Baby Care

Archive for the ‘For Mothers’ Category

No-one told you but the first few months are tough. Rest assured they get easier but our survival tips for new mums will speed up the process!

Round-robin dinners
If your friends ask what they can do for you in the early days, get them to do a round-robin of dinners for the first couple of weeks. It’s so exciting waiting for the dinner to turn up and people usually prepare their most decadent meals. It’s better than eating in a restaurant every night. And you’ll find even if your baby has been an angel all day, from 5 – 7 is witching time for many newborns.

Power naps
Business people may think they are the ones who invented these but new mothers have always done them. Don’t always do chores when the babe goes down. Have a rest and don’t feel guilty about it. If you’re not the type to nap during the day just read a book but give yourself a break. It is not a luxury, it’s an investment. Remember they are here to replace you!

Get a house clean
If you don’t normally have a house cleaner, get one for the first three months (they may never leave) – hire a local teenager to do it, they are much more affordable. It will help your sanity. There is nothing more annoying than nursing constantly on the sofa and having to stare at un-vacuumed rug and stains which never go away. You immediately forget about them, the moment you get up.

It takes a village
Do hand your baby over to a trusted family member or friend from time to time and go for a walk or do something for yourself, have a massage or just go to a cafe and stare into space for half an hour. You will return SO much better off, again in love with your baby with energy to spare.

Get out of the house!
Take advantage of all the baby-friendly activities out there and get out the door! A walk is one of the best things you can do for everyone’s health. One of the best inventions in recent years are mother and baby cinema outings. No one minds if a baby is crying because they all will at some point and the movie is loud enough to drown out most of it. Heaven.

Travel the world
This may sound like madness, but in the early days, especially if you are nursing, your baby is incredibly mobile. Don’t take much with you – they no doubt have babies where you are going – just get on a plane and make that visit to relatives. Things like jetlag don’t affect the babe at all, your hours are up the spout anyway. Once your baby is more mobile, grabbing at every passing ornament at granny’s house, that’s a bad time to travel. Then you get people to come to you, because you have the place all set up and you don’t have to worry about any breakages.

What you wear matters!
Do invest in a new interim wardrobe after the baby is born. Nobody wants to see those maternity trackies ever again. Okay it may be sacrilege to buy some size 16 outfits, but look on the bright side, you can wear them early on in your next pregnancy! And you’ll feel like a new woman.

Lighten up!
If you were a perfectionist before, give it up. You have lost certain control of your life for quite some time to come. Yes, you can have a routine, and babies by and large respond well to routine, but there are times when they literally spit the dummy and decide it’s a good idea to wake at 2, 3 and 4 am – a growth spurt we like to say – and there’s not a darn thing you can do about it.

A non-baby task
Do take on a bit of work: it may sound crazy but take on a work project with a long lead time and it gives you a point of focus. The upside is you are earning some money again so you can buy that much lusted over pair of jeans for your new post-baby body. There is no downside.

Remember to enjoy your baby!
Remember to take time to enjoy the baby – this may be tricky in the first few weeks but you will regret it if you don’t take time to just play with the baby every day. Don’t set off in the morning with a long list of things you want to achieve. If you can get one thing done in a day you are doing well, give yourself a big pat on the back.

All parents need a little time off now and again.

In order to feel comfortable about leaving your baby you need to choose a good babysitter that inspires your confidence.

Many parents rely on family members to care for baby when they will be gone, but you can’t always depend upon your relatives. How do you choose a person to look after your baby?

The Interviewing Process

One of the first steps in choosing a person to watch your baby when you are not at home is the interview process. Be sure you ask for references and follow up on checking them.

You should rely on your instincts when it comes to feeling comfortable and secure in your choice of a babysitter.

You want someone that is warm, caring and flexible. What are the prospective babysitter’s views on discipline? Is the person comfortable and happy around children?

You also will need to discuss the babysitter’s rates. Another factor to consider is the babysitter’s transportation. Will they need to be picked up and dropped off or will they be using their own steam to get to and from your home?

Explain thoroughly what you expect the babysitter to do in case of an emergency. You should provide them with contact information for you, your pediatrician and perhaps another relative that can be reached in case of an emergency.

Tell the sitter about your routines with baby. Do you read to baby at bedtime? Convey your feelings about television shows that you want or don’t want your child to be exposed to.

Discuss your disciplinary measures and consequences that will ensue from disobedience.

What to Provide for Your Babysitter?

In order to perform duties to the best of their ability you must provide your babysitter with specific information. You want to leave your phone number, address and full name.

Though this may seem obvious, if an emergency should occur your babysitter may blank out on this information. Leave the telephone numbers of the fire and police department as well as your pediatrician’s telephone number.

Don’t forget to leave information about where you will be so that you can be reached. The address and phone number should suffice.

If you want a family member, friend or neighbor to be contacted in case of an emergency, leave the names, addresses and telephone numbers of those people. Finally, tell the babysitter when to expect your return.

Having someone dependable, fun and creative watching your baby will give you some degree of security when you are going out whether for business or for pleasure. A good babysitter is worth their weight in gold.

These Christmas baby food ideas and tips for the holiday season will help you make baby’s first Christmas extra special!

Your baby’s first Christmas is simply a magical time – for him AND for you! It’s a time to introduce your little one to the wonderful traditions you grew up with and an opportunity for you to re-create wonderful memories from your own childhood.

Christmas dinner for baby can be put together quite easily from your meal, which is traditionally full of healthy veggies – but exactly what you give your baby depends, of course, on his age and stage of development.

Remember: Your baby should be at least 6 months of age before you introduce him to solid foods, unless your doctor has recommended starting earlier.

And, even though it’s Christmas and you’re anxious to include your baby at the Christmas meal, you should still introduce new foods separately and with the consent of his doctor.

This is to prevent and identify food allergies and digestive problems.

Here are some recipes.

1.Turkey

Turkey can be given to your baby from 7 months of age. Here’s a simple Christmas baby food recipe using turkey – remember to cook your baby’s veggies without salt.

1 large turkey slice
1 cooked potato
1 medium cooked carrot
2 cooked broccoli florets

Blend the turkey in a food processor with water or homemade stock until fairly thin. Then add the potato (which will thicken the mixture) and the remaining veggies and puree to the desired consistency. Older babies, already comfortable with finger foods, can be given this meal cut up into bite-sized pieces.

2.Gravy

Commercial gravies tend to be high in salt and are unsuitable for babies. If you would like to create a healthier gravy to accompany these Christmas baby food recipes, then simply take 4 oz (about 1/2 cup) of your cooked veggies and puree with 8 to 12 fl oz (around 1 to 1/2 cups) of the meat juices from the pan (assuming that your meat was not heavily seasoned with salt). Puree them together and serve – you can adjust these quantities to create a thinner or thicker gravy if you prefer.
Another option is to combine arrowroot with homemade chicken stock (1 tbsp arrowroot per 8 fl oz (1 cup) of stock). Pour into a small saucepan and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. For a more robust flavour, stir in 1/2 tsp tomato puree.

3. Cranberry Sauce

If your baby has already been introduced to a wide range of solid foods, then it should be fine to add a little cranberry sauce to his holiday meal. But don’t overdo it, as cranberries can upset a sensitive tummy.

4. Potatoes

Depending on where you are in the world, the way in which potatoes are cooked for the Christmas dinner can vary. In the UK, roasted potatoes are common – whereas in the US, most families serve mashed potatoes.

In either case, make sure that any potato you give your baby is free from salt.

5. Chipolatas In Bacon

Also known as ‘Pigs in Blankets”, these are almost a staple of the British Christmas dinner. But they are not suitable for young babies, as these processed meats contain too much salt.

6. Bread Sauce

Bread sauce cooked to a traditional recipe will contain milk, so it would not be suitable if your baby is sensitive to cow’s milk or if a family history of dairy allergy exists. Otherwise, a little creamy bread sauce with baby’s Christmas dinner would be fine and would make a lovely dip for veggies if he is finger-feeding.

The Christmas holiday period is a time when for millions of families the daily routine is likely to change, sometimes drastically or sometimes just a little. If you have a new born, or very young, baby in the house, do not believe that they will not be aware of what’s going on just because they are lazing around in their crib sleeping most of the time. They will be aware of differences in their environment, so it is a good idea to think about the well being of the baby in advance, and plan your Christmas period accordingly.

Probably the first sign that something different is going on in the home will be the Christmas decorations and ornaments going up. While the baby may seem oblivious to all commotion and activity as the decorations go up all around, there is a good chance that a baby who has lived in the house for a few months will be very aware of them, even if they cannot focus on the detail of the decorations themselves. This is a good time to get the baby involved in Christmas, right at the start, by letting them lie in the room being decorated while they are awake. Let them watch the rest of the family as they hang the Christmas tree decorations and lights, and all the other ornaments. Once in a while, take over an ornament that is bright and let her see it up close; find some that make a noise, and let her hear the gentle sounds up close. Nothing too noisy, of course, that will scare the baby, just the gentle sounds. Also, pick her up and take her up close to hanging ornaments. That will help the baby feel a part of what is going on, even if they do not have a clue what it is all about.

If your Christmas holiday is being spent at home, then the routine with the baby need not change too much. If you are expecting a lot of guests, though, then it may be rather different, so try not to forget to plan for the baby too. If you are getting caught up in a frenzy of cooking and other preparation in the days before Christmas, and on Christmas morning, then try to involve the baby just a bit, by allowing her to lie in the kitchen with you, or in whatever room the preparation may be going on. Remember, your baby will sense stress and anxiety in the parents, so it is best to allow plenty of time for your preparation so that you are not too rushed and stressed out.

If the baby is used to having a lot of people around, then she will probably not be too disturbed by the sudden influx of visitors. Even then, remember she needs peaceful periods, and when she joins the throng while awake it is worth keeping an eye on whether she is becoming overwhelmed by too much boisterous attention, especially as the alcohol may flow later in the day, or sooner in some cases. Always remember, your baby just needs love, warmth, care, food and security, so as long as you remain conscious of those things at all times, then your baby can enjoy Christmas as much as you, even though she may not be able to tell you so.

If you are going away, then the routine upset will be greater, so it may not be quite so easy for baby or parents. Everything mentioned above for staying at home still applies, and the travel preparation should be no different than for an ordinary trip away. However, take extra care and ensure you have everything that you will need for the baby while travelling and away, listed well in advance and organised in plenty of time. Depending on where you live, there may not be shops open on Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve shopping may be a stressful nightmare for you and the baby. So, it is well worth getting yourself, and your baby’s, things well organized in advance.

Christmas should be a great time for you, your family and your baby. Much will be just as normal, but it is always worth remembering that she will be aware of anything that is different, whether in surroundings, tension levels, or sounds. If you are breastfeeding, you should be aware that what you eat and drink will provide her milk.

So long as you remain aware of those things, and act accordingly, your baby will be happy, and have a good grounding for getting more involved next Christmas.

Baby’s first Christmas is certainly an event to be treasured. Here are some creative ways to record your first holiday together.

1. Make or buy a personalized ornament. Hang an ornament painted with your baby’s name and birthdate. Every year you can take out this ornament and remember your baby’s first Christmas.

2. Create your first annual photo ornament. Place your baby’s picture in a tiny frame and hang from your Christmas tree. Do the same thing next year and hang the two ornaments next to each other. As the years go by, you’ll have pictures of your baby from each Christmas.

3. Make a Christmas stocking from your baby’s sock. Hang an adorable miniature Christmas stocking next to yours. Decorate it with your baby’s name and the year of his first Christmas.

4. Save your baby’s first Christmas outfit. Dress her in adorable green and red Christmas clothes. These can get stored away and revisited whenever you feel like reminiscing. When you come across it again next year, you’ll realize just how much your child has grown.

5. Give your child a Christmas-themed stuffed animal. There are miniature Santas, reindeers, angels, and elves. As your child grows, you’ll always have it around reminding you of your baby’s first Christmas. It might even become your child’s best friend for a while.

6. Make or buy a personalized Christmas blanket. You can store this with your child’s first Christmas clothes and or hang it on the wall in your baby’s room — assuming you can persuade her to let go of it.

7. Give your baby a Christmas music box. These are treasures that can last a lifetime. He’ll want to fall asleep every night to the peaceful Christmas music.

8. Take plenty of pictures. Get pictures of your child’s face when he first sees the Christmas lights or when he gets his first present. Make sure to also get pictures of your newly formed family.

9. Write a letter to your child. Even though it’ll be a while before your child can read it, this letter can mean a lot to you for years to come. In your letter, tell your child how happy you are to be celebrating your first Christmas with her. Thank her for her first Christmas present to you–being born.

10. Start a Christmas scrapbook. Decorate the cover with your child’s name and birthdate. Fill it with some of your Christmas pictures and any Christmas cards to your baby. You can also write a short description of your baby’s first Christmas — what you gave him, what he ate, or what he found scary — and add it to your scrapbook.

Is your baby out of newborn stage? Now it’s the time to provide stimulation for your baby so that they will not experience boredom.

When your baby was in newborn stage, they’ll mostly cry when they are hungry.

But, once when they’ve crossed that stage, they’ll tend to cry out of boredom. So, how do you entertain your baby to avoid boredom?

Easy ways to entertain baby:

1. Involve them in your activities and take them wherever you move in your home. For instance, a large bowl and few colorful spoons or blocks will be perfect activity for your baby when you are cooking.
2. One year old babies begin to understand language and pictures slowly so they’ll absolutely love big board books with pictures of fruits, flowers and animals. This way your baby will enjoy learning things.
3. Little babies love outdoors. So, if you are free and if weather permits, take your baby for a walk. Your baby will definitely love to walk with your assistance, particularly if they are 12 months old.
4. Your little one may not like loud sounds, but they’ll definitely love to hear different sounds, so you can play musical instruments or many DVDs are available to entertain your baby with different sounds. You can use them to provide entertainment for your baby.

Most of the mothers buy videos and baby music CDs for babies.

Apart from the human voice, baby music is the original interactive medium and is most beneficial learning resource for newborns, infants and babies today.

Millions of babies in more than 80 countries have benefited from the music.

There are some premises that classical music can make your baby smarter or intelligent and exposure to baby music is part of what you do to introduce your baby to all sights and sounds of their world.

Only play the high quality baby music that is age appropriate and effective. It is the best to give a baby proper start in life.
Benefits of listening to baby music:

* Baby music can definitely helps to calm your baby and put your baby in a restful state at bedtime or naptime.
* Listening to baby music has the power to increase the thinking ability by stimulating electrical responses in the brain, promoting creativity, increasing receptivity to learning by inducing a relaxed state and capitalizing on instinctive body rhythms which stimulate conceptual ability.
* There is some good collection of music such as Mozart or Bach for bedtime. It has been discovered that listening to Mozart music can helps to develop speech, improve motor skills and helps for memory development. Enya music can be very soothing. Georgia Kelly’s harp music is also relaxing and peaceful.
* Religious and soft gospel music is also good choice that helps your baby to go to sleep.
* Listening to music gives relaxation to not only to babies, but also for soothing the entire family.
* Baby music affects the children in many ways. These include increased self esteem and confidence, increased mutually rewarding interactions, learning new ways of managing cognitive and behavior skills, an improvement in the children’s social skills, learning about supporting speech and language and singing songs and playing the musical games at home that they learn in the sessions.
* It promotes the development of reading skills. Nurtures the imagination. By listening to music babies stop crying.

After your baby awakens, you can stimulate your baby’s sense by playing nursery rhymes or music from kids’ movies. By listening to minimalist Phillip Glass’s baby music, your baby will respond and as they get older, they will dance with it.

White noises in the form a fan or from sound machines that creates the sound of an ocean or sound from rain fall can be restful as well and these noises can block out the noises from the home.

You don’t need to create an artificially silent environment for the baby. If you do like that, it can make it harder for your baby to get to sleep when the home’s rhythms and noises get back to normal.

The baby music helps both of you to get to sleep and also helps to soothe your own nerves. It provides a wonderful time of bonding and restfulness for you and your baby together.

It is a fact that even the youngest of babies are busy learning how to communicate with their parents or guardians, and even though they may not be familiar with language, they are learning, and learning fast!

The better you respond to her, the faster her communication and language skills will improve.

Have you noticed, for instance, that your baby has already started waiting for her turn at communicating with you when you are playing with her or simply holding her?

Have you noticed that she says “oo” and looks intently at your face to see what your reaction will be? When you “oo” back at her, she understands that these are the basic rules of a conversation, and that she will wait for her turn when the other person is saying something, and only then she will be able to understand the conversation.

If you are a concerned parent who wants to improve your baby’s language skills, then read on for tips on how to go about it:

* Talk constantly and naturally to her when you are with her. This will help her absorb the language, even if she hasn’t learned to speak as yet. A language rich household does wonders for a growing child.
* Model your language; do not use incorrect grammar or slang when you are talking to your baby. This is so that at a later time, you will not have to correct her language; she would have learned the correct language from you when she was but a toddler!
* When you are communicating with your baby, you can describe what she is doing to her. For instance, when she reaches out to touch your face, you could say to her, “That’s my nose! Are you trying to touch it?” or, when she sees your family pet approaching, you could say, “I see you are excited! Are you happy that Rexxx has come to play with you?” These sentences and many others like them will make her understand what she is doing, and help her connect her ideas together in a coherent manner.
* Similarly, you could describe for her what you are doing, like for instance, “I am going to pick you up”, or “Mommy is going to change your diaper!” This will make your baby learn her language in the context of experience.
* Read books, or tell her stories, even if you feel she is too young. This will help her develop her concentration and language skills, and you will be surprised at what you have achieved through these simple acts, at the end of the day!

Babies cry. It is a simple fact of life.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that crying is the only way the baby has to communicate with you that something is wrong.

Here are six tips to soothe crying babies.

1. Address the problem.

Try to figure out why your baby is crying and address the problem.
Does baby’s diaper need changing? Is she hungry? Is she tired? Is she sick? While all cries may sound alike to you at first, if you pay attention you will soon discover that cries that mean different things have different sounds.
A high shrill cry, for example, usually means pain, while a whining cry is usually more indicative of being tired. The better you can understand your baby’s problems and address them, the less your baby will cry.

2. Cuddle baby closely.

Before your baby was born, she was in a small space, and felt your touch all around her. Let her experience that same closeness now by cuddling with her.
Try swaddling her in a blanket. Let her feel your touch, and smell your smell. Your baby is uniquely attuned to her mother, and she will be comforted by close contact with you.

3. Rock your baby.

When you were pregnant, your baby was used to the frequent movements of your body. Your baby will still be soothed by movement. Try rocking your baby, or patting her gently in a rhythmic fashion.
If you have a birth ball, try sitting on the ball and gently bouncing up and down. Babies who like movement and physical closeness often do quite well when worn in a baby sling.
Baby might also like going outside for a walk, weather permitting, either in a carriage, baby carrier or sling, or even a stroller. There are a number of seats for babies that rock or swing that can be used indoors.

4. Sing to baby.

There’s a reason lullabies are so popular: babies love the sound of a human voice. Your baby spent many months listening to the sound of your voice before she was born. She will be comforted by your voice now.
Try singing to her, whether it is a lullaby or just your favorite rock song at a slower tempo. Right now it’s the voice, not the words that are soothing to her. You can also just talk to her in a reassuring voice, and making soothing sounds.

5. White out.

The womb is a noisy place. Babies hear a lot of thumping and whooshing, which makes white noise a natural soother.
Consider using a white noise machine, a small fan (aimed away from baby), a machine that produces atmospheric effects like rain or surf, or even playing a CD of appropriate sounds.
There are even special baby toys that reproduce womb sounds that some babies find very soothing. Some moms swear by running the vacuum cleaner or washing machine!

6. Pucker up.

Babies have an instinctive need to suck. Try offering your baby your breast if you are breastfeeding, or a bottle.
Your baby may not need a full meal; she may just be thirsty. You can also try a pacifier to help meet baby’s needs for comfort sucking.

First pregnancy is a time when you should pamper yourself and demand more attention from others. You must enjoy life. Here and now.
Personal Car is very convenient to ride! Special belt in the car will prevent the usual belt from passing through the stomach, but, in case of an accident, it will help again. Clothes for pregnant women are now sold everywhere and there are a lot of types and stiles. It is scary to think about how our mothers lived without jeans with elastic band and special underwear. Bandage reduces the load on the back, because it supports the stomach. Cool thing, but I am personally too lazy to get into it. But it is really easy. You should also buy the right shoes. You must temporary temporarily forget about studs. Buy supporting panties. This will help to prevent veins varicose. A special pillow for sleep, which then becomes a pillow for breast feeding, is very suitable. Learn how to properly sit, stand and lie down. While sitting and lying down – raise your legs and put on something, if there is a possibility. Do not sleep on your back – this is quite a bad posture, especially for children. Best of all it is better to lie and to sit on the left side. It is very important to have a dishwasher and a washing machine. I hope that you have them. In my opinion a swimming pool is the most beautiful and healthy sport for pregnant women. It seems that you move, but do that without any difficulties! This is especially good for those who do not like to walk very much. They say that there are special stones-talismans for pregnant women. Do you believe in that? In this case you should buy those that suit you and are nice to wear. And what about choosing colors? I will definitely say that you need the yellow, green, blue, blue, violet. You can buy such clothes, you can change the wallpaper, you can just watch pictures of flowers. Moisturize your skin. I would again like to advise you to go to the sea. Eh. Drink much water! This is nonsense, that the usual water causes swelling! You simply have to stop eating salt! And of course massage is so pleasant and healthy at any time!