Baby Health Care

Make a Bath Time Baby Gift Basket

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 31st, 2009

Have you been invited to enough baby showers to finally be tired of the same old gifts and gift choices? Or tired of racing all over town to get a last minute gift the mother will love and doesn’t already have? Try making a gift basket that focuses on one of the more important times a
mother shares with her baby.

Bath time is a big event for newborns and infants, one a brand new mother may not be expecting, and one that many of her friends tend to overlook when the baby shower rolls around. So the next time you are invited to a baby shower, show how insightful you are by giving the mother a bath time themed gift basket.

Top Gifts for Infants

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 31st, 2009

It can be difficult sometimes after a friend or loved one has a new baby. Naturally they need clothes and diapers, but that can seem like such a waste. After all, they outgrow the clothing in nearly no time at all, and diapers… well, they are
gone almost instantly. And even with toys, the children outgrow them so quickly. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Here are some top picks for toys for infants that will be able to grow with them, at least for a little while.

Sassy Me in the Mirror Crib Toy: The Me in the Mirror Crib Toy by Sassy is a toy that features a fairly large baby-safe mirror. Hanging from it are various loops and toys. The thing that makes this a great toy is that it can start by hanging in the crib with the baby. But as the baby grows a bit, it can detach and be used for tummy time. Also, there is plenty of black and white, which are the first and most attractive colors to an infant. But there are also other bright, vivid colors that a baby will enjoy once they get a little bit older. And possibly the coolest- there is an mp3 player jack built into it. Music is such a great thing for a child’s mind, but it also just makes for a cool feature that parents can enjoy.

Bouncy chairs: A good, solid bouncy seat is a must have. But be warned- you should not use the type of bouncy seat that suspends from the doorway. First, it’s inappropriate for babies that cannot hold their heads upright yet. Second, it isn’t good on a baby’s hips, even if it’s an older baby. Instead, get one of the bouncy seats that sits on the floor. These often come with music players and vibrating options. The vibration is nice if you have a baby that suffers from colic, as it helps ease their tummies. Bouncy seats are not particularly expensive, and a good one can be found for under $25.

Pots and pans. Okay, so this gift may drive the parents crazy, but older babies love it! With nothing more than a pot, they can create music and entertain themselves for hours. It helps them develop their hand-eye coordination, teaches them rhythm and music, and lets them be creative.

Baby Buddies: Halloween Costume Ideas for Babies

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 31st, 2009

Halloween is a fun holiday for everyone. It has candy and parties, and it is the one day of the year when we get to be whoever we want to be without limitations in public. Of course, just like any holiday, adults tend to twist it into an excuse to get drunk, but there is still wholesome
fun to be had. Children always bring out the joy in everything. Sometimes the best costumes are the ones worn by infants who are still to young to choose them for themselves. Personally, I do not believe that babies should be dress in scary outfits to look like demons and zombies, but some people do find amusement in that kind of thing. I prefer the cute costumes.

An angel costume is a classic for small children. However, as adorable as it may be, angels are not a very unique choice. Not to mention the fact that in the eyes of parents everywhere, a child may as well be born with wings and a halo.

A Jack-o-Lantern has the same problem. You see them everywhere on Halloween every year. They line the streets and find homes on thousands of door steps this season. In the old days, a Jack-o-Lantern was thought to frighten away evil spirits and protect a household on the day that the dead walked free among the living.

You could always go with your child’s favorite cartoon character. I have seen some delightful costumes of characters from Finding Nemo, and other films recently. I particularly liked the one I saw of Squirt the young sea turtle. There was another of one of the offspring of Shrek’s Donkey and Dragon with little red wings.

Lady bugs and bumblebees are always an easy choice. Any little girl will capture everyone’s attention in a red dress with black polka dots, and boys look great in black and yellow stripes. Other animals work well too. Lions and dalmations are a popular choice, and I have seen some very eye catching little tree frog costumes. Of course, a baby chick is a very fitting option as well. Any child would look adorable as a tiny ball of yellow fuzz.

Ferber method: baby sleeping problems

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 31st, 2009

The main goal pursued in Richard Ferber’s articles, “How to solve your baby sleeping problems,” published in 1985 – is teaching a child sleeping alone in bed, and without help of parents, in the case he wakes up at night. Ferber method’s positive experience progressively teaches children relying on their own efforts in achieving comfort.

Ferber compares this process with adult’s feelings, if he was not allowed to sleep on a pillow. At first, he would fall asleep with great difficulty and constantly wake up. But after a few nights, he would get used and sleep well without a pillow.

Ferber method, like many others, begins with a special ritual before bedtime (maybe swimming, and then reading books or singing a lullaby). Then mom or dad puts a child to bed, while he is still awaken. Then parents leave a child (a baby is crying). A parent returns to the nursery in five, ten and fifteen minutes, then at intervals of fifteen minutes to convince a child he is not abandoned. Parent does not stay in the room, not sway a baby and not offers him any pacifiers or bottles. Under no circumstances a parent should remove a child from the crib. This is repeated every time a child wakes up at night. Starting with the second night, all intervals should be increased by five minutes.

Ferber method offers several alternatives (at first sit next to the bed, then slowly push the chair every night), but most of all, he recommends to leave a child’s room at regular intervals.

Ferber method can last for several hours at night, several days, even weeks. In the end it usually works. Another question: Are you able to follow through. (Typically, dads follow recommended intervals more firmly, hormones produced due to a long baby cry in nursing mothers complicate the task.)

After publication of Ferber’s book, they published a number of similar, slightly modified programs. Perhaps the most positive news is the results of the latest research: you do not need to repeat the process every time a baby wakes up at night. Follow instructions only once, when a baby is put to sleep, but at night you can sway him a little. In most cases, this deviation from rules does not delay the advent of a child sound sleep at night.

Tips for Setting Up a Babysitting Exchange

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 31st, 2009

Are babysitting costs blowing a hole in your budget or are you finding it nearly impossible to line up a reliable baby sitter for your children? If so, why not consider setting up a babysitting exchange with other parents to share babysitting duties.

There are numerous benefits to setting up a babysitting exchange, including the following
two.

First, it could save you a lot of money. If you pay $10 an hour or more for a babysitter for five hours each week, that’s $2,600 or more each year. Second, you will be able to relax and enjoy some quality time with your spouse, significant other or yourself, knowing that your kids are in the hands of responsible parents with plenty of experience entertaining and caring for children.

Here are six tips for setting up a babysitting exchange.

1. Start by finding two or three other parents who are interested in participating in an exchange. Ideally parents should have children in about the same age ranges, although that is not essential. You probably don’t want too many parents in the exchange, since it could result in too many children for each babysitting parent to handle. On the other hand, having some extras can give you more flexibility when, inevitably, someone can’t take their turn babysitting.

2. Once you have your babysitting exchange members, set up a meeting to decide on the structure of the exchange.

3. At the meeting, start by determining a babysitting cycle. For example, you could agree that the exchange will provide babysitting services for five hours every Saturday night from seven to midnight. In that event, if you have four sets of parents in your exchange, each would babysit once every four weeks and would have three free Saturday nights.

4. Decide on any guidelines such as where the babysitting will occur (probably at the home of the babysitter) and what each parent should provide for their child (perhaps snacks, pajamas, and a favorite toy).

5. Talk about what will be done if a parent cannot babysit when it is her turn and if a parent is late picking up her child.

Educational Toys for Infants

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 19th, 2009

Parents today are actively introducing learning at an early age because they recognize the importance of education, and its relationship to success in all areas of life. Purchasing educational toys for infants has become an increasingly popular choice for parents who wish to provide their babies with additional tools that will give them a head start.

Research indicates that providing infants the appropriate cognitive stimulus at an early age can help prevent many learning difficulties later. Providing your baby with the right stimulation will not only ward off these potential learning problems, but also help prepare them for the more complex challenges they will face as pre-schoolers and beyond.

Though your baby’s motor skills and mobility may be limited, he/she is actually learning at a phenomenal pace. But because their sensory skills aren’t developed yet, infants learn physically, through sight, sound and touch, and need toys that stimulate those senses.

From a very young age babies will respond to bright contrasting colors and simple patterns. In addition, toys at this stage should be lightweight, easy to grasp, have interesting sounds and a variety of textures for the baby to touch.

As always, when choosing toys for a child of any age, be sure to follow the toy manufacturers specifications for age and safety guidelines.

Here are some suggestions;

1. Very young babies prefer objects that move slowly and/or have a gentle sound. Crib mobiles mesmerize newborns; just make sure it’s within the baby’s visual range.

2. Infants will find an unbreakable crib mirror fascinating, and will stare at their reflection intently.

3. From birth to six months of age, babies have very limited motor skills. Wrist rattles, teething rings, colorful pictures and soft blocks will stimulate and motivate infants at this age.

4. Babies between six and nine months of age are old enough to benefit from toys like activity centers, stacking rings and building blocks.

5. Don’t hesitate to introduce books at any age. Babies will focus on your voice as you read. They also love looking at faces, and will respond to books with colorful pictures of people, particularly other babies.

Although interacting with parents and caregivers offers the best education during baby’s first few months, providing educational toys for infants will supply other forms of physical activity through touch, sight and sound that will keep their little brains active, and help further their healthy development.<!–

Review of the Graco Quattro Stroller

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 19th, 2009

This is a review of the Graco Quattro Stroller. A little background information about us–my wife and are expecting our first baby in a few months, so we’ve been conducting some serious research on various baby accoutrements before purchasing anything. Of course, we also did our research on strollers and that’s what this article is about, and how we came to choose the Graco Quattro Stroller over all the others.

From our research, we concluded that the Graco Quattro Stroller was the way to go. The first thing you must know is that we didn’t come to our decision lightly. This is our very first child, and we want to be careful to choose only the best and safest products. We’d heard friends and relatives mention the Graco brand and knew its reputation for quality and safety.

What we found out about the Graco Quattro Strollers:

The Graco Quattro series of strollers are the ultimate in comfort and style. The Graco Quattro Strollers have been labeled as the sport utility vehicles of strollers, and for good reason. They are more than just sturdy and well built–they’re also ultra-convenient and extra-comfortable. Most Graco Strollers have a strong aluminum frame and are capable of holding a small toddler, and up to a 50 lb infant.

Plus, the Graco Quattro Stroller easily folds with one hand. It also includes a dual cup holder for you, and a child’s tray for the baby. I can’t forget to mention the reclining seat, and the flip up bassinet, and the drop down basket. You’ll have to see all of these accessories for yourself to really appreciate them.

What we loved about the Graco Quattro Strollers

Yes, we’ve already bought the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Stroller, but we haven’t actually used isn’t due for a few months.

Graco provides a series of neutral colors and this will prove useful in the future if we decide to have another child and that one happens to be a girl. We won’t have to buy a whole new stroller of a different color.

The Graco Quattro Stroller comes with a variety of amenities that are useful for the parent (i.e. cup holders, drop down basket), and the baby (i.e. a reclining seat, bassinet, and tray). Also, the car seat portion of the stroller is lightweight and easily attaches into the stroller and base. We were both very satisfied with our choice.

What we didn’t like about the Graco Quattro Stroller

This is a review so not everything I’m writing here is going to be positive. You deserve an honest opinion, and a full review so here are some cons to the Graco Quattro Stroller:

The stroller we chose is a bit big, so if you have a small car, it probably won’t fit. Luckily, we have a rather roomy SUV and the stroller easily fits in the back. To give you an indication of its size, some friends of ours have the Tour Deluxe and they drive a Toyota Camry. Their stroller fills up the majority of their trunk.

Also, it’s a bit heavy at nearly 30 lbs. This isn’t a problem for me but my wife, who is on the petite side, may have an issue loading, and unloading it from the back of our vehicle. I guess I’ll be the one doing most of the loading/unloading.

Conclusion

The pros of our Graco Quattro Stroller are it’s rugged construction, and its many features that provide comfort both for our baby, and us. The cons are its size and weight.

Baby Bust

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 19th, 2009

Once upon a time it was thought that the inauguration of President Obama would lead to a brighter future for the U.S. and an increase in the birth of babies, but that has not been the case. In fact, the birth rate declined in 2008, the first annual decline since the start of the decade and all indicators show the decline may continue through 2009. “Births are now predominantly planned and not very responsive to good news,” according to University of Chicago demographer and sociologist, Donald Bogue. This may help explain why the Obama baby boom never developed.

Not surprisingly, the economy can certainly be blamed for Americans having fewer babies. If you are uncertain about the future, having a child is viewed as a bad idea, especially given the amount of money needed to raise and educate a child through to adulthood. With college prices soaring and a degree becoming a necessity in the hiring process, the average cost to raise a child born in 2009 will total $266,698. That figure includes a four year college degree from a public university averaging $12,796 annually and a cost of $11,973 for the child’s first year of life.

The rate of Birth Announcements has historically changed with the economy. Record low birth rates were reported during the Depression of the 1930s and during the oil embargo of the 1970s when feminism was also on the rise and birth control options expanded. In the 1970s the economy almost dictated that there are two wage earners in a family. Stephanie Coontz, a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and research director for the Council on Contemporary Families, a research and advocacy group said, “More than 80 percent of the job losses in this recession have been borne by men. There are a lot of families where a maternity leave would mean that no income at all was coming in.”

The birth rate in 2007 broke a 50 year old record high but declined approximately 2% in all but 10 states in 2008 according to last week’s National Vital Statistics Provisional Data Report for 2008. The relatively unaffected states were less severely affected by the recession. In the first three months of 2009, births declined 7% in Florida and Arizona and 2.6% in California, its first decline since 2001. One might also contend that couples are waiting longer to get married and start families and that the current child producing population is more centered on “me” than on “we”.

Data from 2009 will be critical when considering the start date of the current recession to be in December 2007 or early 2008. Given that the state of the economy is much worse than that of the 1970s, all measures and indicators point to a birth rate decline. However, Mark Mather, demographer with the Population Reference Bureau has also suggested that the recent decline in immigration to the U.S. may be a contributing factor as well. It will certainly be interesting to see the official vital statistics data once 2009 comes to an end.

Although our new President did not spark an upswing in births, it is interesting to note that the name Barack for new babies set a record on the Social Security Administration’s annual Most Popular Baby Names list by shooting up more than 10,000 spots. It went from number 12,535 in 2007 to number 2,409 in 2008 with projections for it to hit the top 1,000 this year.

So if you are one of the fortunate to receive Baptism Invitations or Christening Invitations in the mail, know that in the year ahead we may well see a sharp decline in Baby Birth Announcements as we await the official birth rate figures for 2009 and projections for 2010.

Infant Car Seats will Save the Life of Your Toddler

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 19th, 2009

When selecting the best cover for your baby car seat, you need to be sure beforehand that the seat is one of the better ones so that you can protect your infant from injury while you drive around. Even the less expensive baby car seats have all undergone the same government crash test before they are released in the market. The choice then becomes that of getting the better fitting seat that will match both their type of vehicle and can support their child if there happens to be an accident.

Infant car seats will save the life of your toddler when installed properly in one’s vehicle. It is important before purchasing the seat to be sure that you can properly install the baby seat cover in the seat of the vehicle. Carefully read the toddler car seat manual so that you can fully follow the instructions and any safety measures involved in the installation of the seat in your vehicle.

Many stores can allow people to test a baby car seat with a dummy so that you can check if it can fit the seat of the vehicle. If the store doesn’t have a testing seat, take a look at the store’s return policy in order to find out if you can return it if it ends up not fitting into the seat of your automobile. One way you can check to see if the seat is installed properly inside a vehicle is to make sure it doesn’t wiggle more than one inch or so when you shake it from side to side.

Also be sure that the seat can fit your toddler well. Many seats will carry weight up to 20 lbs. for a baby seat. The car seat needs to provide an inch or more of space from the top of the seat to the head of the child for any seats that are rear facing, and for those that are facing the front, then the tops of your baby’s ears need to be below the top of the seat.<!–

The Joys and Pains of Having Twins

Posted by babyhealthcare on August 19th, 2009

A wise nurse once told me during the birth of my first child that, “the pain doesn’t really begin until you get home with the baby”. I didn’t believe her at the moment but once I was alone with my daughter during at non stop crying fest the nurse’s words became a truth so apparent that it
made childbirth feel like a day at the spa. Now that I am a mother of twins who are two and a half, the wise nurse’s words have resonated more deeply then you can ever imagine.

When I was about 15 years old, like most other young girls, I use to think having twins was “like the twice the fun”. I could dress them alike and give them rhyming names like Candy & Mandy. It would be like having matching baby dolls. Of course I never expected to have twins either. When I was younger twins were truly an anomaly. I never had any friends that were twins and don’t remember a single set of twins in school. My oldest daughter who is nine years old has had several sets of twins as friends, six to be exact. That’s a lot compared to my zero. After a surprise pregnancy when my second daughter was only a year old, she became a sister to twins which makes her knowing seven sets of twins in her short life. Now that IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) has become common place many people can relate to the joys and pains that goes along with having twins, especially when they are toddlers.

Having one two year old is hard enough with all the potty training, curious exploration into forbidden areas, safety mechanisms, messes, and temper tantrums but when you add another two year old life as normal becomes a thing of the past. Going through the pains day in and day out can make it hard to laugh at the funny things they do, which is a lot, but when you put it all together you can find as many things to laugh about as you can to cry about.

Make a Bath Time Baby Gift Basket

Top Gifts for Infants

Baby Buddies: Halloween Costume Ideas for Babies

Ferber method: baby sleeping problems

Tips for Setting Up a Babysitting Exchange

Educational Toys for Infants

Review of the Graco Quattro Stroller

Baby Bust

Infant Car Seats will Save the Life of Your Toddler

The Joys and Pains of Having Twins

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