Archive for October, 2008

How many times have you woken up in the middle of the night by your baby’s wails, and not known how to comfort her so that she stops crying immediately?

How many times have you wished that you had some magic formula that would stop the fierce screams emanating from your tiny bundle of joy?

How many times have you felt that you are at your wit’s end, not knowing how to stop your baby’s crying?

How many times has your heart felt broken, because your baby would not stop crying despite all your best efforts? Do not worry; you are just like all other parents.

Remember, a baby is wired to cry, when she is feeling uncomfortable, and needs to express it. She can cry when she is hungry or thirsty, when she is tired, when she is in pain, when she needs to be changed, when she is sleepy, or when she is simply bored.

Unfortunately, not all cases of SIDS can be prevented.

To do so requires a greater understanding of sudden infant death syndrome, which will be achieved only with a commitment from those who value babies and with a considerably expanded research effort.

Still, expectant parents can reduce the risk:

• Get medical care early in pregnancy, preferably within the first three months, followed by regular checkups. Make every effort to assure good nutrition.
• Do not smoke, use cocaine or use heroin. Use during pregnancy increases the infant’s risk for SIDS.
• Prevent becoming pregnant during the teen [Teen Pregnancy] years. The SIDS rate is highest for babies born to teen mothers. The more babies a teen mother has, the greater the risk.
• Wait at least one year between the birth of a child and the next pregnancy. The shorter the interval between pregnancies, the higher the SIDS rate.

Source:Tucson Citizen

Today, everyone is more aware of the dangers of choosing impure and contaminated foods, and when it comes to your baby, you would like to choose the best and purest form of food ever available.

You may have heard of ‘organic foods’, and you may have wondered what it is, and if organic food is good for your baby.

Here are some pointers on organic foods for your baby, and all the advantages of choosing an organic diet for your precious bundle of joy, especially in the first few months of his life.

• First and foremost, organic foods are healthy and more hygienic than other foods, and this is because these foods contain higher levels of vitamin C and calcium, as well as other ingredients like cancer fighting antioxidants. As a matter of fact, research has shown that organic foods contain almost double the amount of nutrients that normally grown or reared foods do, and using organic foods can become single largest contributor to good health in the long term for your baby. Using only organic foods will stand your baby in good stead as he grows up.

Infection is the leading cause of infant deaths worldwide, and particularly a common killer of weaker, pre-term infants.

Current diagnostic tests can be slow and non-specific, but researchers have now identified potential biomarkers in the blood that can rapidly identify both the onset of infection and type of microbe.

The circulatory system is a major hotbed of immune system activity, so Stephen Kingsmore and colleagues analyzed plasma samples from 107 infected and non-infected premature infants to try and identify proteins that could reliably identify an infected state.

Their analysis revealed eight proteins, associated with immune responses like inflammation and blood coagulation, which were consistently over-expressed in infected neonates.

In addition, the relative levels of these serum proteins could provide insight into the type of infection (for example, the inflammatory proteins IL-6 and IL-8 were 1000-fold higher in streptococcus infections compared to other types).

Kingsmore and colleagues do note that these biomarkers are not completely accurate and thus not ready for any routine use, but with additional studies using larger numbers on infants and different types of analysis (some of which are already underway), a reliable set of infection biomarkers may soon become available.

Source: ScienceDaily

I know you want to give the very best you can to the expectant parents-to-be.

I know you also want only the very best arrangements to be made for the baby shower: the games that will be played, the food to be arranged, and most of all, the cake that you will gift for the baby shower.

Choosing the perfect baby shower cake is one of the most difficult decisions to make, and I agree with you when you say that a baby shower cake has to be perfect, because after all, it is the center of attraction at the baby shower.

If you want to choose the perfect baby shower cake for the party, but do not know how to go about it, and would like some pointers on how exactly to choose the best, then here are some tips for you.

Tips to choose perfect baby shower cake

First, decide on the flavor you would like your baby shower cake to be. If you know the expectant mother well, then of course, you know what she would prefer.

A rise in the number of low birth weight infants in the United States is a major reason why there’s an increased rate of a common type of birthmark called infantile hemangioma, a new study finds.

“Hemangiomas are benign tumors composed of blood vessels. According to the study, there is a dramatic increase in the number of infants presenting for care with hemangiomas.

We believe the results of this study provide an explanation for this emerging pediatric health issue,” study author Dr. Beth Drolet said.

Being female, white and premature were previously identified as risk factors for hemagniomas, but this study concluded that low birth weight is the most statistically significant risk factor.

“For every 1.1 pound decrease in birth weight, the risk of hemangioma increased by ninefold,” Drolet said.

For this study, the researchers compared 420 children diagnosed with infantile hemangiomas and 353 children less than 2 years old diagnosed with other types of skin anomalies.

Read more at The Washington Post

More than half of the babies between the ages of 5-15 months use the walker.

Babies love to be in a walker and also parents love to use the walker because it can keep a fussy baby entertained for more hours.

You can choose among various types of baby walkers such as wheeled frame, plastic base and fabric seat that have leg holes in order to permit your baby to move along the floor.

There are various reasons why most parents choose a walker such as to promote walking and to provide exercise for your child. Most of the parents consider walker as a safe option for their infants.

Studies have shown that baby walker does not affect the time at which your child learns walking and if at all there is any affect on your child walking, it is only a delay of few weeks. The babies who use walker can have an abnormal walk at beginning, but this will become normal as time passes.

Studies told that most of the accidents and injuries are due to baby walker than with any other kind of baby equipment. This is because walker adds extra speed, additional height and access to various hazards.

As your baby approaches two years of age, you will begin to realize what the word “terrible twos” means. The more your baby wishes to exert his independence, the greater will be your need to wield your authority.

Though it may disturb you, remember that this is completely normal behavior for a two-year-old child, who is about to reach a new milestone in development.

Independence:

The main reason for the sudden change in behavior and seeming rebellion is that your child is ready to make decisions for himself. Most of the decisions won’t be of your choice, so you will need to learn to handle the situation.

Though you set limits for your child, s/he disregards them and does what s/he wants. If you continue the battle, both you and your child will wind up more than a little aggravated. Offering your baby a few simple choices every day can dilute his frustration to some extent.

If your baby insists on clothing himself, try to negotiate that he doesn’t wear stripy sweaters with plaid shorts, for example. Keep numerous outfits, but let him know that he does have some choice.