Baby Care

Archive for July, 2009

Preparations for the maternity hospital cannot be done for the last minute because the list of things one will need is very long. Remember that “trip” to the maternity hospital can be sudden. And you must collect in advance all that is needed for the maternity hospital. You must always have a passport and an exchange card prepared.
The passport will allow hospital workers to make sure that you are registered and a card exchange will give a complete picture of your health. This means that emergency will not lose time.
So you should already store personal hygiene items, combined in a bright set, which you will necessarily have to take to the maternity hospital:
- Tooth brush;
- Pasta;
- Toilet soap in the soap-dish;
- Comb or brush massage;
- Toilet paper.

Probably, the list of “things to be taken to maternity hospital” will also include:
- Shampoo;
- At least your usual make-up (for those who do not want to unsettle their relatives with their haggard appearance);
- Sanitary pads of the largest size;
- Sanitary napkins – a towel for your face;
- A towel for the feet.

Apart from the above the following is required to be taken:
- Slippers (rubber is better and easier to wash);
- Gown (preferably plowed with a belt) – nightdress – bra for lactating mothers;
- Pants (better than bikini);
- A package for great things and for shoes, if you sit in a cell storage;
- Package for the dirty laundry;
- Pen and notebook (in order to sign your products in the refrigerator).

Also take some food:
- Juice or water;
- Biscuits, waffles or pastries;
- Chocolate for recuperation and good mood.
On the first day your child will need one-time diapers and sanitary napkins, a little later – the smallest things (sliders, blouse, socks, bonnet). In the maternity hospital you certainly will get diapers, but as practice shows, they are not enough. You’d better collect everything beforehand.

Green vitamins
Fresh greens satisfy the body with important vitamins and micronutrients. So let’s see how useful bunch of dill or a bouquet of lettuce can be?
Parsley and celery are rich in minerals. Thus, 100 g of parsley contains 340 mg potassium, 245 mg calcium, 79 mg sodium, 85 mg magnesium, 95 mg phosphorus, 1.9 mg iron. Those minerals in celery are less, but the salt of potassium in its counterfoils is 393 in 100 grams. Parsley is also richer in vitamin C than celery: 150 mg and 38 mg, respectively. Vitamin E in parsley is 157 mg and in celery 139 mg. These two greens also contain carotene and vitamins of group B. Celery is an excellent help for a person when he/she quickly gets tired, and essential oils of both plants are able to deter insects. If the child is not allergic, you can process his/her skin with juice of celery or parsley, and no mosquitoes can scare him/her.
Dill with its content of essential oils is even richer than parsley and celery – the content reaches 1.5%. It contains less vitamin C (100 mg per 100 grams of greenery); in addition dill gives trencherman salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Dill tea has long been recognized as an assistant with the “concern” in the stomach even for the smallest kids, now these teas are produced even in the industry. Dill and parsley are the first spices in baby’s menu – they are added to children’s canned food from 6 months already.

Green onion, unlike its “root” contains more vitamin C (30 mg and 10 mg respectively), it is richer in salts of potassium (259 mg), calcium (121 mg), phosphorus and iron. Its essential oils can improve appetite, increase the secretion of stomach, help in the assimilation of food.

In the leaves of lettuce, there is an optimal balance of sodium and potassium. Lettuce salad among other elements also contains oxalic acid; its dark-green appearance has valuable carotene and ascorbic acid.

Children’s room is a very peculiar place.
Children’s furniture should be multifunctional and have the opportunity to “grow” with your child. Now the market offers a fairly large range of children’s furniture – tables and chairs – seat and backrest. As the diversity of interests of the child is difficult to predict, the children’s furniture-transformer will become the ideal solution. For example children’s table, this can be also a desk and an easel.
In general, children’s furniture should be:
Light – so that the child is able to move it easily;
Sustainable – a child can be quite awkward, but sustainable children’s furniture can protect him/her from injury;
ergonomic – ergonomic furniture for children will not allow him/her to obtain the curvature of the spine and other unpleasant diseases;
environmentally friendly – children’s furniture should fully comply with environmental standards that do not accidentally hurt the child;
comfortable – it is difficult to explain a child why he/she needs to sit here or there, so children’s comfortable furniture will make this task easier;
bright and beautiful – thanks to the fact that the child will like his/her furniture, he/she quickly learns to use it himself/herself and keep his/her belongings in order.

 
How to choose furniture for children which will conform to all requirements?
The bed is desirable to be a two-tier, even if you have one child. After removing the lower tier, the bottom can be used – from space to store toys, up to a romantic angle, with curtains which resemble a tent.
Children’s furniture for schoolchildren should not clutter the room, as well as for the child of this age it is important to have a place to play, to store things. Therefore, cases must be small and convenient. As has been already been mentioned above- it must attract the child, have a convenient shape, bright color, and be original. Instead of doors you can use curtains for children’s furniture and child will think that he/she hides things, and does not remove them. For toys, you can not use the shelves, but a chest, and once again cleaning will become a kind of game for your child.
Number of models of children’s furniture for schoolchildren on the market, allows you to create the interior of the room for all tastes – the main thing is that this is a room for a child and he/she must like spending time in it.

Disputes concerning the advantages and disadvantages of computer games are conducted at all social levels.

Scientists are conducting studies on the impact of computer games in person, children argue with parents, parents – with teachers, and so on.

We hope that the following facts will help you make the right choice.

Advantages
Computer games develop:

• fast reaction
• visual perception of objects
• memory and attention
• logical thinking
• visual-motor coordination

Computer games teach children to:

• classify and summarize
• analytical thinking in a non-standard situations
• achieve goals
• improve intellectual skills

The child, who relies on a computer from childhood, feels more confident because he is open to the world of modern technology.
Games on the computer develop the same skills, but the child is always easier attracted by the game than learning the alphabet, or numbers.
Playing computer games, the child gets into a magical fairy tale, where he gets his own world. This world is so similar to a real one.! When the heroes of the computer games offer the child to repair the wall of the house, or to arrange numbers in order to get to the treasure, the children feel important. And if at the end of the job he said “Well done, you have done excellent”, the child is delighted.
Well-drawn, funny and good children computer games are very interesting, smart, funny and focused so that the kids develop and improve their skills.

Disadvantages

The bad news is that with no schedule the computer turns from friend to enemy. Good games, that are so useful for children may become harmful to them.
Parents should remember that for every child there is a limitation on time: 3-4 years – the child may be at the computer for 25 minutes, in 5-6 years – 35 minutes, 7-8 – 40 minutes.
Sitting in front of a computer for too long may lead to poor vision, as well as the psychological dependence of a child from the virtual world.

Those days are gone when women just stayed at home, engaged in farming, giving birth and raising children.

Now many of them go to work and not just because of our difficult times of earning a living, but also because the representatives of weak sex have the talent and the ability to make a career. And even after giving birth, women do not want to leave their profession and seek to quickly return to the workplace. How not to feel guilty for an “abandoned” baby?

All the women, who a few months after giving birth, return to work, feel a bit guilty for their children. It is absolutely clear: the child is still very small, and they fear that they deprive their child of their love and care. Therefore, before going to work, try to solve all the problems worrying you.

The kid loves you more than anybody

Mothers need to know that returning to work does not mean that you should stop breastfeeding your child: it is possible to transfer a child to the mixed-feeding or decant the milk and put it in the fridge.
It is understandable that you inhibit the very idea that perhaps you do not see how your baby will say its first words, but do not get upset because of this. Studies have shown that a child’s achievement becomes “real” only after demonstrating it to his mom and she will evaluate it and rejoice with him. So you will still be playing a primary role for your child’s. And it is precisely because of this inextricable link, you will always be the most beloved for him/her, despite the fact that he/she spends most of the day with grandma, nanny or kindergartener.
 
There is no need to get upset when after returning home from work your child will not talk to you. Your task is to explain the child why you working and that you will always come back to him/her and give him/her having all your free time. So gradually the child will get used to the fact that you are away for a part of the day.

Sometimes, working mothers feel that if they stay at home with their baby, he will develop faster. But this is a totally groundless fear.
In relation to children the most important is not quantity but quality of these relationships: it is important how close you are to your child, whether you understand each other etc. Therefore, if one day you come tired from work, and you cannot force a long time to play with your child and give him affection and attention, as usually, do not blame yourself. If your house has an atmosphere of love and if your child feels your care and understanding, he/she quickly forgets this little episode. 

If baby stays with people who he loves, he will get used quickly to your temporary absence, and in the future this experience will help him/her be more independent.

You can go to work, if your child …

Is already three months. He is sleeping and taking meals at about the same time, allows strange people to take him in their hands, and it is easy to placate.
Six months. He is sleeping, expresses displeasure when he/she does not like something, and smiles as he/she is pleased.
Nine months. He knows how to play alone; he/she holds a bottle and actively researches all he/she sees with his hands.
Year. He/she understands most of what you say to him, knows how to pronounce some words, and shows finger on things that you show him/her.

Child car seats are widely used by car owners all over the world, but unfortunately in some countries, they have very limited application.

Baby car seat is not a luxury but a requirement of the safe transportation of children in the car. Nowadays, it’s not difficult to find information on car seats for child. The range of children’s automobile seat is now so wide that every parent can choose for their child a model that satisfies all the security settings, the desires and needs.

What is a car seat?

Child car seats are divided into three groups. Each of them corresponds to a certain age and weight of the child.

The first group includes seats – cradle designed for children weighing up to 13 kg (approximately 15 months). This cradle is mounted by a 3-point belt against the direction of motion on the front passenger seat (if there are no airbags) or in the back seat. A newborn baby in this case is protected by separate system of belts.

Seats of the second group are designed for children weighing from 9 to 18 kg (approximately 8 months up to 4 years) and have a bowl shape. They are mounted in the direction of motion by the 3-point belt (some models with 2-point belts). A more reliable is fastening distributed worldwide by standard ISOFIX, which provide a rigid connection between the child seat and vehicle.

The third group includes seats for children weighing from 15 up to 36 kg (approximately 3 to 12 years). Even if the children have grown out of bowl seats (second team), the anatomy of child’s organism is still needed to provide support for the head and upper body. Therefore, the child is ideally protected by a 3-point seat belt at a higher level, drawing on the back.

Small children need the maximum care. In the first months of the infants’ life they still have very soft skeleton. Any sudden movements will have an unbearable burden on the infant.

As the children get older, they become active. Therefore, the second group provides seating space for games and the freedom of movement with the greatest possible security, as well as a comfortable position for comfortable and healthy sleep.

Starting from the age of three, children are growing just as in yeast. They grow out of clothes or shoes in only a few months. But you can not joke with security, especially during the unpredictable traffic. Therefore, the seat of the third group “grows” together with the child. For these purposes, many of them are adjustable to the height of the upper back or head.

Children, who already run, jump and swim, are extremely active in summer, and therefore they need much more energy from products that “charge” their batteries. In summer the most of the time children spend in the open air. It’s the season of hikes, long walks, sports and helping adults in the country. The baby wants to pick a bunch of greens, collect berry himself.

The energy consumption increases while appetite reduces due to heat. So, what to feed your little active baby, what products at what time and in what quantities are good for a child in summer?

Very often in the kindergarten or school, when teachers meet their pupils in the beginning of the school year, you will hear they say that children have grown up. And surprisingly, in summer children are growing more active, and therefore the children need the protein, which is the main “building” material of organisms, more than usual. It is very important to increase the proportion of sour-milk products during summer. This way the protein is in its most easily assimilated form. Cottage cheese, kefir, yoghurt should be given to the child 100-200 ml more than his/her normal age-norm. The best is to break the daily norm into 2-4 reception. Thus you first help your child’s stomach – because dairy bacteria contained in dairy products help to improve digestion, which is especially important in hot weather. Second, the baby will not have to drink a glass of kefir at once, especially if he/she is not fond of such drinks.

Daily portion of meat products are also recommended to increase in 10-30 g, depending on the age of the child. With regard to carbohydrates, the main suppliers in the children’s menu for the entire warm period should be berries, fruit and vegetables. Minimize the consumption of biscuits, rich bread, wheat bread and confectionery products, if the kid wants sweet – offer a cup of berries.

It’s necessary to include fresh vegetables in the diet – spices, radishes, sorrel and young nettle should be added to soups and salads. Also keep in mind the forest berries. Remember, that usually they are sweeter than the garden ones.

Giving advice is an ungrateful activity. Sometimes a good piece of advice may cost much more than a hundred of clever books. In this section we have tried to collect very useful advice to pregnant, who are in a practical condition. We hope that our advice and the recommendations to our readers will help to avoid common mistakes and gain confidence in the most difficult situations. Please note that we do not only give advice to pregnant, but take them from all who wish to share their experiences with prospective mothers.

1. All nine months only one thought will not leave you and also many relatives and friends alone: who will be born – a boy or a girl? Question: «And who are you waiting for? » (Interesting detail: when a woman is pregnant for the second or third time, they ask their elder children.) People traditionally make conclusions about sex of the baby: a) form of the belly – if it is round, it’s a girl, if it is sharp – a boy (the percentage of getting to the point, of course, is not hundred. Even ultrasound sometimes gives a wrong result!), b) Family «traditions» – a very strange premonition. One friend told me: «All the relatives of my husband have only boys, then, and we will have one…» I want to recall the lessons of biology in high school about the X-and Y-chromosome, but … Why argue with a pregnant? By the way, despite all the family «tradition», she has a charming girl, c) in case of changes in your appearance people say that girl takes the beauty from her mother. Or a boy, who knows? d) My husband, for example, believes that girls are born, when they have a very good dad.) Perhaps I have missed something. But my cheerful girlfriend helped to answer such questions: «Who are we waiting for? We are waiting for both a boy and a girl. We want both. And more … » This is wonderful, isn’t it?

2. Even if you’re really bad at Mathematics in this crucial period of life, I guarantee that at least 350 times your lover will tell you what NOT to do. You cannot sit putting leg on a leg (in this way you squeeze the head of the baby), wash the windows and hang laundry, greatly raise your hands (surrounded cord can happen), sit on a low sofa or stool (you press the baby with your weight). If for some historical reasons, your sewing machine with foot control have survived, your friends will categorically forbid running it (vibration can harm the child). As well as riding on the back of the bus or fly in an airplane … What all this says? I repeat: from the best intentions. And if there is an urgent trip on the 16th week of pregnancy, you will, of course, consult with your doctor before departure. All the above examples are acceptable (though with reservations). But why pregnant women cannot knit, tell me, please? Again umbilical cord will be crocked? Yeah baby will have much time to crock and unwind it! And here, for example, the Waldorf pedagogy urges pregnant to knit: the hand with the spokes are just opposite to the kid, he/she will receive mother’s energy, her concentration. The quiet, undulating movements contribute to harmonious development of the baby. There are «bearded» tips for pregnancy: eating for two, rest a lot, move slowly.
 
Yes, I forgot. You should, even have to look at everything beautiful: flowers, paintings, objects, sky. Then the baby will necessarily be born beautiful. Let’s keep looking at the sky …

3. Discussion of the size of the growing belly annoys many pregnant women. Especially if they give questions with such emphasis: «How? It’s already the seventh month? What a small tummy you have? Is everything all right? »Or« Listen, you have such a huge belly! How are you going to give birth? »I would be very happy for you, if others have enough sensitivity and wisdom, if noticing something like this, keep silence or speak more softly.

4. Think well before you tell your relatives or husband such «secrets», as a meat waiver, ski walks, swimming in the pool and (Oh, God!) cold pouring three times a day, or visiting the sauna. But there are mothers, so-called potential grandmothers, who even perceive a hostile reception for daily walks of pregnant daughter.

5. Unfortunately, regular visits to antenatal clinics annoy most pregnant women. Environmental conditions, stresses and previous «sores» do not allow communicating with a kid, nature, and beloved husband all nine months. From time to time you will have to give tests, surveys and other less interesting things. If you absolutely can’t bear such things consider the alternative versions – personal physician, observation in a specialized center, etc. This will cost more, but you will stay calm. And one more thing. Stay calm and quite. You carry your own child. Decisions are made only by you! (You’d better consult with your husband. Fortunately he is not pregnant.

80% of hard-core smokers grow up in families where there are one or two smoking parents. A kid from this family from the very first days of life is accustomed to tobacco smoke. He/she sees tobacco smoke as a signal that the parents are somewhere nearby. In the future bright cigarette packs, lighters, ashtrays become favorite toys of children.

According to statistics, every third 13-14 years old teenager has already tried smoking cigarettes. Over the past century, cigarettes have claimed the lives of more than 60 million people, that is, as long as all wars combined. In humans, there is no inherent requirement of smoking. What makes the young smoker cope with a natural aversion to tobacco and cigarette again and again?

Approximately 10-12 year-old child develops a positive attitude to smoking, if parents from a young age “code” him/her to smoking. Today, few people think that the tobacco companies fund cartoons with steep smokers and thus coding children to smoking in the first years of life. And child tries to smoke a cigarette himself/herself, considering it just an interesting game. Even if parents try to convince children not to smoke, because it is harmful, he/she does not believe, because the parents are smokers themselves – encoding was still in the cradle when smoking Dad (or Mom) took the baby in his/her hands. Tobacco smoke was a signal that parents were near.

Smoking parents, especially, do harm to their child. Milk of smoking nursing mother gets an unpleasant taste, and children sometimes refuse it, these moms often do not have enough breast milk. The child of such parent becomes a potential smoker. Children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy often suffer from epilepsy, are behind their peers in cognitive development and prone to allergic and cardiovascular diseases.

Smoking of pupils slows their physical and mental development.
Obviously, it is important to understand the full power of the devastating impact of tobacco on health and do not touch cigarettes.

Sun bath is a great way to recuperate and gain vitality, both for adults and children. In the opinion of dermatologists, you just should not abuse your stay in the sun and protect your skin using special creams taking into account the special needs of each family member.

For Future Mothers

Future mothers should be especially careful. The skin under the influence of pregnancy hormones becomes extremely sensitive to ultraviolet; therefore, a tan will be uneven. On feet, which have already become heavier from slow blood circulation, sun provokes local inflammation, in terms of redness and edema. Also, sunrays can aggravate the situation with the stretch, making more vulnerable the elastic fibers of skin. Therefore, from the very beginning of pregnancy future mothers should apply sun screen – sunscreen with a protection index of 60 to 20 SPF – in all areas which are at the risk of hyper pigmentation: face, chest, and abdomen. For the remaining parts of the body protection also should be increased – from 10 to 15 SPF and nourishing creams.

The simplest means of avoiding overheating and the overdose of ultra-violet rays is staying in the shade during hot afternoon hours. Do not lie in the sun – immobility contributes to varicosity and dries skin. To have a golden skin without any risk to health, just walk under the mild and generous tanning rays of the morning sun and sunset. If you want to enhance the effect in some areas, such as face and legs, use auto tans. They are suitable for application by moisturizing the structure and have color like natural tanning. After tripling use of auto tans with the reflective particles skin becomes glow and have a beautiful tone, as if you have spent on the beach a week, and happily escaped burns.

For Children
Children’s skin need the most robust protection, because their skin is still thin, devoid of the natural protective barrier and can not resist the aggressive external environment, especially the sun. Injuries caused by the sun in childhood can have unfortunate consequences, as it is shown that the risk of skin cancer is directly related to the number of sunburn received up to 15 years. Without any doubts, the sun is necessary for child’s development: ultra-violet rays B synthesize vitamin D, responsible for the retention of calcium in the body, but for the normal growth of the child every day about half an hour under sun rays is enough. Always lubricate the child’s body, even if the baby is sitting under an umbrella. Use only special children’s creams, as they are created on a special formula and do not cause allergies. Do not take to the beach children between 11am to 4pm- this is the most dangerous time, when the heat and ultraviolet rays are most intense. Try to keep the child in the shade: the sun at body temperature rises very quickly and can get a crumb of heat stroke, since mechanisms for thermoregulation have not been developed yet. Do not let your child walk on the beach without a T-shirt and panama and if he/she gets wet, quickly change her/his cloths: wet cloth transmits ultraviolet. Offer your child something to drink, without waiting until he/she asks to drink himself/herself. Dehydration is the primary hazard after sunstroke.

Ultraviolet is dangerous for children’s eyes – their broad and less pigmented eyes miss rays up to the retina, so while purchasing sunglasses take good ones with filters.

Proper nutrition is the main thing that a woman who is preparing to become a mother should carry out. Every day, she should receive all necessary materials, trace elements and vitamins to maintain normally in her own body and to the development of the child. A few tips, guided by which each woman easily can make the best diet for all nine months of pregnancy, are required to learn.

Vitamin A in the form of carotene, which requires growing cells, healthy skin, eyes, bone, enters the body with yellow vegetables and fruits (sweet peppers, carrots, apricots, dried apricots, peaches) as well as herbs. In addition, yellow vegetables and fruits contain folic acid, which has a positive effect on the brain development of the future child.

Vitamins of B group are contained in thin porridges, particularly gross. It should therefore be mandatory to include porridge oats, buckwheat and dark unpolished rice in the diet. In addition, the vitamins of this group are contained in the black bread, cabbage, and beer, although this drink is not recommended for pregnant women.
 
Vitamin C is used by the organism in the process of regeneration, wound healing; a child needs all these for proper growth and development of a durable skeleton and teeth. The main source of vitamin C is a citrus fruit. Dietitians in this case particularly recommend grapefruit, which contains the highest dose of vitamin C and is less dangerous in terms of allergy development. In addition to citrus, this vitamin is found in strawberries and raspberries, tomatoes, and white cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, sweet peppers, sorrel, and spinach.
Selenium, which often works in combination with vitamin E, is very important from the standpoint of prevention of cardiovascular, cancer and infectious diseases.

Iron plays an important role. During pregnancy, women need to have up to 40 milligrams of iron a day, because this time it is spent not only to meet the increased demand of the female body itself, but it is also used to provide it with sufficient developing fetus. The shortage of iron leads to anemia, decrease of immunity, in violation of the fetus (e.g., delay of growth and mental development), as well as premature births. It is not difficult to avoid such problems.

Iron is found in all foods, especially offal (liver, kidney, and brains), lean beef, poultry and some varieties of fish. Plant products, all seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs grown on the ground are also rich in iron. Especially it is found in fruit and berries with bright coloration. It is worth considering that iron is best absorbed in the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Therefore, dishes from meat or fish should be combined with fresh vegetables, or with lemon juice.

Calcium is most important in the formation of bone tissue. From this perspective, it will be useful to include in their menu’s milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese, and fish. A large quantity of calcium is found in almonds, peanuts and dried fruits.

Naturally, protein must be included in the diet of pregnant women. Amino acids, that are included in protein, are a kind of building material of cells of human tissue, and contribute to the growth of the child. The daily rate is approximately 75-100 grams of protein a day. This is roughly equivalent to three glasses of milk, 0.5 kg of cottage cheese, 2 eggs and 100 grams of meat or fish. It will be superfluous to recall nuts and legumes. 

In order to maintain power, the body also needs carbohydrates. Gross bread, cereals, pasta, vegetables, potatoes are slow, unrefined carbohydrates. They raise the level of glucose and maintain it for a long time. These products contribute to good peristalsis, eliminating the problem of constipation and nausea. In addition, they do not lead to the weight increment.
Despite of popular belief, the menu of pregnant women should also include unsaturated fats, for example, butter. While grilling products use refined oil because it does not form carcinogens during the thermal processing. And for the filling of lettuce, use the crude oil, since it is more useful. Daily Dose – 4 tablespoons of butter or mayonnaise (because of oil used with hot food), or 400 grams of lean meat, 8 chicken eggs or 16 spoons of sour cream. Of course, the best way to obtain the necessary dose will be a combination of various fat products.  

In addition to natural products a pregnant woman should actively use the vitamin-mineral complexes.