Baby Gift Products

One of the most important ways to prepare for your New Arrival is to get some knowledge of first aid.  Parents, grandparents, and babysitters can all prepare for those unexpected bumps and bruises by taking first aid classes and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.  Then you will be able to remain calm, think quickly, and take proper action when Baby hurts.  Later, we will consider how to handle some of the more common infant injuries and emergencies. 

Of course, I remember when I was a child, almost any hurt could be treated by letting me play with that special toy Aunt Phyllis sent along with that baby boy gift basket.
 

Languaages around the world have “child words” with repeating syllables.  Like “papa” in Italian and “tata”–grandfather– in Hungarian.  The part of the brain that governs language development, at least in right-handed people, is on the left side of the brain.  this is consistant with the belief that we are born with abilities allowing us to perceive and learn our mother tongue systematically and efficently.  The area of the brain governing language development does not “learn” the language; rather, it is specialized to process language from the start. 

I wonder if the brain is programmed from the start to like those unique baby gifts all of our friends and family bestow upon us at the birth of our babies. . . . 

“Johnny doesn’t like meat and  veggies any more, all he wants to eat is fruit and bread, he used to eat meats and veggies” laments a worried mom to her pediatrician.  The pediatrician tell her  not to worry toddlers go through phases of being “picky eaters”.

Yes your toddler may only eat a little bit of food, but still has lot’s of energy. That is because between the ages of one and five years old,  an appetite slump happens, your toddler is growing at a much slower pace and they don’t need as many calories. They eat what their brains tell them to eat and when to eat.  

Consider this - is  your toddler really eating a small amount of food?  You may be basing their eating habits on your own eating habits. Most adults eat by the clock, out of boredom, or for emotional reasons.  Your toddler is still in tune with is body’s hunger cues,  and will he’ll eat when he is hungry.  So be patient don’t try to force little Johnny into a by the clock eating pattern, research suggest that this may lead to weight problems later on.

So if Johnny doesn’t want to eat when you eat, let him play with that new gift basket of that was was filled to overflowing with all those unique baby boy gifts

It should be obvious to all that the way we treat our mate has a direct relationship to the values our children gain in life.  If we yell and scream or use physical violence with each other, we teach our children that this is the way to get what we want in life.  If we show love and respect within the marriage arrangement, our children will value the family arrangement.  And the home becomes a safe haven in a often dark and scary world.

 This is not to say that material presents are not important.  Such can teach children the value of sharing what we have with others.  From an early age let your children know that the baby gifts they receive are given with love and affection.

Babies have a secret that they pass on to each other in the maternity ward.  “Hey there.  Yea, you, the one-hour-old new kid on the block.  Know this, more whines equals more hugs!”  Studies show that babies who cry more at 2 weeks old are held more at 5 weeks old.  So babies know what they want, and they know how to get it.  Babies love to be held.  But we can’t hold them all of the time.  Don’t feel guilty about that.  Let Baby have one of the plush stuffed animals included in the unique baby gift baskets your friends sent to y0u and Baby with kind thoughts and love.

Your having a baby! How wonderful- all your friends and family are giving you wonderful and unique baby gifts and baby showers  and the subject of flu shots comes up.  Some one ask you if you  plan on getting the flu shot this year.  Will you or won’t you?  it is a big decision that you and your doctor need to make.

New research shows that when moms-to-be get the flu shot they may get a-”two for one benefit”- Moms-to-be could  pass on the immunizations protection  to their babies. While you might be hesitant about getting the flu vaccine,  to your doctor , who can help you make the decision if its safe to get the flu vaccine  rather than risk getting the flu and passing it on to your baby. 

Researches also found that women who opted for the flu shot during their pregnancy, their babies risk of getting the flu was cut buy more the 60% in the first 6 months of their first year -the time when babies are at the greatest risk of complications from the flu and hospitalizations. An add plus is that the flu shot fends off more than 1/3 of fever-inducing respiratory illnesses in both mom and baby.

Today the American Medical Association released a study suggesting concern about bisphenol A— or BPA.  After surveying almost 1500 adults, the AMA found that those individuals exposed to BPA were more likely to have heart disease and diabetes.  Shortly afterward, the FDA defended its position that BPA is safe.  No doubt about it, the debate will continue for years to come. “Right now, our tentative conclusion is that it’s safe, so we’re not recommending any change in habits,” Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA’s office of food additive safety, said. At the same time, however, she acknowledged, “there are a number of things people can do to lower their exposure.”

One of her recommendations was previously recommended on this web site; avoid plastic bottles with the number 7 in the recycle triangle.  About 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies. The FDA claims the levels of exposure are too low to pose a health risk, even in infants and children.

Read all information available about this chemical and make your own decisions about buying products containing it.  And you can be assured that, regardless of your opinions about BPA, these baby gifts are all safe and non-toxic.

Babies and teenagers have something in common.  They don’t care what their parents say.  While it’s true that babies are learning words as early as 10 months old, they learn the names of objects that interests them rather than what interests the parents.  And they learn those names fast. In at least one study, infants were able to learn five new words in five minutes.  They did this with only  five presentations  of the word and object.  But, they paired the new word with the object that interested them rather than the object the  researcher referred to.  So babies believe that the word spoken to them goes with the object they are most interested in, and not necessarily the object that word accurately describes.

This is not surprising to the researchers. Interest is what drives learning for all of us.  Some six-year-olds were once heard talking knowledgeable about baseball averages.  How can they do that?  I didn’t learn about decimals until 6th or 7th grade. 

A ten-month-old infant just “glues” a name onto the most interesting thing they see.  Then, at around 18 months old, the baby learns to discern the speaker’s interest as a guide as to what words describe what objects.

Enjoy those babies while they are babies.  And remember to send a thank-you card for all the baby gifts you and they receive from friends and family.

You throw up your hands in despair- you newborn is still crying, you have tried everything- He’s not hungry, wet or tired but he needs your attention- you’ve rocked him , you’ve walked the floors, even put him in his car-seat and turned the dryer on -because you’ve read that the vibrations sometimes soothes a crying baby, it worked but not for long.  You’ve tried the swing, daddy’s even tried to calm him, still he cries.  You have tried everything! Or have you.  Here are some tips that you may not have tried:

• Go outside- this change of scenery sometimes be enough of a distraction that he will calm down and observe his new surroundings.
• A massage- ah you would love one- but so would baby, most babies find stroking to be soothing.  My nieces and nephews loved to have their foreheads rubbed- with the tips of your fingers just gently stroke the forehead back ‘n forth or in circles and soon baby will be calm and may even take a nap.
• Turn off that TV and dim those lights- All that stimulation can jangle  your newborns nerves.
• What’s the temperature like in your home- Baby could be too hot or too cold.
• How’s your baby dressed- That cute  rolled neck sweater that you got in the neat gift basket of personalized  baby items may be to hot or too tight.

Although no single method works for all babies, as you get to know you baby, you will develop a variety of ways to soothe you baby and he’ll be your bundle of joy again and the little fusser will be a thing of the past.

One new mom we know says that for the first three months of her new daughter’s life, she was grateful to see the sun each morning because that was the only way she knew morning from night.  She often referred to something she called “Infant Standard Time” –a place somewhere on the Earth (or at least in her house) where it’s normal for everyone to be awake at 3 a.m.  Molly’s nap schedule looked something like this:               Day 1 — 10:30 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.

               Day 2 — whenever . . .

               Day 3 — not ever . . . just fussing and crying instead.

 Mom tells us “I was forever asking ‘is it time to nurse her again?  When did I change her diaper.  I was in a constant state of confausted,’” a word she coined to describe the cross between confused and exhausted.

You have to be on a schedule, well-meaning friends would say–even those who themselves were confausted.  And all the books say a routine is good for children.  And good for Mom and Dad, too.  After all, every new event is a major experience to someone  has never experienced it before.  Seeing green grass, hearing the phone ring, watching a bug on the ground. . . with all those new images flooding her developing brain, a measure of sameness (a normal naptime, a regular bath schedule) would have to be comforting for Molly and Mom.

“But I couldn’t even find the time to take a shower, much less get Molly into some kind of routine.  But thru a lot of trial and error, we found something that worked.  Well, most of the time, anyway.  And all the lovely unique baby girl gifts helped more than friends and family will ever know”

We’ll write more about this in a future post.