Well, from the time you bring your baby home from the hospital, it seems all they want to do is sleep. When they are awake, as long as they are held and fed, they are pretty easy to deal with AND they fall asleep easily, with little effort or fuss. Boy do things change fast! Suddenly, you find yourself at a stage where your baby resists sleep and fights naps, or wakes up time and time again during the night. So what is a weary mom to do?

The first piece of advice is to take a look at some of the popularized methods of acclimating your child to sleep. Instead of following one or the other, I recommend following bits and pieces from all of them based on your needs and the temperament of your baby. The second thing to consider is what kind of sleep schedule or routine you have set up in your household. No matter how you get your baby to sleep, your routine before bed…is a key component.

Also, since you are accustomed to your baby sleeping all the time, consider that you might be trying to force too much sleep on your baby as they grow. Certainly, they need anywhere from 12 – 14 hours of sleep, but around 4 months of age, it may be that your baby only needs two shorter naps during the day. By six months, perhaps one long nap midday works best.

As you near sleep time, you need to start setting the mood. The most common bedtime routine starts with a relaxing baby, and some snuggle time. Rub your baby with lotion, change them into their pajamas, and keep things around the home calm and peaceful. Then, start talking about nighttime, go into their bedroom, and start winding down the day. If your baby takes a bottle, you can either rock them to sleep or not. Some parents believe rocking a baby spoils them – however you have to do what works for you.

The next consideration in your routine is whether you lie your baby down while they are slightly awake, or lie them down in their crib when they are completely asleep. Again, personal preference. Just make sure that whatever you do is something that you can maintain because you are setting a schedule! As they get older, you may have to adjust your routine and begin allowing them to fall asleep in their crib without you. You should still set up a bedtime routine, and just slowly but surely reassure them as you lie them down. Allow them to have a book to play with, turn on some soft music, and see if they can transition into falling asleep on their own.

Getting your baby to sleep shouldn’t be difficult! If your baby is resisting sleep, decide whether they aren’t tired, or perhaps they are just not comfortable with the bedtime routine in your home. Then, make adjustments until you find something that works FOR YOU! If this means lying down with your baby until they drift off to sleep, and you are okay with that – so be it!

While parental advice is available in droves, it is you that has to make the decision as to what is best for your baby. Your job is to ensure they get ample sleep to encourage development and keep them healthy. Try removing the struggle from bedtime by setting a routine, setting the tone for bedtime, and sticking with it.

When your baby begins teething, which can start at 2 months and last for what seems like forever, he or she will likely give you all the telltale signs. For one thing, she might be fussy. Teething hurts and the pressure that is occurring inside her mouth (and head) can be similar to how you feel with a toothache. The swollen gums aren’t a walk in the park either. Other signs of teething are tugging at the ears, excess drooling, and the need to aggressively chomp down on everything your baby can get his or hands on. This is different from just putting things in their mouth, they will want to bite.

Normally, the bottom two teeth come in first. Around half of all babies have these teeth in by the end of their fourth month, and they often come simultaneously. If you look in your baby’s mouth, the gums will appear taut, swollen and you may even feel the tooth buds erupting under the surface. This can start anytime after birth, but often begins around 2 months. As the teeth come in, the pain will ebb and flow – as it takes quite a while for teething to be complete.

Many parents liken teething pain to that of an ear infection. Interestingly, due to all the extra fluids and swelling in the sinuses during teething – many babies actually get a sinus infection or ear infection while teething. And no matter what any doctor tells you – it is normal for them to run a slight fever as well. The fever serves no purpose except to make them feel worse.

When your baby is teething, you do have a few options to help. The first is dosing them with infant Tylenol or Motrin. (Please consult with your doctor). It is imperative that you use the infant formula and not the children’s elixir. You can also offer your baby frozen foods or teething toys that will help to numb the gums and give them something to chimp down on. Avoid things like bananas that can break off. Another good idea is a nice, cold, and clean washcloth to bite on.

If they are extremely uncomfortable, try taking your finger and giving them a gum massage. This will relax your baby and help ease the teething pain. The gum massagers sold as teething toys are also a great solution.

Just because your great grandmother used to use run to help counteract teething pain, doesn’t mean you should. Nowadays we know way too much about the effect of alcohol on a baby. Plus, you have to wonder if the rum was really for the baby or for the moms taking care of the teething baby? Today’s comparable remedy would simply to be to get some Baby Oragel, and rub it on their teeth and gums.

All natural teething tablets are also a great way to help ease the pain of teething. Personally speaking, the best I have used were Highlands teething tablets available at any drug store or department store.

Teething will essentially last a long time. In fact, it seems like when the last baby teeth come in, it is just about time for the first ones to fall out. Some babies have a terrible time teething, while others seem to fare pretty well. Just do your best to help soothe your baby and give them plenty of safe things to chew and bite on.

To browse the content of many parenting blogs or websites, it wouldn’t be difficult to conclude that there are some truly perfect mothers and fathers out there. Take it one step further, and by comparison you are able to comfortably, and in all honesty, label yourself a total failure as a parent. What if you can’t be at every event your child participates in? What if you aren’t crafty… at all? What if you don’t believe in sleep positioners, or organic food, or $500 car seats? What if you aren’t a Room Mother, or a Den Mother, or anything but just… a regular mother? Some might look down on you for not doing all of the things that a “good mom” is supposed to do. But the silver lining in this adventure they call parenting, is that your child thinks you are perfect. He has no idea that you don’t know what you are doing, or that you doubt the decisions you make. To your child, you are the most grown up and wise person he’s ever known.

From the day he entered the world, he looked up to you. Yours was the first face he saw, and it told him that everything was okay, and he could count on you. And really, he’s the only person you answer to. Children have an amazing ability to put parents in their place. If only you will listen. What is your child telling you? Does he really need all the “stuff” you are trying to provide him with, or does he need an afternoon fishing trip with his dad? Does he need to be enrolled in three different extracurricular activities that you rush him to and from all week, or does he need a peaceful home where he can count on dinner in his dining room with his family instead of rushing through a drive thru to grab a quick bite on the go? Does your toddler need a playgroup, full of mothers whom you have to look just right for, or does he need his mom to take him in the backyard… at his own house… and have a picnic and throw a ball?

There are so many groups and activities available to children that many parents have largely forgotten a much simpler way of life, and that it works. Participation in sports and other activities with his peers is an important part of his upbringing. But the most important part of his upbringing, the most important part of his character building, are the life lessons he learns from his parents and siblings. There is no substitute for a loving home and a family that participates in each other’s lives. There is nothing he can learn anywhere else that can replace the lessons he learns at your family dining room table. No playgroup, no expensive private school or daycare. There is no opportunity you can provide your child that serves him better than the opportunity to let him show you how perfect he thinks you are.

Common Sense Introduction of Solid Foods

The transition from breast or bottle to solid food can be an exciting, and slightly challenging time for parents. It’s the first step in a long path that leads your baby towards independence. It can be bittersweet because although you are eager to watch him eat his first mouthful of peas, or throw his applesauce on the floor, you also have to let go… just a little bit. But let go nonetheless. Once you’ve mentally prepared yourself to start your little one on “real” food, there are a few things you can do to make the transition simple for him and his developing digestive system.

When your baby is four or five months old, your pediatrician will most likely advise you to offer a single grain baby cereal as his first solid food. It is recommended that you mix a very small amount of cereal with breast milk or formula for his first several feedings. The mixture should be extremely watery as this is the first time he’s had anything of substance in his mouth. As he gets used to the cereal and his diapers reflect that he is able to process it without trouble you can increase the cereal to milk ratio to bring it to a more normal cereal consistency. There are multiple baby cereals on the market but rice or barely cereal is generally the easiest to digest.

After your baby has gotten used to the cereals you’ve been giving him, you can start planning the next move in his transitioning diet. It is recommended to offer vegetables before fruit, with some doctors actually finding it best to only offer fruit as a special treat occasionally. After all, once your baby has tasted sweet bananas or peaches, he’s not likely to get excited about his green beans or squash. The fruit baby foods are generally high in sugar and additives whereas the vegetables often carry nothing more than water as an additional ingredient.

This is the stage where you want to begin reading the labels on baby food jars. Some companies take care to keep preservatives and additives out of their product while others use them with much greater frequency. Your baby’s system is brand new and completely unblemished, so take care to choose foods which will help him develop healthy eating habits and taste preferences. Macaroni and cheese dinner with custard or cobbler dessert is no better for your baby than it would be for you. Remember that you have the final say in what your baby eats. Just because it comes in a baby food jar, doesn’t mean it is what you want your child to eat.

If you find the baby food jars lacking in variety or content, you can always make your own. It is incredibly simple to bring fresh vegetables to your baby’s regular diet, and is often more cost effective to purchase vegetables and steam and then mash them yourself then it is to buy baby food.

I will never forget the showdown my mother and I had outside my newborn twins’ bedroom door. There we stood, both in our pajamas (because it was three in the morning), nothing but the hallway nightlight to illuminate our eyes, which were locked on each other. We were both daring the other to make a move. I knew that I was going to win…. But I was pretty sure that she was willing to risk it. “DO NOT GO IN THERE.” I said through clenched teeth. She cut her eyes to the door where the wailing was coming from, and then back to me. I knew she thought I was a complete monster. But more importantly, she knew that I was not going to budge on this. And so… with a disgusted huff, she walked back to the guest room and slammed the door. It wasn’t like she was going to wake anyone up. We were all awake anyway. We had all been awake for several days.
Already the mother of two, I welcomed babies three and four thinking that I had this parenting thing down. My twins, decided to test my confidence. I had spent the last few nights soothing one and then the other in what had become a merry-go-round of complete insanity. In my attempt to pacify them into some type of sleep schedule, I had forgotten everything I knew about sleep and babies. A time tested, and mother (not my mother, of course) approved method for maintaining sanity and a happy family even with the introduction of a new bundle of joy.

It finally hit me one morning as I nursed a baby and dozed in my coffee…. Sometimes, you have to let them cry. I actually got excited at the prospect of letting them cry it out that night. It had worked with my other children. They were great sleepers from the very beginning and at three and five years old, they still slept at least twelve hours a night. How had I forgotten? I informed my mother, who had come to help when the babies were born, that I was going to be letting them cry and that she was not to go in to their room for any reason without written permission by myself or my husband.

The babies cried that night, and it was pitiful. Every twenty minutes, I went in and picked them up. I checked their diapers, patted their backs, gave them kisses and told them I loved them. And then I put them back in their cribs and walked out. It took two hours the first night. It took one hour the second night. The third night I only went in once. It really is the hardest thing in the world to do…. Letting your sweet baby lay there and cry. But there is an undeniable benefit to a baby who learns to pacify themself. The twins are five now, and they (along with their older siblings) still sleep like angels.

By now, you probably have accumulated lots and lots of pictures. Likely, you even took them before you gave birth. For many people, the digital photography age makes it much easier to manage pictures and keep them in chronological order. Yet, scrap booking is still a fun and loving way to preserve memories and make books that will one day be a family heirloom. But oh…the time it takes to scrapbook.

If you love the homey look and feel of a bound scrapbook than you really should invest in some of the amazing software programs that will help you design pages. Average costs of these programs range from $25 to $150. In the long run, purchasing a program to do the snipping for you will not just save time, but money. You can say good-bye to looking for fancy pages and materials to make your scrapbook. Plus, it gives you the option of keeping a simple 3 ring binder that you can continuously add to over time. My Memories, Memory Suite, and Foto Fusion are just a few. Windows Picture it also has some basic scrapbook pages that you can load and print straight from your library. Before you buy, make sure to look for free programs as well just to make sure you like this way of preserving memories.

For the rest of you, who like the relaxation of hand creating your scrapbooks – there are a few ways to stay organized. It is likely that you will have weeks, maybe even months – when you are unable to sit-down and update your books. Instead, keep file folders of pictures and props for the scrapbook that are chronological by date. This way, going back won’t feel like such a huge and overwhelming ordeal.

Many moms may be able to find the time, but are unable to find the peace and quiet they crave when spreading out tons of pictures. Face it, your little one will want to get involved as well, and scissors and cutting tools just aren’t for babies. What you can do is allow your child to join in and have them create a scrapbook all their own. You can do the cutting – but allow them to pick the pictures that they want to include. You might be surprised by their choices.

One thing to remember is that taking pictures and documenting this special time in your family’s life is an irreplaceable experience. You can’t just go back and redo a birthday party or special event to get pictures to save for your children. Don’t worry about investing in expensive or fancy equipment and instead, just shoot natural pictures making it part of your routine. This way you will have plenty to choose from and even more excess to filter through later.

If you begin collecting an immense amount of pictures, which most parents do – ensure that they are always around by backing up your picture library and saving it to discs in case your computer crashes. Another option is to house the pictures at an online photo gallery.

When you go out for a walk, rather than just look at the beautiful blue sky, try to get them to understand the great importance of them. It is a gift for children to see the world as larger than life and magical all at the same time. Talk to your toddlers about how they think things work in life and value their perspective rather than try to teach them the science behind everything.

Another way to help them feel gratitude is to teach your child to help others. When your children see that other people, or animals even are in need and realize that they can make a difference, they begin to see their own life in a whole new way. When you start talking about gratitude with your children from a young age, you are more likely to raise children that have the innermost desire to give back to the world.

Another important aspect of helping children refocus to the positive, is that they will begin to understand how nice and liberating it is to think good thoughts. Your children will be able to make the connection between what they think and how they feel – and be less likely to crave attention through negative behaviors.

It is one thing to teach your child how to say thank you. It is something entirely different to teach them how to feel it.

Is Santa real? Why, YES HE IS! And here are a few tips to keep it real in your home as well.

If your child is in school, chances are there are at least a few kids in their classroom that no longer beleive in Santa. This can make life for the rest of the kids (and their parents) a nightmare, esepcially during the holidays. On average children beleive in Santa until the age of 9 – however in homes with older siblings, the age of disbelief can be much younger. So what should you do when your child asks you the simple question, “Is Santa Real?” It is often more difficult for a parent to understand the state of disbelief than it is for a child. The magic of the holidays can feel lost. However, this parents says to keep up the mirage as much as possible. Why? Because most children DO NOT WANT TO NOT BELIEVE and any magic that you can create at home – can go a long way in creating Christmas magic. Get into the Elf craze and see what mischief your child’s elf can cause. It is difficult for a child to not beleive in something when they wake up to find a mess in their home that mom and dad would NEVER do. Also, try to be more secretive than ever about the mystery behind Santa and the reindeer. Use your imagination and have a little fun. Mail your child something from Santa or put reindeer hoove prints on the porch. Another common, but not so nice way to get your kid into beleiving is the old saying, “those who believe receive!” But face it your child wants gifts on Christmas morning.

If you have older siblings in your home then try to make sure that they dont ruin it for your younger children. Sometimes it is impossible to do this – however, the magic of Santa is something that marks childhood. However, older siblings can be instrumental in helping your elementary school child to believe. Also, if your child comes to you about whether or not Santa is real – resist your first urge to be honest. Instead, tell them that this isnt something they should talk about in front of other kids. Ask them who told them Santa wasnt real and then give little Bobby’s parents a call. I doubt that they want their son bing the bearer of bad news in the second grade classroom.

Christmas is a time of magic and Santa is part of it. There will come a time in your child’s life when they dont believe – however it is better to be later rather than sooner. By creating magic of your own and keeping Christmas memories fresh and fun, your child will love the holiday and perhaps behold an extra year of believing in Santa.

The time of year is upon us. If you have a child between the ages of 2 and 18, and they attend daycare or school, they will likely come home with strep throat.

A simple visit to the pediatricians office and a throat swab can confirm strep throat in minutes. And luckily, the cure is a round of antiobiotics which normally clears it up within a week or so. The first thing to recongize is the signs of strep throat. The first time they get the infection, they may complain of a sore throat and run a fever. But they will also likely get flu symptoms that cause an achy feeling all over their body. The fever can run low (below 100 degrees) or on the high end to around 104 degrees. Normally, the first time they get strep throat is the worst and the fever will run the highest.

Strep throat is highly contagious. In other words if you have multiple children chances are high that each and every one of them will get the illness. This makes for a fun week, however as long as it is treated early on, your child will be okay.

There isnt any way to truly self diagnose strep throat and since it requires medical treatment to solve you have to visit the pediatricians office. However, there are a few things about strep throat that parents can begin to expect. For one thing, your child’s breath will have an awkward and awfu smell. It wont be like bad breath or the smell that normally accompanies a cold. Also, your child will likely get a spotted appearance on his or her tongue and some white pus pockets around the tonsils.

The good news is that it is rare for newborns or babies to get strep throat. Normally this illness is saved for when a child is older than 2. Plenty of parents have found out that when strep throat begins happening, it can often become a yearly (or twice yearly) occurrence. Most of the time it is cleared up within a 10 day course of antibiotics, however in rare cases it doesnt. Your doctor may have to give your child a different kind of antiobiotic to clear it up completely.

A word to the wise. If your child is constantly sick with viruses like strep throat and you cannot seem to deal with them using antiobiotics – you may want to have your child check for mononucleousis. Mono is becoming common in day cares and preschools and weakens the immune system making your child sick more often. It is easy to test for and could be the reason that your child is sick so often.

Aside from hand washing and trying to make your child aware of germs, there isnt anything you can do about strep throat. Children are messy little creatures and think nothing of sharing toys, drinks and germs. As long as you are armed with some fever reducing medication and an antiobiuotic, you can use popsicles and warm liquidy foods to get your child feeling better. Most children improve within 24 hours of taking an antiobiotic.