Budgeting for child care

Having a child is exciting and expensive! Child care costs make up about 18 percent of the overall spending for raising a child.
                                                   

To make sure you're not caught off guard, budgeting for child care should start even before your bundle of joy arrives.

New parents usually get the nursery, clothing, car seats and strollers ready before baby. And sometimes child care doesn't even cross your mind until it's needed.

"The moment you find out that you're expecting and you're gonna have a new bundle of joy, you should definitely start to budget. So depending on the type of care and your options and what you can afford, there are some great things that you can do. One of the first things that we recommend is that you stop off and talk to your employer," said Donna Levin, Co-Founder of Care.com.

There's one unequivocal truth about pregnancy: The minute you tell people you're expecting, they'll start telling you what to do as a parent. That includes when and how to take care of your infant when they're distressed. "Pick them up." "Let them cry it out." "Don't be frantic." All the unwarranted advice can become confusing, especially to new parents. But new research may give insight into how you respond to your baby's cries influences their attachment style.

A new study published in Child Development found that a mother's emotional and physiological response to an unhappy infant may predict what type of attachment style their child will establish, according to Psych Central. In particular, researchers discovered that, while most babies are securely-attached to their parents, about 40 percent of infants develop insecure attachments, such as infant avoidance and resistance, and are at risk for issues as adults.

Maintain a separate vaccination schedule apart from your doctor’s chart

If I tell you to maintain your child’s vaccination schedule in an excel sheet, you might just laugh at me. Obviously, your paediatrician has given you the chart; he ticks off each vaccination when it is done and writes the next scheduled date too. But mothers believe me; you need to keep the records for yourself to be an informed parent. If you are wondering why am I giving you this piece of advice, then think: If you are someone who wants a good paediatrician and not settle for the doctor-next-door, then you might end up going to different child specialists before you can zero down on the one you trust. Here are 10 signs that your paediatrician is just perfect.
The problem is even though the vaccination charts look almost similar, there are chances that it can vary from one to another. In some paediatrician’s chart, there might be oral polio and measles clubbed together and the other might have just measles in the 9th-month block. This can create confusion and you might end up missing one dose or give an overdose. Here is why you should not skip optional vaccinations for your children.
                                               

So to avoid this confusion, it is necessary for you to have a record of your own so you can compare the two cards and be on track with your vaccination schedules. Also, there are various apps available these days that can help parents keep track of the vaccination given, so you don’t skip or miss doses.
Another advantage of keeping your child’s vaccination schedules stored in a drive or app is that you can check them anytime while you are making travel plans or are in a different city during the scheduled time of vaccination.
Keeping a record all on your own, apart from the doctor’s chart makes it easy for both the mother and doctor to know about the status easily.

Tips to Help You Stay Motivated As A New Mom

Having a baby is a wonderful thing. It’s a privilege that God has given us to create life. Caring for your baby is also a privilege; people pray for these things world over, on a daily basis. It shouldn’t be taken for granted.
                                         

From experience, I know that caring for your new baby can be very demanding – physically, emotionally, psychologically. I previously wrote an article about things no one warned me about being a new mum.

I guess this article can serve as a kind of “solution” for those challenging times. Here are a few tips to help you relax and stay motivated.

1. Get help

Your baby will be very fine without you. You, on the other hand, might not be…if you’re over-worked. Let someone take care of your baby for a few hours. That way, you can have more time to relax, or to do house chores.

2. Treat yourself

Treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure session. Treat yourself to a new hairdo. Try shopping for new clothes or shoes. Your feet are probably half a size larger now, anyway.

3. Do things you enjoy

Some things I enjoy doing indoors are: reading blogs and playing phone games. Even though they sound basic, they help me relax.

4. Date night (or Date afternoon)

It might be tricky to leave your baby at home to have dinner with your husband for an extended period of time in the evening. Why not try afternoon? Saturday, Sunday? Talk about things you love about each other, gossip, eat dessert, laugh!

5. Go out with friends

You remember how you used to “hangout” with your friends when you did not have a baby? You might need some of that girl time now.

6. Work out

Thirty minutes of work out never hurt anyone. Download a workout app to your phone and use it. Sign up at a gym, and use it. On the days I work out, I feel energized and motivated.

Baby care in summers

Summer is here and almost everyone we know hates it. The wind is warm, the skin is sweating and everything is simply unbearable. Of course, as adults, we can crib as much as we like but what about teeny, tiny babies?
                                           

Your newborns need you to be extra attentive in the coming months. They may not be able to say it out loud but summer is never kind to babies. Here are some things you should know:

1. Babies need more milk

You must have heard and read this everywhere that you must drink more water in summers to keep yourself well hydrated. The same goes for babies. Their bodies too lose water quickly in the warm season and therefore need to be replenished enough and often.

2. Avoid stepping out with the baby between 10am to 2pm

Dr Nagrath suggests that because the sun’s rays are strongest between 10am to 2pm, it is best to avoid stepping out with your baby at these times. If push comes to shove and there is no way to avoid it, make sure you take necessary precautions. “Baby skin is really sensitive to sun’s rays. Make sure that if you step out during high noon, the baby is well covered, maybe dress her in a light-coloured full sleeves shirt and pants, take an umbrella or make her wear a cap to protect her face. You can even buy the baby friendly sunscreens that are now available in the market but make sure they are below SPF 15 range,” she says.

3. Don’t pile clothes on the baby

Indians have a thing for piling clothes on babies no matter the season. Dr Akshay Kapoor, consultant (paediatrics) at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, says that parents must be strongly discouraged from doing so. “People clothe their babies in vests, then shirts, then sweaters and even warm caps in summers. They shouldn’t,” he says.

Dr Nagrath also says that the babies should only be dressed in clothes made from natural fibre like cotton. “I always tell my patients that you should dress the baby the way you would dress yourself. You wouldn’t want to walk around wearing sweaters in May right?,” she says.

4. Buy the right stroller and crib

Make sure the places where your baby sleeps or spends any amount of time resting, is comfortable and cool. Satin sheets and woollen bedding can heat up really quickly, without giving proper ventilation. When you buy a stroller, choose one with a lightweight fabric, preferably nylon. Fancy strollers and cribs, sold in Europe or America are not ideal for the Indian climate.

Simulation Exercises Reduces Anxiety of Taking Baby Home From NICU

This research grew from my experience as a neonatal nurse. I have worked with many families preparing to take their baby home and have seen the anxiety they experience wondering if they will be able to take care of their baby’s medical needs at home.
                                         

Parents are usually most anxious about emergency situations that may occur. Majority of these parents are able to state what they should do, but have never experienced the actual situation with their baby. This study was designed to see if a simulation experience would fill this gap in parents’ preparation for the discharge of their baby from the NICU. This study had parents participated in a customized simulation to have them experience the care needed by their baby at home following discharge from the NICU.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Simulation with hi-fidelity simulators has been shown to be an effective learning strategy for healthcare professionals. The advantage of simulation is that parents can experience the “what if” problems that cannot be replicated in the clinical setting without placing the baby at risk. For example talking through the action you will take if your baby become apneic or is unresponsive is a different experience that having the baby become apneic or unresponsive in front of you and having to initiate the action on your own.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: Future research will include a more diverse group of parents and other potential caregivers in the home. In addition, follow-up of the parent’s level of anxiety in the home following the baby’s discharge and the use of healthcare resources during the first year post discharge are areas in need of study. Taking a newborn home from the NICU is stressful for the parents but can also have a long-term impact on family dynamics. Interventions to decrease parents’ anxiety and to increase their competence can have a lasting impact on the well-being of the infant and the family unit.

Why Baby Boys Feel More Stress Than Baby Girls Do

It’s common sense that babies need plenty of attention and loving care to thrive. But new risks have been uncovered that relate to infant care, and they apply specifically to baby boys.

A new review of empirical research by Allan N. Schore posits that the developing brain of the infant male is not able to regulate as well as the female brain, leaving baby boys more vulnerable to environmental stresses, and ultimately, to neuropsychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorders.

In “All Our Sons: The developmental neurobiology and neuroendocrinology of boys at risk,” Schore writes that research “indicates that the stress-regulating circuits of the male brain mature more slowly than those of the female.”

In Psychology Today, Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D., summarizes that these neuropsychiatric disorders related to brain development “have been increasing in recent decades (interestingly, as more babies have been put into daycare settings, nearly all of which provide inadequate care for babies).”

Basically, infant day care attendance could be one factor related to the rise in disorders that skew heavily male, like autism spectrum disorders.

But should we panic about day care? Elizabeth Mack, a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles and a mother of two boys, says “These findings are alarming, particularly for parents of boys. And while we should not ignore the correlation between greater numbers of boys diagnosed with disorders such as autism and ADHD as more and more babies enter day care, we must not forget that there are several factors that may account for higher rates of diagnosis, including the fact that there is more testing for these disorders going on than ever before.” So although more babies are in day care, more testing is going on, which naturally leads to more diagnoses. Correlation, in other words, does not equal causation.

“There is indeed evidence that boys are more vulnerable than girls to certain childhood problems (specifically, ADHD, conduct disorders and autism spectrum disorders),” says University of Southern California assistant professor of psychology Darby Saxbe. But she notes that, starting in adolescence, girls become more vulnerable to other problems, like anxiety and depression. “So it’s not necessarily the case that males are much more psychologically vulnerable than females across all domains, but it is the case that everyone — male or female — needs extra love and attention in infancy and early childhood because it is such a critical time for brain development.”

Baby Care Tip – Burp your baby well to help her sleep better

We know that it is important to burp baby after every feed. Burping the right way helps the baby to expel extra air that she swallows while feeding. This extra air when trapped in the tummy could give rise to colic pain. Here are five home remedies to treat colic naturally.

"The cuddle police can go to hell," according to babycare author and toddler tactician Pinky McKay, ahead of her appearance at the Essential Baby & Toddler Show in Brisbane on March 3-5.

Ms McKay is the author of Sleeping like a Baby, Parenting by Heart and Toddler Tactics, as well as the creator of Boobie Bikkies, which support and boost a healthy milk supply for mothers.
However, sometimes we underestimate the importance of burping. There are times when your child might fall asleep during a feed and the next thing you do is put her to bed. But even before you can settle yourself on the couch and have the first sip of your coffee (thinking she will sleep for a few hours now) she wails and wakes up. While there could be a number of reasons for fragmented sleep, not burping her the right way could be one of them. Here are 10 ways to help your baby sleep better.
‘There are times when a baby might not burp after a feed. But it is still advisable to carry her on the shoulder and stroke her back gently to help her expel air trapped in her abdomen. Even if the baby doesn’t burp it will help her throw out small amounts of air and avoid incidences of colic which could definitely disturb sleep too,’ Dr Chaitali Laddad, Founder & Director, The Pediatric Network.

Here is what you should do if your baby doesn’t burp and falls asleep during a feed: ‘Carry your baby on your shoulder for at least 15 to 20 minutes even after she falls asleep while taking a feed. If she doesn’t burp, try to keep the bed elevated from the side where she rests her head. You can also keep a pillow below her mattress which will help to avoid tummy pain due to trapped air or even a spit-up,’ says Dr Laddad.
However, don’t use a pillow for your baby until she is two years of age, as this could lead to neck sprain or other troubles like choking hazards or flat head syndrome. Here are more reasons why you should not use a pillow for your baby.