Babies & Toddler

Archive for November, 2010

Your toddler may be ready for toilet training if he or she shows particular interest on the potty or perhaps your toddler points to the bathroom each time there is a need to. Your toddler seems to understand what the toilet is for when you talk about it. These are some of the early signs that your toddler can be taught about toilet manners.

You can take your toddler with you when you go to the bathroom. Just make sure to make it a comfortable place for your toddler. You can gradually permit your toddler see what happens in the toilet. Let him try the flush. Let your toddler know that urine and bowel movements are done in the bathroom.

It could help if you put a potty chair in your toddler’s play area prior to toilet training. You can also put one in his bedroom. This is a good way to familiarize your toddler with the potty. Teach your toddler to become accustomed to the potty by letting him touch and sit on the potty.

Teach your toddler to properly sit on the potty. Let him know that the potty is his own chair similar to a regular chair at home. You can let your toddler sit anytime that he wants to with his clothes on. Don’t compel your toddler to sit still on the potty if he does not want to.

When your toddler has gotten used to sitting on the potty, let him sit without his pants or diapers on. Teach your toddler how to get used to sitting down without his diaper. Guide your toddler how to make his urine and bowel movement on the potty. Make sure he feels comfortable while sitting down on his potty.

Now that your toddler understands how the potty chair is utilized, get one of his diapers with some stool in it and put some into the potty chair. Then go to the toilet tagging your toddler along. Permit your toddler to see the passing on of the stool from the potty chair to the toilet. Let your toddler do the flushing and let him observe how the stool is flushed down the toilet bowl.

These procedures could be a routine that you have to do with your toddler so that he would slowly understand in his own level regarding the use of the potty chair and the toilet. If your toddler keeps up with this routine for some time, then it is time for the next level of toilet training.

Remember that old adage about the right tool for the right job? Baby furniture is not much dissimilar, but buying separate pieces for each job can get expensive. Furniture designers today understand that and are making baby furniture that is multi-functional to save space and money.

If your nursery has nothing but a crib and rocking chair in it and it already seems crowded, your furniture should be doing double duty. For example, the AFG Jeanie Crib with drawer uses the practically useless space under the crib. The extra wide drawer is great for additional bedding, clothes, or other baby necessities. To take that a step farther, Storkcraft offers it Bradford 4 in 1 crib with the dresser and changer in one. The crib converts to a toddler bed, a day bed, and finally a full sized bed for big kids. It has an attached changer that has three deep drawers for storing all of baby’s essentials and later, this changer can be used as a stand-alone dresser. The top is extra deep as well to help keep baby in that space, but remember to never leave baby unattended.

High chairs are a needed piece of furniture when baby is small and learning to eat solid food, but when a child reaches toddlerhood high chairs are typically a waste of space. To avoid the fight, Foundations Transitions makes a high chair that converts to a toddler sized table and chair set when your little one is ready to have more independence at meal times.

When decorating the nursery, don’t forget a comfortable chair for mom and baby to relax in. Storkcraft offers a glider and ottoman pair that is perfect for any nursery. The glider action keeps motions nice and smooth so baby is gently rocked off to dreamland not jerked and moved out into the real world. After the baby stage, this glider and ottoman can still be enjoyed by the rest of the family if moved to the living room.

While you still need to get the right piece of baby furniture for the job, keep a lookout for pieces that serve more than one function or that can be used elsewhere when you are done with it in the nursery. These pieces are enjoyed for a longer period of time and by more people in the family.

Being a parent is hard enough at the best of times without the added problem of dealing with an uncomfortable and irritated baby. My daughter suffered from eczema and it made her quite miserable and it’s very frustrating when your little one is upset and you can’t make it go away as your natural instinct is to protect your baby. So what is baby eczema and how can you protect your baby from it?

So what is Eczema?

Eczema is a skin condition where the skin can become irritated, cracked or inflamed. Babies are all made different and some have more oil in their skin than others. If they lack these oils in their skin, their skin struggles to hold moister and it becomes irritated and sore, sometimes leading to cracking of the skin. The gap created in the skin due to the dryness allows bacteria and irritants to pass into the skin causing sometimes quite severe irritation and infection. This can be aggravated by soaps and detergents that also remove the natural oils from your baby’s skin. A skin layer plumped up with natural oils and fats is better able to deal with irritants and allergens.

So what causes Eczema?

There are many different types of eczema but the most common is Atopic eczema which is thought to be genetic and triggered by environmental conditions. Some of the things that can trigger this Atopic eczema include soaps, detergents, animal fur, pollen, rough clothing, dust mites and being too warm for prolonged periods.

Baby eczema can be a real problem, with 5% – 15% of children being affected before their seventh birthday. Baby eczema begins in the first year for 60% of babies affected by this irritant. The itchiness is the biggest problem for baby’s as they obviously will just scratch and watching your child suffer this way is the worst thing about baby eczema for most parents.

How to treat Eczema

There isn’t any cure for eczema but there are things you can do stop it happening or to deal with it when your baby is suffering with baby eczema. You can get creams and lotions from the Doctors. But these only reduce the inflammation and return moisture to the skin. The only real way to combat eczema is to eliminate the cause or the things that encourage or irritate your baby’s skin.

Can organic baby clothes help?

Baby eczema is sometimes caused by the chemical residue in their clothing. It can be the pesticides used on the cotton or the dyes used or a combination of the two. Organic cotton doesn’t have any chemical residue as the clothes haven’t been sprayed or dyed using chemicals of any kind. Natural predators are introduced to keep pests from eating the cotton and natural dyes such as fruit berries are used to colour the cotton.

There are many types of cotton and it can grow in many different subtle and natural colours. There is also Bamboo clothing which is supersoft and known to help eliminate baby eczema. Of course organic baby clothes are going to cost slightly more as the growing and preparation process is more time consuming but it does produce the best natural and allergy free clothing. It’s worth the extra to reduce the risk of baby eczema occurring with your child. Plus they really are supersoft. We changed to organic baby clothes and our little girl’s eczema went from all over her body to a little patch on her left arm which has gone completely now. Try organic baby clothes if your baby is suffering from baby eczema, it could just be the answer.

After the arrival of new baby, it is very much exciting for the whole family. This is one of the most fun and joyful event in the family’s life.

After the arrival of your newborn there are some associated tasks and responsibilities that you need to learn for your child safety. Preparing a room for your child safety is also very much important out of all the tasks in the preparation of the baby’s arrival.

Parents often want to offer a best room for their child safety. Most of the couples would probably start planning of their child safety the moment they found that the wife is pregnant.

Some of the basic things that you need to do for your child safety:

So, you are now busy in preparing the things for your child safety. Preparing the baby room is one of the most important tasks that you need to consider with child safety.

You must need to know that what the basic things that provide child safety. You need to create a room that is worth living for your child.

You are confused with what things you have to buy and what things you have to install in your baby room? Here are the things you have to install in your baby’s room for your child safety.

The Mattress:

The mattress is a sleeping accessory worthy of scrutiny. The ideal mattress for your child safety should be perfect in size to fit snugly inside the crib. The mattress must fit tightly all round the crib for safety reasons.

If there is a space between the edges of the mattress and the side of the crib, there is a possibility for your child’s arms to get trapped in the space.

Hence, your baby could get suffocated if his or her head got caught. Therefore you have to purchase the mattress that fits tightly inside the crib and this gives perfect child safety.

The crib:

The crib is the most important thing that you should buy or create for your child safety. This is the basic thing where your baby sleeps. [Choosing Baby Cribs]

Your newborn will spend most of the time in his/her crib. So, the crib should be chosen and prepared meticulously that allows child safety.

Most of the mothers will get a question that is how to choose a crib that provides child safety environment?

• This is just a simple thing. You just remember one thing when choosing the baby’s crib, think child safety first. Child safety is highly recommended here.
• So, make sure that slats in the crib are no more than 2 to 3/8 inches apart. For your child safety, this is the standard measure for the crib’s slats.
• Check that you can manipulate the drop side easily with just one hand as there are some instances that you will need to hold your baby on your other arm.
• Ignore those cribs that feature corner posts that tend to extend above the rail. If you purchase this kind of crib, there is a possibility that the clothing of your baby may get hung on them especially when he starts moving on his own.

The Bumper Pad:

The bumper pad should also be taken into consideration as this also plays a very important role in your child safety. Basically it takes the role of protector.

It gives child safety by protecting your child from direct contact with the hard slats on the crib. Moreover, it can be a fun point to apply whatever decorating style you have got in mind.

However, it is vital to maintain the standard measure of the bumper pad in order for it to fully perform its role. The bumper pad must have at least six straps to grip it in place. The straps should be closed with snaps as this offers more child safety with those that are tied to the crib.

In addition, it is a constraint for the bumper pad to fit tightly around inside the crib. Similar to the mattress, the bumper pad should be fixed without leaving open spaces for the baby to bang head or block in between the side of the crib and the bumper.

You can purchase, or make your own bumper pad if you wish for your baby room. While choosing a bumper pad you have to consider the following things which give child safety:

• However, select a bumper pad that has its own fabric and firm foam.
• Select one that will coordinate with the pattern of your crib.
• By the way, discourage the use of the bumper pad when your baby is capable of reaching a standing position.
• Note that the pad can be his or her stepping stone to crawl out of the crib. So watch out for this purpose.

Swaddling blankets:

Swaddling is an effective child safety tip. Swaddling is the art of wrapping your baby with blankets to comfort and protect him or her from adverse temperatures. It gives child safety zone by avoiding sudden infant deaths.

Baby’s bath tub:

A bath tub in your baby room is another essential item for your child safety.

A small plastic child safety bath tub can provide a comfortable bath environment for your little one. Therefore, try to buy one that may fit the bathing needs of your baby.

Moreover, you can find a lot of both tubs and it’s up to you to decide which one you prefer for your child safety. Make sure that before using the tub it is completely clean. Be careful and never leave your baby alone in the bath tub. Tips for Safe Infant Bath

The changing table:

Changing table is not that much important for the baby room as the baby can be changed on any surface. It can be of great help to mothers and guardians. It can be a back saver for everybody as it places the baby at a comfortable height.

You can dress him or her, or change the diapers comfortably. It makes the clothing and diaper changes easier and faster. It also helps to keep everything handy and at your easy access.

While choosing a child safety changing table for your baby room, make sure that it has a comfortable restraining belt to keep your baby while you wipe and change his or her diaper.

Also, ensure that it should have a safety railing around the top and should be strong. Prior to using it, it is best to test it to make sure that it doesn’t bob.

And, at the time when you change your baby’s clothing or diaper, keep an eye at all times on your child. Never leave the baby alone on a changing table even for a split second.

A nightlight:

A nightlight is a requirement for a safe baby room. For safety don’t enter into your baby room at night to feed her not being able to see in the dark.

The nightlight offers you the possibility to see where and what you are stepping at so you don’t get bumped or tripped into things inside your baby room.

It is important, however, to ensure that the nightlight is out of your baby’s reach for your child safety. If you have placed it at floor level, that might attract crawling babies to sockets.

So, you have to avoid that and instead you can install a dimmer switch for the lighting fixture of the baby room. You can also use a lamp.

There are a lot of other requisites that your baby room needs to have. It may include the layette, a baby sling, books, baby clothes, and health care items for child safety.

But, other than these material things, every nursery needs caring adults, not just parents, who will be a part of the baby’s life.

How to decorate room for your child safety?

Finally you have got all the essential items for your baby room. The next thing to do now is to decorate the room for your child safety. Make the room like a heavenly place for your child safety.

To decorate a room, it needs careful planning, attention, time and effort. Hence, be ready to apply all of these when decorating your baby room.

Follow the below mentioned tips when decorating the nursery for your most precious one:

1. Think and plan for a child safety room that may last through childhood

Here you have to note only one main idea, that is, to think that your baby will grow old. With this idea, while planning for a baby room, you should not give the room too much of a baby feel.

The colors that you have chosen, like pink or blue might not great for grown ups, as it might seem like it is for babies. Therefore, maintain a color that might be great for both babies and preschoolers.

You have to choose furniture and wall treatments that can suit every age and gender. You can use accessories to give the room a baby feel, but don’t over do it.

It is also important to ensure that there is a comfortable place for a bed as this may be of great use once your baby grows out of the crib.

2. Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting

When decorating your baby room, it is best for you to choose either cork floor or area rugs on a wood.

If you use area rush rugs, they can be replaced easily than carpeting in case they get dirty and the cork or hard floors are easier to clean up. They don’t even hide allergy-annoying things like dust and dirt.

3. Watch out for the best lightning in the baby room

When it comes to lightning, a nightlight is not only the thing of focus here. A nightlight can help you from bumping and tripping on things inside the nursery every time you visit the baby room at night to feed your baby.

It is also necessary for you to take note of the light in the baby room in the daytime. You have to notice the angles of sunlight in your baby room at day time.

The idea here is, for your child safety, doesn’t place the crib in a spot where there is a direct sunlight in the morning. You also have to notice the place of the crib at night because there is the focus of streetlights at night time.

4. Adequate storage space is best

In your baby room, you probably need more storage space that you think. So, make a plan to build a room with enough space for you to store away baby’s accessories once the child gets older.

Adequate space allows your child to walk and crawl easily and gives child safety.

Your child will require bigger clothes, then shoes, and other accessories he needs for his age. As your child grows the number of toys may even increase. So you must expect that as your baby grows, his stuff grows too.

5. Create a room for you in the nursery

Possibly a time comes for every mother or father to spend a number of nights in the nursery with their baby. The situations may be rocking the baby to sleep or reading him or her stories later on.

So, it is important for every nursery to include a rocking chair or simply a comfortable chair where you and your child can spend some bonding hours.

How to turn your baby room into a child safety zone?

There are a lot of things that you can consider to make your baby room truly worth living for child safety. Just like you, your baby will also needs a room that is safe from whatever environmental harms.

Child safety is the main rule to consider. So, before transferring your baby from your room to his or her room, make sure that everything in place is safe.

Here are some tips to turn your baby room into a child safety zone:

• Make sure that the crib you have installed for your baby has a firm mattress and doesn’t include decorative patterns. Also watch out for corner posts.
• Check and make sure that the crib slats are narrow. Never ever leave any space for the head of your baby to get wedged between these slats.
• Ensure that the changing table has a preventive strap and three raised sides.
• Avoid the things like comforters, pillows and soft stuffed animals from the crib, because these things might suffocate your baby, especially when your baby is in between the age of 4-6 months old.
• Once your child started reaching for things, it is best to take down all decorations or toys you have placed in or strung across the crib, from rail to rail for your child safety.
• It is best for you not to buy a toy box that features a heavy hinged lid. There is a possibility that these things might fall on your baby especially when he reaches to obtain a toy.
• Use a soft rug for the floor. This will give child safety by preventing your child from injuries and pain from those unavoidable falls.

When planning for child safety room, it is best to have an idea on how to decorate the room, what are the needed things for your child safety and how to maintain a safe place for your baby.

This process involves a lot of effort and time to be invested. The best way to succeed is to be conscious of what you want and need to make the baby room a pleasing place to be comfortable and provides child safety.