Good mothers and fathers come in many styles.
Each one of us has different strengths,interests,and values that make us great parent.
Don’t let yourself become discouraged or disappointed when others ‘give you advice’that doesn’t seem to mesh with who you are.Maybe you’re not a roll around on the floor kind of parent with your child.Maybe you’ve decided to hang back and let your little one explore.That’s great! As long as it works for you and your child, nobody should be able to convince you that your method is incorrect or wrong.Once you recognize and embrace your own personal parenting style,you can stop trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations and get on with the business of enjoying being a parent.

It’s important to keep in mind too,that these well-meaning advice givers don’t know your child as well as you. They aren’t there with your child night and day, watching him grow,learn,explore,play,eat,and sleep.Only you know what’s best for your child,and you know what works best in your household and for your lifestyle.As with anything,figuring things out along the way will involve trial and error.

So when you receive yet another unsolicited piece of advice regarding your child’s napping or nighttime sleeping habits,keep both your and your child’s personal style in mind.You’ve done the legwork, you’ve experimented,and you’ve learned together what works and what doesn’t work.The cues should come from your instincts regarding your child and from your child directly.There’s no such thing as a hard-and-fast rule for sleep habits among children other than it is needed! As your child grows,his cues may change,but as long as you stay in tune with him,his sleep habits shouldn’t have to suffer as a result.And neither should yours.

It has been some time since I write on the blog… now we have our first baby and we are a bit busy with her..

There are lots of things to learn from our part on the caring and about the baby.

Today, I would like to share you some photo of hers:

If you have experience working with kids,or are just an children lover,then starting a work at home baby sitting business may be right for you. Baby sitters offer an important role to parents and help keep the one hundred and forty-five million babies in this country healthy and happy.As a baby sitter,you’ll offer a valuable service to busy parents who are on vacation or who need someone to take care of their babies during the day.

Getting started as a baby sitter is very simple.To begin with,you’ll need to decide if this really is a business that you want to pursue.First off,ask yourself if you really love kids?If you are considering baby sitting just because you think it will be an easy job,then it is not right for you.You must enjoy spending time with kids and have at least a little experience in being around them.While most baby sitting jobs involve young children,you may occasionally be asked to care for older kids or teenagers as well.Make sure you are comfortable with teens before accepting assignments involving them.

Start your business by becoming legal.Obtaining a business license doesn’t cost much and will give you a professional edge when getting new clients.You’ll also be able to take advantage of many tax write-offs,including your costs for mileage to and from your customer’s homes and any necessary business supplies.

Speaking of business supplies,all you’ll really need are business cards and an appointment book to keep track of your assignments.Unlike other work at home businesses,the start up necessities for baby sitting are relatively low.

Next,you’ll need to decide on what services you offer and how much you are going to charge.Play detective and find out the going rate for baby sitting services in your area.Try to stay in the same range.Offering lower prices may seem like a way to beat the competition,but it also makes your services appear less valuable to potential clients.You can print your rates on the back of your business cards, or make up a small flyer with prices listed on it.

Getting clients for your baby sitting business may be the most difficult part of running the business. However,with a little effort you can build a client list rather quickly.The best way to get clients and assignments is by word of mouth.Offer to baby sit for neighbors and friends to help build your reputation.Once you’ve done a good job for them,they’ll tell their friends and so on.

You can also use a few free and low cost advertising methods to get the word out about your business.You can distribute your cards at local baby shops,or post a flyer on their bulletin boards. Ask your local pediatrician if they would put some of your business cards on their reception desk,or recommend you to other parents.A small ad in your local paper can really help get the ball rolling for your business.

Once you have clients calling you for baby sitting appointments,make sure to keep them by treating them with great customer service.Always arrive on time and prepared to watch their babies.Respect their home and their property.If they enjoy your service, they’ll be more likely to call you in the future.

When two people decide to get married, a commitment is made which includes starting a family and growing old with the other person. Along comes babies and raising these children to become adults is not only about food or clothes but making these individuals respectable members of society.

Raising your children well is a vocation. This is because children look up to their parents as role models. In most cases, the children want to become just as good or better than what the parents were able to become. By teaching the kids good values at home and enriching those values at school with the guidance of the teachers and the peers in class, the children can succeed in their endeavors. See where the molding of these beings started? It’s from parenting. 

There is an issue that most parents have to face and that is whether to be focused on the children or on the marriage. This issue has led some couples to have to turn to counseling and has made people realize that in order to keep the marriage and the family together, the people involved should not forget the basic foundation, which is the marriage.

First time parents fear separation (from their children) anxiety believing that something bad will happen to their kids if they are not always by their side. No matter how hard it is, the parents should learn to trust others so that their children don’t have to suffer from their parent’s paranoia whenever they are not within their eyesight. This can also help the parents have more time for each other as a couple.

Quality time spent between the parents such as going out on a date or talking to each other is essential, otherwise they may start drifting apart causing more problems in the future which may result in divorce. Some people are not able to cope with this since these individuals came from broken homes.

Some couples may not have children. These couples may have something biologically wrong which prevents having a family. Since this is something painful to accept, perhaps the individuals involved should be open-minded about adopting a child that they can treat as their own. This can be done by going to adoption centers or even hiring surrogate mothers. .

Marriage is not just about raising kids. By giving an orphan a new chance at life and teaching it about responsibility and imparting values this child can do a lot of good and perhaps do the same when he or she has reached adulthood.
 
By putting faith in God and living by those words everyday, the family will remain strong and be able to face the challenges that may lie ahead, especially when children are around.

Once you’ve given birth, breast feeding is the single
most important thing you can do to protect your baby
and help to promote good health. Best of all, breast
feeding is free.

Along with saving you money on HMR (Human Milk
Replacement), breast feeding can also help you to
keep your medical bills down. Babies that are fed
with formula get sicker more often and more seriously
than babies that are breast fed They also have more
ear infections, respiratory infections, and other
problems.

This can be even more true if your family has had a
history of allergies. When a baby is breast fed, the
antibodies pass on from the mother to the baby,
helping to protect against illness and allergies. As
the baby’s system matures, his body will begin to
make it’s own antibodies, and he’ll be more equipped
to handle sensitivities of food.

Sucking on the breast will also help with the
development or jaw alignment and the development of
the cheekbone. For this very reason, there is less
of the need for costly orthodontic work when the
child gets older.

Unlike formula, breast milk is always ready, always
available, convenient, and always the right temperature
for feeding. Plus, it contains all of the vitamins
and minerals your growing baby needs, saving you a
lot of money.

Breast feeding also offers many benefits for the mom
as well. The baby sucking at the breast will cause
contractions right after birth, leading to less
bleeding for the mom, and helping her uterus to it’s
shape before pregnancy much faster.

Breast feeding will also burn calories, so a mom can
lose weight much faster than if she fed her baby with
a bottle. Breast feeding will also create a special
bond with the mother and the baby – which is one
thing formula simpy cannot do.

Many women find that they can eat whatever they may
like during breast feeding. Even though it’s true
that some stongly favored foods can change the
taste of your milk, many babies seem to enjoy the
varieties of breast milk flavors. Occasionally,
your baby may get cranky at the breast after you
eat certain foods. If you notice this happening,
simply avoid that particular food.

The most common offenders duing breast feeding
include chocolate, spices, citrus fruits, garlic,
chili, lime, gassy vegetables, and fruits with
laxative type effects, such as prunes and cherries.

You can have a cup or two of coffee a day, although
too much caffeine can interfere with your baby’s
sleep and even make him or her cranky. Keep in
mind, caffeine is found in many soda’s, tea, and
even over the counter type medicine as well.

It’s okay to have an alcoholic beverage every now
and the, although having more than one drink can
increase your blood alcohol level, putting the
alcohol into your breast milk.

If you are planning to have more than one drink
at a time, it’s best to wait two hours or more
per drink before you resume any type of nursing
or breast feeding. There is no need to pump
and dump unless your breasts are full and its
time to feed your baby. While breast feeding,
any type of heavy drinking should be avoided.

Before you actually omit any foods from your
diet, you should talk to your doctor. If you
avoid certain foods and it causes a nutritional
imbalance, you may need to see a nutritionist
for advice on taking other foods or getting
nutritional supplements.

Parents always hope for the best future for their children. They try to get into the best schools, invest their money in numerous musical and art lessons and start reading to their infants before birth. Can any of this help your child become a successful adult?

How the Brain Works

Scientists now recognize that brain connections – called synapses – are the building blocks for functions such as handling incoming information, expressing emotions and learning language. Connections are built both by genetics and environmental stimuli.

These paths lay down an internal ‘wiring’ system that will affect your child’s future abilities for learning and interacting.

‘Nation’ magazine reports that brain connections are being wired at an extraordinarily rapid rate in the early years. How can this possibly affect your children?

Children Need Stimulation

The broader range of activities and experiences a child has will increase the connections made. Clearly, the fact that the greatest growth in connections is made when young indicates that providing this stimulation early on will affect your child’s abilities later on.

Does this mean that parents with little money are not capable of raising intelligent, well-balanced children? Does it mean that all children with access to specialized education will do better?

Children Learn From Play

Educators believe that unstructured play is crucial to brain development. When parent’s guide every activity or bombard their children with planned activities and lessons while leaving out free play, they do not allow the creativity necessary for social, mental and emotional skills.

Parents Who Care

Although many would agree that children are strongly affected by their peer group, it is actually parents who develop a child to become caring, self-assured and well-balanced. Parent’s should never discount the benefits they are providing for their children by being attentive and responsive to their children.

Children’s development also requires emotional connections with parents and others. When babies are not held, touched and played with they actually form fewer connections in their brain.

Nature or Nurture

As many experts would acknowledge, brain development can be influenced for good or bad by the upbringing of our children. However, genetics also play a role that cannot be discounted. While saying this, there are examples of individuals who appeared to be born with a genetic disadvantage to their peers and yet surpassed them due to the excellent parenting that was given to them.

So, what can you do to determine how your children will turn out? Focusing on parental care and attention is always the best recommendation, and the least expensive. You cannot guarantee how your children will fare, but they will always be more successful with a supportive and loving family than without.

Pregnant women have so many things to consider before they give birth to their child. There is clothing to buy, bedding to choose, and nurseries to paint. Yet one of the most important things is often overlooked: whether or not to breastfeed their child. To answer that question, each woman must educate herself on the benefits of breastfeeding and only then make a decision.

Breastfeeding has two distinct stages, colustrum and regular milk. Colustrum is the very first milk that a woman’s body produces. It is a thick, whitish liquid, and is produced for the first two to three days. It is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies, and is extremely easy for the newborn’s system to digest. One of the immediate benefits of colustrum is its laxative effect. It helps the baby to pass the first stools, meconium, which is thick and tarry. It also helps to clear the baby’s body of excess bilirubin and prevent jaundice. So, if a baby is born with jaundice, the best thing is to nurse, nurse, and nurse. Colustrum carries an extremely high number of both antibodies and leukocytes (protective white cells) to the baby, and helps his immature immune system fight off disease, viruses, and bacteria. In effect, colustrum super-charges the baby’s system and helps prepare him for life outside the womb.

The second stage of breastfeeding occurs when the regular milk comes in. This typically happens on the third or fourth day after birth. This milk is a thinner consistency than the colustrum and contains all the nutrition a baby needs to grow and thrive. It does not carry nearly the same high concentration of antibodies, but it is ingested in much higher quantities than the colustrum. As you probably know, antibodies are molecules made by your immune system that help to fight off illness. Breast milk contains all of the antibodies that the mother’s body has created. So, anything that the mother is immune to, the baby will also be immune to for as long as he is nursing. As new germs are introduced into the baby’s environment, the mother’s body begins preparing antibodies to ward off those germs. These new antibodies are then passed through the breast milk to help the baby fight off the new threat. Now, this doesn’t mean that breastfed babies never get sick, but research has shown that they do typically recover more quickly than a formula-fed baby.

There are additional benefits to breastfeeding other than just the antibodies. It has been shown that breastfeeding offers protection against ear infections, respiratory illnesses, allergies, intestinal disorders, colds, viruses, staph, strep, e-coli infections, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, childhood cancers, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, salmonella, and SIDS. Breastfeeding also offers lifetime protection from Chrohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, some lymphomas, insulin dependent diabetes, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Breastfeeding also offers benefits to the mother. Long-term breastfeeding, for a cumulative total of two years or more, has been shown to reduce a mother’s chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding also helps the mother to lose weight more quickly after having a baby. Because many women do not get their periods back until they stop nursing, breastfeeding also helps to naturally space out children. But, it is important to note that one should never rely solely on breastfeeding for birth control.

These are just a few of the many benefits of breastfeeding a child. It doesn’t just make for a healthier child, but also makes for a healthier mother. Remember, a woman’s body is designed to naturally feed her children. Breast milk is the perfect food for babies, and is what the formula manufacturers strive to mimic. Oh, did I mention that breast milk is free? Think about it, and then decide what is right for you and your family.

Experts found babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were born with smaller airways – making them more vulnerable to breathing problems after birth.  These breathing problems can put your baby at increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Smoking has been linked to various health problems in babies, including prematurity and low birth weight. Mothers who smoke are at increased risk of having a stillbirth, miscarriage or premature infant. Smoking while pregnant will lower the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby and increase your baby’s heart rate. These health factors also contribute to raising the SIDS risk for your infant, and in your child’s decreased ability to breathe correctly or take in enough oxygen for a restful, restorative sleep at night.

Babies born to mothers who smoke are significantly lighter and shorter than those born to non smokers. Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke before birth or in the home are far more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses and infections, which can also contribute to a decrease in quality of nighttime sleep for your baby.

The more cigarettes you or your baby’s caregiver smoke per day, the greater your baby’s chances of developing these and other health problems.  Studies show that a baby’s risk of SIDS rises with each additional smoker in the household, with the number of cigarettes smoked a day, and with the length of exposure to cigarette smoke.

So give your baby and yourself the best chance at a restful night’s sleep and keep your home and your baby’s sleeping environment smoke-free.  Your baby will thank you and you’ll sleep better knowing your baby’s risk for SIDS is greatly diminished and that your baby is breathing clean air with each breath he takes at night. 

Pregnant women have so many things to consider before they give birth to their child. There is clothing to buy, bedding to choose, and nurseries to paint. Yet one of the most important things is often overlooked: whether or not to breastfeed their child. To answer that question, each woman must educate herself on the benefits of breastfeeding and only then make a decision.

Breastfeeding has two distinct stages, colustrum and regular milk. Colustrum is the very first milk that a woman’s body produces. It is a thick, whitish liquid, and is produced for the first two to three days. It is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies, and is extremely easy for the newborn’s system to digest. One of the immediate benefits of colustrum is its laxative effect. It helps the baby to pass the first stools, meconium, which is thick and tarry. It also helps to clear the baby’s body of excess bilirubin and prevent jaundice. So, if a baby is born with jaundice, the best thing is to nurse, nurse, and nurse. Colustrum carries an extremely high number of both antibodies and leukocytes (protective white cells) to the baby, and helps his immature immune system fight off disease, viruses, and bacteria. In effect, colustrum super-charges the baby’s system and helps prepare him for life outside the womb.

The second stage of breastfeeding occurs when the regular milk comes in. This typically happens on the third or fourth day after birth. This milk is a thinner consistency than the colustrum and contains all the nutrition a baby needs to grow and thrive. It does not carry nearly the same high concentration of antibodies, but it is ingested in much higher quantities than the colustrum. As you probably know, antibodies are molecules made by your immune system that help to fight off illness. Breast milk contains all of the antibodies that the mother’s body has created. So, anything that the mother is immune to, the baby will also be immune to for as long as he is nursing. As new germs are introduced into the baby’s environment, the mother’s body begins preparing antibodies to ward off those germs. These new antibodies are then passed through the breast milk to help the baby fight off the new threat. Now, this doesn’t mean that breastfed babies never get sick, but research has shown that they do typically recover more quickly than a formula-fed baby.

There are additional benefits to breastfeeding other than just the antibodies. It has been shown that breastfeeding offers protection against ear infections, respiratory illnesses, allergies, intestinal disorders, colds, viruses, staph, strep, e-coli infections, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, childhood cancers, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, salmonella, and SIDS. Breastfeeding also offers lifetime protection from Chrohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, some lymphomas, insulin dependent diabetes, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Breastfeeding also offers benefits to the mother. Long-term breastfeeding, for a cumulative total of two years or more, has been shown to reduce a mother’s chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding also helps the mother to lose weight more quickly after having a baby. Because many women do not get their periods back until they stop nursing, breastfeeding also helps to naturally space out children. But, it is important to note that one should never rely solely on breastfeeding for birth control.

These are just a few of the many benefits of breastfeeding a child. It doesn’t just make for a healthier child, but also makes for a healthier mother. Remember, a woman’s body is designed to naturally feed her children. Breast milk is the perfect food for babies, and is what the formula manufacturers strive to mimic. Oh, did I mention that breast milk is free? Think about it, and then decide what is right for you and your family.