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Monday, December 29, 2008

Preparing Baby for a Full-Time Sitter


By Rebecca Geiger for Your Baby Today

Like it or not, it's time. You've used up nearly every hour of precious maternity leave, and are now poised to return to work. You've even hired a full-time sitter to come to your home. All that remains is to break the news to the baby. Sure. Right.

Actually, leaving your baby with a sitter doesn't have to be an overwhelming adaption for you or her. Consider the following tactics for making a smooth transition:

  • Before the sitter even walks through your door, experts recommend getting your child used to your being away. Start with relatively short periods of time -- 15 minutes or so -- and slowly work up to longer intervals. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), for a child seven months or younger, it may be particularly difficult for him to adjust since he's dealing with issues of separation anxiety. That's why it's best to let your child get to know the new person while you're there. Initially, if possible, you should be present the entire day, gradually reducing your presence over one to two weeks.
  • Make the first encounter with the sitter a positive one. When you're ready for the first meeting between baby and caregiver, the AAP recommends holding your child in your lap while talking with the sitter. This gives the sitter a chance to make eye contact with him. The sitter can start talking with your little one while you're still holding him, but she shouldn't try to touch him yet. If he seems at ease, put him down in front of you (along with a favorite toy), and let the sitter come closer and start playing with the toy. As your baby gets more and more comfortable, you can start backing away. Try leaving the room, and if he continues to play happily, then it's going well.
  • Once you're ready to head back to the office, consider starting on a Wednesday, rather than a Monday, so that your first week apart won't seem so long.
  • Try not to let your child pick up any apprehension that you may be feeling about being separated from her since that might make her anxious, too. For instance, don't make a big deal about the time you'll be away by drawing out a long good-bye. Act naturally to help your baby relax, and she'll soon figure out that there's no need to worry since you'll be back.
  • It's not uncommon for your baby to be clingy or withdrawn for the first few days of your returning to work. This stage typically doesn't last beyond two weeks. Babies and young kids often adapt to new situations much better than adults, and the AAP notes that infants usually adjust well with a consistent child care worker in almost any setting.
  • If your work situation allows for it, call home a few times a day, and let the nanny hold the phone to your baby's ear. You can also record your voice reading a story or singing a song. And if you work fairly close to home, have the sitter bring the baby by for weekly lunch dates so you can enjoy her company.

http://www.babyant.com

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Help For Your Baby's Crying And Sleeping Problems

Childhood sleep disorders are the cause of anxiety for both the child and for the parents, who may be unaware that their child is suffering from a sleeping disorder. Sleeping disorders can be caused by numerous problems, some of which are more obvious than others. It is even possible for a child with a sleep problem to go undiagnosed simply because new parents may think that certain behavioural patterns are normal.

One clear sign of a child with a sleeping disorder is that the parent is suffering from disturbed sleep as well. If you are concerned that your child may have problems sleeping, here are some signs and symptoms to look out for and some of the simple cures that can help ensure everyone has a good night's sleep.


There are some obvious thing that will cause baby crying and sleep problems, all of which are fairly common and easily curable. Bed-wetting is often responsible for waking a sleeping child. Another common problem is nightmares, or night terrors, which for a child can be a terrifying experience. A less common problem is sleepwalking, where the child gets up and wanders the house whilst still in a sleeping state.

All of the symptoms mentioned are easy to identify but unfortunately there are other more unusual causes of sleep disorder that can be stressful for the parent and the child alike. These symptoms may even go unnoticed entirely, but little indicators can point to sleep problems as the root cause. If your child becomes extremely irritable during the day then this may be a sign that you need to monitor your child's sleep patterns more closely. For a child less than two years of age, eight hours sleep may seem like a lot. However, eight hours may not be enough for some children, leaving them prone to irritability when awake.

Children who have difficulties falling asleep at night may also have a sleep problem even if they then sleep solidly throughout. Similarly children who awaken too early or too late may also be having problems settling into an adequate sleeping pattern. Again, a sure sign that a child may have difficulty actually getting to sleep is irritable or lethargic behaviour during the next day. Another sign that a child is having difficulties is if they are snoring loudly. This can be a sign that the child is having difficulties breathing. Loud snoring will also prevent the child from falling into a deep, refreshing sleep.

There are some products on the market that can help. Firstly you should buy yourself a good book on sleep problems that affect children. Often a sleep problem can be overcome by simply changing routine or through various other techniques. Another good idea may be to purchase an audio CD of relaxing music specifically created for children. There are also various herbal remedies that can be purchased and hung in the child's room.

If your child experiences sleep problems, the first thing that you should do is to try not to worry and remember that it is actually quite a common occurrence. Unfortunately a child's sleep problem can affect your own mood during the day and you can become increasingly irritable yourself. Try to remember that there are cures for sleep disorders and that with children it is usually just a matter of changing the child's bedtime routine.

A great invention on the market that promises to help your baby sleep is the automatic baby rocker device that can be placed under the child's mattress to help rock the child to sleep.

If you are still concerned then a visit to your GP will be able to set your mind at ease. Your family doctor will be able to recommend other solutions.


By: Mark Moon
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Colostrum

During pregnancy your body starts creating colostrum as your breasts prepare to nurse your unborn baby. Some women begin leaking colostrum weeks or months before delivery. For first-time moms who are unaware of this process, it can be a bit frightening or worrisome until their doctor or midwife assure them it is normal. First-time moms may start leaking colostrum during the third trimester, while previous mothers may start leaking as early as the second trimester.
Colostrum is a thick, sticky, yellow-to-orange colored milk that is created by your breasts to give your baby the nutrition he needs immediately after birth. It is low in fat, high in carbohydrates and has a laxative effect on the baby which helps him pass the first meconium stools that are sitting in his intestines. Colostrum also helps get rid of the baby’s excess bile and helps lessen the chance of jaundice in your newborn.
Colostrum not only provides nutrition, but it also protects the infant from harmful viruses and bacteria. It also introduces beneficial bacteria in the baby’s digestive tract. The concentration of immune factors is much higher in colostrum than it is in the later mature milk that your baby will receive when your milk comes in.
It is important, if you plan on nursing to nurse frequently and often during the first few days of your baby’s life so that your baby not only gets all the colostrum and antibodies he needs, but also so that your milk comes in strong.
Colostrum is also a 100% safe vaccine for your baby. Many parents refuse to have the eye drops given by hospitals to babies after birth, and instead prefer to use the mother’s colostrum to rub on the baby’s eyes in hopes of killing bacteria and preventing infection. This natural vaccine is referred to as immunoglobulin A (IgA) and is different from the immunoglobulin G (IgG) that baby received from the placenta while in the uterus. IgG worked through the baby’s circulatory system, but IgA protects the baby in the places most likely to come under attack from germs, namely the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines.
If you do not start leaking colostrum during your pregnancy, it is not a cause for concern. Not all pregnant women leak before their baby is born, and not producing colostrums has no effect on the success or failure of a mother nursing her newborn.


http://www.babiesonline.com

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Colicky Babies Or Not, How Many Babies Are Unwittingly Damaged?

A baby with colic is particularly at risk because of the hours spent crying and being lifted and carried around by a carer who is trying to pacify the child while being extremely tired and in despair.

It is not commonly known that newborn babies, up to the time they are able to crawl are at risk of sustaining some degree of damage due to the
way they are lifted and carried. This damage would be quite unintentional of course, and not immediately apparent because the damage would probably be minor and this does not apply only to babies with colic.


Supporting the baby’s head is critical and this advice – “Support the head” is always given to the new mother when she first takes her infant child in her arms, but the risks of disregarding the advice are not explained, possibly because nursing staff or not fully versed on this
subject. My own area of expertise is a baby colic remedy which cures
extremely fast and safely when used for a colicky breast fed baby, but my concern for tiny babies extends to any way at all that they can be protected.

The new parents are much more likely to take great care but the baby is at risk of being handled without the necessary support by members of the family or friends who volunteer to help with the colicky infant and my concern is this: It is not just a matter of whether the baby is uncomfortable, in fact it is very dangerous to lift or carry a baby with the head unsupported.

Even the most loving and well-meaning person can unwittingly cause some brain damage by lifting a crying baby improperly, when they are just intending to be some help to a tired new mother. The damage can range from slight to quite devastating and slight damage doesn’t become apparent until the child is older so the same unsupported lifting is likely to be repeated many times, particularly when a fussy baby is crying a lot.

How many people actually know that the weakness, or danger area, in a baby is where the brain and spinal cord meet? Even rocking a crying newborn gently without the head being supported can damage the part of the spinal cord that controls the baby’s breathing.

So a child born with perfect health, although possibly developing baby colic symptoms, can be injured in this way, perhaps repeatedly, without anyone knowing, resulting in a degree of brain damage and a harder life for the child from thereon.

A fussy baby who doesn’t settle to sleep easily is more at risk because there is likely to be far more lifting and carrying during the crying periods and anyone in the family is likely to pick the baby up, in an effort to help the mother out and in these cases, colic in babies needs to be researched so that the newborn can spend more time sleeping safely.

It was discovered by researchers when they examined the brains of children who were suspected to have been killed by violent shaking, most likely during a bout of crying due to baby colic, that even mild shaking can damage the nerve fibres that control breathing. The brain swells, due to lack of oxygen and this can cause some degree of brain damage, or even cause the death of the baby.

It does seem quite likely that baby colic is the main culprit that leads to a carer becoming exasperated and exhausted from trying to deal with the constant crying for hours, and then mild shaking is likely to happen.

Until someone experiences the colic scenario, night after night, it is difficult to imagine how awful it makes parents feel.

When we speak of brain damage it is usually the more extreme kind that comes to mind, but brain damage doesn’t always mean 24 hour care for life and the need for a wheelchair. It can be quite slight and just affect a child’s reaction speed, intelligence, speech, co-ordination or anything else the human brain is wonderfully designed to control, thus leaving the child a lesser person than they were born to be and giving the impression that they were born with those minor handicaps, when quite likely, what they were born with was a nutritional deficiency which caused them to suffer
from all the colic symptoms.

It is said that baby colic is not dangerous but I cannot completely agree with that. The danger lies not in the condition of colic, but in the increased risk of damage unintentionally caused to the fussy infant.

Aside from the problems baby colic causes, how many folk know that it’s extremely dangerous to play rough with a baby before the child can even crawl? Everyone involved with the care of a new baby needs to be warned of this fact. Also they need to be warned to always support the newborn’s head when walking about with them and it makes good sense to explain the reason clearly because rules which seem to be for no purpose tend to be ignored or forgotten. This is particularly true if it is an older sibling helping out and trying to pacify the colicky baby. Siblings are usually but children themselves.

I am concerned about this subject because several times in my own life I have needed to quickly say “Support the head” when people have not been taking the proper care with someone’s new baby and there must be thousands of babies who have no-one there to give this extremely important advice.

Would it not be an excellent thing, in order to keep helpless and dependent babies safer, to have warnings about supporting a baby’s head and ‘no rough play too soon’ printed on packs of diapers and baby formula, in the same way warnings are on cigarette and tobacco packs about the dangers to health? Surely, if smokers get this consideration, then babies, with or without colic symptoms, deserve the same care.

By: Anne V Agar

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Practical Tips for Parenting Your Children


As out lined, parents of young children (pre-schools age) should have few expectation in terms of behavior and acquisition of knowledge due to the cognitive limitations at this age. This does not mean that children should be allowed to run about and to do as they please; they still require guidelines and boundaries. What it does mean is that era should be taken regarding the methods that are used to raise children and the values that are instilled from very beginning. It is interesting to note that the Arabic term tarbiyah, which is often to mean teaching or training, generally refers to growth, increase, nourishment, and cultivation. This relates to the physical, intellectual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of an individual. When thinking of growth and cultivation this implies that something has already been planted or is already present (natural fitrah). Tarbiyah then refers to the various methods that are used to watch over to a child until he or she prepared to take responsibility and behave in complete submission and worship of Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala. The following suggestions are techniques that may be used for tarbiyah for early childhood. Play, Play, Play: Play should be the primary emphasis during this time in a child’s life since this is the means through which they gain an understanding of the world around them. Pretend or imaginative play is the most common type of play during this stage and this direct-impacts cognitive, social, and psychological development. Children will often mimic or imitate the behavior of adults or other children around them in their play, which is their way of preparing for their particular roles in life. Girls will most often imitate their mothers, and their boys will follow in the footsteps of their fathers. You will see girls playing with dolls, dressing and feeding them and boys on more rough develop at an early age and are a natural part of Allah’s plan for the differentiation of responsibilities for men and women. Those and other type of play should be encouraged and fostered in young children. Prevention: The saying "Prevention is the best medicine" is true not only in the medical field, but also within psychology. There are many steps that parents can take to prevent misbehavior and avoid the disruption that this can cause within the family. First of all, children need predictability, structure, and guidelines because this gives them a sense of security and a feeling that there is order in the world. When this is present they are less likely to feel anxious or stressed which, in trun, will decrease the likelihood of inappropriate behavior. Children will sometimes act chaotic if they are in a chaotic environment. Secondly, probably the most common reason for misbehavior is to gain attention human is the need for social contact, approval, and attention that is already present at birth. When parents fulfill this need adequately, a child will feel content and be more likely to engage in solitary play. If a child is not able to obtain attention through positive behavior, he or she may utilize negative behavior for this purpose. Parents can fulfill this need by spending quality time with their child (e.g. talking, playing, reading, enjoying nature, and much more). Quality is often more important than quantity. Rewarding Positive Behavior: The concept of rewards and punishment is an integral part of Islamic Aqeedah as there are natural consequences for each of our actions. This same wisdom can be applied to the area of parenting, the Messenger of Allah , sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, said that Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, says, " Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then He explained it ( by saying that) he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down himself as a full good deed; but if he intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one a bad deed." (Bukhari and Muslim). Allah’s mercy can be seen in this Hadeeth Qudsi and this should be reflected in a parent’s tarbiyah as well. Rewards are effective in only increasing the occurrence of positive behavior, but also in decreasing negative behavior and increasing a child’s self-esteem. The most effective rewards for children are those that are the easiest to give: praise, encouragement, hugs, thanks, etc. Ignoring Misbehavior: Many of the inappropriate behaviors of young children can simply be ignored or disregarded. The prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, is our best example in this regard. Anas ibn Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, had the best disposition among people. One day he sent me on an errand and I said, "By Allah, I will not go.’ But it was in my mind that I would do as the Messenger of Allah had ordered me. I went until I came upon children playing in the street. Then the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, arrived and he caught me by the back of my neck from behind. As I looked at him. I found him smiling, and he said, ‘Unays (Anas’ nickname), did you go where I asked you to go?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, yes, I am going . ‘’’ Anas said further, " I served him for nine years, but I do not know that he ever said me about anything I did, why I did that, or about anything I had neglected, why I had not done that." (Muslim). We may want to compare this to how we react to or interact with our own children. For young children, in particular, it is really counterproductive to berate, question, and reprimand when they really way. Simply ignoring the behavior may be the most appropriate response. Another related technique is to redirect the child to something else in the environment to draw attention away from the undesirable. It is important to realize that within these general guidelines there are about as many ways to parent as there are parents. Parents need to take into consideration the unique personalities, dispositions, and gifts of each child when deciding upon a particular approach. What may work with work one child may not necessarily be effective with another. It is also imperative to remember that our children are one of the greatest test that we have from Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, and we need to contionually ask Him for assistance for ourselves and our children. This is the most effective and powerful tool for tarbiyah. " When My servants ask you (Muhammad) concerning Me, I am indeed near. I respond to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me. Let them also, with a will, listen to My call and believe in Me, that they may walk in the right way." [2:186]

http://www.namaislami.com

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Ouch! My Breasts!

An early sign of pregnancy, during the first trimester, are swollen or sore breasts. This can begin as early as a week after conception, often before a woman ever misses her period. The breasts might become larger, tender, and ache when they are touched. But what causes this tenderness?
A woman’s breasts are made up of fat, tissue, blood, and milk glands and their sole purpose is for breastfeeding. It is just a coincidence that the men seem to like women’s breasts as much as the babies do.
When a woman gets pregnant her breasts immediately start preparing to feed that baby nine months down the road. Extra blood begins to run through them and the milk glands grow, causing the swelling and pain that a woman might feel. A woman’s breasts will continue to grow throughout pregnancy, although the tenderness should fade after the first trimester. It is normal for a woman’s breasts to be 2-3 cup sizes bigger by the time her baby comes and she begins nursing.
Swollen and sore breasts do not necessarily mean that a woman is pregnant. Many women experience some swelling and tenderness in their breasts every month right before their period comes, or even at ovulation. Sore breasts can also be caused by a hormonal imbalance or starting, stopping, or changing birth control pills midway through a cycle. When in doubt, be sure to call your doctor.

From : http://www.babiesonline.com

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

When Does Your Body Start Producing Breast Milk?

Breastfeeding is an amazing, natural occurrence that women have been practicing since the beginning of time as a way to feed their babies. A woman’s breasts have milk glands in them which are activated by pregnancy and begin the process of producing breast milk almost as soon as a woman gets pregnant.

One of the early signs of pregnancy is sore, painful breasts. For many women they will notice a dramatic increase in the size of their breasts early in the first trimester. The milk glands are a cluster of cells high up in your breast. When you have your baby and deliver the placenta, the estrogen and progesterone levels in your body decrease and the hormone prolactin will rise signaling these glands to produce and to send milk down to milk ducts.

However, some people report leakage from the areola prior to delivery of their baby. This yellowish leakage is called colostrum and can begin as early as the second trimester for some women, and not till after delivery for others. The colostrum is the first food your baby will get and the most important as it is full of antibodies to help protect and strengthen your baby’s immune system.

So when does your body actually start producing milk? It just depends on how you look at it. What do you consider the first step in production? If it is when the glands are triggered to start their job it is early in the first trimester. If it is when you first notice colostrum then it would occur at whatever point your body started leaking it, possibly in the second trimester, often not till birth. If it is when the white milk starts to flow then it happens within your baby’s first 72 hours of life. Have no fear though. Breasts were made for the sole purpose of feeding our children and in most cases will do their job and the milk will come when it is needed the most.

From : www.babiesonline.com