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Baby Food : What's Best For Your Baby
As baby grows, milk alone is not enough for baby. The little one needs to be weaned on solid food. Between the ages of 4 months to 6 months, baby should start getting used to eating solid foods.
It begins with just a taste. Adventurous babies...
Free Baby Shower Games
Described below are many baby shower games that will spruce up any baby shower. ABC’s Have each person write down each letter of the alphabet. Everyone has to name something that has to do with a baby for each letter. This game should be timed...
Signing With Your Baby: Opportunities for Signing
Once you've been signing with your baby for several weeks or months and your baby has mastered the basic signs that cover his or her needs (such as milk, more, eat, drink, etc.), you will probably want to expand his or her signing vocabulary (as...
Small Children, Languages and Myths
Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part of Canada – Québec. “That’s fine”, says everyone. “Even though they’ll probably start speaking later because they’re learning two languages at once, they’ll catch up.” Well actually, this...
Truth Behind A Pregnant Woman's Food Craving and How to Control It
Cravings are feelings desiring food combinations which women
either do not normally eat or may even stomach under usual
eating conditions. In a survey conducted recently, expectant
mothers usually crave for "something sweet" like an ice...
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Premature Birth - Relieving a Mother's Guilt
Parents begin the journey of pregnancy with excitement, anxiety,
and denial that anything bad could happen to their baby. For
parents the experience of having a preterm infant the emotional
roller coaster that ensues can be long and toiling. Many mothers
first reaction is "what did I do to cause this"?
There are many causes of preterm delivery. Sometimes preterm
birth can be caused by the mother's lifestyle choices during the
pregnancy such as drugs, alcohol, poor diet, poor prenatal care,
smoking, and physical stress. However, most incidences of
preterm birth are not caused by the mother's lack of care to
herself or her unborn child. This can include a hormone
imbalance, an infection, chronic illness, an abnormality of the
uterus, or any number of problems. The research though, does
indicate a higher percentage of premature births to women over
35, under 19, and carrying multiple fetuses. Statistics show
certain regions of the United States have a higher percentage of
premature births then other states, for which the cause in
unknown. The medical community has struggled to determine
exactly what causes preterm birth. With the help and donations
to organizations such as the March of Dimes
(http://www.marchofdimes.com), the search continues.
Premature infants have different and more critical needs than a
full term infant. They lack the body fat to maintain their body
temperature. As temperature control is vital to their survival,
they will be placed in an incubator to keep them warm. This
decreases the chance of infection and limits water loss.
Premature infants also have high-energy requirements because of
their greater growth rate. Heat loss from the skin raises this
energy need. They may have a yellow skin tone and eyes
(jaundice) and fewer red blood cells to carry precious oxygen to
the tissues (anemia).
They may have feeding problems and irregular breathing (apnea).
As their skin is rice paper thin, you can see the blood veins.
This is why their sensitivity is manifested and careful control
of what lays against their skin must be very soft and
comforting. The infant may have to spend weeks or sometimes
months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
With the proper medical support and growth, the infant will
normally be able to function on its own. Before being discharged
from the NICU the infant must be able to maintain their body
temperature in an open crib, take all feedings from a bottle or
breast without supplemental tubing, and be steadily gaining
weight. Some infants though, will be discharged from the
hospital requiring the continued use of a heart monitor and/or
oxygen.
According to the March of Dimes Peristats
(http://www.marchofdimes.com/peristats/pdflib/195/99.pdf)
over
9,596 babies are born preterm every week.
Manufacturers have overlooked the specialized needs of the
premature infant. Each time the infant moves or pulls at their
tubing and wires the heart monitor may sound an alarm. This
requires immediately ensuring the infant is not in trouble or
disturbing the infant by undressing the infant to reposition the
belt. The number one complaint of parents is the clothing on the
market labeled as preemie still must be rolled and tucked and
the necessary wires are draped all over the infant. The
manufactured clothing on the market today does not address these
needs. In desperation to find small clothing, some parents will
resort to Cabbage Patch clothing or doll clothing. These types
of clothing should never be put on a preemie. Look inside these
clothes - they are made with stiff nylon thread, prickly lace
around the cuffs or neckline, the seams are very abrasive, and
are made with very course material. The reason infants cry when
you put this type of clothing on them is because it is like
barbed wire against their delicate skin.
So how do you ensure your infant maintains vital body heat,
protect delicate skin, and contain all the lead wires? ANNA'S,
LLC (http://www.annaspreemie.com) has manufactured a clothing
line that incorporates all of these vital requirements. Their
patented sleepers come in six styles to fit your baby's needs.
The patented design has a flap in the front of the garment that
allows access to the heart monitor so the baby does not have to
be undressed (helps to maintain body temperature) and the baby
is disturbed less. The flap Velcro's closed so there are no hard
snaps to add weight to the garment (protects the delicate skin).
Loops on the side of the garment hold all wires together and out
of the way of little hands (less pulling of wires reduces the
need to reposition them and fewer false alarms). Their specialty
bib Velcro's to the garment so there are no dangerous strings to
tie around the baby's neck. In addition, each garment is made
from 100% Peruvian combed cotton to achieve the highest level of
softness possible. They understand that parents have a very
difficult time finding or cannot find accessories for the
tiniest of babies. Their website is a one-stop shop that carries
clothing, diapers for infants up to 6 pounds, the Wee Soothie
pacifier that is used in hospitals, and much more.
About the author:
Linda Dague is the owner is ANNA'S, LLC. She started ANNA'S to
educate the public and new parents about the special needs of
premature infants and provide an avenue to meet those needs.
Visit her web site at http://www.annaspreemie.com for premature
infant clothing and accessories.
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