Parenting Blog

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.

Knowing about Ovulation is very important to increase your chances of having a baby. It simply indicates that you are fertile and as a woman you should be aware of when you should do it to beat the odds of an unsuccessful attempt. Here are some of the most common questions that come to a woman’s mind about ovulation

1. Can I predict the time of my ovulation?

It is not easy to predict the exact timings and needs complex study of your body type and cycles to figure out an ovulation. The best you can do is to track your periods, monitor your body temperature and study the cervical fluids to calculate ovulation timings.

2. How many days do the fertility period stays during ovulation?

The fertility period does not stay for days but the egg just lasts for 12 to 24 hours for fertilization during the time of ovulation. But since the egg can stay alive in the body for three to five days and if it encounters an egg during this time there are chances that it will fertilize it. Thus, it can be said the fertility period stays for around 5 days.

3. Are there chances of ovulating during periods?

Under normal circumstances when women have period on regular intervals it is highly unlikely of ovulating during periods. But if you have an irregular cycle that occurs once in every 3 months or 2-3 times every month then ovulation may sometime coincide with your periods.

4. What are the chances of getting pregnant during the periods?

If the ovulation takes place just after the period you may get pregnant due to an intercourse that occurred at the time of periods, as the sperm can stay alive for up to five days.

5. Is it possible to ovulate without observing the white cervical fluid?

Yes it is possible to ovulate even without observing the white cervical fluid that is believed to accompany an ovulation. Also, every woman has a different type cervical fluid and it is assumed that an ovulation takes place when a woman encounters most of these fluids.

6. How reliable is the ovulation predictor test kit?

An ovulation predictor kits works by detecting the luteinizing hormone (LH) which rises before the occurrence of ovulation. Therefore, these kits can detect that you are going to ovulate but due to the complex nature of the body can never guarantee.

7. What are the possibilities of ovulating even without a period?

The ovulation typically occurs 12 to 16 days before your period occurs and if a woman gets pregnant during this period she will not have a period. Women who do not have periods for reasons like perimenopause, breastfeeding or low body weight have the chances of ovulating irregularly at any point of time.

The little one inside you is now taking rest besides you. Isn’t this feeling the most magical of all the experiences during pregnancy? Looking at the little angel taking rest has now become your favorite task. But as a mother you must be well aware of the sleeping habits of your little baby.

Most of the babies sleep for at least 14 hours in a day. This includes daytime naps. The babies by this age will develop a predictable pattern of sleeping and waking up. You might be relaxed, as you won’t have to feed your baby in the night any more. But you cannot expect our little baby to follow a strict, regular sleep program. Try some sleep training for your child if you want his sleep time to be more regular and should fit in your family lifestyle.

Observe how your baby responds to a regular sleeping pattern. You might have to make some adjustments in your sleep time according to what is suitable for our baby.

Most of he babies develop habit of sleeping for longer stretches in the night. Though not 8 hours, still they can sleep for around five to six hours in the night. You cannot hope for a long eight to nine hours of sleep for yourself if you are a parent of a 3 month old. But that does not mean you will feel deprived of rest. This will allow you to get through few sleep cycles which will make you feel more relaxed when you get up in the morning. This is an important stage for not only your baby but also for you.

Don’t be depressed if your baby is still waking up in the night for night feeding even if he is 3-6 months old. A lot of babies in this age keep their mothers waking in the night. By the time your baby gets 6 months old, if given proper training will definitely start sleeping for more hours in the night and stop troubling you.

You might have started to enjoy after your baby learns to sleep for long periods at night but to your shock a lot of babies may start to wake up in the night again. You might have to break your sleep after every few hours. This is natural, so don’t get upset. It might annoy you and make you wonder, what happened suddenly. The baby is now learning new skills like sitting and rolling. His body might try some rolling in the sleep and the little twitches made by him will wake him up. Some babies might feel insecure during night and might wake up crying just to find themselves in the arms of their mother

Childbirth classes are a great way on interacting with other couples going through the same experience like you. It lets you clear all your queries related to labor, delivery and newborn care. Let us see the importance of childbirth classes and the different types of classes you can choose to take.

Importance of a childbirth class

Childbirth classes are conducted by most of the hospitals and birthing centers and equip the expecting parents with a lot of information which include symptoms of labor and various delivery options like normal vaginal delivery and c-section etc. These classes are especially useful if you are a first time parent. If you know about things you should expect during this period it will certainly help you in taking informed decisions. They help you get all our doubts cleared and parents are better prepared by overcoming the fear of the unknown. These classes also help you in preparing a birth plan by teaching you about various medication options. However, delivery is something which cannot be planned and involves factors that we cannot control. Therefore, the best we can do is, prepare ourselves mentally for all possible situations.

Bradley Method

The Bradley method classes lasts for around 12 weeks where an emphasis is given to have a baby naturally. It prepares the moms for delivery by teaching them about nutrition, relaxation and prenatal exercises. You also learn about how you can manage pain with the help of breathing, massages and relaxation techniques.

Lamaze Classes

Lamaze philosophy is about having a flexible on the ways of delivery. You will learn about ways of having normal delivery but at the same time it also teaches you about the medical interventions that you may have to opt for during pregnancy. Natural Techniques that will help you in having a normal delivery include practicing deep breathing, comfort measures and distractions techniques. In Lamaze classes you will also learn about other medical interventions like c-sections, epidurals and more.

Classes on Newborn Care

Infant care is a totally new experience for the first time parents. In classes designed specifically for newborns you may learn about basics like bathing, diapering, taking the baby’s temperature, feeding the baby, car safety and more. Again, for first timers there is a lot to learn but some parents also join these classes for fun.

Classes for the Expecting Dads

The classes designed specifically for the Moms, and Dads accompany them generally for support. But there is a program that is designed just for the Dads and it is called the Boot camp for New Dads. No Moms are allowed here and seasoned dads teach the expecting dads about how can they contribute and help the mother in taking care of their children.

All of these classes definitely provide you a lot of information help you in becoming a more responsible parent.

You may not be aware but there are a lot of diseases which you may unknowingly transfer to your baby. These are genetic diseases that some families are prone to and pass from one generation to other. You can prevent your baby from these genetic disorders by taking the help of genetic counseling. It determines the risks and chances that you may pass on some inheritable diseases to the baby. A genetic counselor may help you in identifying the risks, investigating the problems, interpreting the disorder and related issues, analyzing the risk recurrence patterns and may guide you through the available options.

According to the CDC around three percent of the babies are born with birth defects in United States. Although in most of the cases Genetic Counseling is not mandatory but couples should consider if they encounter one or more of the below mentioned risks:

• Prenatal Tests Reveal Certain Abnormalities
• The results of an Amniocentesis indicate chromosomal disorders
• If a close family member is observed to have a genetic disorder
• Already have had a child with inherited
• If the mother is 35 years or more

Apart from these there are also some ethnic groups that are more susceptible to certain genetic disorders. Sickle Cell Anemia is more common in African Americans, Tay – Sachs disease is mostly found in Central or Eastern Jews and similarly percentage of cases with Thalassemia are more with Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern people.

When you indulge yourself in genetic counseling the most important way of assessing genetic risk is to look around and comprehensively study the blood relatives of both mother and father for genetic disorders. You should notice the how close is the person who suffered a disorder and the reason behind the occurrence of the disease. Some of the common questions the doctors ask to avoid the chances of a genetic disease are:

• Do you observe diseases like hypertension, diabetes and cancer in your family
• Do you have a history of twins in your family or other disorders like muscular dystrophy, hemophilia or cystic fibrosis
• Do you have mentally challenged people in your family
• Does any of your cousins, brothers and sisters have encountered any complications during their pregnancies
• Which ethnic background you belong to
• Do you suspect your baby to born with any birth defects and if yes what are the reasons behind your thinking

With little precaution and knowledge you can prevent your baby from lifetime sufferings from incurable diseases. Make it a point that you do not ignore even the slightest possibilities of a mishap and take this matter very seriously.