Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘baby care’

Baby Proofing your house and home can be a tough task. Start early with baby care and child safety by getting baby gates to baby proof your house. Invest in baby gates before your baby is one year old to stop your baby from getting up the stairs, down the stairs, into the kitchen, and any other area or place of the house that needs baby care safety and child proof baby gates. For example, you may want to surround an office desk with baby gates so your child can’t get into the wires and computer outlets. Ensuring that you add baby gates is the first step towards baby proofing your house.

The most important item to think about when baby proofing the house is too first attack the items that can cause the most harm to your baby. There has been a number of infant deaths from tv’s, hdtvs, or flatscreens falling down on an infant and baby proofing large items that can fall such as a TV is very important from an early age. It’s also important to remove book shelfs or anything large that is not sturdy and can fall down. Your baby will start standing against objects, pulling at them, and can ultimately knock them down on themselves. Ensuring these objects are child proofed are crucial to your babies care and safety.

A very hazardous place in your house is your kitchen and cabinets, therefore, be sure to place a baby gate around your kitchen and also child proof the drawers and cabinets keeping your baby out of all silverware, knives, or any sharp objects that can harm your baby. There are thousands of different kinds of child locks and devices to keep your baby away from the kitchen and out of the cabinets.

Another place to baby proof is the fireplace. Be sure to close off the fireplace from your baby and keep them away from all fireplaces and firewood.

After you’ve child proofed most of the major items and added baby gates, you should get outlet covers for all your outlets and also remove any hard objects from the babies play area. A sharp or glass coffee table is something that you may put away and replace for a leather or soft ottoman coffee table that’s safe and can’t cause harm for your baby.

While child proofing your home can be a daunting and lenghy task, it’s important to start early to ensure your baby’s safety in the comfort of your home.

Taking great care of your baby can be easy at times and also very tough at times. It’s important to stay level headed and know there will be ups and downs to being a parent. It will never be perfect, so all you can do is try your best and ensure the safety, healthiness, and happiness of your baby and your family.

Here are some baby care tips for a healthy and happy baby.

• Ensure your baby is properly fed. It’s good that your baby feels he/she is eating enough food, milk, or formula so your baby is not fussy through out the day. Overfeeding your baby may cause gas and upset stomachs so getting know your baby’s que’s for when they are full or when they are finished with their bottle will be important to keeping their gas levels down. If you do have a gassy baby, always properly burp your baby and make sure to get a good burp from your baby especially before putting them down to sleep. If not, your baby may be uncomfortably when sleeping and tend to spit up more often.
• Ensure your baby has proper sleep. Sleep training can be one of the toughest moments of your babies first year of life, so prepare for some good nights and some bad ones. When your baby has proper sleep, he will also tend to be less fussy and a more happy baby overall. Try the sleep train methods with letting your baby cry for a little and then stopping in to them know your there. Then, let your baby cry a few more minutes longer and stop back in again. Try to leave your baby in the crib and soothe them there… If your baby can learn to self-soothe in the crib, then the baby won’t really on your to pick them up all the time. Therefore, leaving the baby in the crib and trying to put back to bed there can help your baby. Another good time for nap time is put your baby to nap in the crib as opposed to a bouncer or a pack and play. Getting the baby used to sleeping in the crib will make them more comfortable in the crib. If your baby takes short naps, sometimes let your baby wake up and do their thing in the crib and then see if they put themselves back to sleep on their own before you step back in.
• Ensure there is proper playtime and activity. Keeping your baby stimulated is a very important part to your baby care development. If you let your baby lounge around all day and never take them anywhere, they will tend to get more fussy, but enrolling your baby in classes such as swim classes, music classes, baby gym, and more classes to interact with teachers and other babies will keep your baby stimulated and make them more happy during the day and also make your ques for sleep much more visible. If your baby is overly tired from a swim class, you will definitely know it, but if you are home all day with no activity for the baby, you may mistake a tiredness at home for being hungry.

Good luck and hope these baby care tips will help you maintain a happy and healthy baby!

At times, it can be difficult to find a good babysitter or nanny for your baby, especially a baby sitter or nanny that will take great care of your baby It’s important that you don’t take this process lightly, and you always check the references of any babysitter or nanny to make sure they come highly recommended. These best way to find a great baby sitter and nanny is by referral. Simply ask around to all your friends and parents to see how they found their babysitter or nanny to get advice. Many cases, most of the good nannies and sitters will know each other and can recommend another good baby sitter or nanny if they aren’t available. There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth.

We don’t recommend finding someone to care for your baby on a website like Craigslist as you never know what you can find on this type of your site and your goal is to find someone that will take the best care of your little ones, so we wouldn’t steer you in that direction.

However, there are many nanny and babysitter agencies that can help set up meetings for you with prospective nannies and sitters. They will simply set up the meeting and take a percentage or nanny fee, or in most cases they will take a one time fee for their help in finding you a nanny.

There are websites that can be useful to find a part-time sitter to get kids to and pick them up from school, provide assistance with the homework, and even put dinner on the table for the family, such as SitterCity.com. What’s great about this website is that you can view resumes, profiles, and past work experience to make sure the babysitter is a good fit. You can even do a background check to make sure there is nothing on the record, or post a nanny job to all the local sitters in your area.

Having a schedule for your baby is very important for not only your baby, but also for your sanity! A baby with a well-balanced schedule will sleep better and also be less fussy during the day. The best practice for a baby care schedule is feed the baby every 3-4 hours around the same time each day. A sample feeding schedule could be at 6am, 9am, 12am, 3pm, 6pm, 11pm. While you don’t have to stick to the same exact schedule time each day, it’s important to stay somewhat close to the schedule so your baby knows what time of day it is, and will an easier time going to bed at night.

Also, if you setup a schedule with your baby and then veer off course, it will be much easier to get back on the schedule if the schedule has been setup and in place for a while. However, if you have no schedule and you just happen to feed your baby whenever the baby is hungry and put the baby to bed whenever you think the baby is tired, you will get thrown off course easily and may be prone to tantrums and trouble with your baby sleeping.

Setting a good schedule from the start will be a great way to manage your life as well as your baby care needs.

The short answer is:  whenever you want.  The truth is, it is never too early, and it is never too late.  (Okay, well, if you are signing to your son while you are chaperoning his prom, that might be a little weird, but in general, it’s never too late!)

Many moms want to get a head start, and while a newborn won’t necessarily know what you are doing, it still doesn’t hurt.  It might even help your baby’s brain develop, and it sure gives mom the practice.

So here’s the long answer:  Most experts recommend starting to teach your baby to sign when she is six months old.  But as you know, each baby is his own creature, and each baby responds differently.  Some babies start signing at four months old, and some (like my son) show no interest at all until their first birthday, when they want more cake.

But six months is a good rule of thumb.  If you want to start earlier than that, then bravo!  Just don’t have unrealistic expectations about the results you will see!

Here are some signs that may (or may not) be helpful in determining if your baby is ready to start signing:

• Does your baby look at your face when you talk to him?
• Does your baby seem curious about the world around her?
• Does your baby point to things he wants?
• Does your baby already make her own gestures, such as waving goodbye?
• Does your baby imitate things that you do?
• Can your baby pick up small objects with his thumb and finger?

Your baby has sensitive skin therefore the clothes of your baby must be cleaned properly and must be well taken care of. Here are some tips that you can use when it comes to taking care of your baby’s clothes.

Most mothers would wash their baby’s clothes in special detergents to help lessen the risk of skin allergies to take place. However, there are some babies who do not show any reactions when it comes to using common detergents. It is suggested though that for children from birth up to two years of age, their clothes should be washed in dye free detergent since this is less likely to trigger any allergic reactions when it comes to your baby.

It is also advised to avoid the use of fabric conditioners on your baby’s clothes since they contain harmful chemicals that can easily irritate your baby’s skin. Aside from that, fabric conditioners are said to take away the flame retardant in clothing.

Your baby can have the cutest outfit but they will not hesitate to stain it. Stains on baby clothes such as baby foods and leaking diapers can be difficult to get rid off. The only way to get rid of them is to pre-treat the stain before washing the clothes. Once this is done, the process can help get rid of the most stubborn stains which will help leave your baby’s clothing clean and pristine. Pre-treatment can be done with the help of club soda or baking soda and vinegar. It is important to treat the stains as soon as possible in order to increase the chance that the stain will come out.

You should dry your baby’s clothes on your dryer’s lowest setting. This is because the heat can shrink your baby’s clothes which will unable your baby from wearing them anymore.

When you have new clothes for your baby, it is also best to wash them first before allowing your baby to wear them. Although they may look clean and fresh when you bought them in the department store, the baby clothing has already been in contact with dirt, four legged creatures and bugs while it is being packaged and shipped.

Although babies born in the warmer summer months are less likely to get coughs and sniffles in their first few weeks of life, special care needs to be taken in other areas to ensure that your baby is healthy and comfortable.

TOO HOT?

Newborn babies can’t tell you if they are too hot or cold, but there are ways to check. Place your hand across your baby’s back underneath their clothes, or on the back of their neck. They should feel warm, not hot or cold. Feeling a baby’s hands and feet is not an accurate way of telling whether they are cold or hot, as a baby’s hands and feet are usually slightly cooler than the rest of his or her body.

CLOTHING

As a general rule, your baby needs one more layer of clothing than you do. For example, if you are wearing a t-shirt, then your baby will need a singlet and t-shirt. In very hot weather, your baby may need less clothing. Cotton clothing is great for summer newborns, as it is light and breathes well.

SUN PROTECTION

Your newborn’s skin is soft and raw, and offers no protection from the sun. Use specially designed sun shades, or a cloth nappy or blanket over the car seat or pram to protect your baby from the sun when out and about. When at the beach or park, try to choose a shady area to sit, or take an umbrella or pop-up tent to offer your baby shade.

HYDRATION

If you are breastfeeding, then your breast milk contains both foremilk to quench your baby’s thirst, and hind milk which is your baby’s food. Your baby should not need any fluids other than breast milk, but you may need to give shorter feeds more frequently to keep your baby hydrated. If you are bottle-feeding, you may need to offer your baby cooled boiled water from a sterilized bottle or teaspoon to ensure that he or she has enough fluids in very hot weather.

SLEEP

On hot, sticky summer days and nights, you may find that your newborn has trouble settling to sleep. Open some windows in baby’s bedroom to keep the room cool, but be sure that baby’s cot or bassinette is not in a draft. If you can’t open windows, you could try using an electric fan in baby’s room, once again making sure that it does not create a draft on baby.
If you wrap your baby when he or she is sleeping, remove one layer of clothing before wrapping to ensure that your baby does not get too hot. Muslin is great for wrapping summer babies – it is very light and breathes well. Muslin wraps are available from baby stores, or you can buy plain muslin from a fabric store and make your own.

Your child’s feet will continue to develop right up until their mid to late teens. Newborn babies’ feet don’t even have the full complement of bones they will have in later life (26), and the arch of the foot won’t develop until around the age of 2. It is essential that you ensure that their feet get the right support and protection throughout childhood to enable them to grow and develop in a healthy way.

Choosing footwear

New babies: Until your baby starts to crawl and move around, experts recommend bare feet to ensure healthy development. Socks and booties are fine for protecting against the cold when you are outside, but make sure that they don’t restrict your baby’s feet. Even jumpsuits that are too short can result in claw, retracted or hammer toes, so you may decide to opt for ones without feet.

Crawling babies: Soft, slip-on “pre-walking” shoes help protect the feet of crawling babies, and you may want to invest in at least one pair with a rubber toe-protector. However, make sure you continue to give your baby the chance, where safe, to practice crawling and standing on bare feet.

Toddlers: Once your child is walking confidently, you will need to buy some proper shoes that support and protect their feet. Experts still recommend letting your child walk around without shoes as much as possible, where it is safe to do so, as this promotes healthy foot development.

When buying shoes, it’s always best to go to a good shoe shop where you can have your child’s feet measured by staff on a machine which will accurately measure the length and width of their feet. This will ensure that the shoes you buy will be a proper fit. Outdoor shoes need to be well made and sturdy, preferably made of leather and with a flexible, non-slip sole. The toes of your child’s shoes should be wide and allow the toes inside to spread out, and high enough so that the top of the shoe doesn’t press down on the toenails.

Toddlers generally need to have their feet re-measured every 6-8 weeks, and older children every 3-4 months.

Caring for your child’s feet

Keeping your baby’s feet clean and the nails short is essential to healthy foot development. Remember that babies’ feet tend to sweat more than adults’, and their toenails tend to grow faster too, so it is a good idea to use bath time as an opportunity to check feet on a regular basis. Look out for red patches and blisters, which may indicate that your child’s shoes are not fitting properly. Don’t burst blisters, however tempting this may be, as you run the risk of opening up the irritated patch to infection.

Children can be very sensitive about having their feet inspected or their toenails cut, so it is a good idea to try and do this while they are asleep if you can. For example, if you are taking a long car journey and you suspect your child may fall asleep in the car, remove their shoes and socks before setting off so that you can have a few undisturbed minutes to indulge in a bit of foot-care while they are blissfully unaware.

Some common minor problems

In-toeing and out-toeing: Some children when they start walking exhibit an “in-toed” or “out-toed” gait, meaning that one or both of their feet turn inwards or outwards. This usually corrects itself without any intervention, but if you are concerned, or if the problem persists past toddler hood, consult your doctor or health visitor.

In growing toenails: Red or swollen skin at the side of your child’s toenail may indicate an in growing toenail. To avoid these, cut your child’s toenails straight across and try to file off any sharp edges. If your child is experiencing persistent discomfort from in growing toenails, consult your doctor.

Hand, foot and mouth disease: Not related in any way to the foot and mouth disease that affects livestock, this is a common viral infection which causes blisters in the mouth, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It is contagious and most nurseries will insist that children stay home as long as they have blisters. Hand, foot and mouth may be accompanied by a light fever, but will generally clear up quickly and without treatment after a few days.

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.

At first you may be nervous about dressing your baby and trying to support him while manipulating the garments. Dressing will become easier with practice, so just be gentle and patient.

You should always dress and undress a young baby on a nonskid flat surface, as this allows you to keep both hands free – a changing pad is ideal. Your baby is very likely to cry as you take off his clothes. This is because young babies hate the feel of the air on their naked bodies; they like to feel snug and secure. It’s not because you’re hurting him, so don’t get flustered by it.