Archive for the 'Baby Care' Category

Changing time – Disposable Changing Pads

Published on January 19, 2010 in Baby Care. 1 Comment

When it comes to changing time, you are juggling wipes or cotton, diaper cream, clothes, the baby reaching for everything, and then it happens…

Baby decides to pee right in the middle of it all while the diaper is off! Now you have to wipe up, change the baby’s clothes and when you’re done, wipe and wash the changing pad.

This was what we were doing on an almost daily basis with Alex until we happened upon a great idea.

When we were in the hospital right after Alex was born, the hospital had blue absorbent pads that were thin plastic on one side and cotton on the other. They were meant to go on the bed to absorb any fluids that leaked.

We thought these would be ideal for the baby changing table. We went on the hunt and found them for sale online. We bought a case of them and Continue reading ‘Changing time – Disposable Changing Pads’

3 month baby checkup – 25th percentile growth??

Published on June 15, 2009 in Baby Care. 0 Comments Tags: .

measuringtapeWe took Alex to the doctor for her three month checkup. He looked her over and announced that she was perfect all around and totally normal. He then measures her head diameter and height and weight.

The doctor then pulls out a chart and looks up what percentile the baby falls into. He announces that she is in the 50th percentile for head size and the 25th percentile for height and weight at 3 months (11 pounds 14 oz and 22 and 5/8 inches tall).

She was also in the 25th percentile for her 2 month checkup and although the doctor said there was nothing to worry about Continue reading ’3 month baby checkup – 25th percentile growth??’

What Do Your Baby’s Cries Mean?

Published on June 15, 2009 in Baby Care. 0 Comments Tags: .

dunstan babyMy wife came home recently with a DVD under her arm. She said it can tell you what your baby’s cries mean and can help you understand what the baby needs to be happy and stop crying.

My first thought is that this is some hippy touchy feely crap that is either going to be nonsense and incredibly boring or just complete garbage. I figured if there was any truth to any of it, we’d have heard about it by now since people have been writing  books and teaching baby classes forever.

Well, I was to be proven wrong.

The DVD sat on top of the TV for a week or two. My wife would mention that we should watch it from time to time, but I would always find something – anything else to do to avoid having to suffer through it.

Finally, wifey adamantly declares one day that we are watching it and that’s it. I reluctantly pop it into the DVD player and we watch.

The DVD starts by telling the story of the woman who made it. Basically, she discovered as a kid that she has a photographic memory for sounds. When she had a baby, she started to see patterns in the different cries her baby let out. She was then able to further identify the cries by noting what made the baby happy for each particular cry.

She found that all babies have at least five distinct cries for things such as hunger, tired, burp me, Continue reading ‘What Do Your Baby’s Cries Mean?’

Switching from Similac Advanced to Sensitive Formula

Published on May 8, 2009 in Baby Care. 4 Comments Tags: , .

similac
My wife has always hated Alexandria getting fussy from gas or what she suspects may be an upset tummy caused by her Similac Advance Formula. I have never really been convinced that there was a big problem.

If the baby was fussy, it would normally not be for more than about 15 or 20 minutes once or twice a day. The fussiness would usually end with a fart and a suddenly relaxed baby.

On one occasion, my wife was very concerned about how much the baby seemed to be straining. Realizing that we had a doctor’s appointment the next day, I grabbed our digital camera that can make short movie clips and filmed exactly what the baby was doing. I put the movie on my laptop and brought it to the doctor the next day.

Upon seeing the clip of the baby straining the doctor looked up and us and said “isn’t technology great?”. We replied, yes… do you see a problem? He thinks for a second and promptly replies “I’m not Continue reading ‘Switching from Similac Advanced to Sensitive Formula’

Train your infant to sleep through the night

Published on March 20, 2009 in Baby Care. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

babycryI’ve spoken to many parents to say that their child sleeps through the night easily and others who say getting the child to sleep in the first place is next to impossible and getting her to sleep through the night IS impossible.

I’ve been looking into the topic myself as I refuse to believe that there isn’t a way to get an infant into a routine.

Most of my research has shown that there is a system.

First off, don’t bother trying to get your infant into a routine any earlier than two to three months old. They’re just too young and don’t have any clue what is goining on. They are not self aware enough to get into a system until close to three months.

We got a preview of what was to come as my wife’s sister had a baby girl 9 months before Alexandria’s due date. Things didn’t go well for my sister-in-law and her husband. Her parents came in from out of town to help with the new baby. The problem was that they came for 6 months.

Upon their arrival, her parents decided their sole reason for being there was to keep the baby happy at all costs and that the baby should never cry. They did and outstanding job if that was their goal. The moment the baby w0uld utter a peep, they would go running to her side. They would be on top of her and talking or singing or playing with her every waking moment of the day until the baby would go to sleep for the night. They would hold and rock the baby to sleep.

This went on for 6 months straight. By the time the grandparents left and went home, they had completely convinced the baby Continue reading ‘Train your infant to sleep through the night’

How to get sleep with a newborn

Published on March 19, 2009 in Baby Care. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Before Alexandria was even born, my wife and I often discussed how we were going to deal with the topic of sleeping since the one thing everyone with kids can agree on is that sleep becomes a luxury when the newborn comes home.

tiredSince my wife’s sister had a baby 8 months before Alex was born, we had an idea of what to expect. My sister in law and her husband, started out by keeping the baby in their bedroom. Every time the baby would wake up and cry, both of them would get woken up and both would be up until the baby went back to sleep, even though only one of them was actually changing or feeding her.

While this is very noble and full of camaraderie, I am completely against it. The two of them both looked like zombies for months.

Wifey and I talked about it and decided the best approach for us to try is for us to split up. Since my company allowed me to take a couple of months off after the baby was born to help my wife, we were able to get more creative than we would have been had I needed to go back to work right away.

Since we had converted our guest room into the baby’s room, we already had a bed in there. Instead of both of us getting up all night, Continue reading ‘How to get sleep with a newborn’

Why you shouldn’t use Baby Wipes

Published on March 13, 2009 in Baby Care. 0 Comments Tags: , .

babywipesWhile researching how best to care for our new baby, we came across some sites with interesting thoughts on things as mundane as baby wipes. The sites basically advocated using as many natural products as possible and keeping as many chemicals and other artificial products away from your baby as possible.

Now I’m not the hippy type that thinks you should wipe with leaves or anything, but they made some very compelling arguments.

Considering all of the childhood diseases and conditions that seem to be on the rise whose causes are unknown, why take chances by exposing your child to chemicals and artificial products if you don’t have to?

Do you really know what is in diaper wipes? What chemicals are in them? How they are made? Neither do I. The alternative suggested Continue reading ‘Why you shouldn’t use Baby Wipes’