This is something I love and there is nothing more magical that seeing my little boys face light up with a smile when I am talking to him.
When he was first born it was difficult to interact as he didn't gurgle or laugh then as he was too little. However I would always speak to him and sing to him. I feel that even early on talking to you're babies helps to build the building blocks for their social life when they are older.
My little man is five months old now and we have some good little chats, even though I just get gurgles back it's lovely to see him trying to communicate back.
Toys can help with interacting with you're babies and at the same time helping their sensory learning.
Teaching them how to make noises is good fun and gets them used to bonding with you more, we can sit for ages sometimes playing the noise game with our little man and he absolutely loves it.
When he is crying I find talking to him really calms him down whilst at the same time keeps me from feeling stressed.
Basically communication with you're baby is important as it builds the parent and child bond.
Monday, 24 March 2014
Baby products
Knowing which products to use for you're baby is trial and error, as without trying things out we can't know how our babies will react to different products.
My little boy's skin is quite sensitive, so everything I get for him I make sure is for sensitive skin. For baby wipes I use Asda's own sensitive wipes, which are really nice and smell nice.
I also use Asda's sensitive hand and face wipes for his face as these don't irritate his face.
For nappies I use pampers 12hr dryness which are brilliant for nighttime use as they are created to prevent irritation. Also when changing his bottom I make sure a nappy is not left on too long and so far he has never had a sore bottom.
For teething I swear by dentinox on tommy tippee teething dummies as this works a treat for soothing sore gums and makes ur little ones happier.
E45 is brilliant for any red patches as it takes the irritation down really quickly and sudocrem is fantastic for milk rashes, nappy rash and spots.
For cradle cap I am using baby oil first and then once that has been on for a couple of hours I am then using dentinox cradle cap shampoo, which both work a treat.
Basically, once you know how you're babies skin will react to products, you just stick with the ones that work the best.
My little boy's skin is quite sensitive, so everything I get for him I make sure is for sensitive skin. For baby wipes I use Asda's own sensitive wipes, which are really nice and smell nice.
I also use Asda's sensitive hand and face wipes for his face as these don't irritate his face.
For nappies I use pampers 12hr dryness which are brilliant for nighttime use as they are created to prevent irritation. Also when changing his bottom I make sure a nappy is not left on too long and so far he has never had a sore bottom.
For teething I swear by dentinox on tommy tippee teething dummies as this works a treat for soothing sore gums and makes ur little ones happier.
E45 is brilliant for any red patches as it takes the irritation down really quickly and sudocrem is fantastic for milk rashes, nappy rash and spots.
For cradle cap I am using baby oil first and then once that has been on for a couple of hours I am then using dentinox cradle cap shampoo, which both work a treat.
Basically, once you know how you're babies skin will react to products, you just stick with the ones that work the best.
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Integrating you're dog and you're baby
When you have a dog and you are having a baby, you worry like mad that they won't get on as you don't want to get rid of you're dog. I was like this, my dog is like my hairy baby and I would have been so upset if I had to of got rid of him as I could not imagine him missing from our little family.
What I used to do was every time I bought something for the baby I would let the dog sniff the things for the baby so that he was used to the scent and knew that a change was going to happen. Also I would invite him into the baby's room so that he would feel like he was getting involved.
Once I had had my baby I would let the dog lick his hands and feet, which still happens now and my little man loves it and laughs.
It is good to let you're dog and baby socialise as it makes the dog feel like part of the family and not like he or she is having their nose pushed out.
I am so glad I integrated my dog and baby as I now have such a happy little family.
What I used to do was every time I bought something for the baby I would let the dog sniff the things for the baby so that he was used to the scent and knew that a change was going to happen. Also I would invite him into the baby's room so that he would feel like he was getting involved.
Once I had had my baby I would let the dog lick his hands and feet, which still happens now and my little man loves it and laughs.
It is good to let you're dog and baby socialise as it makes the dog feel like part of the family and not like he or she is having their nose pushed out.
I am so glad I integrated my dog and baby as I now have such a happy little family.
Walking the dog with a pushchair
As well as having my son I have dog. We got our dog before we had our baby as I didn't know I was pregnant when we got the dog.
When my son was born they became the best of friends and are inseparable and the dog likes walking at the side of the pushchair and my son who is now five months old loves talking to him and gurgles and laughs at him.
Now how do I walk the dog and baby on my own you might say, well on the days I am on my own I put my hand through the handle of the dogs lead and hold onto the pushchair, that way I have properly got hold of the dog.
If another dog is coming along with their owner I will push the pushchair off the footpath and put the break on, then shorten the dogs lead and hold onto it this time and wait till the dog has passed. My dog is a pro at this and will very patiently wait.
When going across a road I wait for a big gap, hold the pushchair with one hand and the dog with the other and then walk across the road, making sure that the dog goes up onto the pavement off to oneside away from the pram.
One thing to always remember with dog walking with you're little ones with you, that you are within you're rights to say something to someone if they are letting their dog go to close to yours whilst you have a pram, as it is safer to keep other dogs at a distance.
When my son was born they became the best of friends and are inseparable and the dog likes walking at the side of the pushchair and my son who is now five months old loves talking to him and gurgles and laughs at him.
Now how do I walk the dog and baby on my own you might say, well on the days I am on my own I put my hand through the handle of the dogs lead and hold onto the pushchair, that way I have properly got hold of the dog.
If another dog is coming along with their owner I will push the pushchair off the footpath and put the break on, then shorten the dogs lead and hold onto it this time and wait till the dog has passed. My dog is a pro at this and will very patiently wait.
When going across a road I wait for a big gap, hold the pushchair with one hand and the dog with the other and then walk across the road, making sure that the dog goes up onto the pavement off to oneside away from the pram.
One thing to always remember with dog walking with you're little ones with you, that you are within you're rights to say something to someone if they are letting their dog go to close to yours whilst you have a pram, as it is safer to keep other dogs at a distance.
Friday, 21 March 2014
Night Shift Part Two
As well as giving my son formula during the day I would also give him formula during the night. In order to do this without any stress I would get the sterile water ready in the bottles before bed and measure the milk powder into tubs so that I could just tip it straight into the bottles. I would always take two bottles up with me, one for during the night and one for the morning. For warming them up I would take the steriliser upstairs and fill it with the right amount of water so that it was ready for use and then only had to be plugged in. I decided to have everything set up so that I could sort the bottle out for my son and then he could go straight back to sleep afterwards.
I did this for about four, five weeks as after that my son started sleeping the whole night through, doing 10 to 11 hours every night. He is nearly five months old now and he still does this.
When getting him ready for bed I always give him a bath just before his supper and put him in his pjs so that he knows it's time for bed nearly.
Once I put him in bed I play a baby music cd that I got from amazon on a CD player, which sends him straight off to sleep. I often find him fast asleep cuddling his tigger teddy looking really relaxed after the music.
When working out when to send him to bed I go off when he starts to get tired, sometimes he wants to go to bed around 9 and sometimes he wants his bed by 11. I don't really have a set time for bedtimes as I feel babies aren't always going to go to bed at the same time every night.
The best thing to do is to let them decide. I know this sounds crazy but it does work.
(This post relates to what I did for night times after I stopped breast feeding).
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Formula Milk
I breast fed my little boy for 4 weeks and because it wasn't filling him up anymore we moved onto formula. We use cow and gate hungry baby milk, which is brilliant as it is heavier than normal milk and keeps my little man fuller for longer.
Feeding baby with a bottle can be complicated at first as it's hard to establish the amount of milk the baby needs and how many ounces they will have before they throw up. The best way to do this is to follow the amount on the packet in correlation with the babies weight.
Having said that I had to up the ounces for my baby's milk as he is a hungry baby.
Now we have dropped his ounces of milk because he has food now.
Good tip with bottle feeding is to watch their moods the bottle and if they are happy then they are probably full and it they are grumpy then they are probably still hungry.
Feeding baby with a bottle can be complicated at first as it's hard to establish the amount of milk the baby needs and how many ounces they will have before they throw up. The best way to do this is to follow the amount on the packet in correlation with the babies weight.
Having said that I had to up the ounces for my baby's milk as he is a hungry baby.
Now we have dropped his ounces of milk because he has food now.
Good tip with bottle feeding is to watch their moods the bottle and if they are happy then they are probably full and it they are grumpy then they are probably still hungry.
Changing nappies
Sounds silly but when I was pregnant this was something that I was a bit iffy about. I was worried that I would gag and wouldn't be able to do it, but when the time came to changing nappies for real I managed it.
As a mum you worry, have I put the nappy on right, or is it too tight and going to make them throw their milk back up.
One thing to remember with nappies is they grow so fast, it's a good idea to have a stock pile of a few different sizes, so that there is no drama when nappies aren't big enough. I personally love Pampers as they are always really nice and roomy and the wetness indicators are brilliant when you are getting used to when you're little one has filled their nappy.
When changing a little boy's nappy you can sometimes end up covered and I have lost count of the amount of times my son has peed on me. However I learnt from the midwives a really good tip, that when you have undone the nappy you put the front piece back over for a few seconds before changing them, as it's the cold that makes them fire pee.
When dealing with the latter the use of toilet roll is really handy for taking the worst of it off before using the wet wipes.
Sudocrem is brill for nappy rash as it brings the redness down quickly and soothes the irritation.
On a whole nappy changing can either be hard work or really funny, especially when you're little one starts to laugh when they have peed on you.
As a mum you worry, have I put the nappy on right, or is it too tight and going to make them throw their milk back up.
One thing to remember with nappies is they grow so fast, it's a good idea to have a stock pile of a few different sizes, so that there is no drama when nappies aren't big enough. I personally love Pampers as they are always really nice and roomy and the wetness indicators are brilliant when you are getting used to when you're little one has filled their nappy.
When changing a little boy's nappy you can sometimes end up covered and I have lost count of the amount of times my son has peed on me. However I learnt from the midwives a really good tip, that when you have undone the nappy you put the front piece back over for a few seconds before changing them, as it's the cold that makes them fire pee.
When dealing with the latter the use of toilet roll is really handy for taking the worst of it off before using the wet wipes.
Sudocrem is brill for nappy rash as it brings the redness down quickly and soothes the irritation.
On a whole nappy changing can either be hard work or really funny, especially when you're little one starts to laugh when they have peed on you.
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