Articles » Baby Care
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The Good and Bad Characteristics of a Baby Boomer
Every individual is unique in his own way. This makes him different from anyone else. Even brothers and sisters differ a lot. But with every person's distinct characteristics, he should still be able achieve good relationship with other people.
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ADEA and Baby Boomers, Knowing Your Rights
The first thing you have to know is what baby boomers are and what ADEA is all about. First of all, baby boomers are people who were born during the period of increased birth rate. In the United States, baby boomers were born during the time after the World War II conflict and before the Vietnam War. This means that there is more than one generation of baby boomers during this period of time.
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Your Baby's Physical Status Immediately After Birth
When you are given your baby to hold for the first time you will probably be surprised by his appearance. Although your baby is undoubtedly a bundle of joy, many mothers mistakenly expect a clean and placid bundle, similar to the ones that appear in baby-food commercials. As you now suddenly discover, however, real life is a little bit different.
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When It Comes To Food Choices, Perhaps Your Baby Knows Best
Infants have the ability to select a good diet by themselves if they are given the chance. Evidence for this is from a famous nutritional study with 3 seven to nine-month old babies who had been fed nothing but breast milk. The babies were offered a wide variety of wholesome, unrefined foods to choose from at each meal for a period of six months. They were not fed anything unless they indicated in some way that they wanted a particular food.
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When Breast-Feeding, Avoid Smoking, Caffeine, Alcohol & Drugs
Cigarette Smoke: If you smoke, your baby smokes right along with you! What's more, the milk of smokers contains contaminants such as lead and cadmium. Smoking during pregnancy can damage your baby. He may suffer from nausea, vomiting, hyperactivity, speech problems or even have a higher risk of cancer later in life. You are well-advised to stop smoking some time before a planned pregnancy and to stay smoke-free after the baby is born.
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A crying baby can be one of the most frustrating and frightening experiences for new parents, and parents often worry about how they'll handle crying even before the baby is born.
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What Your Doctor Looks For In A Healthy Newborn Baby
Whether your baby is born in a hospital, birthing center, or at home, the doctor or midwife will see to it that he is given uninterrupted expert attention until breathing is well established. Any major problems should be identified within a matter of minutes, so that if special care is required it will begin at the earliest possible moment.
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What Diaper Is Best For You: Disposable Or Cloth?
Your choice in diapers will be between cloth and disposable types. In recent years, the vast majority of parents have opted disposables, though an increasing consciousness of environmental issues has led many parents to reconsider cloth diapers, which create less waste. Yet the issue is not clear cut: the detergents required to clean cloth diapers can be viewed as pollutants to the water supply, and the energy and water required to wash them might also be regarded as wasteful.
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Taking Care Of Your Baby: Learn What Equipment You Will Need
The advantage of getting and arranging the equipment and supplies you need to take care of you baby ahead of time is that it lightens the burden later. A certain number of mothers feel tired and easily discouraged at the time they begin taking care of the baby themselves. Then a little job like buying half-a-dozen nipples looms is a real ordeal.
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Step-By-Step Instructions For Sponge-Bathing Your Baby
Newborns don't require the kind of vigorous cleaning that older children and adults do. Tub baths are not recommended until the umbilical cord has fallen off and healed, and the circumcision incision has healed.
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Physiological Expectations Of Your Newborn Baby
Your baby's weight, head circumference, and length will be measured to give an indication of her maturity and development. These measurements can be used as a baseline for her future development if necessary. Although routine measurements are inevitably compared to "the average," don't worry about this too much. An average is just an arithmetical calculation, so the "average child" is only theoretical and doesn't exist.
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Learn How To Tell If Your Baby Is Being Under-Stimulated Or Over-Stimulated
Over-stimulation can cause confusion and anxiety and lead to a greater need to cry. It occurs when the environment contains many new objects, sights, or sounds that the baby cannot yet understand, but to which he is paying attention. If your baby is sleeping or ignoring the stimulation, he will probably not be affected. For over-stimulation to occur, it is necessary for your baby to be taking in new sensory information and attempting to understand it.
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Knowing When To Wean Your Baby Off Breastfeeding & Into Solid Foods
The longer you nurse your baby, the more he will benefit from the immunological and nutritional benefits of breast milk. You and your baby will also benefit from that special feeling of closeness that breastfeeding provides. In most traditional cultures, babies are breastfed for at least two years, and sometimes for as long as five or six years. So don't be surprised if your baby is not ready to give up the breast until he is several years old. If you and your baby enjoy your nursing relationship, there is no harm in continuing for several years.
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Is Your Baby Ready For Tub-Bathing?
Bathing a newborn can be fun for parents and enjoyable for the baby, too. But lots of babies scream their heads off the first couple of times. If bath time continues to be an ordeal, bathe only when absolutely necessary until your baby is a little older.
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How To Maintain Healthy Baby Teeth
What makes good teeth on a Baby. The first thing to realize is that the crowns of all the baby teeth (the parts that will show) are formed in the gums before birth. In other words, they are made from what the mother eats during her pregnancy. Research shows that among the food elements necessary to make strong teeth, the following are particularly important: calcium and phosphorus (milk and cheese), vitamin D (vitamin drops and sunshine), vitamin C (vitamin drops, oranges, other citrus fruits, raw tomatoes, cabbage).
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How To Distinguish Whether Your Baby Is Hungry, Or Just Needs To Cry
It is not always easy to distinguish between hunger and a need to cry. Every baby is different and each mother must learn to interpret her own baby's signals. Nevertheless, there are a few guidelines for determining whether or not your baby really needs to nurse.
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How To Cope With Breast Infections & Abscesses Due To Breast-Feeding
Engorgement, sore nipples, breast infection, and an abscess - one breast problem can easily lead to another, more difficult problem. It's smart to know how to recognize these problems and learn how to stop them early.
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How To Build Self-Confidence In Your Baby
It is tempting to help babies accomplish tasks that appear too difficult, but this can interfere with the learning process. A baby's first instinct is to carry out his actions by himself, without anyone helping him.
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Great Advice For Getting Your Baby To Sleep
Unless she is hungry, cold, or uncomfortable, it is likely that your newborn baby will spend at least 60% of her time asleep.
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Everything You Need To Know & Expect When Your Baby's Teeth Arrive
In a baby who is reasonably healthy, the age of teething is simply a matter of the pattern of development the child was born with. In one family most of the children teethe early, in another late. You can't decide your baby is extra bright for teething early, or generally backward for teething late.
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Clothes & Other Items Your Newborn Baby Will Need
Your baby will be growing very rapidly during the first year, so be sure to buy her clothing to fit loosely. It's generally better to begin with 3-6 month size instead of newborn sized clothing.
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Breastfeeding Positions For Ultimate Comfort & Safety
Breastfeeding is a learning process. The baby has to learn to drink at the breast, and you have to learn to give her your breast. Although the process of breastfeeding is technically the same with every breastfed baby, in reality every baby is different. Naturally your baby's temperament and uniqueness should be respected and validated from the very beginning.
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Even women who have never gave birth to a child (those who have had a hysterectomy as well) can nurse an adopted baby. Thousands of women have demonstrated this. But you need considerable perseverance, patience and serenity, a great deal of assertiveness and a strong belief it is possible, because you will have to withstand doubting, incredulous commentary from many other people. This could include your doctor, who may never have heard of it.
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Be Aware Of The Contaminants In Mother's Milk
For years, articles about contaminants in mother's milk have alarmed pregnant and nursing mothers and made them wonder whether they could breastfeed their babies safely. The contaminants referred to are mainly chemical substances such as DDT, PCBs, dieldrin and dioxin. They have been used as insecticides, disinfectant agents for seeds, coolant in power transformers, impregnating agents, and plastic softeners by industry. Often, these contaminants found their way into the body through foods we consumed.
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Bottle-feeding is straightforward, but you will need to make sure that your baby can swallow properly, and that he is not taking in air with the milk.
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Bottle-fed babies tend to be fed less frequently than breastfed ones. This is because formula takes longer to digest and contains slightly more protein, and therefore delays hunger longer. A four-hourly regimen of six feedings a day seems to suit most bottle-fed babies after the first two or three days, whereas breastfed babies will probably take seven feedings a day. A newborn baby will probably not take much over 2 fluid ounces (60 milliliters) at each feeding, but as he grows he will take fewer and larger feedings.
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Amazing Things That Newborn Baby's Can Do
At birth or within the first weeks, healthy newborns usually: 1. See objects 8-12 inches away (the distance from breast or bottle to mom's or dad's face).
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Always Be Prepared To Change A Dirty Diaper
When to change a diaper may not seem like a question necessary to be asked by any thinking person. However, odor or leaking may be masked by super-absorbent diapers, and newborn's poop usually doesn't smell much. Letting wet diapers go unchanged until fully saturated increases the chance of diaper rash and discomfort, not to mention leaks onto clothing and bedding. Letting dirty diapers go unchanged too long can mean a severely irritated bottom that may require a doctor's visit.
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16 Baby-Safety Tips Every Parent Should Know
Below are 17 basic safety precautions of which new parents should be aware:
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Whether babies should be comforted by a synthetically manufactured "plug," rather than comfort themselves or have a caregiver attend to their needs, is a matter of debate. Surely parents should find out what's bothering the baby before just stuffing in the pacifier.
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6 Baby-Calming Techniques That Will Soothe Your Baby's Mood
Swaddling: Wrap the baby tightly in a receiving blanket, with or without hands available for sucking (sucking its hand may calm the baby in itself). Sometimes the closeness is comforting, much like the womb. The feeling of flailing arms and legs may be like being lost in space.
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4 Helpful Tips When Changing Your Baby's Diapers
For Girls: Never wipe from the rectum forward, as it brings fecal bacteria into the urethra and vaginal area. Instead, wipe front-to-back (just as girls and women do after using the toilet to prevent bladder infections). Also, separate the labia and cleanse lightly to remove all matter. Do not scrub.
