Archive for January, 2008

You need the baby mattress and the crib to complete the set. You have to know some things before buying crib mattress.

Here are some tips how to buy crib mattress for the comfort and safety of your baby.

Check the crib size against the baby mattress size. The size of the mattress should not be an issue as standard sizes of crib and crib mattress are made now-a-days.

Occasionally the mattress may not fit well into the crib so checking is most important.

See that the baby mattress fairly fits into the crib. There would be no gap between the mattress and crib frame such that you cannot push more than one finger in between the mattress and the baby crib.

Firm mattress should be taken. Parents think that soft mattress are a good choice to buy, but the babies require a surface that is solid to sleep as their heads are not lifted from the soft mattress, when they are turned over.

To check how much pressure it takes to sink into the mattress, push down the mattress gently. If there is more resistance for your hand to sink in then the mattress is firmer.

Infant baby clothes, accessories, baby clothing and baby gifts in fashions and colorful designer styles are available in the unique children clothes boutique.

Funky baby clothing and unique baby clothes make the baby dressing look fun.

You can get the infant baby clothes and handcrafted children’s gifts at unique baby clothing.

There are also a large collection of colorful unisex clothes for babies that make the baby unique.

Polka dot patches infant baby clothes boutique and children’s apparel store specializes in unique infant clothing and baby gifts.

Green Fleece Bunting outer wear for infants includes hooded ears Sherpa, Sherpa pockets, zip, toggle closer, Velcro, teddy appliqués, Sherpa mittens that can be detached and for easy dressing nylon lining is done. It should be washed in machine with cold water.

Gagou Tagou Burnt orange, chocolate or red colored snowsuit. The hooded polyfil with nylon turquoise snow suit has zipper with storm flap, large cargo pockets, turquoise polar lined with fleece, pompoms and bird or fox, removable mittens and botties, emblem appliqués on the front and back.

Matching hat with polar scarf fleece has bird embroidery with turquoise. It should machine washed and dried in shade. It should not be dry cleaned.

Toddler biting is a frustrating problem for parents of toddlers and the educarers.

Why toddlers bite and how it can be prevented by parents?

It will helpful to know why toddlers bite before the behavior is changed.

Only the educated can guess the reason for their bite. Some of the reasons are:

Teething is one of the problems. They are hurt by the cutting teeth. The pain can be relieved by chewing something. They are egocentric and do not know that others are affected by them.

This is explained by their lack of concern, look of discomfort that can be seen in their face when the victim is screaming due to the pain.

Mimicry is a kind of behavior. This kind of behavior is learned by them from other toddlers. Toddler biting is more contagious than that of common cold.

Fatigue, stress and frustration can also lead to the biting. The toddler bites when they are hungry and tired. Sometimes they bite when they feel rushed or when he is alone.

Parents should be aware of what is happening in such children’s life. The other children who are physically hurt should be prevented by taking certain actions.

Newborn jaundice is a condition due to the high levels of bilirubin in the blood.

It makes the infant’s skin and whites of the eyes look yellow.

Bilirubin is produced due to the breakdown of the red blood cells.

Normally bilirubin is excreted through the liver as bile through the intestine.

Newborn jaundice occurs due to the following reasons:

• A newborn baby cannot remove adequate bilirubin from the blood because the baby is having undeveloped liver.
• More bilirubin is produced that cannot be handled by the infant’s liver.
• Large amount of bilirubin is reabsorbed by the intestine before getting rid of the baby’s stool.

Physiological jaundice:

More than 50% of the newborn are affected by this. It appears at 2 to 4 days age and then disappears by 1to 2 weeks .

It is due to the immaturity of the baby’s liver that leads to slow processing of bilirubin.

Breast milk jaundice:

1to2% is affected. It is caused by the substance produced in the mother’s milk that is capable of producing high level of bilirubin up to 20 mg.

Baby skin care needs to be paid special attention to. Your baby’s skin is more delicate and sensitive than that of the adults.

There are different baby skin care products available in the market. Among them five are mostly used for newborns.

The soap is mostly used to clean the baby while bathing. Usually the plain water is enough, but for better cleaning you can use a small amount of soap.

Other wise use the mild soap having coconut, palm oil or olive oil.

Calendula (anti-bacterial soap), an herbal extract can also be used. After soaping, lotion with saturated oils such as sesame or coconut or soothing oils is used to replenish the oil of skin.

It can also be done with the herbs like arnica or calendula. But some babies are sensitive to the herbs.

Bubble bath is not safe for the new born babies. The products of bubble bath are made up of detergents that destroy the useful bacteria.

The bubble bath also causes infections of urinary tract and vaginitis in infants. This problem made the Food and Drug Administration to rule out the bubble baths.

Infants who get less than 9 hours of sleep a night are more likely to be obese. Sleep deprivation in kids can increase the body fat by 3 percent.

Research confirmed that, children’s sleep patterns vary by season and day. According to the research, mostly children sleep less hours in the summer and on weekends.

Less sleep can cause obesity and increased body fat and also correlate with more emotional volatility. This effect was independent of physical activities or television watching.

The researchers confirmed that sleep restrictions can lead to hormonal changes in the child’s stomach and also in the fat cells that trigger increased appetite.

So, proper attention to your infant sleep habits can decrease the risk of obesity. You need to carefully consider your child’s height, weight, BMI and also body fat levels.

Infants who get less than nine hours of sleep were 3.3 times more likely to become obese and also have 3.3 percent excess body fat.

To know how less sleep affects your infant and what suggestions you need to consider for your child’s safety, visit the below link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

According to the new study, exposing to cigarette smoke may increase the risk of allergies in infants.

Experts reveal that, exposure to secondhand smoke either prenatally or in early life can increase the risk of asthma symptoms in child. Due to the secondhand smoke, your child is at a higher risk to indoor allergens such as cat dander and dust mites.

In younger children, secondhand smoke triggers inflammation in the airway lining, which again sensitize them to allergy-triggering substances.

Infants who had been exposed to secondhand smoke at the age of 2 months were 28% more likely to grow antibodies to either an indoor air allergen or a food allergen.

Finally, the study reveals that due to the early damage to the mucous membranes lining the airways may make the children more sensitive to allergens.

To know how secondhand smoke affects your kids, visit:

http://news.yahoo.com/

Toddler food consists of ½ to ¼ portion of the adult food.

It is better to give some portion of food and let your child ask for more food.

Appetite may vary, sometimes they may eat more and the other meal he may eat like a bird. Children can know how much to eat. Keep this in mind.

Toddler food may not be more as their stomachs are small and they cannot eat much. They need along with the meal one or two snacks during the day. About midway between the meals, offer the healthy snacks. The child has to be fed with the snacks when he is hungry and not for entertainment.

Juice and milk are the good snack items but do not give over quantities of them. As these foods are sweet they should not be given very often. If your child drinks more soft drinks, then he will not eat the solid food. Other drinks like pop, fruits, tea or coffee should not be given to the toddlers.

To wean your toddler from bottle to cup:

By the end of first year, the child may be given off the bottle and well on the cup. Introducing the cup can be done slowly by giving the water and juice in the cup.