Children Archives - Page 4 of 32

What Baby Essentials Can Help Keep Your Baby Safe At Night

October 21, 2019 by Mandy

Babies need a great deal of sleep to facilitate the rapid development of the infant years. Making sure that your baby sleeps soundly and safely each time is essential for their physical and mental well-being. Conditions like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS and other hazards present a rare but serious potential risk to your child. Taking the necessary steps to keep your baby safe at night can help you to avoid these disturbing scenarios.

The best practices for ensuring the safety of your sleeping baby are well-established. The biggest thing to remember is to avoid situations where your baby’s breathing could be obstructed by having their nose or mouth covered or having your baby overly constricted where their neck might be pressed against a hard surface. Having some baby essentials on hand will also aid in providing for your baby’s well-being.

To provide you with some specific pieces of advice, let’s look at what baby essentials and practices can help keep your baby safe at night.

Proper Positioning

Make sure to put your baby to sleep on their back. Young infants will likely remain in this position throughout the night, though as your baby grows and becomes increasingly mobile, they will likely roll around. Do not let this concern you, however, as once your child can roll around they will be able to free themselves from any positions that interfere with their breathing.

Putting your baby to sleep on a firm surface is best for ensuring a safe sleep. Bulky blankets and pillows in a baby’s crib, as well as stuffed animals, all present a hazard and should be avoided.

Using a fitted sheet for your baby’s bed is also important for ensuring that it does not become displaced during the night. Bunched up bedding presents a potential breathing hazard for very young babies.

Set The Stage

Keep a warm and comfortable temperature in your baby’s room to ensure that they are not disturbed by an overly hot or cold environment. An inappropriate temperature in the room will increase the chances that your baby will wake up during their sleep leading to a disturbance of your sleep as well. Beyond that, it is important to remember that babies cannot regulate their internal temperature as effectively as adults. As the person responsible for your baby, make sure that they sleep in an environment that will not disturb their natural equilibrium temperature.

It is commonly advised that you share a room with your very young baby but be sure not to share a bed. Having them in the room with you will allow you to respond to their needs throughout the night. Providing them with their own crib will ensure that they are not disturbed or crushed throughout the night as well.

Use Your Common Sense

While medical professionals are uncertain about the true cause of SIDS, it is best for your baby’s health to avoid smoking in or near their sleeping environment. Some evidence suggests that residual smoke from cigarettes may be linked to SIDS. Beyond that, however, it is not good for your newborn baby’s lungs to be exposed to second-hand smoke. If you are a new parent, then consider giving up the habit to ensure that you will be around for many years to come to care for your child.

Safe Sleep For A Happy And Healthy Baby

Taking these measures to ensure that your baby is safe at every sleep time will allow them to develop in a healthy way. It will also allow you to rest assured that your baby is secure while you take some time to sleep as well.

4 Reasons You Should Consider Formula Feeding For Your Toddler

October 21, 2019 by Mandy

Baby formula has been around for quite some time now and it has been a huge support to parents all over the world. In times gone by, before you could order online from MumStore or just pick formula up at your local supermarket you had to rely on breastmilk alone as a source of nutrition for your little one. There are various reasons why some babies are not able to consume or digest breastmilk, so formula really was a breakthrough for parents.

Breastmilk has been the only thing that mothers could provide for their young for as long as mammals have been around. While it has been proven that breast milk is best most of the time, having a formula that is engineered for the health of your baby can be a godsend in certain situations. There are many reasons why you might choose baby formula over breast milk.

Keep reading for some reasons why baby formula may be a wise choice for your little one.

You Are In Need Of More Time

Any busy parent will be thrilled to have something that can save them time during the day. Breastfeeding can be a very time-consuming process, not to mention a painful one, and the modern parent could really use a break sometimes. If you are strapped for time on a regular basis consider switching to a toddler formula for your little one. It is going to provide just about everything they need to thrive as well as giving you back a considerable amount of time in your day.

Your Toddler Cannot Drink Breastmilk

This is a very real concern for any new parent, as it will change the way you provide nourishment for your child. It is fairly common these days to find children with various degrees of intolerance or allergies to breast milk. This is one of the main reasons baby and toddler formulas were first created, to help those young ones who were struggling with their diet. Regardless of why a toddler cannot consume regular breastmilk, you can be assured there are alternatives to keep them fed.

You Are Concerned About Extra Nutrition

While breast milk is the natural way to feed your child it is going to be difficult to determine the exact nutritional content without getting expensive testing done all the time. If you are a parent who is hyper concerned with the nutrition your children get, formula will be right up your alley as you are guaranteed of its quality and nutritional content every single time.

You Have Breast Milk Related Issues

There are a variety of issues a mother can run into when it comes to her breast milk after birth. Some women are not able to produce enough breast milk to keep their children fed properly and they need other options. You can choose to go with a variety of different toddler formulas to make sure your toddler gets the nutrition they require. Some mothers can still breastfeed but just rely on the formula to give their child added nutrition, especially at the toddler stage.

You Are Fine With Formula

Every parent is going to have a slightly different stance on breastfeeding versus formula feeding, but the only thing that really matters is the health of your child. Baby and toddler formula has been researched and worked on meticulously for a long time so your child will certainly benefit from it. Whether you cannot breastfeed, your child has allergies, or you just need a break sometimes, baby and toddler formulas are available for a reason.

How to Know If Your Child Has Autism: The Early Warning Signs

October 4, 2019 by Mandy

Source: Unsplash | Hal Gatewood

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), around one in 59 kids have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sooner a child is properly diagnosed, the sooner they can get the help they need to have healthy, productive lives.

And child autism behavioral signs can begin emerging when a child is only six to 12 months old. However, it’s important to note that most autism specialists won’t attempt making a definitive diagnosis until your child is at least 18 months old.

That’s because until 24 months autism symptoms can emerge and fade away. After that, child autism symptoms tend to become stable.

If you’re wondering how to know if your child has autism, keep reading. We’re sharing the early warning signs to look for.

How to Know If Your Child Has Autism

If you’re wondering, “does my child have autism,” the first thing you should do is understand what autism is. Once you know it’s definition, it’s easier to understand and get the help you need if you do in fact have an autism child.

What Autism Is

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is actually a broad range of conditions. Often a child with autism struggles with the following:

Social skills
Repetitive behaviors
Speech
Nonverbal communication

There is also not one specific type of autism, but rather, many subtypes. There is also no known cause of autism but most medical professionals believe that both environmental and genetic factors contribute to an ASD diagnosis.

Other Health Issues Often Accompany Autism

Often, it’s not just autism that the child and parents have to deal with. Other sensory sensitivities and medical issues come into play such as:

Seizures
Sleep disorders
Gastrointestinal disorders (GI)

There are also mental health challenges that often accompany autism such as attention issues, anxiety, and depression. However, it’s also important to note that each child with autism will have their own set of strengths and challenges so teaching autism child will differ depending on their symptoms and the severity of ASD.

Symptoms and Severity Differs Greatly Between Individuals

Some people with autism are highly skilled while others are severely challenged. Some may need less support and can even live independently while others may always require significant support in their daily lives.

Getting the right help as soon as your child is diagnosed with autism will also make a huge difference in their quality of life and capabilities. Visit Blue Sprig Autism to learn more about what types of help and services are available.

Also, it’s important to note that not all children with autism will experience the exact same or all of the symptoms listed here.

Symptoms of ASD

As your baby begins to grow older, there are certain developmental stages they should reach. However, in children with autism, there will be signs that they aren’t reaching those stages in a timely manner or even at all.

By Six Months

By six months your infant should be smiling socially. You should also notice other types of engaging expressions.

A sign of child autism children this age exhibit is limited or no eye contact.

By Nine Months

By nine months an autism child tends to exhibit little or no sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions with others.

They may not respond to sounds, voices or even the sound of their own name.

By 12 Months

At 12 months, a child with autism may not be babbling or pointing. They also often struggle with showing, reaching or waving as other children should be doing by this point.

By 16 Months

By 16 months, an autistic child will have learned very few or no words. They may also not be showing items or sharing interests.

It’s also not unusual for them to exhibit an unusual attachment a particular object or toy.

By 24 Months

By 24 months, most children can speak two-word phrases. Children with autism often can’t unless they’re imitating or repeating what they’ve heard.

You may even notice that in place of communicating verbally, they replace those language skills with acting out such as crying or screaming to express their needs.

If you notice a loss of skills in your child, it may be a sign they have autism.

Other Signs of Autism

Another sign of child autism is not playing socially with other children. They may also exhibit a lack of empathy for others along and withdraw from social situations.

A child with autism may also exhibit the following signs:

Unusual body posturing or facial expressions
Use an unusual tone of voice
Avoid eye contact or have poor eye contact with others
Experience behavioral disturbances
Have a lower level of language comprehension than other kids their age
Learning to speak is delayed
Speak in a flat or monotonous tone of voice
Socially interact in inappropriate ways
Struggle with picking up on social cues
Struggle with a learning disability
Be preoccupied with specific topics
Repeatedly use the same words or phrases
Have difficulty with two-way conversations
Have odd reactions when in social settings

An autism child also may show self-abusive behaviors such as banging their head against a wall or repeating the same movements.

What To Do If You Suspect Your Child Has Autism

The earlier a child is diagnosed with autism, the more quickly they can receive help for their symptoms. If you feel your child exhibits some or many of these symptoms, the first step is to have your child’s doctor evaluate them for ASD.

If you see symptoms before six months, see your child’s pediatrician. Even if they’re still too young to be diagnosed, they can still be evaluated for developmental delays.

If your pediatrician suspects autism they can refer you to a developmental pediatrician or a psychologist specializing in ASD. Always trust your instincts since parents are known to be good at picking up on early signs of autism.

Keep Learning and Get Support

Learning how to know if your child has autism starts by educating yourself. The next step is to get the right support system in place.

Find doctors you trust and respect. Search for communities of other parents who have autistic children and learn from them.

We can help. Our site has an open discussion available to talk about the joys and struggles of parenting. Keep coming back to share your thoughts and learn more.

Should You Pick a Midwife Over Your OB-Gyn?

September 20, 2019 by Mandy

The first time you see those two lines on a pregnancy test stick, it’s time to make decisions. How you are going to save all the money? Who is going to be the OB-Gyn? And the best places to stock up on all the baby stuff. Perhaps the most important decision parents have to make is choosing between a midwife and an OB-Gyn.

Doctors perform deliveries in hospitals while midwives arrive at your doorstep and turn your home into a makeshift birthing center. Midwives are also more available as they visit the family multiple times before the big day and thus bonding with the mother. Hospitals, on the other hand, are more equipped to handle emergencies that may occur during childbirth.

Advantages of Doctors Over Midwives

When it comes to childbirth, most people still choose hospitals and doctors instead of midwives of home births. There is no denying that being in the hospitals provides more confidence as you know they are equipped to handle emergencies. The following are a couple of advantages of choosing a delivery performed by a doctor as opposed to home births.

Doctors Are Prepared to Handle Emergencies: The biggest reason why doctors are preferred over midwives is that they are qualified to perform emergency procedures such as vacuum births, C-sections, and forceps deliveries. Midwives are neither qualified nor legally allowed to perform these procedures. This means if there is a complication during a particular home birth, midwives usually rush the mom to the nearest hospital.

Doctors Have More Experience and Knowledge: When it comes to childbirth and the knowledge of medicine, doctors are more qualified. This helps the would-be mother feel more confident about the entire setup.

Advantages of Midwives Over Doctors

If your delivery is uncomplicated and natural, then there is no beating the personal care and experience of a qualified midwife. They prepare your home, they support you and coach you through the delivery, and they eliminate the need for rushing to a hospital. Midwives are also quite experienced, especially if you hire them through a reputed service provider such as Hearth and Home Midwifery. The following are 6 advantages midwives have over doctors.

They Are Less Likely to Do Anything Risky: As mentioned earlier, midwives are not legally allowed to perform procedures such as forceps and vacuum deliveries. This can be a blessing in disguise. A lot of injuries to the mom and the infant happen due to these emergency procedures. For instance, Erb’s palsy is a lifelong condition of partial disability of the arm that happens to infant and that occurs primarily due to forceps deliveries.

Midwives Remain Available and Provide Personalized Attention: If you are looking for a friendly advisor who will stay long hours before and after the pregnancy, then there is no beating a qualified midwife. Apart from providing assistance during childbirth, midwives remain available and answer questions and provide helpful tips and services.

They Are Open to Take Your Preference and Comfort into Consideration: Midwives are almost always more flexible and they take your inputs very seriously. Whether you want a water birth or want your baby delivered in a particular room, they are always ready to accommodate. Midwives also create an atmosphere where you feel empowered. They also pay extra visits as per your request before and after the delivery.

They Provide Essential Services After the Delivery: Right from placenta encapsulation to providing infant care facilities, midwives stick around after the birth to provide assistance and guidance to the new mom. Having assisted many births, they know how to solve commonly arising problems and offer helpful advice to make the parents feel more confident.

They Are Easily Accessible: Doctors have hectic lives. So much so, that they often remain unavailable. It’s not uncommon for doctors to leave for out-of-town conferences and seminars. This means if you need your OB-Gyn to provide advice and assistance, he or she might not be available. Midwives, on the other hand, remain available and make house calls on requests.

They Are More Affordable: One of the main reasons why people often choose home births performed by midwives is because they are cheaper than hospital births. While a home birth can cost around $3,000 a hospital childbirth can easily fetch a bill of over $10,000.

What Happens If Things Go Wrong?

Most experienced midwives often call ahead to inform the hospital that a pregnant patient is being transferred. They also follow an emergency protocol to swiftly transport the patient to a hospital if things do go wrong.

Why Some Mums Are Using Infant Goat Milk Formula Over Alternatives

September 16, 2019 by Mandy

Do you remember the last time you explored the formula aisle of your local supermarket? The variety of options from different brands is astounding. With such a dizzying array of choices, decision paralysis can strike. You naturally want to provide your child with the best possible nutrition available but what can you do to make an effective decision?

Logically, the best way to clear your mind and decide with confidence is to seek more information. To this end, here we will explore one of the increasingly popular formula variants, namely, infant goat milk formula. For those who are unfamiliar with the impressive benefits of this product, you may be surprised to learn more about it.

With that, let’s dive right in and look at why some mothers are using infant goat milk formula over other alternatives.

Different Nutritional Profile

Goat’s milk formula has some minerals and vitamins in greater quantities than are found in conventional cow’s milk-derived formulas. For example, selenium, vitamin A, and niacin are more plentiful in goat’s milk than in cow’s milk. These elements are essential for the proper development of your child’s brain as well as their immune system. Goat’s milk formulas also contain 30% more magnesium and 35% more vitamin C than cow’s milk formulas.

While the nutritional profile of goat’s milk is not as balanced as conventional cow’s milk formulas, the baby formula versions are typically fortified with extra quantities of iron and vitamins to make up for this deficiency. If you do choose to use goat’s milk, be sure to read the label of the product you are planning to use to ensure that the amounts of vitamin B12 and folic acid are sufficient to meet the dietary needs of your child.

One big advantage of goat’s milk formulas is that they often contain natural sources of pre and probiotics. Some of these even resemble the substances found in breastmilk which makes them a great choice for those who are trying to wean their children away from the latter. These substances are important for the development of healthy gut flora in your child. Healthy gut flora is necessary for boosting your child’s resilience, building their immune system to fight pathogens, and warding off serious illnesses later on in their life.

Good For Lactose Intolerance

Many babies have digestive systems that cannot tolerate the lactose found in conventional cow’s milk-derived formulas. In these cases, goat’s milk can surprisingly step in as a nutritious substitute.

This is likely due to the fact that goat’s milk formula contains a different protein composition than cow’s milk. What upsets your infant’s formula is the specific proportional mix of casein against whey found in cow’s milk. Goat’s milk has a slightly different balance of these substances and has been shown to be easier to digest for lactose-intolerant infants.

Get An Informed Opinion

Goat’s milk formula can be an integral part of a balanced and healthy diet for your infant. Continuing to learn more about the basics of your child’s nutritional needs and the best way to meet these through alternatives like goat’s milk formula is the hallmark of a great parent.

If you have read through the above and are intrigued at the advantages that goat’s milk formula can bring to your child, consult with your family physician to determine if this is a good idea. While most children will be able to enjoy the benefits without incident, it is always a good idea to seek an informed medical opinion before making significant changes to your diet.