Buying Baby Sleeping Bags Tips

• Choose your baby's sleeping bag according to the prevailing season, so that he/she stays comfortably warm and does not overheat. Bags are given a TOG rating according to the warmth they provide. The higher the TOG figure, the warmer will be the bag. In winter, a baby sleeping bag should have a rating of 4 TOG - 2.2 TOG. In summers, you'll need a sleeping bag with a lower TOG rating.
• When you are buying a new sleeping bag for your child, make sure to check that the design and weight do not add to the heating process, thereby leading to overheating.
• It is advisable to go for a sleeping bag that has deep sleeve holes, so that the air gets room to circulate throughout the bag. This will work to prevent the bag from getting overheated.
• While determining the size of your baby sleeping bag, make sure that it small enough to prevent your baby from sliding down inside the bag. At the same time, it should be big enough to allow him/her to kick legs freely, without the risk of being uncovered.
• Never ever get a quilted sleeping bag for your baby, as it can get too hot for your baby to handle. If you feel that your baby might feel cold in it, you can always put a sheet on the sleeping bag.

More about → Buying Baby Sleeping Bags Tips

Baby Oral Hygiene Tips

• When you feed your infants, do not forget to wipe his/her mouth and gums with a wet cotton cloth. If your baby has already begun teething, you can use a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean his teeth. This will help eliminate any bacteria-forming plaque and excess sugar that have built up on the teeth and gums.
• There are times when brown or white spots may appear on your baby’s gums. Make a habit to check your child’s mouth regularly. Also, keep a tab on the formation of any smelly tartar collection in their mouth.
• See a dentist if your baby suffers from persistent bad teeth odor. Timely medical advice will help and reduce any further chances of tooth decay.
• If your baby is extremely fond of sweetened milk or cerelac, try cutting down on sugar content and avoid creating sweet pools in the mouth of your tiny tots.
• Make sure you thoroughly clean your baby’s milk bottles and the pacifier with hot water and sterilize it with water for some time to remove germs from entering the mouth.
• If your little ones are teething, they would want to chew something to relieve the pressure. In order to maintain good oral health, give them teethers and toys made of nontoxic materials and specially designed for teething babies. Some are made of firm rubber; others are filled with water and chilled in the refrigerator. Don't freeze these types of rings or teethers, because they become too hard and may harm your baby's gums.

More about → Baby Oral Hygiene Tips

Decorate Baby’s Nursery Tips

• The closets, benches, racks and shelves should be kept at a height and place that is easily accessible by the babies. If the things in the room are well organized, it will organize the kids as well.
• You can create a continuous art pattern in the room by using wainscoting and by painting the wall below by chalkboard paint. You can use colors of your choice and paint up to a chair rail.
• Use paints that glow at night. There are stars and moon patterns available for the ceilings, or cityscape for the edges of the room. This will get your babies excited to switch off the lights early at night. It will also make your child love sleeping in the room.
• Temporary wall tattoos and removable wall transfers have become very popular and affordable. They come in different colorful patterns. Your kids will have fun decorating the room the way they want to.
• Kids like hanging stuffs, they are also good collectors. Let pictures and postcards hang down in front of window or clip them with strings along the wall to create an interactive border in the room.
• Kids like display space where they can put up their recent art work for their spectators. Galvanized metal is easily available at any home improvement store. This will give an instant magnetic board for your kids to put on stuffs.
• Check your local art shop for peel and stick cork. You can cut them into any shape and attach them to any part of the wall to provide a colorful look.
• You can use different charts to border the walls and use non-toxic paints to put your child’s handprint on the borders.
• Use multiple lighting in the room and not just one monotonous lighting system. Overall lighting is necessary and so is the reading light. The room should be well lighted with lights at the required places.
• Do not keep much of soft toys or toys with fur on it. These may cause choking and other allergies.
• While choosing the color for the furniture or a dresser, ask your child’s opinion. You can even get his/her signature or hand print on the furniture. This will foster a feeling of belongingness in your child.

More about → Decorate Baby’s Nursery Tips

Introducing Bottle To Baby Tips

It has been found that newborn babies, who are bottle-fed regularly, often forget how to suck milk from the breast. They may even need to relearn being breast-fed. Experts are still trying to find an explanation for this behavior. Therefore, it is best to introduce bottle-feeding only after breast-feeding is well established. If you want to avoid using a bottle, you could try spoon-feeding your baby or use cups specially made for babies. It has been found that babies, who use these cups, comfortably take to breast-feeding later on. However, it is important to learn the correct technique of using this cup from a trained person. Mothers are often concerned and wonder whether bottle-feeding will affect the health of the child. However, bottle-fed babies grow to be just as healthy as breast-fed babies.

Introducing Bottle To Breastfed Baby

• You could try using different kinds of nipples or teats. Making the teat soft by boiling it or using different types of teats may help. Often the babies who refuse the bottle are the ones who have been breast-fed.
• You should hold the baby him the same position while bottle-feeding him/her, as you do while breast-feeding him.
• You should encourage your partner or baby sitter to bottle-feed the baby, as he/she will not expect to be breast-fed by them and may take to bottle-feeding more easily.
• Try changing the formula you use, as there is a chance that the baby dislikes its taste.
• Research has shown that if the bottle is introduced early, when the baby is about six weeks old, even for just one or two feeds a week, the baby is more likely to accept being bottle-fed on a regular basis.

Breastfeeding vs. Bottle-feeding
Breast-feeding does not ensure that you child will never fall ill. Although studies show that they are more resistant to common ailments as compared to formula-fed babies. Colic in babies, in both cases is more or less the same. Where sleep is concerned, it is true that formula-fed babies, sleep better and longer at night. One possible explanation is that, formula milk takes longer to digest than breast milk. Therefore, babies who are bottle-fed sleep longer between feeds. Therefore, mothers may use formula milk to ensure that babies sleep through the night. On the other hand, breast feeding the infant during the night may be slightly inconvenient for the mother, but she doesn’t need to get up and prepare bottle-milk in case the baby needs it during the night. Ultimately, it is for the mother to decide what the best option for her and her baby is.

More about → Introducing Bottle To Baby Tips

Congenital Abnormalities in Babies

Spina Bifida
In this condition, there is a raw swelling over a portion of the spine at birth. This results in paralysis of the legs (either partial or complete), inability to control bladder functioning and inability to feel anything below the spina bifida. In some cases, there is a build up and retention of water in the brain, which is known as hydrocephalus. This swelling can be closed by an operation by specialists.

Umbilical hernias
In this condition, parts of the digestive system are lying outside the stomach cavity. This is because the area around the navel is not very strong. Normally, cases of umbilical hernias around the navel heal on their own; if they don’t, surgery is required.

Sickle cell disease
This is a hereditary condition that is most commonly found among people of West African or African Caribbean descent. The hemoglobin in the red blood corpuscles disintegrates at a quicker rate than normal. Hemoglobin is important, as it carries oxygen to the different parts of the body. Reduction in hemoglobin causes anemia and blocks blood vessels in the hands, legs and stomach. An attack can last for a few days and can be treated with painkillers. This is also known as Sickle Cell disease.

Cystic Fibrosis
This is another hereditary illness, in which the tissues in the body produce unusually thick mucus. The commonly affected organs are the lungs, the intestines and pancreas. If the lungs are affected, the air ducts are blocked and hence, vulnerable to infection. Children with this condition have an inability to digest food completely and have bad smelling bowel movements and constipation. They are well below the normal weight for their age. This illness has no cure, but if detected in the initial stages, lung damage can be reduced. These children are susceptible to chest infections and have to be treated with antibiotics. Chest physiotherapy is required regularly to remove thick phlegm.

Coeliac disease
In this condition, the child's intestine reacts strongly to gluten, a protein found in wheat. These children have a severe case of diarrhea, where the stools are fatty, pale and don't flush away. The child does not put on weight as required. The illness can be detected by a blood test. After being detected, the child will have to completely give up gluten containing food. Once this is done, stools return to normal and the child will put on weight.

Clubfoot
In this condition, the foot curves inwards or outwards. All babies are checked for this at birth, more so, if they were born in the breech position, as it occurs more frequently with these babies. Often, they can be manipulated into the proper position, with little or no treatment. Surgery may be required in severe cases. This condition is also known as Talipes.

Cleft palate
In this condition, the cleft lip and the cleft palate are fused, thus the baby cannot be breast-fed. Various support groups will help you deal with the situation and corrective plastic surgery is possible.

Congenital dislocation of the hip
All babies are screened for this condition at birth and when they are eight weeks old. If this condition goes undetected, walking can become a problem later in life. If diagnosed with this problem, the baby will have to wear a special splint for sometime. Most recover without having to be operated on, but some do need an operation. This condition is prevalent more among girls and breech babies.

Cerebral palsy
In this condition, the parts of the brain that control body movements are damaged. This can happen before birth, during birth, or in the first two years after birth. In some cases, damage may not be noticed at birth, but as the child grows, it becomes evident. It is difficult to pinpoint as to what causes this damage. There are a few tests that can be conducted when the baby is eight weeks old to screen him for cerebral palsy

More about → Congenital Abnormalities in Babies