issue. Thus, the cause of 15% of deaths was the unsuccessful design of children’s cot. However, more than 50% of cases of suffocation in the sleep occurred in a situation where the baby and his parents were sleeping together. And, as a rule, the proximate cause of the death of a baby was when of the parents press a child down with his weight in a dream.
It is necessary to understand how high the risk of such a tragic outcome is, and therefore decide for themselves whether to share a bed with a child or not.

Some people think it a waste of time and money to think about stylish maternity clothes during the early phase of pregnancy. But as we proceed towards the last phases of pregnancy and have to deal with expensive hospital bills and numerous expenses, it becomes difficult for us to meet these expenses. Stylish maternity clothes are very important for you to look good and feel great. You should care about yourself and do some shopping.

Some people think it’s a waste of time and money to think about stylish maternity clothes during the early phase of pregnancy. But as we proceed towards the last phases of pregnancy and have to deal with expensive hospital bills and numerous expenses, it becomes difficult for us to meet these expenses. Stylish maternity clothes are very important for you to look good and feel great. You should care about yourself and do some shopping.

Shopping for maternity clothes can be just as much fun as shopping for regular clothes. With the huge variety of maternity clothes available, and following our few simple tips, you can be guaranteed to look great in your maternity clothes.

You should figure out the best way to purchase outfits for your pregnancy wardrobe so that it completes with minimum expenditure. For working women, career wear is also required along with casual wear. If you want to keep a watch on your budget then you should purchase only those outfits that are necessary for you.

Don’t fall into the trap of buying a few outfits and then living in them for the next nine months. This will simply make you feel dowdy and unattractive.

When it’s spring you shop for your spring wardrobe, when it’s summer you shop for your summer wardrobe, now you’re pregnant, shop for your maternity wardrobe.

It is necessary to purchase plenty of maternity tops and tees to add to your stylish maternity clothes. You can mix and match these with numerous outfits. This would give you a good range of choices. Maternity undergarments are very important. Maternity bra that you purchase should be comfortable and not restrict your movement in any respect. Bra should have a good breathing space as your breasts would grow when milk arrives in them. Few pairs of panties of a larger size or two than your normal size should be bought.

Follow these simple tips guaranteed to make you look like a hot mama!

• You know you’re getting bigger but this is no excuse to hide under a tent. Maternity clothes are designed with extra room around the bust and belly area so stick to your size! It is not necessary to look for larger sizes as maternity clothes have been created with your bump in mind.
• If you are of childbearing age, the chances are your friends are too. Give them a call and see what little gems they may have stashed away from their own pregnancy days. Don’t take anything you don’t like, there’s no point in letting their unwanted clothing becoming your unwanted clothing.
• Invest in a pair of maternity jeans which will look great for casual wear and can also be dressed up with a pretty shirt and funky jewelry for a less formal social occasion.
• Choose long a-line floaty sweaters and tops that flow down from the neck and over the hips. These look great with evening pants or a long feminine skirt.
• Soft and feminine looks are very fashionable at the moment and with maternity clothes being more versatile than ever, if you shop well some of your investments can be worn post pregnancy.
• If you are someone that has been stick thin all her life, make the most of your womanly curves and choose maternity clothes that draw attention to the parts of your body that you do want to highlight.

Remember that now you are not alone. There is someone who’s life depends on the nourishment and love you have for him or her. But this does not mean that you would not take care of yourself as your baby is dependent on you. These stylish maternity clothes would help you to be in fashion during all of your pregnancy period. So, you should not hesitate but search for the stylish maternity clothes for yourself or your pregnant friend.

Materials. The materials that the playpen is made of, should be safe and should not provide any toxic substances (during the shopping do not hesitate to smell a new playpen and make sure there are no strong smell, because baby will breathe this). In this regard, many prefer playpens of wood as an environmentally friendly and natural. The distance between the wooden bars of the playpen should be 5-7 cm, so that it does not let big toys in and does not thrust the head of a child. The cells of the grid should be such that the baby is not able to catch its buttons or to get stuck by fingers. Soft material should be easily washable and should not absorb liquid.

The grid of the playpen should be from nice light color. If it is bright and patterned, baby will focus on it, which is a great burden for the eyes and nervous system. A playpen should be calm a baby, and coloring in this case, plays the key role.

The bottom of a playpen should be soft and elastic, so if the child falls, it should not hurt. In any case, it is preferable to put a rug or a blanket at the bottom of playpen so that baby is not cold.

Construction of playpen should be strong and sustainable, there should be no visible screws, screws-on or fasteners accessible to a child.

Playpen is not a panacea. The development of the child in an enclosed space is not so full, so stay in the playpen should not be too long. You can start with half an hour, gradually let your child stay in it for up to two hours. Psychologists talk about the impact of an enclosed space on the psyche. The baby that spends too much time is in the playpen, can suffer from various phobias (claustrophobia, fear of restriction of liberty).

Do not worry if your baby reacts badly to the playpen, complains and capricious, put in the playpen his favorite toys, play, be close to the baby for the first time. Never punish your child by keeping him/her in the playpen, as he will then never voluntarily stay there after that. If your child can not adapt to the arena at once, start with five minutes, gradually increasing the duration of the stay, do not overload the child’s psyche, do everything in the game.

In the first six months of life the child is in the role of a pioneer. The kid opens the first terra incognita in his life – his own body, learning to use the hands, legs, eyes and other senses. These everyday discoveries keep baby in rapture, he rejoices every time discovering the link between cause and effect, and gradually begins to navigate in the world. Children prefer toys that are responsive to their actionsx favorite colors – red, blue and yellow. Therefore, the greatest joy for the kids are toys with a simple design of bright contrasting colors. The toy should be light, soft, simple and easy to use.

Toys that make noise: high playpen with lights, lanterns, and music and moving toy allows baby monitor movement of toys and monitor lights.

Interactive Toys: When the baby learns to walk, he still stands on fragile legs, but, nevertheless, can not sit on the ground. Buy your child a horse – it is easy to climb, but the wheels provide stability. Interactive toys are often equipped with comfortable handles, holders for cups and bottles, baskets for things and the sound signal.

Cubes and simple puzzles: a set of wooden blocks, which can be easily stowed in a pyramid and move are a perfect children’s toy. The size of the cubes are usually adapted to the growing baby. Games with small cubes contribute to the development of motor. There are a number of interactive gaming model, in which the child quickly masters the alphabet (for eg. songs from the letters of the alphabet, coloring, etc.). You can find a lot of blocks using which many children learn to distinguish shapes and colors. Toys with surprise, floating toys, large light balls and plastic toys, which can go – these are favorites of infants.

Musical toys: musical mobile toys, appropriate to the age of the child, can be found in abundance. These toys are usually installed with the melodies of lullabies and pop classics that reassure crying baby. These toys are harmoniously combine mobility and music. As children get older, the color of toy may vary from black and white to bright graphic pattern.

The size of toys: toys for all young children are typically large in size, so your child does not accidentally swallow a toy.

Sharp edges: a toy should have no acute edges. This is very important, because children love to try the taste and poke everything into the mouth. There is always a danger for a child fell on a toy that especially if a toy has sharp points or edges.

Carefully read the information on the packaging of toys: the label or package usually indicate whether a toy hazard to the health of the child. Typically, these warnings can be found on toys made of small parts intended for children under three years. This warning is there and on the packaging of electrical toys.

Adjusting the volume: if you buy a toy with sound, make sure that it is equipped with volume control, as the very loud toys can permanently damage the child’s ear, which in this tender age is very sensitive.

Toxic materials: when purchasing kits for painting, make sure that they do not contain toxic chemicals. Make sure they are safe even if accidentally falling into the baby’s mouth.

What to do when the first-born is showing extreme jealousy towards the new baby? This question often bothers all the parents. We are here to help you solve this problem.

You have to teach your older child how to interact with his new sibling in proper ways. You can teach your toddler how to play with the baby in the same way you teach him anything else. Increase your little demonstrations of love for your child. Say extra I love you, increase your daily dose of hugs, and find time to read a book or play a game. Temporary regressions or behavior problems are normal, and can be eased with an extra dose of time and attention. Whenever the children are together, “hover” close by. If you see your child about to get rough, pick up the baby and distract the older sibling with a song, a toy, an activity or a snack.

Avoid comparing siblings, even about seemingly innocent topics such as birth weight, when each first crawled or walked, or who had more hair! Children can interpret these comments as criticisms. Whenever you see the older child touching the baby gently, make a positive comment. Make a big fuss about the important “older brother.” Hug and kiss your older child and tell him how proud you are.

Here are tips on how to cope with a jealous older sibling:

• Teach your older child to interact with the baby in the proper way. You can do this by explaining to your child that the baby is delicate at this age and requires careful handling.
• Involve your older child in caring for the new baby. For instance, you can ask your child to rock the baby’s cradle gently or help to dress the baby.
• Be lavish with your praise every time you observe the older child behaving gently with the baby.
• Avoid neglecting the older child. Try to continue to do the things you did with your older child before the baby was born.
• Avoid drawing comparisons between your child and the baby. Your older child could interpret this as criticism.
• If your child verbally expresses resentment towards the baby, do not be defensive about the baby. Respond gently and reassuringly.
• Unless you are confident that the older sibling will not harm the baby, never leave your children alone together.

Take a deep breath and be calm. This is a time of adjustment for everyone in the family. Reduce outside activities, relax your housekeeping standards, and focus on your current priority, adjusting to your new family size.

Despite all the parenting done during pregnancy, despite weeks of feeling movement within and fantasizing about your baby, despite months of having strange dreams, worrisome thoughts, and musings about what kind of parent you will be, the first time you hold your baby in your arms and call yourself mother or father, mama or papa, mommy or daddy, an awareness floods over you that life will never be the same again. Another human being is now dependent upon you for survival. More than anything else, you want to be the best parent possible.

As parents, you want the best for your child, but caring for your new baby is not always easy. From soothing your newborn to common health concerns, here’s where you can get information on a wide range of baby care topics.

Becoming a good parent means much more than knowing a lot about babies. Ask pediatric doctors or nurses what it was like for them to be new parents. They will tell you that all their knowledge about babies was not enough to keep them from being over whelmed by their own babies. All new parents feel the same way. All new parents work at knowing, understanding, and loving their babies. Your baby will work just as hard at learning to know, understand, and love you. This is the process of attachment-the work that parents and babies do together to form a deep and lasting love. It is what becoming a family is all about.

As a child grows, parents are forever faced with new issues and concerns. Check out our older baby care section for parenting tips during the later months following the birth of your baby.

Whether you’re a new parent or a baby veteran, knowing the health benefits of proper baby and child nutrition is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy start for your children. Good eating habits can be formed as soon as your child begins to eat solids, but knowing just when that time has come may not be so clear. Check out for information on your child’s diet.

Your child’s first meal is one of many milestones on the journey through baby development. Learn more about developmental steps such as potty training and toddler development so that you can help support your child throughout these various stages.