Crawling Tips- 4 June 2009

I read about the following to help a frustrated baby (more like mother) to crawl! This is not to force the baby to crawl but to help strengthen muscles that he/she needs to crawl. All babies crawl at their own time and as I have come to know, is not necessarily between 6-8 months as most books suggest. It does take longer for some and shorter for other babes.

• Fold a towel length-ways to form a narrow strip. Place this on the ground and let your baby lie on its tummy in the middle of the towel strip with arms and legs on either side of the strip. Lift up each end of the towel so that your baby’s arms and legs are in the crawling position but you are supporting the bulk of the weight. Place a toy or something in front of your babe to make him/her want to move as you support his/her movement.
• Fold a towel length-ways and then roll if up to form a cylinder shape. Let baby lie on this so that he or she is lifted elbow’s length (the baby’s elbow) from the ground. Let your babe play like this to strengthen neck muscles.
• Sit on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you and let your baby lie across your leg/s as this will position your baby in a crawling position. Sit in front of a mirror or have toys to attract the baby’s attention.
• Lots of praise and encouragement when movements are make on their own.
• Do not place objects directly in front of the baby but to the side. This will make them stretch and reach for them in a way that would lead them to moving into the crawling position.

Happy Mother’s Day! 10 May 2009

This really is a quick tip…

Have a happy mother’s day!

Ceasar Tips- 6 May 2009

• My doctor prescribed Eglonyl- common misspelt eglinol  (anti-depressant and it assists in milk supply) as soon as I had delivered. We had discussed this prior to the birth. I feel, as a result I did not suffer the third day blues and I feel it helped me to cope. I stopped them about two months after birth when I thought I didn’t need them any longer. It was great not having to experience the severe downs before the doctor prescribed something for me to take.
• I was a little weary of the wound and was afraid of bumping it or doing damage so I put a maternity pad across the wound under the rather styling mesh panties.
• Even though you may feel fine, the anti-inflamatories are really important to take. Rather discontinue taking the painkillers is what my obgyn suggested.
• Ask your doctor a lot of questions about the precedure. It makes you feel secure.
• Make sure you feel that your legs are properly on the operating table. My one leg fell off with which was rather uncomfortable because with no feeling, I couldn’t lift it myself and it felt like a while before anyone got to it.
• The anaethetist sits next to or near you the entire time. Ask him to take a picture of you and hubby with your new bundle as it arrives. 

Having Fun With Toddlers

Watching your children develop and learn is so exciting but can be a bit of a shock to the system when you realize their energy levels! I have three active, both in body and mind, children Jason is 6 years old the Sarah 4 years old and Michael who is 2. In my short 6 years of experience my husband Dylan and I have bought a few items that I believe have proven extremely valuable in creating workstations for these busy bodies.

Jason’s first birthday gift was a red plastic table with two chairs. Even at 1, he learnt to sit at the little table and do activities and the others have followed suit. We invested in the more expensive plastic chairs and so it can take the weight of an adult which worked out great when I was trying to teach them something like building a simple wooden puzzle, playing with playdough or learning to color and draw pictures and painting. The table is easy to clean and they enjoy sitting together.

The second valuable item was a large outdoor trampoline which we dug into the ground. Jumping is soooo good for them and they work on their large muscle tone development and have endless fun with each other and friends who visit. If your home is small or you are in a flat, then those smaller exercise trampolines are perfect. I really HIGHLY recommend this, even in winter when the rain breaks for a while I send them for a jump or if the noise level gets too much for my ears they are sent for a jump!

I mentioned earlier about playdough, I make a lot of playdough, it’s so good for their fine motor skill development and experiencing different textures. DON”T be scared to use this recipe it really is sooooo easy , if I can get it right you all can too!

Playdough:
Put all of the following ingredients into a medium sized pot:

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup plain flour

½ cup salt

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup water 2 teaspoons food colouring

Put your pot on the stove on a medium to high heat and stir ingredients together so it all mixes, you will notice it starting to pull away from the sides, keep mixing it and until it forms together in a ball, take it out the pot and kneed it once it cools down a little. Voila! Your own playdough, I promise it takes less than 5 minutes. Keep it in a plastic packet in a sealed container and it will last quite some time.

Please remember as with EVERYTHING that you do with your child, you will have to invest time in the beginning to teach your toddler how to play with the dough or build a puzzle, but you will see that your little effort will reap rewards when you need to make a phone call or to quickly finish supper and you are teaching your child how to play on his own for short periods of time. I hope this will help a little, these have been lifesavers for me!

Quick tips 28 April 2008

•  If you are prescibed painkillers after giving birth, check that they do not have a sedative in them. This may have an effect on your baby if you are breastfeeding.
• Write a personal history of events that happen in your babies life each week.
• 0,25 mg floride can be given to babies from 6 months- 3 years to strengthen teeth (once they have teeth).
• Vital ricecakes are a great snack for baby and unlike other brands, have no salt or sugar added.
• Breastfeeding baby have a nappy rash? My dr-in-training husband suggested I try taking a multi-vitamin and presto- it healed. Strange but true. (I use Borroca C)
• Place a warm blanket on the babies bed so that if the other blankets get kicked off, there is still the warmth from the blacket under him/her.

Quick Tips for 25th April 2009

Avent Isis is a really good breast pump.

Helpful tips for 20 April 2009

• Read books, be informed but pick one person you trust to give you advice.
• Glycerine helps some babies take a dummy for those tender moments.
• If your baby rejects a spoon when feeding solids, use your finger.
• Fill an empty Berocca C tube with dried beans, it’s great as a shaker.
• A “Peek-a-boob” or a “Hide and Feed” is great for breastfeeding in public.
• Steamers make putrity making a breeze.
• Just as with introducing foods, books are the same. Stick with one book for a while at the start.
• Avent Isis is a really good breast pump.
• Ashton and Parsons powders help with teething gripes.
• Tender breasts (and I don’t mean chicken) try using fissan’s baby bum cream.
• Back to sleep, tummy to play.