Ways to Make Your Home Baby Safe

If you are preparing your home for a new baby, there are many baby products which are especially made to ensure your child's safety and security. It is impossible for parents to look after their child for 24 hours a day but it is within their reach to keep their home as child proof as possible.

There are various baby products available for you which will ensure the baby's safety and keep them from getting hurt. The various products are the car seats, bath seat, safety gates, bed rails, guards and locks, doorknob covers, outlet covers, table and oven bumpers. What is expected for a parent is to choose these products with utmost care because the safety issues concerning your baby can not be ignored at any cost. It is advisable not to buy the new set of the safety products without doing ample research.

As a child grows and starts to walk he or she wants to move in the house freely and investigate each and every corner of the room. The curiosity to know about the new environment the child has entered sometimes leads the child harming himself. To avoid any such mishap it is better to have the safety gates for the security of the baby. The safety gates will most probably prevent the baby to reach out the places where there are various electrical equipments and the wires. The safety gates are usually made up of high strength fabrics and Plexiglas. They are basically used at the stairways and the doorways. This gate is fitted easily between the two walls inside the door frame. This hardware mounted gate opens and closes like the door and is attached with the banisters and the screws in the wall.

While purchasing the safety gates you should always keep certain things in mind. You should always ensure properly that the gates do not have any kind of openings which can trap the neck or the fingers of the baby. One should check the sharp protrusions and the edges which can hurt the baby's hands. The height of the safety gate should be same to the babys height. The gates that swing at the top of the stairway should not be used. One should never use a safety gate which has a structure that provides the baby to hold his feet and then climb up on the gate. The gates which are used between the two rooms should be of the equal level to avoid the baby falling.

As a parent you would also ensure the complete safety of your child in the bathtub. You can not leave the child unattended in the bathtub as it is very dangerous and can cause the child to drown. You can purchase a bath seat for your baby. The seat will give the added support to the baby while taking a bath. This will help in preventing the soapy baby slipping out from your hands and hurting them. Always look for the JPMA certification seal which will help you in differentiating the original and the dubious products. One should never use the bath seat on a non skid surface or a textured surface.

Another safety product which will help your child avoid falling down is the safety rail. But before buying the safety rail ensure properly that they will fit into the baby's bed. If not checked there are chances that your child might be caught between the safety rails and the bed.

Keep on the lookout, and research baby products before your purchase. If you do this, your home with be a safe place for your baby.

Silver Baby Cups

Silver Baby Cups

Baby Cold - How to Prevent Your Baby From Colds

Common cold is simply an infection that affects the nose and respiratory tracts. More than 200 different viruses can cause a cold. Babies, in particular, are more vulnerable, because their immune systems are not completely developed. Most colds are not dangerous, and usually last only a week. Colds that last longer than a week should be treated by a health professional. A cold may lead to pneumonia or other serious illnesses, especially in babies younger than three months.

Symptoms

Children with a common cold may display one of the following symptoms:

• Runny nose
• Low-grade fever
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Watery eyes

Treatment

There is no cure for the common cold. However, here are some ways you can help your baby feel better:

• Wash your hands regularly. Keep the baby's toys, pillows, and bed clean.
• Let your baby drink plenty of water, juice, or other suitable liquids to keep your baby hydrated. Breastfeeding is the best option at this age, since human milk contains the necessary antibodies to fight infections.
• Clear the baby's nasal passage with a rubber-bulb syringe.
• Keep the air in your baby's room moist by running a humidifier or vaporizer.
• Doctors may suggest giving a medication such as acetaminophen to reduce discomfort to babies older than three months but always double-check dosage since the doctor will calculate on exact weight and age of your baby.

Call the doctor immediately in the following cases:

• When the cold symptoms persist for more than two weeks
• When the child displays symptoms such as wheezing, panting, or other breathing difficulties
• When the child complains of pain in the ears
• When a fever higher than 100F persists for more than three days
• When the sputum is tinged with blood

Babies, Children, Music and Movement

Movement and rhythm are a part of life from the very beginning. The unborn baby hears his mother's heart beat and the voices of his parents. Babies respond to these sounds with a reflex movement. As the baby continues to develop and grow the responses become more deliberate and rhythmic and are the first form of communication. This development continues through the early childhood years and beyond. How we move is influenced by the rhythms we hear and remember. What influences this remembering?

Parents all over the world naturally love to bounce and move to the beat when they sing to their infants. They use the natural rhythms of language and its rising and falling tonalities to communicate expressively to their little ones. Babies are bounced to chants and rhymes and rocked to lullabies. These early experiences that parents do naturally are important for later learning. These activities challenge the vestibular system which is in the inner ear and is responsible for our sense of balance. Rocking, rolling and bouncing activities to music are not only fun to do, but extremely important for the developing brain. Have you ever wondered why this is so important? Are music and movement somehow related?

Canadian researchers at McMaster University have gained some insights into what is happening in the brain when infants are bounced to the beat. When psychologists Trainor and Phillips-Silver studied how babies perceive music they found that movement was the key factor in helping wire the brain to hear rhythm. (Feeling the Beat: Movement Influences Infant Rhythm Perception, Jessica Phillips-Silver and Laurel J Trainor; Science, June 3, 2005). The seven month old infants who took part in the study showed decided preference for music that had accents added on the same beat on which they had been bounced. The infants consistently chose to listen longest to rhythm patterns that matched those patterns to which they had been physically bounced. The researchers concluded that the movement caused the babies to remember the rhythm differently.

When babies learn about their world they learn in a multi-sensory context. In all music and movement classes there is a special emphasis on learning through a range of sensory experiences. It is not surprising then that the researchers found that hearing the beat alone was not sufficient to form long term neural pathways. Watching someone else bounce to the music did not work. In the series of tests the babies picked out a rhythm only if they'd been moved to the beat while listening. Vision also wasn't necessary as blindfolded babies could pick out the rhythm too, as long as they were bounced.

Now the inter-dependence of the vestibular with the auditory doesn't mean that passive listening is bad or that continual bouncing is necessary, but it does suggest that interactive musical experiences where movement to the beat is deliberate and sustained will be beneficial for the child. So use your own natural musical instincts. Get up and move with your child to the beat, at every opportunity. Choose your musical instruments and recordings wisely to encourage active music making. You can be assured that you are making a difference.

Most Common Breastfeeding Problems

Although breastfeeding is a natural process, it does not happen easily. Mothers can face quite a few problems when they start breastfeeding their baby. This article provides useful insight to commonly faced problems by breastfeeding mothers, as well as gives solutions which can help you in breastfeeding your baby. If you are unable to solve your problem or are experiencing difficulties in breastfeeding your child, then we recommend that you consult a professional or an infant feeding consultant for guidance.

Breast pain

Some moms experience pain in their breasts occasionally when they are weaning their child. There can be several causes for this, such as the letdown reflex, too much milk production, blocked ducts as well as thrush and engorgement.

The letdown reflex is caused due to the release of oxytocin hormone, which stimulates the breast muscles to squeeze out milk. The hormone is actually released due to suckling of the breast. However, certain situations or conditions can also lead to the release of the hormone in breastfeeding mothers like thinking about your baby, or seeing a crying or hungry baby. The condition causes slight tingly feeling in some mothers to pressure, discomfort or pain in others.

Blocked ducts

Blocked ducts, also called Mastitis, are another problem faced by breastfeeding moms. Mastisis causes the area of the breast to become red, sore or inflamed, and is usually caused by poor pumping of the breast or by wearing a badly-fitting bra. Blocked ducts, also called inflamed ducts are caused if the baby is not "milking" properly. This causes the produced milk to be forced back into the breast tissue rather than being pumped out, causing swollen lumps to form on the breasts which can be painful. Make sure your baby is latched on properly when breastfeeding. Another solution to blocked ducts is to use a breast pump like Medela pump in style or Ameda purely yours to pump milk out of the breasts.

Sore nipples

Sore nipples are caused due to several reasons, such as a poorly fitting bra, use of certain creams or soaps which can dry the skin, causing dermatitis, or could be due to a poorly latched baby. Sore nipples are not a 'part and parcel' of breastfeeding as is understood by many women. In fact, breastfeeding should be a pleasurable experience for you and your baby, and any uncomforting issue should be dealt with professionally. If your baby is teething, it can also cause sore nipples.

Breast refusal

Some babies tend to go on a "breastfeeding strike" when they refuse to take a mothers breast. However this can be due to several reasons which should be identified as early as possible to allow the baby to continue breastfeeding. Some of the obvious reasons for breast refusal include mouth pain from teething, due to which the baby may feel irritated. If the baby has a cold or flu, or has an ear infection which is hurting, the baby can refuse to take your breast. In other cases, if your baby is not latching properly and not getting enough milk from breastfeeding, then the baby may refuse breast milk.

Some other obvious scenarios of breast refusal include the introduction of fluids or solids in the baby's diet, which leaves the baby feeling "filled" and not want to feed on your milk. If there is a lapse in the emotional bonding between you and the baby that can also lead to breast refusal, like if you have been away from your baby for a while to work, or if you let the baby cry repeatedly before feeding, it can disrupt the baby's routine. Some other cases of breast refusal may include certain smells of products you may have applied, like a perfume or cream which can put off the baby.

Engorged breasts

Breastfeeding mothers often experience engorged breasts during the first few days or weeks after giving birth. This normally happens due to excess milk production by the breasts, which can cause the breasts to be swollen, tender, lumpy and uncomfortable. Engorged breasts only last for a few days and as soon as your baby starts feeding comfortably at your breast, your breasts will feel softened.

Low milk supply

Mother's breasts only produce enough milk to meet the baby's needs. If the baby is not latching properly, or has been introduced to other foods in the diet, then your breasts will not produce more milk. To allow your breasts to produce enough milk, make sure that you feed your baby regularly. Do not wait for a regular routine before feeding your baby. As soon as the baby is feeling hungry you should feed her without waiting for your breasts to "fill up" or for a 3 hour interval to complete.

Whether you are a new mom or have breastfed before, you may experience any of these problems at some stage. Make sure you know the reasons for each of the problems as well as their solutions to be able to solve them and continue feeding your child.