Sunday, March 30, 2008

Baby Dedication instead of Christening

Today Patti was dedicated back to the Lord. As Christian parents, my husband and I decided that Christening was not appropriate since it is synonymous with the Baptism. Today we made a vow to raise her by Christian principles until she is able to decide upon her own free will whether she will follow Christ or another path. Just as Hannah prayed for a child, so did we. Because He granted our request, we respectfully follow in her footsteps to give our daughter back to God.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Protect Your Child

We all love our children and want them to have the best care. As my grandmother says "It's best to stay home with your own kids." However in today's society that is difficult due to the financial demands of every day life. This is just a reminder that no matter how trustworthy a person may seem they could potentially abuse your child. Every one feels that these cases are isolated and that they have full confidence in their child care worker, but unfortunately the harsh reality is that it is happening every day every where. If you don't believe me type "babysitter abuses child (state name)." There is literally a case of a child care worker abusing a child in every US state.

1. Insist that the child is kept in your home
2. Install nanny cameras
3. Pay attention to a change in your child's behavior
4. Inspect your child daily for body marks
5. Trust your instincts

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Why is my baby sucking her hand?

I know you are wondering if your baby is still hungry, teething, or if they have itchy gums. It could be all 3 or none. When your baby's physical needs have been met this is usually just a comfort mechanism. At least you don't have to worry about getting up to pop the pacifier back in her mouth :-)

Monday, March 10, 2008

Baby Reflux

I receive a lot of complements on how happy and easy going my baby is. I've also encountered a lot of people who are surprised that I don't place anything on my clothes when I burp her. I let them know that I have never had a problem with her reflux or vomiting. I burp her after every feeding and keep her in an upright position for at least an hour after eating. In fact she sits up just as much as my husband and I do because we hold her, prop her or place in her in the swing. I've had some serious problems with acid reflux in the past so I know from personal experience that eating and lying down are big no-no's. Not only will the food come back up, but it will burn your throat, and also make you feel nauseous. I hear my people talk about how the excessive amount of gas makes their baby fussy. My baby is very gassy, but she gets it all out. What do you expect? She is drinking milk all day. You would be gassy too :-)

It's not the gas that makes the baby cry; it's not getting the gas out. When I was pregnant, I went 3 days without passing gas or making a bowel movement. I was so miserable I just knew that I was going to die. I noticed that a change in position always help the pain go away momentarily. With my newborn daughter I make sure that she not only sits up, but that she spends some time on her stomach, on her back, on her side, and at different angles. I raise her legs throughout the day and give her stomach a firm press if it seems overly full. So moms and dads, before you change your baby's milk or ask the doctor for a miracle drug, try some common sense remedies to make sure that you are not missing the obvious.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Congested Baby


As any parent knows, babies seem to get stuffy noses regularly for no apparent reason. You go to the pharmacy and find that over the counter drugs are no longer suggested for infants. You call the pediatrician and discover that unless the baby has a fever, isn't eating, or showing signs of distress, this problem will not be treated with pharmaceuticals . What a dilemma!! The only option is to use a rubber suctioning device that looks like an ice cream cone. Despite the wailing and flailing of your little one, you have to extract the snot because you cannot bear the sounds of labored breathing or worse that they will choke in their sleep.

1. Place baby on his/her back onto a flat surface
2. Spray 2 drops of saline solution into each nostril
3. Wait 30 seconds for the nose to become moist
4. Use one finger to close the left/right nostril while slightly closing the baby's mouth (leave enough room for breathing and pay no attention to the screams). All of this is done with one hand.
5. With your other hand squeeze all the air from the nose bulb and gently insert it into the open nostril. (Don't jam it in there. It should be very close to the entrance.)
6. Slowly release the bulb and let it works its magic.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 for the other nostril.

Suctioning can be done whenever it is needed but don't irritate the baby too much. I usually do this in the morning, afternoon, and right before bed. I also just ordered an automatic suctioning device so hopefully there will be less theatrics during these sessions.