baby

Baby Massage: Why You Need to Do It

May 7, 2013 By Teresa Te

Babies are so cuddly and adorable moms couldn’t just let go of them. They’re supple skin feels great to touch and caress. So while you’re adoring their cuteness especially after bath, why not give your little one a massage.

Massaging a baby is one way of bonding with your child and it benefits the body as well. The act of caressing a baby’s body parts helps improve blood circulation, relieves discomfort from gas, colic and constipation, increases alertness, reduces stress hormones, improves immune function and aids in digestion.

Moms can initially attend a massage class (yes, there is such a thing as this) to learn how to do it right. But afterwards, you can do it on your own and even teach other friends expecting a child.

Lotion is normally used when massaging a baby. Other options are olive oil or baby oil.

For the legs and feet, make sure to glide your hands up and down doing some twisting motions. Gently squeeze the calf areas and the thighs. [Read more…] about Baby Massage: Why You Need to Do It

5 Must-Have Baby Supplies for Grandma’s House

March 18, 2013 By Harpermac

Alright, I admit it – I am not a supermom. I can’t do it all myself, at least not without losing my mind, and I’m glad I don’t have to. With a full-time job, a toddler and a new baby I’m grateful to have a mother-in-law who’s willing and able to provide daycare. My husband and I are lucky to both have flexible schedules, but the kids are still at Grandma’s about four hours every day. Since it looks like this is going to be a semi-permanent arrangement I think it’s time to buy Grandma a few baby-care essentials instead of hauling everything back and forth.

The hubs and I made a list of the most important items his mom should have at her house. Since she’s already providing free childcare we don’t want her spending money on things the kids need every day. Here’s what we came up with:

1. Car Seats

Sometimes Dad drops the kids off and I pick them up, sometimes Grandma comes to get them; the constant shuffling of car seats gets confusing and it’s only a matter of time until someone who needs the car seats won’t have them. We need to furnish Grandma’s car with a new car seat for each of the kids. Besides, it’s a hassle for her to lug those seats in and out of her SUV all the time.

2. A Crib

Grandma has a fun foldout bed for our toddler to sleep on, but the baby really needs a crib. Portable cribs aren’t that expensive and I think my mother-in-law would be able to actually relax when the kids are napping if she didn’t have to keep checking to make sure the baby was alright. Plus, we could always use it if we ever get to travel anywhere again.

3. Toys

There are always some toys that are favorites, especially for our toddler. Buying an extra set of building blocks or an activity center to leave at Grandma’s house would make things easier and may prevent a meltdown in the future. Oh, and those favorite books too. Naptime is a lot easier with “Goodnight Moon” on your side.

4. First-Aid Kit

Of course she’s an experienced mother and I literally trust her with my children’s lives, but I know I’d feel better if we put together a first-aid kit that included all the same things we use at home. Our kit has the basics like bandages and ice packs, and also some children’s Tylenol for pain or fevers, some children’s Benadryl, those natural teething tablets we like, a thermometer, antibiotic cream and emergency numbers.

5. Storage Units

OK it may not be essential, but I know my mother-in-law is used to having a neat house. If we’re going to bring all these extra things to live at her home we should also supply her with some organizational strategies. A few of those stacking bins would be great; they don’t take up much space and their light enough that she could carry them around the house as they’re needed.

I know we’re lucky to have family helping us with the kids, but we don’t want to take complete advantage of Grandma. Making sure she’s equipped with all the basics will make things easier for everyone and we’ll feel better knowing she’s not out spending her Bingo money on baby wipes!

Lindsey is a professional writer living in the Indianapolis area and she writes on behalf of Sears and other deserving brands. Currently, Lindsey is completing work on her master’s degree.

More Teething Talk

October 22, 2008 By Lor

Even though Wills’ nasty virus is on its way out (since my last post he went through 5 days of fever, wheezing and even diarrhea), his constant drooling and swollen gums show that my little guy is still teething badly. He’s smiling more now, and is back to his active self, but he still still has his moments (of sudden pain?). Because I don’t recall my two elder children teething as badly as this (or is it Mommy amnesia?) I had some questions. How painful was it? When did it usually strike worst? When would it be over?

So I sought advice from one of my favourite online doctors, Dr. Greene who said this:

“….Young teethers can’t talk. We don’t know the moment teething pain starts and stops. Teething pain and its remedies are very difficult to evaluate scientifically. Therefore, we must rely on observation — general observations by many parents and care-providers, as well as specific observations of our own children.

When the mouth becomes a source of pain, it is quite unsettling for some kids. If you’ve ever bitten the inside of your cheek, you know how distracting a bit of newly irregular flesh can be. For a baby, the intrusion of a hard, sharp tooth through tender, swollen gums can be quite an adjustment. Some get used to it quickly, but at first it can be more uncomfortable than a pebble in a shoe.

The teeth (or tooth) that causes the most pain varies from child to child. It is often the first tooth that causes the most discomfort — or those big molars, when they arrive. For many babies, working on several teeth at once is the worst…..”

In a nutshell? The golden rule of parenting: Each child is different. I got off lightly with my other two on the teething, but Wills didn’t put me through the torment of colic like Ollie did. Ollie is now a saintly 3 year old, but Nat was a terror at that age. So I as I watch Wills playing on his exersaucer, he stops, looks right into my eyes and gives me a toothy smile,

I realize that no matter how tough these baby stages can be it doesn’t really matter when they smile at you like that.

Photo via sarniebill

Teething Troubles and A Sleepless Night

October 16, 2008 By Lor

Just as you start patting yourself on the back for having a good week of parenting (i.e. no major arguments, tantrums or illnesses), you get thrown a challenge. Yesterday morning it suddenly came in the form of baby Wills being a little more cranky than usual. By afternoon he was a lot fussier, waking several times from his naps, and by early evening he had a low grade fever. Ugh. I hate fevers. I know that doctors say that when low, fevers actually help the body fight an infection – so leave it until it hits the upper range of 38. But when one of my babies get it I have to admit that I slightly panic and go straight for the paracetamol.

At his “well baby” check-up the other day, Doctor J noticed that his upper gums were swollen. So last night when he woke up every 2 hours screaming in agony (not his style at all!), I knew that teething was at least one of the culprits. His fever had also risen to 38.6 even 3 hours AFTER I had given Calpol, he was clearly in pain and discomfort, so I enlisted my husband to give an extra dose of ibuprofen. I don’t know how he does it, but my husband can work some serious Daddy Magic! With a few silly-faced peekaboos, he turned the dreaded “medicine time” into comedy hour, and literally had Wills laughing so hard, I secretly wondered if he had become slightly hysterical with the fever.

Mission accomplished, Dad went downstairs to watch his DVD reruns of “Las Vegas“, while I kept Wills in bed with me, hoping that the meds would kick in and we’d get some sleep. Well, you know that that wasn’t to be. This morning, I noticed a cough and a slight runny nose, which means that we’ve been hit with a double whammy.

Teething-wise though, here’s what I’ve done. Will report results in my next entry.

1. Homeopathic Teething Gel
I rubbed this in this gums every time he woke up during the night. It seemed to have helped because he went back to sleep after a couple of minutes.

2. Frozen Teething Rings/ Washcloth
Those went into the freezer this morning. When he wakes from his nap, they should be ready.

3. Paracetamol
I don’t like this, but I just felt it was necessary with the fever.

4. Chamomilla Drops
I’ve been starting to give him this homeopathic remedy for teething. It is in the gel as well, so the jury’s out on if this will help.

5. Mom’s TLC
The most important thing of all!

Photo via cjbvii

Review: Gymboree Level 2, Play and Learn

September 12, 2008 By Lor

So we arrived at Gymboree, all ready for his trial class in “Level 2: Play and Learn”, which was for babies aged from 6-10 months. We entered the play floor and he looked around curiously at all the bright colors and babies around, the happy “Gymboree” music playing in the background.

For the first few minutes he was shy, not wanting to leave my lap, holding on quite tightly. But as the teacher eased into the 2nd song (they use the old standards – like “itsy bitsy”, “this old man” etc etc and put their own lyrics), he was off my lap, crawling to Gymbo the clown on the teacher’s lap, checking out the other babies and Moms by grabbing their shirt, watch, feet (oh dear).

The 45 minute class flew by – he crawled up a padded incline and was the first baby to grab the ball the the top (beating the 9-month-olds I proudly note), walked on a wooden plank then slid down on a wooly rug, played some singing games on my lap (he preferred crawling though), sang and danced (a good workout for Mum), and watched the bubbles with utter amazement – and it wasn’t until the last minute just as the goodbye song was ending did he start fussing with a few whines which signaled “ok Mummy, I’m tired now”.

The verdict? A good class for crawling babies, can be a bit rushed (as in moving from one activity to the next fairly quickly) for others especially those who aren’t very mobile yet.