General Care

Best Gifts for the Parents of Newborns

December 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

We all shower newborns with gifts when they are born. Everything from diapers to baby clothes is brought for the child but what about the new parents? It would be very nice to provide them with some gift as well on the new addition to the family.

One of the best gifts that you can give to new parents is a digital camera or video camera. They are going to want to document through photographs all of the changes that the baby goes through in the early stages of life and all of the firsts that come with watching a child grow up. New flip cameras which take video that can be downloaded onto your computer and stored forever are not very expensive at all and are small enough that they can be held in the palm of your hand.

Other gift ideas for new parents include photo albums and custom frames. All new parents take tons of pictures and a special album to store them in or frames to put on display around the house will be greatly appreciated. You also might think about buying them a special software program for the computer to easily store photographs and enhance the digital images. This is a great gift for new parents who have family out of town and want to email them the latest photos of the new baby.

You also might want to do something special for the new parents like getting them a gift certificate to a nice restaurant and then offer to baby sit so that they can go out. New parents can benefit from a little time away from the child to get a chance to spend a little quality time together. The demands that come with caring for a new baby can often leave the new mom or dad feeling a little neglected by their spouse.

Filed Under: Baby Care, General Care, Parenting Tagged With: baby clothes, Parent, The New Baby (Paperstar)

Best new Products for Babies

December 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Helping parents care for newborn babies is big business. There are a number of companies that specialize in products just for young children and they are constantly doing research to find new things that will keep the baby safe and help make the lives of parents providing the care a little easier.

The annual kids expo in Las Vegas is the place where most of the new baby products are introduced. The big hit of the latest show was the Zooper to Go high chair. it is designed to fold up quickly and easily, so it can be taken with you when you go out. The chair is for babies from 6 months old up to 45 pounds and sells for about $129.

Another hot new product that people fell in love with at the kids expo was the latest stroller from Micralite. Their Toro model has been a top seller and now with the Super-lite it has taken the luxury stroller to a new level. It weighs just 14 pounds and is completely collapsible for easy storage in the car but carries a hefty price tag at $330.

Clek Oobr is another popular manufacturer of baby products. It specializes in car booster seats. Their seats feature a magnesium frame which is extremely sturdy providing great protection for the baby or toddler riding in a car. The booster seats are for children who weigh between 33 pounds and 100 pounds and sell for around $200.

Have a baby that is tough to comfort and wants to be swayed back and forth all the time? The mamaRoo may be just the answer. Developers say this is as close as you can come to the actual feeling of being rocked in a persons arms. It also features variable speed controls to adjust the movement. It is a hot new product this year and sells for just under $200.

Filed Under: Baby Care, General Care, Parenting Tagged With: Atlanta, Baby transport, CPSC, Infant

Making Sure Baby Products are Safe for Your Child

December 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There are a number of manufacturers of baby products across the world. Bargain conscious shoppers are always looking to save money but when it comes to purchasing things for your baby, it does not always make sense to scrimp. You could be putting your child’s safety at risk. You need to do some research to make sure that the products you are buying for your baby are safe to use.

In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is in charge of making sure that products which are sold here are safe. Over the years, they have ordered the recall of a number of baby products because they discovered potential problems that could put a child at risk. It could be a baby crib that has slats too far apart or a child car seat that is unsafe that they have recalled and you need to be sure that you do not pick up one of these unsafe seats second hand.

The CPSC has a web site where it lists the latest recalls involving products for babies. One of the most recent recalls involves baby leg warmers which can pose a choking hazard to a young child. They are made by BabyUnited and the recall covers only the warmers which have a small heart on the legging, it can come loose.

Bassetbaby has issued another recent recall in cooperation with the CPSC which covers 90,000 drop side cribs that they manufactured. There is a potential strangulation hazard associated with the crib and mattress set and the units have been recalled so that the manufacturer can make safety corrections to it. Ethan Allen has also issued a recall of similar style drop side cribs because of a similar danger. They sold over 3000 of the cribs at their stores from January of 2002 through December of 2008.

Filed Under: General Care, Parenting Tagged With: CPSC, Ethan Allen, Infant bed, United States

Setting a Schedule for Your new Baby

December 4, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

When you bring your new baby home it is important to try and get into a regular routine as soon as possible. Caring for a newborn can be very challenging and anything that can be done to make things run smoother needs to be explored. Setting up a schedule for who handles late night feedings can help keep mom and dad as fresh as possible.

The most important thing to build into schedule is flexibility. The needs of your baby will vary from day to day and sometimes from hour to hour. You can plan on feeding the baby between eight and twelve times every day and changing their diaper at least a half dozen times per day. How you schedule feedings will depend on if the mother is breast feeding, obviously she has to handle that. However, she can store up some milk so that dad can do it once in a awhile to give mom a break.

Most new moms will have their own mother or a friend come to stay with them for a few days when they first get home from the hospital. The new mom is likely still worn out from giving birth so she will welcome the help caring for the new baby. Make sure all of your family and friends know who is helping when so that you do not have a number of people in your house just hovering around.

A number of people will offer to help with meals and other chores. This is another time when a schedule can really help. If they are offering to cook for you, give them a day to bring something. This way, you won’t end up with six meals on the first day you come home and can spread out the help so that it truly is helpful.

Filed Under: General Care, New Parents Tagged With: American Academy of Pediatrics, Breastfeeding, Home

Father and Mother Know Best

December 3, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The best advice that you will get in caring for your new baby is from other couples who have recently been through it. Perhaps you have a sister or brother who have a young child and the memory of getting through those first few weeks is fresh in their mind. It could also be a close friend who has just gone through it and may not only be willing to share some advice but maybe baby clothes and other equipment to save you some money.

Another great resource for caring for a child is your own mother. While it may have been a few years since they went through the process of taking care of a baby, they took care of you and no doubt gained some child rearing wisdom. A recent survey found that almost half of new moms rely on their own mothers or their mother in law for advice on how to care for their child. In fact, when they have a question about what to do most say they would call their mom before calling their doctor.

The best advice any mother or friend can give to a new mom is to try and prepare your home for the new arrival ahead of time. This means stocking up on diapers and baby bottles. It also means stocking the refrigerator or freezer so that you have easy to prepare meals for yourself and husband. You also might want to stock up on paper plates and cups so that you do not have the added concern of washing dishes.

Helpful tips from moms who have been through it will come in very handy, however there are those relatives who are a little too free with advice. If you know someone like this who is constantly trying to tell you what to do or how to do something, simply thank them for the advice and tell them you have things under control.

Filed Under: General Care, New Parents Tagged With: Family, Mother, Parent

It is a Woman’s Right to Breast Feed

December 1, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There have been a number of cases where a woman was blocked from breast feeding in public and from those cases new laws protecting a new moms rights have been adopted in cities all across the United States. These laws guarantee the rights of the mom to breast feed her child in public without fear of retribution.

There are a total of 44 states where the mothers right to breast feed at any public or private place is guaranteed under the law. There are also 28 states which specifically exempt a breast feeding mom from the state laws regarding public indecency. Many of these same states will also require public places like malls to set aside an area for breast feeding moms in some location other than a bathroom.

The federal government has also passed legislation that protects nursing mothers once they return to work. The health care reform act that the President signed into law included a provision that requires employers to give breast feeding moms the opportunity several times a day to pump milk from their breasts. The law also stipulates that employers must provide a safe location at work other than a bathroom where the woman can go to pump the milk.

The state of California has the most progressive laws regarding breast feeding of any state in the U.S. Not only does California require that women be allowed to breast feed in any public or private location, the state also exempts breast feeding moms from having to serve on a jury. The state is such a strong proponent of breast feeding by moms because of the research showing the health benefits for the baby. It requires the Department of Health to conduct public service campaigns encouraging new moms to breast feed their babies and requires public hospitals to promote the practice.

Filed Under: General Care, New Parents Tagged With: Breastfeeding, Health department, United States