Parenting Blog

If you are one of those women who are addicted to alcohol and got pregnant then life will no more be same for you. You will have to control your cravings towards alcohol as it is not only harmful to you but to your baby as well. When you take alcohol it is absorbed by the blood first and starts to circulate through out the body until the liver breaks it down. For breaking down the alcohol contained by a glass of bear or wine the liver takes approximately an hour and till this process completes it remains in your blood. It is harmful to drink during pregnancy as the alcohol in the bloodstream also passes through the placenta and the baby absorbs it as much as you do.

The children are susceptible to a wide range of defects due to your addiction towards alcohol. If you keep taking alcohol during pregnancy you are increasing the chances of your baby to have FAS or the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. A child having FAS may be exposed to several physical and mental disorders.

One of the most common defects in children suffering from FAS is lack of growth. They generally weigh less than the normal babies, their height is shorter and the size of the head is small as well. They also typically have thin upper lips, narrow eyes and suffer disorders of hearts and joints as well as other internal complications.

Whatever you eat or drink during pregnancy has a direct impact on your baby. The same rule applies for alcohol as well and the baby can get hurt. The physical and mental disorders could stay with him or her for the entire life.

If you think that you may drink some kind of alcohol that may be safe for your and your baby then you are wrong and all types of alcoholic drinks are unsafe for the baby in the womb. Sometimes, the children are lucky enough to escape through the hazards of alcohol during pregnancy. Women who give multiple births may think that as nothing happened in their first term the result will be repeated the next time as well. But, you must know that every pregnancy is different in itself. You may have been lucky to have a child without any disorders in spite of your carelessness but the consequences of alcoholism may be even worse on the second child. It is always safe to avoid drinking and give your baby chance to live a healthy life.

None of the problems that occur in the baby are temporary and you should not wait any further to get rid of your alcohol drinking habit. As soon as you are aware of the fact that alcohol is harmful for your baby the best decision will be to stop drinking.

There are a lot of questions that may come to you as a first time mother of what may happen inside the delivery room. It may look scary to a lot of people but it is actually not. Although, the delivery day may be one of the most important days of your life, it is pretty routine stuff for the nursing staff and doctors. Let us walk through the process of what goes inside the delivery room.

When you are brought inside the delivery room you may first observe a lot of action around you. There might be nurses coming to check if you are dilated. You may be allowed to walk till your water is broken and then they will keep you on the bed. Once they feel that you have reached to a level when you can deliver a baby you may be then hooked to the machines and doctors will keep an eye on your progress through them. When its time for the baby to come out you will be asked keep pushing until she comes out. The baby may then be rubbed, dried and covered with a towel or a blanket and kept besides you. In some cases the baby is also taken to a warmer place.

Since the baby is not able to retain its body’s heat it is important to take care and keep him warm. A dose of vitamin K will be given to help clotting of the blood and then to prevent any kind of infection to the eyes an antibiotic ointment is applied which not irritating to the baby and she can see through it. The footprints of the baby will be taken and for identification, some bands or tags may be placed on his hands and legs.

In the meantime your placenta will have to be delivered and it may take from thirty to sixty to slide out. You may still feel cramping when the placenta is delivered even if it is very small in size, soft and without any bones. Now, the uterus should contract back to its original shape and to help you in this process Pitocin may be injected to your body. It is can also be supplied with the help of IV fluids to your body. To get the same effect the uterus may also be massaged externally, or nipples may be rubbed, or the baby may be brought to suck them.

If you did not have a normal delivery and undergone a c-section or episiotomy the area will be once again inspected and if there is a need to repair it may be done with a little dose of local anesthesia.

That will bring you to the end of the process of your delivery but you may still be kept in the delivery section for sometime for any postpartum issues. Lastly, you will be taken to a postpartum room to regain your energy and within a day or two will be released from the hospital.

It is a fact that babies are more sensitive to loud noises than adults. They can tolerate noises of very less decibels, generally ones over which it is easy to talk. Some babies have a tendency to cry and scream in protest to the noise, while the others simply fuss. So it can be a bit difficult if you plan to take your babies somewhere where the music is really loud.

Like there is to everything, there is an exception for your baby’s sensitive ears also. If you used to live in a noisy surrounding while you were pregnant – like your husband used to play music, or your son used to scream and shout while running around the house – your baby has probably already become accustomed to these sounds because he also used to hear low muffles of the same sounds when he was in your womb. It is highly probable that he might be able to sleep right through the time when that sound is made. However, unfamiliar sounds startle the baby, and in most cases, he reacts by crying. But when they are around five months old, they tend to move toward the source of the sound.

Things that can harm your baby’s hearing capability

Here are some of the things that can harm your baby’s sensitive ears:

• Constant exposure to environments having loud noises such as rock concerts and airports.
• History of hearing problems in the family.
• Some complications in during the birth which caused a lack of oxygen for the baby.
• Premature birth
• Some types of birth defects.
• Chronic middle-ear inflammation or ear infection.
• Prenatal exposure to rubella.

Can I do anything to develop my baby’s hearing capabilities?

Yes, there are some things that you can do to develop your baby’s hearing capabilities. Here are some of those:

• Play soft music that contains sounds from the piano and the cymbals. Babies tend to like such sounds and enjoy them.
• Talk to your baby. It is very important that you communicate with him. For example, if he seems interested in something you are doing then telling him about it a very good option. You should also try reading to him. Do keep on babbling, but proceed further only if you think your baby is interested.
• Try to tune into whatever sounds attract you babies attention. This will help you to make her understand exactly what has caused it.

It is very important that you help your child in his hearing development because it is a very effective way for him to communicate to the world in both the present and the future.

Have you ever wondered, why your baby is crying a lot more than what you had expected and all your efforts of making him feel comfortable are in vain? If you notice that your baby is crying more than usual then one of the most probable reasons could be due to suffering from colic. Excessive crying is referred as colic. There are a lot of reasons due to which colic might be observed.

Your diet might be the reason for your colicky infant. It has been observed that colic in babies who are breastfed is caused due to inappropriate mother’s diet. Since the baby feeds on breast milk, hence what the mother eats affects the diet of the baby to a large extent. Consult a doctor or your health care provider to know what kind of food irritates your baby and hence the food which you should avoid.

Though concluding which food exactly is problematic might lead to controversies and disagreements, still researches show that dairy products can be considered as prime suspects. Mothers who are breastfeeding should try to cut on dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt etc and see if there is any difference in the colicky behavior of the baby.

Try to avoid spicy food, wheat products, nuts and vegetables which are cruciferous such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc. Also cut back on garlic and strawberries. Caffeine and alcohol are certainly a BIG NO.

Avoid all these foods for sometime and notice the changes in the baby. If the problem reduces then start reintroducing one food at a time in your diet to know exactly what the root cause for colic is. After you again start consuming a certain dish or eatable, if the baby starts becoming irritable and fussy, you’ll know the culprit and this would be the food that you will have to avoid. Till your baby becomes at least 3 months old, and till you breastfeed the baby do not consume products that might be harmful for your baby.

Take your baby to a doctor if the colic persists. After you try all the methods to calm down and soothe the baby your last resort can be nothing but consulting a doctor. Talk with the doctor and tell him the relevant details. A lot of potential causes might exist, on which the doctor might be elaborate more. Intestinal or urinary infection can be a cause for which you will have to perform some tests. Decide your plan to soothe your baby as suggested by the doctor, if your baby has colic.

Do not get tensed by listening continuously to baby’s crying. This problem passes away as soon as your baby grows a little older.

Finding the proper way to feed your baby, the way it suits him might take some trial and error. If you are able to give your baby the right start he will enjoy a lifetime of mental and physical health. Since every baby is unique, you will have to figure a lot of things on your own, while trying out a few tips you can gather from here and there. Some points need to be taken care of by you so that your baby doesn’t become colicky.

• Find an appropriate bottle

If you use a bottle to feed your baby, make sure that the bottle does not make the baby gulp the contents. The baby will have stomach problems if he swallows more air along with the feeding. The hole of the nipple in the bottle should not be too small. This could irritate the baby and make him swallow more air and gulp more food.

You can use bottles that are specifically designed to reduce intake of air by babies. These can be curved or might have vents or liners on the inner side of the bottle. Such a shape prevents air bubbles from arising in the liquid and the nipple is prevented from collapsing.

• The posture of the baby

Hold your baby in an upright position while bottle feeding or breastfeeding the baby. This will help the formula or breast milk to take a smooth path to the stomach. If the baby is curled up, some air is sure to get trapped in with the food he consumes.

• The feedings should not be frantic

Do not wait for your baby to starve or cry before you feed him. A baby is likely to swallow air along with feeds if he starts crying out of hunger. Feed the baby in a calm atmosphere. Create a soothing ambience while you feed your baby.

• Make the baby burp

Making the baby burp frequently will help the infant to get rid of air bubbles occupying place inside the stomach. Stroke the back of the baby and lie him flat on the stomach to make him burp intermittently when you bottle feed him

• Establishing a proper diet for mothers who are breast feeding

If you breastfeed, then your diet must be well proportionate and balanced. Eliminate the dairy products in your diet, about which you are suspicious. This might help you in knowing the product for which your baby might be sensitive. Spicy food, wheat products, caffeine and alcohol should also be avoided. This is a little difficult to implement in real life but is necessary for the care and safety for your child.