Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘infants’

As parents, we’re living in a paradoxical time. On one hand, the variety of developmentally friendly infant toys available on the market is greater than ever before. On the other hand, this fact can make a visit to the nearby Toys ‘R Us a depressing experience, since we somehow end up feeling like we’re doing something wrong if we don’t exit the store with every book, video and interactive game well-intentioned people have produced for our benefit.

But take heart. Even if you don’t own every toy in existence, your baby is going to be just fine. I promise. In fact, you need not look beyond your own four walls to find plenty of items that will occupy his interest and stimulate his brain. Here’s a list of 10!

1. Paper
Give your infant a single sheet of paper, and he might amuse himself for minutes on end waving it around, laughing at the funny flapping sound it makes or trying to tear it into a hundred tiny pieces. The activity can help him both practice his dexterity and become familiar with an everyday object. Infants’ movements aren’t smooth enough for them to get paper cuts, but you do have to watch out that they don’t try to eat a torn-off sample. They’ll probably be more interested in waving it around anyway. (Note: While regular paper makes for a fun toy, avoid letting your baby play with newspaper, since the chemicals in printer’s ink can be hazardous.)

2. Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
These offer several fun advantages. One: They’re shiny and reflective. Two: They’re fun to bang on. Three: They make an interesting noise when rattling against the ground. And four: They’re fun to bang on!

3. Computer Keyboard
Most of us have an obsolete keyboard collecting dust somewhere just because we never bothered to get rid of it. Now is your chance to make it useful again. Babies love rapping (OK, pounding) on the keys and enjoying the clacking sounds they make. Your first step is to secure the loose cable to the back of the keyboard with duct tape. Then you’re ready to hand over the keyboard to your infant and watch him pound away to his heart’s content!

4. Piano
If your baby enjoys banging on a computer keyboard, he’s going to positively love banging on something that produces music as a result! From the age of 5 months or so, he’ll probably be thrilled by being placed on the bench – with you holding him for support, of course – and given free reign to compose whatever piece he wants. Benefits of this great activity include practice with hand-eye coordination, learning about cause and effect (he learns that by hitting the keys, he’s the one making those sounds), and, best of all, a developing ear for, and appreciation of, music.

5. Balls
Plastic balls, rubber balls, ping pong balls – any ball large enough not to be swallowed is a good, engaging toy for an infant. Plastic and rubber balls are best, since they aren’t dangerous to chew on. Tennis balls are OK, too, since your infant will probably discover fairly quickly that chewing on fuzz is less fun than playing with the thing instead. By the time your baby is 5 or 6 months old, you’ll start to derive a whole new level of joy from teaching him to play “catch” – passing the ball back and forth with you (even though you’ll probably have to take the ball from him when he passes it to you, since infants learn to grasp objects before learning to release them).

6. Television Remote
While watching TV is a passive activity and therefore not ideal for infant development, the remote itself can be a useful toy. Babies love pressing buttons wherever they see them, and this provides them with a self-contained panel of lots of different buttons to press. If you have a remote with an LED (red light) that goes on whenever a button is pressed, the toy becomes even more fun and educational – your infant will be spellbound by the relationship between his effort and the light appearing.

7. Empty Plastic Bottles
One of the few good things about our society’s obsessive consumption of soft drinks is the enjoyment infants get from the bottles they come in, once emptied. The smaller the bottle, the better for little hands to manipulate. The larger ones can provide lots of fun, too, by being rolled back and forth or knocked ahead only to rotate back. Empty shampoo bottles also work well.

8. Used Toilet Roll Tubes
Part of me thinks the toilet roll tube came first – as a wonderful infant toy – followed by the invention of toilet paper rolls to place around them. These tubes have lots going for them as baby toys. They’re an interesting cylindrical shape, but open at the ends and thus easy for little hands to grasp. They’re stiff, so your baby won’t destroy them in five minutes. They don’t look like something that would be interesting to eat, even to an infant. And they can be banged against other objects without harmful consequences.

9. Watches
The faces of most watches, combined with the texture of their bands and their silver or gold buckles, make them fascinating objects for infants. They may serve you particularly well at the changing table when your baby reaches the age at which he prefers to flip over instead of waiting for you to finish the job. Dangling the watch above his eyes for a moment or two and then allowing him to grab it might keep him interested just long enough for you to complete the crucial task at hand.

10. You
No matter how many pilgrimages you make to the local toy store, your baby’s favorite toy is you. And why not? Just think how exciting a thing you are, with so many interesting parts for a baby to enjoy, including fingers that move around in captivating ways, a nose that sticks out from the rest of your facial plane, features capable of endless amusing expressions and feet that are fun to shuffle after when they walk away. When you think you’re at a loss trying to keep your infant entertained, turn to yourself as the toy most likely to get results. Do an elevator walk, clap your hands under your knees, play peek-a-boo, play a hambone tune on your thighs, do a pratfall or just jump around and sing. Your baby will appreciate the effort you’re making for him, and he may just reward you with a few of those giggles that you’ve come to live for.

How to bring up and educate a child? This question certainly disturbs each parent. One thing is certain: without love and affection no parent will have success.
Question of balanced nutrition of children from birth is of great importance. It’s enough to say that man can not go to college just because he/she did not receive enough dietary iodine, a woman can not breastfeed because in childhood she ate irrationally. Zinc deficiency in food may cause the boy’s problems of growth and puberty, and calcium deficiency in childhood forms osteochondrosis among adults. The imbalance of diet on selenium can cause dysplasia infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, etc.

- Let’s talk about modern and scientifically sound principles for feeding infants.

- In recent years, the nutritional status of children of the first year of life has changed. In particular, the dates of the introduction of complementary food have been changed. Let me explain that research supported by the recommendations on this issue is provided only in the territory of the former Union institutions – Institute of Nutrition of RAMS. So, if even a few years ago, pediatricians recommended to give infants fruit juices from a month, but today it is considered to be done not earlier than three or four months.

- Why?

- First, a drop of juice gives the baby’s body a miser amount of vitamins and minerals, while significantly increasing the risk of allergic reactions. Secondly, some children have dyspeptic disorders. The digestive system of a baby is not ready for processing anything more than milk, and the early introduction of juice brings much more harm than use. According to the latest recommendations of the Institute of Nutrition of RAMS, the baby is ready to absorb fruit juice and puree only in the third or fourth month of its life.

- Why they have overestimated?

- Previously, we recommended giving children cow’s milk from eight months. Today it turns out that cow’s milk and yogurt cause diapedesic intestinal bleeding, which is often the reason for the reduction of hemoglobin and anemia. So now we recommend adapted milk formula with the number “2″ – so-called “Follow”.

Greatly has changed attitude to the curds. Previously, pediatricians were encouraged to give it to children from five-six months. Today, however, if the child is healthy, you can give him/her curds from a year. Cheese has much protein product, and the child takes enough protein from mother’s milk or infant formula. After all, if the protein in the diet is too much, there is a big burden on the kidneys. Of course, this does not always lead to the development of kidney disease, but nevertheless there is nothing good.

- Young mothers usually can not wait and introduce solid food early. What is wrong with the early introduction of “adult” products?

- Meat, eggs, fish, cheese, whole milk are also protein products, and including them into the baby’s diet should be done slowly. And since there is no universal advice, including complementary food and dishes is better to discuss with the pediatrician. After all, if, for example, a child grows weak or sick often (and in such cases, the body requires much more protein), the diet is calculated individually and completely different than a healthy child’s. Perhaps the doctor will recommend meat, cheese and other products.

What is wrong with the early introduction of complementary foods for a healthy baby? Suppose you decided to give the baby meat or cheese in three or four months. At this time, his/her gastrointestinal tract is not yet fully formed. However, the earliest solid food provokes its rapid development to the detriment of other systems. According to the natural maturation of the child program in three or four months are formed the cardiovascular, but not the digestive system. And once the program is broken, then, sooner or later the child will have heart problems.

The most important is to avoid the universal advice: each child requires individual attention. Choosing the best for your baby timetable for the introduction of complementary food will help a qualified pediatrician. A rough scheme is as follows. If the child is healthy, from birth to four months, he does not need anything except breast milk. In the absence of aggravated heredity for allergy from four months you can begin the introduction of juices. However, if there is an allergic reaction or any disorder, stop it up to six months. Give just a few drops of juice for the first time gradually increasing the quantity and eventually bringing it up to 10hn, where n is the child’s age in months. If in the process of introducing juice still appears mild allergic reaction, you must do two-week break, and then begin with a different juice, watching its portability.

In five months, first you can give your baby vegetable puree. We usually suggest you start with squash or potatoes.Gradually increasing the amount, two weeks later it is brought to 150-180 g. In the puree you can add vegetable oil.

Preparing vegetable purée you need to preserve vitamins.

A month after this comes second complementary food – porridge. Here we recommend rice, buckwheat.

- There is a huge variety of cereals. Which one we should choose? Or is it better to cook ourselves?

- It’s up to you. It is very convenient to use instant, soluble ones which do not require cooking – their preparation takes just a few minutes. In porridge should be added some butter. The recommended amount of cereal in the six to seven months is 150 grams, from eight months to a year – 180-200 g. The mixed porridge of a few grains you can give your child when he/she becomes accustomed to each grain separately.

After six months, you can start feeding your child with meat, fish, hard-boiled egg yolk, curds.

Since the tests for pregnancy have yielded positive results, future parents, especially mothers, begin to look for glamorous clothes for their unborn children.
Clothing for newborns can be purchased in a set, which will likely have a blanket for baby. But as not all clothes are used equally often, it is better to save up and buy a few interchangeable things. Usually parents buy some jackets, sliders (pants with straps), bonnet (hats), and coveralls.
The clothes should be easily removed and dressed; the child should feel free in movements. It should be noted that babies badly own their own bodies, and will not be able to change position or show that the clothes are inconvenient.
The first clothes of the newborn should be very simple, without buttons and bows which are suitable for older children. It is necessary to draw attention to the choice of materials, color, and do not forget about the washing features of clothes.

Material

Newborn clothes should be made from good natural fabrics that are suitable for child’s gentle skin. For example, cashmere, cotton, linen. The most suitable material for kids is fine cotton jersey. It does not limit movements, as well as is hygienic. Rough, even natural materials (corduroy or denim) can rub the child’s skin.

Should the clothes be big?

Sometimes parents, wishing to save, buy bigger clothes, believing that the child will wear them longer. Of course, you need to cloth the child, so that clothing does not embarrass his/her movements, but at the same time they should not be too large, otherwise the baby can get out of it. In hot weather, he/she will feel comfortable in shorts and socks (which, unfortunately, most children quickly learn taking off). In cooler weather, the clothes can be warmer, as the parents seek a compromise between convenience for the movements and the number and thickness of clothing. Nowadays, there are a lot of new solutions and fabrics to clothe the child, which are not only warm but also convenient.

How to avoid wrong size?

Clothes for babies should be selected for its growth and age. In general, the clothes should have information about age and height. The average height of 3 to 6 month babies is 60-68 cm, 6 to 9 months is 68-74 cm, while 9 to 12 months is 74-80 cm.

Washing

When washing, machine or hand, parents always need to follow the instructions, and then all children’s belongings will maintain their color, shape and structure of the original fabric for a long time.
It is advisable not to use powders with biomaterials; they can irritate the skin of the child. Now there are a number of detergents and mitigations for children’s clothing, which do not cause allergies. Clothes should be well dried and pressed, only then it can be worn again.
Do not forget that babies in their first year of life quickly discolor their clothing. Decorative details make the process of washing, ironing clothes difficult, demanding much effort and care that is often burdensome for young mothers.

Details

Pockets are usually convenient, but for older children. Newborns have nothing to put in them. They can even have dangerous elements: beads, buttons that a child can tear off and swallow.

Psychology of color selection

When creating garments for babies designers take into account advice of doctors and psychologists. It’s usually recommended to choose clothes of delicate pastel shades. The combination of bright, saturated color is extremely harmful to the eyes and the nervous system of the newborn. Especially dangerous is the combination of red and white colors. Therefore, many designers of clothing for toddlers prefer cream-beige and coffee-sand tones.

Beginning from a year, parents already need to think about the development of the child’s taste. Therefore, you need to be even more attentive with a choice of color combinations of clothes for your baby.
Each weather has its clothes

When the room temperature is above 22 degrees the child may be in a thin cotton underwear. With each subsequent lowering of temperature by 2-3 degrees should be added a new layer of clothing.

Thus, with 21 degrees there should be a fine linen, and q lightweight cotton dress on your child. At 17-20 degrees – cotton linens, a thick flannel or a knitted dress with long sleeves, as well as wool socks. At 15-16 degrees put on a cotton underwear, a light cotton dress, or a semi-woolen suit with long sleeves, and woolen socks.

Mothers often ask themselves this question. Only the child can give the answer. Some children need to sleep a lot, the others just vice versa. If the child is full, well-groomed full, sleeps in a cool room, you can let him/her decide how much to sleep. Most infants, if they are satisfied and their stomach works properly, sleep from feeding to feeding. But some children from the birth sleep for a very short time and not because something is disturbing them. You do not need to take any action.
The older the child becomes, the less he/she sleeps. Usually, the first waking period begins at about 4-5 o’clock in the evening. Each child has his/her sleep schedule. By the end of the first year of life, he/she will sleep 2 times a day. Then he/she will move to a one-time sleep. Only in infancy parents can be sure that the child sleeps as long as he/she wants. In 2 years the child is a complex human being. He/she may sleep less than his/her body demands, because of the excitement and anxiety for other reasons.

Falling asleep. It is advisable to accustom the child to the thought that he/she should sleep immediately after taking a meal. Some children like to play after meal. I will recommend trying to break this habit. Accustom the child to sleep in his bed.
Most children become accustomed both to silence and to moderate noise. Therefore there is no need to walk on tiptoe and whisper. This will only teach him/her to silence, and he/she will wake up from the unexpected sounds. If the child is accustomed to normal household sounds, you can safely take the guests in the next room, watch TV or listen to the radio. You can even enter the child’s room without wakening him/her up.