Music for babies

You’ve probably seen videos and CDs for babies. There are some theories that classical music can make your baby smarter, and exposing your baby to music is part of what we do to introduce them to all the sights and sounds of their world.

Music can definitely help calm your baby down and put him in a restful state at bedtime or nap time. What are some good choices for a baby?

Almost anything you love or use for relaxation is good for a baby too. There are good collections of Mozart or Bach for bedtime. The music of Enya can be very soothing as well. Georgia Kelly’s harp music is also relaxing and peaceful.

When your baby’s awake, there are lots of nursery rhymes or music from kids’ movies that can stimulate his senses. We’ve known kids who respond to minimalist Phillip Glass’s music; it’s simple and rhythmic and when they get older, they’ll dance with it. Spirituals and soft gospel music are also good choices to help the baby get to sleep.

White noise, in the form of a fan (not directed right at the baby), or from sound machines that simulate the sound of an ocean or rain can be restful as well, and can block out noise from the home. You don’t need to create an artificially silent environment for the baby, however, since that can make it harder for them to get to sleep when the home’s rhythms and noises get back to normal.

This is a great time for you to explore classical music as well, if it’s not already part of your life. The same music that’s helping your baby get to sleep can help soothe your own nerves and provide a wonderful time of bonding and restfulness for you and your baby together.

Suzette J. Walker

How to Coordinate a Nursery

There’s nothing more wonderful than planning the nursery for your new baby. If you’ve decided to find out the gender of your baby, you can have the room all ready for him or her when you come home from the hospital.

What kinds of things do you need to create a safe haven and optimal sleep environment?
The trend for awhile was to have bright, stimulating colors in the nursery or mobiles in black and white to help the baby’s eyes develop. This faded from popularity pretty quickly as parents found out all that trendy stuff wasn’t conducive to sleep!

Make sure your crib conforms to all the guidelines for safety and that you have a good, firm mattress. Keep to softer pastel colors – blues, greens, pinks and yellows. Any color you like is good, although some, like blues and greens, are more restful.

Make sure the bedding and the entire room is clean and fresh. Until your baby is at least a year old, a quilt or comforter should be for decoration only. You can buy specially made quilt clips to hang it on a wall. Your baby’s bed needs to be unobstructed by blankets, pillows or sheets, so that her face is clear at all times and there’s no danger of obstructing her breathing. You might want to have a small foam wedge that’s positioned to keep the baby from rolling on her stomach. You should also keep stuffed animals or other toys out of the crib until the baby’s older. In addition, you may want to purchase a baby monitor to hear your baby throughout the night. These days, some monitors actually show your baby on a screen or video, amazing!

Make the room a pleasant one. If you use a scent, like lavender, keep it light. Nothing overpowering. Keep it as dust-free as possible to avoid sneezing and stuffy noses. The nursery should feel like a safe and cozy place that your baby associates with restfulness and security.

Suzette Walker

Funny Ways to Announce your Pregnancy

Whether you just found out you’re pregnant or you’ve known for a few months, announcing your pregnancy to family and friends can be a lot of fun. Some may want to wait until a certain time during their pregnancy, while others want to call everyone immediately after finding out themselves.
Telling The FatherHave a romantic dinner for two with candle lights, it may be your last time for a while, between morning sickness and raising your little one. Serve up baby carrots, baby back ribs and anything else you can think as baby. At the end, pour apple juice instead of wine and hand him a present. Inside you can have a tiny baby bib that says, “I heart My Daddy” or a pair of baby booties.
If you can’t tell the father right away because he’s away on business, or deployed try sending him a care package. Inside the box place a few baby items, everything in blue and pink and a baby naming book in the center. Place a note on top of the book with, “I need a name soon, I’ll be here by June.” Or whenever the baby is due.
You can also see how long it takes him to figure it out. Go to the dollar store and pick up a bunch of small baby items, a bib, rattle, bottle, booties, etc. For a week, leave an item laying around the house where he is bound to find them. At the end of the week if he hasn’t figured it out yet, prepare the big gift. Have a large teddy bear sitting at the dinner table in the seat beside him, make sure there is a bib wrapped around him and maybe a sign that says Hi Daddy.
Telling Family and FriendsShow up to a family gathering wearing a shirt that announces your state. These days there are a ton of shirts out there with clever sayings, “Baby on Board,” “A Bun in the Oven,” or something related to the pregnancy. The moment you walk in or take off your jacket everyone will figure it out without you ever having to say a word. Now, get ready for the tears and excitement. You’ll be answering a ton of questions.
If you already have children you may want to call the grandparents up and tell them that the next Christmas they may want to add one more to the list.
If this is the first grandchild, you may want to get a bracelet link for your mom that reads, “#1 Grandma” or grandparent t-shirts. This will not only be a great present for them but something they will cherish and love forever.
No matter when you spread the news it can be a lot of fun, just think creative and let the pieces fall. You may even want to try catching all of it on video, so think ahead and prepare for the BIG moment, and I’m not meaning the birth.

by Suzette Walker

Shower Game: Baby Guest

Have guests bring along baby pictures of themselves to the baby shower celebrations. As the guests enter the celebration area, have them give these photos to a secretary who will label them with removable tape at the back and note on a different sheet of paper the identity of the photo. Be very careful with these photos as they are very important keepsakes.

Then furnish the guests with a piece of paper and a pen and show the baby pictures to everyone one by one. Have the guests try to guess the identity of the photo and write it down on their answer sheets. Afterwards, reveal the answers to the quiz. The person to get the most number of correct guesses wins the game.


by Suzette Walker

Tired of the Same Baby Shower Games? Create a Scrapbook Keepsake Instead

This article was written by Christina Cermak and posted on babyshowerdepot.com. She has a great new take on baby shower games.

It seems that everyone is playing the same baby shower games these days. Why not have a baby shower activity that becomes a baby shower gift from all of your guests! Create a Scrapbook Keepsake. Here is what you need to purchase before the shower:

• 12” by 12” Scrapbook
• 12” by 12” Sheets of Decorative Paper, 1 Sheet per 2 Guests – Coordinate with your baby shower theme or baby’s gender
• 4” by 6” Colored index cards OR Baby Advice Cards
• Photo Corners or Some Other Adhesive
• Stickers & Markers to Decorate the Sheets

You will also need a volunteer to help you assemble the Scrapbook Keepsake during the shower.

Provide each of your guests with a Baby Advice Cards. Instruct them to write mommy to be advice on one side of the card. Have your guests pair up to decorate one of the pages. Give each pair a sheet of decorative paper, some stickers and markers. Let them decorate the pages and attach their advice cards. Your volunteer should collect the completed pages and add them to the scrapbook. You can even add extra sheets to add photos of the baby shower in the back of the Scrapbook Keepsake at a later date.

Present the Scrapbook Keepsake as a gift from mommy to be’s baby shower guests!

A Baby Shower Etiquette

This is a great article that was posted on about.com from one of their readers. I think it is very helpful to anyone who has experienced a loss or if you know someone who has loss a child. I hope you as much out of this article as you can.

Dealing with Pregnancy Loss & Infertility

• Be sensitive to your friend or family member who is dealing with infertility and pregnancy or infant loss. Your joy only reminds her of her own pain, and she may not be emotionally able to celebrate the happy moments of your pregnancy with you, at a baby shower or at any other time. Recognize and respect how difficult it is for her to be confronted with other people's pregnancies.
• Attending baby showers, baptisms, baby-namings, etc. is often impossible for your friend. Don't be offended if she can't be there.
• Never make assumptions about inviting someone. Don't send an invitation before checking with your friend. Just receiving an invitation in the mail can be devastating - always ask first to see if your friend feels up to it. Likewise, don't assume that you should not send an invitation. Your friend might feel up to attending, especially if she's close to you, or she might want to send a gift even if she won't attend. Always ask first.
• Accept what ever level of participation she feels comfortable with, and realize that she may need to bow out of attending an event that she's already promised to attend. If her latest infertility treatment has just failed (again), or if she's having a difficult time grieving her lost baby, putting on a brave face at your baby shower may be more than she can handle.
• Be generous. Please don't whine "Why can't she be happy for me?" And don't play reciprocity games, as in "If she can't deal with my pregnancy, I'm not going to be recognize her loss." If you can be sensitive to your friend now, she'll remember you with gratitude later.
  

Submitted by Jeannie

The Top 10 Shower Gifts

1. Bloppy- Is a support pillow doubles as a nursing pillow and play toy for the baby.
2. Avent Isis Breast Pump
3. Baby Bjorn- This carrier can be easily used by mom, dad or anyone who might like to walk around with the baby.
4. Diaper Genie
5. Infant to Toddler Bath
6. Bouncy Seats
7. The Baby Book
8. Mommy Bear- It plays lullaby sounds with the sound of a mother's heartbeat to help sooth baby.
9. Sassy Toys- Come in a variety of rattles, books and baby toys.
10. First Aid Kit for New Parents

Note: Although diaper cake was not on the list it is a great ideas. But mostly importantly the new parents will appreciate this cake. Newborns go through 8-12 diapers a day and giving this gift would be a fun way to give diapers other than an old boring pack. There are also so many different types of diaper cakes. It will be just as much fun deciding on which one to give!!!!!!!

Baby Item Memory Game

Fill a large tray with things for the baby. Show the tray to the guests for about 15 to 30 seconds depending on the number of items. Remove the tray and have guests write down the things they remember. The guest who remembers the most items, wins.

Here is a list of items you can put on the tray:
diaper pins, cotton balls, cotton swabs, baby wipes, pacifier, bottle, nursing pads, bib, rattle, nasal syringe, medicine spoon, baby bootie, baby cap, spoon, board book

At the end of the game all of the items can be given to the new mother!

Baby Shower Tea Party

Throw a surprise tea party baby shower for a mom-to-be. Make fresh flower centerpieces for the tables. Include teapots, plates, and cups and place a set on each table. Have whatever your theme is all around the room. Have the tables covered with fancy tablecloths and ask your guests to dress up. One last idea have your menu started with assorted teas, scones, etc. For the main menu make turkey on a croissant(or whatever meat of your choice), fresh fruit slices, and a salad. People will not be able to stop talking about your baby shower!! Good Luck.