Parenting Children

The question of when you start feeding a baby cereal has come up within my circle of friends recently. One friend has a baby who is four months old and has not yet been introduced to cereal, another friend started her son when he was 3 months old. I started my own kids on cereal when they were almost five months.
So who is right?

There is no perfect time to start your infant on solid foods.
The optimum time to start a child on cereal is between 4-6 months.
How will you know your child is ready? You will know if you follow these guidelines:

-nurses or drinks eagerly and is looking for more when s/he is done

-Has she lost her tongue-thrusting reflex? This reflex — which prevents her from choking on formula — could cause her to push solid food from her mouth with her tongue.

-has control of her head and neck muscles

Remember, if you or any family member has any food allergies check with your doctor before starting cereals.
Start with rice cereal, then oatmeal and finish with barley. (remember ROB)
Feed each diluted cereal in addition to his formula or breastmilk for a couple of days to a week before trying a new one.

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I did sleep train my baby at 10 weeks old. We got the hang of it and did great. Now that he is thirteen months old we have to start all over again. He is dealing with extreme separation anxiety and is very clingy and hard to put to sleep. I don’t want to make the mistake of having him depend on us to fall asleep. I know too many parents that still have to rock, nurse or drive their children around in cars so they will fall asleep. But the question is “how do you sleep train a child?”

The goal is to have your child fall asleep by herself in her crib, but how you get to that point is up to you. You can start out by putting your child to bed and checking on them every once in awhile. Better yet, you can use your baby monitor to watch your baby. If your baby cries go in a reassure him that you are there, but don’t pick him up. Rub his back, comfort without holding and rocking him to sleep. Reassure them and leave again. I know it is hard and you just want the crying to stop, but I promise you are comforting and teaching them to soothe themselves at the same time. Within three to five nights, you’re bound to see a dramatic improvement in the bedtime routine.

OR you can go an alternative route: for three nights, you can sit next to the crib until your baby falls asleep, then three nights across the room, then in the doorway, and then in the hallway.

When you check on your baby, it’s better do it consistently, rather than waiting until they really start crying. If the baby cries in the night, respond to it. In two weeks you will have a baby that can fall asleep on their own.

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Having a baby in the house has been wonderful. Now that he is going to be 1 next week, his personality is really coming out. I love to see what interests him, what he loves and how different he is from his brother and sister at that age. Simple things make every baby happy and they are all free!

Tickles- Baby K loves it when I tickle him under all of his chins. He laughs and pulls my finger away and then puts it back under his chin for more. Laughing together is a bonding experience for baby and parent.

Pets- K LOVES our cats and “kitty cat” was one of his first words. He loves his cousins dog or “da” and can watch them play for hours.

His Siblings- The only thing better than the cats is his sister and brother. He loves to play with the kids and loves watching them run, jump and play even more. He loves to explore their rooms for lots of cool, colorful things!

Any Remote- I swear you can buy your kids every toy in the store, but they will still want the plain black and silver remote! I don’t know whether they love it because it is plain looking or because it is forbidden!

Mirrors- I can get a good face and hair washing because the bathroom has so many big mirrors in it. Babies all love to look at themselves in mirrors even as infants. It is not until they are well over 12 months before they realize they are looking at themselves.

What amuses your baby these days?

baby, infants, what babies love, parenting, kids, parenting children

When children are stuffy Vicks Vaborub is a long time, quick go to for parents. A new study out now says that Vicks VapoRub may cause airway inflammation that can restrict breathing in infants and toddlers!

The study was conducted after doctors treated an 18-month-old girl who had developed severe respiratory distress after the rub had been put directly under her nose to relieve her cold symptoms. When they stopped the medicine the child got much better.

To test whether Vicks VapoRub could cause respiratory distress, the researchers conducted experiments with ferrets. The animals were chosen because they have airways similar to human airways. The researchers found that Vicks VapoRub increased mucus production by up to 59 percent; the ability to clear mucus was reduced by 36 percent.

Dr. James A. L. Mathers Jr., president of the American College of Chest Physicians, said in an association news release: “Parents should consult with a physician before administering any over-the-counter medicine to infants and young children. Furthermore, the American College of Chest Physicians and several other health-care organizations have concluded that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines can be harmful for infants and young children and are, therefore, not recommended.”

Dr. Daniel Craven, a pediatric pulmonologist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said parents shouldn’t use Vicks VapoRub, because it has no medicinal value and may even be dangerous.

The makers of Vicks say that the rub should never be used under the nose and never given to a child under the age of two. What do you think of this latest warning on over the counter medicine for children?

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All babies cry, that we all know. How much is too much I think depends on the mother and the baby. All in all, a newborn can cry for hours a day. If your baby is fed, clean and warm what does she have to cry about?

Try some sound. Babies are used to a loud environment- the womb. A CD or noise machine with white noise like a heartbeat, or rainfall may do the trick in keeping your baby happy. Some mothers have even had luck with a vacuum or hair dryer.
It is all in the swaddle. They like to feel comforted by a swaddle, flailing arms and legs can make them cranky. They make special swaddle blankets but any receiving blanket will do. Now, rock your baby slowly because they love movement. Deep knee bends always worked for me and my sister would dance with her infant in her arms.
Movement with the swaddle is the kryptonite for crying!
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If you have one child with food allergies, will your other children have them too? Is there a way to prevent children from having food allergies? The answer is: no, there is no definite way to prevent food allergies in children, but you can lessen your odds.

Right now about 5% of kids have food allergies in the United States. If a parent has food allergies themselves, then a child’s chance of having them is about 25%. Breastfeeding for at least the first four months of using a hydrolyzed formula can reduce the risk of a child having food allergies and asthma.

Do you have food allergies that you are concerned about passing on to your children? Does your child(ren) have food allergies?

food allergies, infants, pregnancy, allergies, asthma, parenting, preventing food allergies

A new recommendation for the flu shot have just been unveiled by three leading U.S. health groups.
The revised 2009 schedule calls for mandated yearly flu shots for children from 6 months through 18 years! The mandate right now in New Jersey is from children from 6 months to 59 months of age.
The new recommendation increases the number of eligible children by approximately 30 million.
These new recommendations come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

“Vaccination is the best protection against influenza,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, said in a news release issued Wednesday. “This important update to the childhood immunization schedule helps us extend protection from influenza and its complications to all children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years, not just those at highest risk of complications from influenza.”

Recommendations for inoculation against rotavirus (a disease that causes diarrhea in young children) include changes for the maximum ages for vaccination. The first dose should be given by 15 weeks of age. The latest age any dose may be given is 15 months. If the vaccine Rotarix is administered at ages 2 and 4 months, a dose at 6 months is not needed, the news release said.

The revised schedule also has recommendation for the HPV vaccine. Routine dosing intervals should be used for series catch-up, the second and third doses should be administered two and six months after the first dose. The third dose should be given at least 24 weeks after the first dose, the release said.

The problem for me is that I think these mandated vaccinations should work for them to be mandated. Last year’s flu shot was only 44% effective, a new study suggests, the least effective flu vaccine in a decade! The HPV vaccine does not work for every strain of HPV.
What do you think of these new recommendations for this immunizations? Do you feel confident in all the vaccines that are required for your child, or do you delay some vaccinations?

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At least some of the biological risk for childhood asthma and allergies traces back to the womb, new research suggests.
Both the order of birth and even the way a baby is delivered have a significant impact on the long-term strength of a child’s allergic defenses, scientists say.

Some Scientists said it had evidence indicating that when a specific genetic marker for allergic and asthmatic development is present among a first-born child, it appears to raise the risk for allergic conditions as far as 10 years down the road. However, when the exact same marker is present in a family’s second or third child, the gene seems to have exactly the opposite effect — actually lowering such risk.

Among four year-olds attending Head Start programs in New York City, those who had older siblings were more likely to experience respiratory symptoms including an episode of wheezing in the past year than those who were oldest or only children. Children with at least two older siblings were also 50% more likely than other children to have gone to an emergency department or been hospitalized overnight for breathing problems. These findings from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health were recently pre-published online in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy.

Another team of researchers suggested that regulatory cells associated with proper immune function may be impaired in babies delivered by Caesarean section. They think the manner of delivery could actually influence immune system development and ultimately asthma/allergy risk could be due to the fact that vaginal labor provides beneficial exposure to birth canal microbes that simply aren’t available to a C-section baby.

I find this whole thing very interesting, what do you think about birth order and/or delivery method and the asthma and allergy relation?

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Melamine has been found in U.S. brand baby formula this past week. Reversing a decision made less than two months earlier, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday announced an allowable threshold of 1 part per million of the chemical melamine in baby formula, the Associated Press reports.
The FDA’s decision actually allows for more melamine than has been found in U.S.-made baby formula.
The chemical, used in the production of plastic products, can cause kidney or bladder stones and, in severe cases, kidney failure.

Consumers Union, the national consumer advocacy group, and the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, had demanded that the FDA issue a recall of the products, and I agree.
In China, melamine in formula has killed at least three babies and made at least 50,000 ill.

The FDA says that the formula is still safe and to keep feeding your baby the formula. It is a time like this that I wish I never stopped breastfeeding, it really is best.

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Some mothers have a preference of when they want to have their babies. Some don’t want a baby around the major holidays, some don’t want to be pregnant in the heat of the summer. Now a new study shows that when you have your baby may effect their health.

Babies born in autumn which is four months before the peak of the virus season have almost a thirty percent increased risk of asthma compared to babies born at other times of the year, reports a study in the first December issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. “Children in the Northern hemisphere born in the fall months have the highest rates of asthma, which suggests that winter viruses, like RSV, cause asthma,” said study senior author Dr. Tina Hartert, director of the Center for Asthma Research and Environmental Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common infection in babies. Of course not all children who have an RSV infection will develop asthma, but those with more severe infections appear to have a higher risk. Since babies immune systems are not very developed until about six months, for fall-born babies the winter virus season coincides with a vulnerable period of development, where babies are transitioning from maternal antibodies to their own.

How can you avoid RSV in your infant? If you can, avoid daycare. The only thing you can do is wash your hands often and make sure everyone who has contact with your baby.

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While it is no longer uncommon for any child in this country to be developmentally delayed, nobody wants it for their own child. Everyone wants a happy and healthy baby. Since the spectrum or “delays’ is so large, many children fall under this category and receive some form of early intervention. Most children who receive early intervention services catch up to their peers in their area of difficulty and no one will every be the wiser.

If your child does have a diagnosis that is going to cause him to have special needs in school or early intervention have no fear, there are many parents that are in your situation.

Lets explore what exactly is Early Intervention. Early Intervention was started in 1986 to provide services for infants and toddlers under the age of 3 who have a developmental delay of any kind or a disability.
Early Intervention can provide service such as physical therapy for children with gross motor delays (late to walk, sit, crawl etc.) or speech therapy (two of my nephews have had this with great success) for children who are late to speak or occupational therapy for fine motor delays, feeding difficulty, cognitive delay, or a delay in social or emotional skills.
Most will come to your house for your therapy session and how many you will receive depends on what side of the spectrum your child falls in to.

Other services early intervention provides: family education and counseling, audiology testing, nursing, nutritional information, psychological services, and even vision evaluation.

If you have an older child who you think is in need of special services, contact your public school system.
If you think your child has a delay of any type, call your pediatrician to have him or her evaluated. You can also contact your state’s Early Intervention Services directly.

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Getting baby to lie down, stay still and get her diaper changed can be a challenge, especially when she starts to crawl or walk. My twins acted like they are much too busy for a 1 minute change and now the baby won’t sty still either.
Here are some ideas to keep baby in place so you can do your business and change their business:

Put a sticker on the back of baby’s hand. By the time she can get the sticker off you are done with the diaper change. Works every time!

Buy a balloon. A $3.oo mylar balloon fastened to the end of the changing table will give your baby something to focus on or play with. Just never leave baby unattended with balloon, or let baby put it in his mouth.

Spoon. You can stash one in the diaper bag and one in the changing table. let baby play with the spoon and voila! you will be done in no time.

So tell me, how do you get baby to stay in one place long enough to change a diaper?

infants, toddlers, diaper changes, diapers, parenting, moms, parenting tips

These days money is tight all around. Many moms I know are going back to work because they cannot afford not to. If you need to go back to work then you know how hard it is to find a quality day care center.
What do you look for in a good day care center?

Many moms dread day care because they hear about how the kids at day care are sick all of the time. That may be a good thing, because it is building up his immune system being exposed to many more bugs than if he stayed at home. Day care is a great way especially for only children to make some friends. It will teach him about sharing, playing and making friends.
It also stimulates them, there are so many great day cares now with curriculum. They will get lots of play time but will also learn colors, shapes, letters and explore arts and crafts.

When looking for a great center, try and look for one teacher for every three or four babies and a teacher for every 7 toddlers. Make sure the staff is government certified and licensed. Plus, use your mom-tuition. Is the center clean? Can you drop by unannounced? Are the cribs and equipment newer and in good condition?

What problems did you face trying to find a great day care center for your child?

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Doorknobs, TV remotes, refrigerator handles and other commonly touched household surfaces are hotbeds of cold germs, which can survive on those surfaces for two days or longer, says a University of Virginia study.

The study included adults with cold symptoms who were asked to name 10 places in their homes they had touched in the preceding 18 hours. The researchers then went to the participants’ homes to hunt for cold germs, the Associated Press reported.

“We found that commonly touched areas … were positive (for cold germs) about 40 percent of the time,” said ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Birgit Winther.
So how can you keep your family healthy this cold and flu season? Wash your hands often! Washing your hands often is the best way to prevent a cold.

About 100 different viruses cause infections that lead to the common cold. Colds usually come on gradually, starting with a runny nose or a scratchy throat. Most kids do fine with a common cold but require a little more TLC. Remind them to wash their hands often, keep them hydrated (if they don’t want to drink, try ice pops, juice or soup) and use the nasal aspirator if necessary. Having a humidifier and/or a vaporizer in a child’s room is great for winter too.
If your child has a fever, Call the doctor.
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This time around I plan on teaching my baby to use sign language to communicate before he can talk. There are many benefits of your baby learning to communicate through sign language. Babies are less likey to become frustrated (and parents) and research has showed that by the children who are age four who have been taught sign language, have an larger vocabulary compared with those who did not. Good enough reason for me to try it at home.

Baby signing is using gestures or signs to communicate with your baby. Many moms use American when teaching their babies to sign but it is fine to create your own signs with your baby.
To start I decided to pick a couple of everyday words to teach to my baby: eat, more, cup, help and sleep. You can find the signs on this web site. Here are some of the signs we are working on:

MORE: Tap fingertips from your right hand together with fingertips from your left hand repeatedly.
CUP: Tip an imaginary cup to your mouth.
EAT: Use your hand to bring imaginary food to your mouth.
SLEEP: Tap the side of your head, as if laying down on a pillow.

You can start signing as early as you want but eight to nine months of age is a good age to start. There are various DVDs and books you can buy or rent on the subject, or web sites to help you getting started.

infants, toddlers, baby sign language, teaching baby to sign, parenting, ASL