Simply Moms Articles

By: Maddie Morgan

You are on a rare outing with your precious new baby, your best friend is cooing over the sweet little bundle of joy, when out of no where an eruption that sounds like it came from a diesel truck echoes through the room. Your friend gingerly hands the darling back to you, and you notice a new yellow stain seeping through your baby’s beautiful Gap pajamas.

“Oh, no,” you think as you search frantically through your Diaper bag, and realize you are not only out of wipes, but forgot to put a second outfit in the bag.

I have found the best way to prevent situations like these is to be prepared. Its an obvious solution, but in the rush to get out the door with a crying two year old attached to our leg, keeping the diaper bag stocked is often the last thing on our minds.

Here is a list of must have items that every mom should keep well stocked in the essential diaper bag.

6 Diapers
Diaper Cream
Wipes
Changing Pad
Zip Lock Bags (to place the dirty diaper or soiled clothes in)
Change of Clothes including Socks
Feeding Supplies if you are Bottle feeding
Pain Reliever (Baby Tylenol)
Blanket and Burping Cloth
Toys
Cheerios (for older babies)
Small snack for Mom (especially if you are still nursing)
Bottle of Water (for Mom)
Nursing Pads (if still nursing)

One last tip, each night before you go to bed, take a quick account of what needs to be replaced and do it then. You may have the best intentions to do it in the morning, but with four hours of interrupted sleep and a hectic schedule any executive would struggle to juggle, it is easy to overlook.

Maddie Morgan is a mother of two little girls and the owner of a successful home based online business www.Power2ChangeLives.com

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

By: Gail Metcalf

First Days at Home

The first days home from the hospital are just as essential to you as they are to your baby. As new parents you will have gone through an exhilarating birth that will have left you exhausted and excited at the same time. As a new mommy you will be emotionally and physically exhausted. As a new daddy you will be overwhelmed by all your new responsibilities. The first days back at home are a time to take a few deep breaths, sit back and relax, and take time just for you.

During your first days at home it may be wise to limit the number of visitors that you allow into your home. Other than your immediate family and good friends you might want to ask others to wait a week or two before they arrive with gifts and wanting to hold the new baby. You need time to get your strength back and settle into the routine that a sleeping, feeding, and often crying baby brings into your life.

The Baby Blues

As a new mommy you will need to pay close attention to the way that you are feeling so that those “baby blues” don’t creep up and surprise you. It is normal to feel a bit out of sorts and sad for the first few weeks after giving birth. Your body is going through major physical changes after the birth of your baby. Your hormones are changing and you likely will be feeling the lack of sleep. All of this can have an affect on the way that you feel. You should be patient with yourself, understand that all these feelings are normal, and that in a couple of weeks things will feel better for you. If you find that you are feeling more depressed over time, and find it difficult to care for yourself and your family, you should consult your doctor so that he/she can determine if you are suffering from postpartum depression. Symptoms of postpartum depression include:

• Overwhelming feelings of sadness and depression accompanied by crying.
• Having little or no energy.
• Feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
• Having no interest in your baby or being overly concerned and worried about your baby.
• Weight gain accompanied with overeating.
• Weight loss accompanied by not eating.
• Feeling afraid of hurting yourself or your baby.
• Insomnia.
• Oversleeping.

It may help to talk about your feelings with others. Talk with family and friends. You can find out if there are any parenting groups in your community. Or contact the National Mental Health Association for a list of local affiliates at 1-800-969-NMHA or visit their Web site at www.nmha.org/. Churches and religious organizations in your community may be able to help you find people to talk to. You may also want to meet personally with your doctor to discuss the situation.

If you have friends or family who will help you with meals, housework or shopping, now is the time to ask them. It is also a good time to let your baby’s father help out.

Shop for babies and toddlers at the online baby store with over 20 merchants and featuring over 2,150 products. www.ExceptionalBaby.com

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

By: Kindersigns.com Management

The early years of parenting are the most difficult and trickiest part in any parents’ life. It is the most important too, as the bonding that occurs between parent and child at these early stages play a crucial role in the relationship for years to follow. Understanding your infants’ needs can be most frustrating, as crying is just about the only communicational skill an infant is capable of, until they learn to speak. The art of interpreting their wails and moans and figuring out their needs can be very difficult and complicated.

Babies attempt communication as early as their fetal stages. A return kick to a tummy rub, a punch to a loud song, these are the earliest forms of communication. Until about four months after birth, their communication consists mainly of reflexive crying to express themselves. At this stage, reacting to crying is extremely important and the best strategy is to understanding their cries and expressing the desired response. Showing interest and attending to the baby’s needs shows that the communication is working and builds the attachment and trust between you and your child. Parenting can be more enjoyable when positive parent – child relationship is established. Good communication is the key to building self-esteem as well a mutual respect.

This communication can go a step further, with the help of baby sign language, where your infant actively participate in making coherent expressions of their needs. Teaching your infant to sign their needs at an early age before they learn coordinated speech will help reduce frustration for both you and your child. Research by Joseph Garcia, an American Sign interpreter and a leading proponent of use of ASL as the basis for Baby Sign, indicates that babies who are exposed to signs regularly and consistently at six to seven months of age can begin using signs effectively by the eighth or ninth month.”

Infants lack the cognitive ability to coordinate their lips, tongue, brain, breath, and vocal chords simultaneously, i.e. they lack the motor skills to speak. But hand-eye coordination is possible in advance of the acquisition of verbal skills. Infants can learn to express their needs using simple signs for common words such as “eat”, “sleep”, “more”, “hug”, “play”, “cookie”, “teddy bear”, etc., before they are able to produce understandable speech – Amazing but true. If you can master the skills, and teach your baby to express himself through ‘signing,’ it can bridge the gap between you and your infants’ world. The end result? Contentment and peace of mind for both of you.

Teaching and using baby sign language consistently with your hearing baby can hold many other rewards.

· Helps accelerate baby’s verbal language skills earlier than usual
· Helps enhance baby’s receptive and expressive vocabulary
· Helps them learn to read more easily as a child
· Enhances their creative ability
· Results in a higher IQ by 10-12 points
· Promotes a better child/parent bond

There has been significant research on the benefits of Baby Signs, including its application on children with special needs and development delays. Some of this research indicate that children who have been taught Baby Signs have achieved early vocabularies and have had improved cognitive and communication skills throughout childhood. Baby signs are highly recommended by childhood educators, speech pathologists and child psychologists to help enhance the early stages of a child’s development and for a better parent child relationship.

The KinderSigns American Sign Language for babies Career Kit will help you with your BABY or better yet turn you into an ENTREPRENUER; you will love the benefits of communicating with your baby or starting a home business of your own to help other moms in your community.

Kindersigns.com is the most complete American Sign Language for Babies program available to day. Not only will you learn how to communicate with your child, but you will also have everything you need to turn your new sign language skills into a thriving business opportunity!

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

By: Carrie Lauth

Everyday we hear of more things in our environment that can harm us. From drugs in our water and hormones in our food to toxins in our cleaning products, it seems that everything causes cancer. When it comes to our babies, we moms sometimes wish we could keep them in a bubble for the first few years of their lives. What can we realistically do to raise a natural baby in a toxic world?

1) Breastfeed
Breastfeeding gives both baby and mom many health advantages. For the purpose of this article, I’ll mention just a few, like the fact that breastfed babies are less harmed by pesticide exposure. They also fare better if you choose to vaccinate, suffering fewer reactions. Even though sometimes the media reports on environmental toxins found in mom’s milk, what is often left out of the picture is that the same toxins are found in cow’s milk, from which formula is made. And since breastfed children enjoy greater health even in adulthood, breast is still – and always will be – best.

Once baby is using a cup or if you’re pumping and offering bottles, be sure to use glass or BPA free bottles and cups. Bisphenol-A is a plastic additive that has been linked to cancers and other serious health issues. While we can’t avoid plastics entirely in our modern world, reducing the cumulative exposure is important. You can thankfully find BPA free bottles and other feeding products by doing just a little digging.

2) Cloth Diaper
Grandma was right – cloth diapers really are better for your baby. They mean less diaper rash, less allergy, and more money in baby’s college savings fund. Cloth diapers are much more fun nowadays. They’re made from modern fabrics that wick moisture away from baby, have waterproof covers, and are darn cute to boot! An added plus is that cloth diapered babies tend to potty train several months earlier.

3) Natural Skin Care
Who doesn’t love that new baby smell? Of course, we need to be careful about what we put on our baby’s sensitive skin. Since the skin absorbs what we slather on it, if we wouldn’t eat it, we probably shouldn’t put it on our baby’s skin. Some ingredients to avoid are: parabens, synthetic perfumes, talc and SLS (sodium laurel sulfate).

Your baby really doesn’t need much on his skin, but if you can’t resist, try the Earth Mama Angel Baby, Weleda or California Baby product lines for safer alternatives.

Taking care of what goes in and on your precious baby is important since it can impact his health for the rest of his life. Instead of worrying about what you can’t change about the world we live in, focus on what you can change for the better.

Don’t sweat it. Find natural baby information and resources at www.NaturalBabyWorld.com and read natural product reviews for baby at www.NaturalMomProducts.com

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

by: Julie cottle

My name is Julie Cottle from NaturalTransition.com and these are my Top 10 tips for happy breastfeeding technique. There are many more suggestions available at my site.

- Make sure you are comfortable. Whether you choose to feed lying down or sitting up make sure you are comfortable and will be able to remain comfortable if you have to stay there for an extended period of time. Some mothers choose to sit in a rocking chair or up in bed with pillows behind the back.

- Make sure you are have some breastfeeding clothes that open at the front well enough to allow you to hold your baby close to your breast. Better still, go topless while you are learning to breastfeed. This has many advantages. It provides close skin to skin contact with your baby which boosts those warm fuzzy feeling hormones which will make lots of milk.

- Hold your baby close and remove any wraps or excess clothing.

- Make sure you baby’s entire body is turned towards you so that the hips, tummy and chest are against you.

- Gently touch the baby’s mouth with the nipple. Your baby will open its mouth instinctively when you bring the nipple to it. This is the rooting reflex.

- Some mothers find it helpful to support the breast with the opposite hand as the baby attaches. If you do this make sure that your hand is well away from the areola so as not to get in the way of the baby’s mouth.

- Encourage your baby to open the mouth nice and wide.

- As you brush your nipple against the mouth, your baby will open wide for the breast. Avoid moving the breast or chasing the open mouth. Hold the breast still and the natural rooting reflex will help your baby to find the nipple. Just wait for the open mouth and bring your baby nice and close. The tongue will come forward and you baby will latch on. Most of the time this ensures a good, natural attachment. If you have trouble or feel unsure, ask for help.

- Bring the baby to the breast rather than the breast to the baby.

- You might find it helpful to support your baby behind the shoulders as you bring it to the breast in quick, gentle motion.

Sometimes in spite of a mothers best efforts and all the encouragement and support in the world, breastfeeding challenges cannot be conquered.

You’ll find many more breastfeeding tips at my site http://naturaltransition.com.

If you are having any difficulties with breastfeeding or just need some encouragement, it can be a tremendous help to speak with a breastfeeding counsellor, you can call and talk with an Australian Breastfeeding Association counselor by calling 1800Mum2MUM from anywhere in Australia. You can also e-mail me for help and support. Simply visit my site at http://naturaltransition.com

About The Author

Julie Cottles (http://naturaltransition.com) professional qualifications include: Bachelor of health science, Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy, Diploma of Botanical Medicine, Diploma of Nutritional Medicine, Diploma of Homoeopathy, Diploma of Remedial Massage. Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Counselling, Certificates in Natural Family Planning.

Memberships: Australian Traditional Medicine Society, Australian Breastfeeding Association

Current businesses:
Avena Natural Health Care (clinic)
http://www.avena.com.au

The author invites you to visit:
http://naturaltransition.com

by: Brandon C. Hall

All newborns are, of course, different. Some sleep better than others at a young age, which prompts many parents to trade stories of how “lucky” or “unlucky” they were with a given child. There is, no doubt, a certain amount of mystery to getting a child to sleep well and through the night on his own. Nevertheless, a plethora of baby sleep tips exist intended to speed up the process which your child goes through before sleeping on his own.

Getting your child to sleep on his own in a timely fashion involves speeding up a natural transition: the one from sleeping with his mother to sleeping on his own. At first, when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, he will cry for his mother, as this is the only way he knows how to fall asleep. One of the things you must do as a parent is help create the best environment for your baby to fall asleep on his own.

Many people naturally assume that the best environment for sleep is one of total silence: most of us are familiar with having to tiptoe around a sleeping baby’s room. Although a quiet environment is the best one for most adults, you’d be well advised to remember where your newborn baby has been sleeping for the past nine months: in his mother’s womb. In the womb, of course, your newborn slept in many situations that were far from quiet – when the mother was out in public, or socializing with other people. For this reason a newborn baby will often sleep better by being exposed to some quiet background noise.

You should be trying to allow some ambient “white noise” to be around your baby when he goes to sleep. Sudden loud noises will, of course, rouse him, but in most cases some background chatter and other soothing noises will help the sleep process: most adults, I’m sure, can likely remember falling asleep to the sounds of their parents and their friends having a conversation.

There are products marketed to new parents to create these ambient noises – most notably audio CDs containing tracks of soothing noise. It usually isn’t necessary to buy these, however – in most cases simply leaving the door to the baby’s nursery ajar will do the trick. In a similar vein, if your baby falls asleep around company, allow him to stay there rather than moving him to a quiet room.

By helping to create the best possible environment for your baby’s sleep, you help him learn to fall asleep in his own. Often a humming noise can help – we all know how easy it can be to fall asleep in a moving car – so having a humidifier or fan in the baby’s room can often do wonders.

Whatever solution you choose, remember that it needn’t be overly complicated. Simply leave the door ajar, or let your baby sleep in the company of others. Contrary to what many people intuitively think, if you keep your baby from sleeping in total silence, he’ll often sleep much better.

by: Nancy Miller

Are you unsure whether you should make your own baby food at home or just buy it from the store? If so, then take a look at these five good reasons for doing it yourself – they may help you make up your mind…

1. Home-made Baby Food is Healthier and More Nutritious

Commercial baby foods contain additional fat, salt, sugar, fillers or other ingredients that are completely unnecessary (and often inappropriate) to your baby’s diet. These additives are an attempt to add flavor, texture and bulk to poor-quality products. They contribute nothing at all to your baby’s health or well-being. By preparing the food yourself, you can be sure that your baby is getting exactly what his/her little body needs – and nothing that it doesn’t.

2. You’re in Control

By preparing your baby’s food yourself, you know exactly what your baby is eating. When you prepare an apple sauce, you know he/she is getting fresh, pure apple and all the goodness it contains. However, when you buy apple-sauce at the store, you’d almost need a degree in nutrition just to decipher the list of ingredients.

3. It’s Easy to Make Your Own Baby Food

Once you get started cooking for your baby, you’ll quickly realize just how easy it is. All you need is a food blender and some fresh ingredients to quickly prepare healthy, tasty, home-made meals for your little one. Furthermore, by making large amounts of his/her favorite meals in advance, and then freezing them for later, you’ll be able to serve up delicious, healthy meals in minutes — every day of the week.

4. It’s Much Cheaper

The prices that baby food manufacturers charge for their products is nothing short of scandalous and are in no way justifiable. The reason they can charge so much is because they’ve conditioned most parents to believe that they have no choice but to buy from them. By preparing your baby’s food yourself, you can avoid being a victim of this daylight robbery, and find yourself with extra cash to spend on all those other things that a growing baby needs.

5. It’s Very Gratifying

Watching your baby enjoy the meal you’ve just prepared for him/her is already a very gratifying experience. On top of that, however, you have the satisfaction and pride of knowing that you’re giving your child the gift of a healthy and nutritious diet – and saving yourself money as well.

And finally…

If all that weren’t enough, here’s another great reason to do it yourself: home-made baby food is much tastier than any commercial product. Delicious food is one of life’s great pleasures and your baby deserves to enjoy the rich flavor and texture of real home cooking just as much as you or I. After all, none of us would enjoy eating ‘TV Dinners’ morning, noon and night – and that goes for your baby too!

So, don’t put it off. Get started today. Your baby will thank you for it in more ways than one.

By: Jennifer Gove

Below are the basic ideas of what makes a safe crib. However, if you doubt the safety of a crib, any crib, new or used, it may be more suitable and safe to choose a different one for your baby’s safety and your own piece of mind. Consult your doctor for more crib safety information.

-Slats will be no more then 2-3/8 inches apart to prevent the infant’s head from going between the slats causing strangulation.

-Slats will be tightly fitted will not turn or move and slats must be in place.

-The mattress is tight fitting inside of the crib with little to no space between the rails and mattress.

-The distance between the mattress at the lowest point and the crib rail at the highest position is more then 26 inches from rail top to mattress top.

-Hardware is not broken, missing, bent, sharp, or other wise damaged; and is functional as well as original to the crib.

-The locks to the crib rail require a force of at least ten pounds to operate with two well-defined actions to maneuver the drop release. There must be a lock method in place to prevent accidental release by an infant or child.

-All packaging materials are removed once the crib is together before use. Plastic wrapping is not safe around an infant or child and may cause suffocation.

-The crib must have no parts that stick up or cut out an infant or child could get entangled or caught.

-Teething rails should be in one piece and smooth with no sharp edges.

-Paint should not be chipping or peeling, the crib surface should be smooth and free of splinters and rough edges.

-When purchasing a second hand or imported crib make sure the crib is free of lead paint should you think there is lead present discontinue the use or do not purchase crib. Lead is harmful and deadly.

If you need help identifying or removing lead paint, call the National Safety Council’s National Lead Information Center at 800-424-5323.

For more information about crib safety talk to your child’s doctor

by: Brandie Valenzuela

I would never have imagined that my baby would be taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shortly after his birth. While he was born a little early, 37 weeks and 3 days to be exact, we had a perfect pregnancy – no problems at all. I went into labor on November 24, 2000, and at 9:44pm, I gave birth to Matthew William through a cesarean section. My husband and I were just overjoyed at finally being able to meet our newest little blessing!

Shortly after Matthew’s birth, he had to be taken to the NICU because of difficulty breathing. It was around 1am that the neonatologist, explained to me what was wrong with my baby, and asked me to sign several consent forms for procedures such as a blood transfusion and a chest tube. At this point, I still thought that Matthew might be able to room in with me — and that I would be able to breastfeed him soon. The next morning, I was told that this would not be happening, and that Matthew would have to be in the NICU for approximately 3 – 7 days.

I had always planned on breastfeeding Matthew, so when I heard that he would be in the NICU for several days, I felt that I would miss out on that early bonding with my newborn. I wanted to hold my baby, I wanted to feed my baby, I just wanted to do all those things that a new mother does for her baby. As Matthew was on a ventilator and IV’s, and receiving nourishment through his IV’s, I was becoming more and more depressed.

The day after his birth, I reminded several nurses that I wanted to breastfeed my baby and asked them if I should be pumping. I was very concerned with making sure that I got my milk supply going and that I had the colostrum and early milk to feed my newborn when he was ready for it. The nurses agreed that I should be pumping, and they brought me a manual breastpump. I had a difficult time expressing the colostrum and I was sure to tell the staff, who told me that the hospital had an electric pump, which might work easier. I soon was able to start using the electric pump, and while it was slightly painful in the beginning, I was able to start expressing first the colostrum, and then the milk, with ease.

In the beginning, I was pumping very small amounts, but as I continued to pump every two to three hours, I was soon expressing more and more breastmilk. The hospital provided me with small plastic bottles to store and freeze the breast milk in, and explained to me to label each bottle with my name and the date and time of the pumping session. These bottles were then stored in a freezer located in the NICU.

When I was released from the hospital, and Matthew was not able to come home with me, I just cried and cried. It was an awful feeling leaving the hospital empty handed. I wanted so badly for my baby boy to be well, so that our family could begin our life with him. I almost felt like I hadn’t given birth, that I wasn’t a mother of a newborn. But the one thing that gave me a constant connection to Matthew, was the pumping of my breastmilk. Each time I sat down to pump, or each time I leaked onto my bra and blouse, I was reminded that I had a baby who was counting on me for not just love and care, but for the nourishment that only a mother can give. This made me really enjoy the pumping sessions, just as a mother enjoys feeding her newborn directly from the breast.

On December 1, 2000, after Matthew was in the NICU for one week, he was taken off of the ventilator. This was an incredibly happy moment for my husband and I, because we knew our baby was not far from coming home. I asked the NICU nurse about when Matthew would be able to nurse. It was explained to me that he would need to take my breastmilk with a bottle at first, because they wanted to monitor the number of ounces he was drinking. I was upset by this, because I knew all to well about newborns refusing the breast after being offered the easy-to-suck-from bottle nipple. The nurse explained to me that he would take to the breast just fine, even if he did nurse from a bottle first, and that babies don’t get nipple confusion like Le Leche League would tell you. Well, I wasn’t convinced, and at this point I become very worried about the problems I might encounter once Matthew as able to breastfeed.

Less than 48 hours after the ventilator was removed, Matthew was given his first bottle of breastmilk. How well he drank the milk would play a part in how soon he would come home, so you can imagine my happiness when he had done extremely well. All the nurse were quite impressed at how much breastmilk Matthew would drink in a sitting.

Then finally the day came. We knew that Matthew would be coming home to us within the next day or so, but on the night of December 4th, 2000, I asked the doctor if I could try to nurse my now 10-day-old Matthew. She thought that was a great idea, and asked the nurse to help me find a more private area to nurse him. I followed the nurse to a quiet room, got comfortable in the recliner, and she handed me my precious baby. She asked if I needed any help getting him to latch on and I told her that I think I could do it (I had breastfed my last baby), and she left the room. I loosened my bra to get my breast ready and I put Matthew’s head in the crook of my arm and turned his belly to mine. I lifted my shirt and brought Matthew’s little mouth to my nipple, where he latched on just like a breastfeeding pro. He sucked a few times, and would stop, but would start once again. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

As I sat there feeding Matthew for the first time, tears rolled down my cheeks. At that moment, I know I was the happiest mother in the entire world. I had my baby, snuggled against me, and I was breastfeeding him.

I am pleased to say that the next morning, our healthy Matthew was released from the hospital and we were able to take him home. Matthew has continued to nurse very well, and is becoming what we all love: an adorable, chubby, breastfed baby!

About The Author

Copyright 2001 Brandie Valenzuela

Brandie Valenzuela is married and a mother of three children, who enjoys working at home as an editor and freelance writer. If you like this article, be sure to sign up for her free Family First Newsletter at: http://members.aol.com/BMValen/index.html. Or sign up for her free Daily Holiday Recipe ezine at: http://members.aol.com/BMValen/dhr.html.

Breast feeding makes you thirsty!

Make sure each time you pick baby up to nurse you have a glass of water or 100% fruit juice to sip. To stay hydrated it is recommended you drink 8 to 12 glasses of water each day.

You plus baby make two!

While breastfeeding you are still eating for two. It is recommended you consume 300 to 500 more calories a day, but this does not mean stock up on candy bars but instead healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, lean meats and dairy choices are the best choices. Chips and candy are ok in moderation but should make up a very small portion of a healthy diet for a breastfeeding mom.

Keep snacks on hand!

Carrot sticks, cheese cubes, whole wheat crackers, dry cereal all make great and healthy take along snacks for breastfeeding moms on the go. Don’t forget to bring along plenty of bottled water as well. This will keep you from making stops at vending machines and grabbing a candy bar at the check out.

Are vitamins for me?

Talk to your doctor about continuing your prenatal vitamins or some other multivitamin. Though we all try to eat a well balance diet some of us just need that extra supplement to keep on the right path to good nutrition.

Are there foods to avoid?

Most mothers never need to avoid any foods while they breastfeed but there are instances when baby can be affected.

If your family has a history of allergies you may want to talk to your doctor about foods to avoid and how to meet your nutritional requirements in other healthy ways.

Some babies do indeed have sensitivities to some foods that may cause fussiness or gas. Keeping a food log could help narrow down what might be causing these issues with your baby. Logging what you are and how baby reacted thus watching for a pattern to emerge.

It is important to remember it is not recommended you restrict any food group with out the guidance of a doctor.