May 29, 2011
Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 7:39 am
Does the baby crying in its sleep keep you up all night, do you get scared when you hear the baby crying at night and when you check on them they are actually sleeping. Are you baffled at how this can be, crying and sleeping at the same time.
It is actually very common for a baby, while in their sleep periods to cry, giggle, laugh, talk, babble, scream and mumble, but not all at once. The reasons as to why your baby may cry while sleeping.
To understand it is important to realize how a baby acts at a physiological level. From birth a baby is constantly growing and the younger the child is the faster the child grows. With the constant state of changes and growing that is going on inside a baby there is no wonder why a baby may be crying while sleeping.
It’s more than likely that growth is the issue if you have a baby that is crying night in and night out. Also, for example, the baby often will be teething and the pain is not enough to wake them but they still cry and the majority of the babies growth is during their rest periods so it is only understandable why the baby is still sleeping but crying its eyes out.
The baby may be having a nightmare and that alone is enough for the baby to be crying while sleeping without waking up. Some believe that babies dream their mother is not near them or in fact their mother has gone away. In other words it is common to have the baby cry while it sleeps and in the majority of cases there is nothing to be worried about. However it may be taking valuable shut eye away from mom and dad.
May 21, 2011
Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 12:21 pm
Strengthening muscles enough to walk, crawling helps your baby and is her first opportunity to move around easily on her own. In the traditional crawl method she will learn first to balance on her hands and knees and then figure how to edge forward and backward from that point by pushing with her knees.
The average age a baby learns to crawl is usually between six and 10 months. Some children will never crawl instead they shuffle their bottoms slithering on their bellies or moving trying to move to pull themselves up. What is important is your baby becomes mobile, what method is not important.
Typically crawling follows a baby’s ability to sit up without having to be supported which most accomplish by six to seven months old. At that point she can keep her head up and look around and her body muscles are strong enough to keep her from falling off to one side or backwards.
Over the next few months your baby will gradually learn to confidently move from sitting to being on all fours to soon grabbing and pulling herself up. Usually between nine and 10 months she will realize how to push off with her knees and will soon have the thrust forward to be mobile. Then she will soon be moving the arm and leg on opposite sides in unison – cross-crawling- and following that it is just a short while before she will be walking.
Following crawling the only thing left to learn before walking is standing. So therefore she will soon start to pull herself up to a standing position and use that object to support herself. Once the art of balancing on her legs becomes second nature, she will be ready to stand alone without support and then walk around while have one hand on something for moral support.
Before the crawling disappears and the standing alone leads to walking with support and then to all out walking on their own and to just be on the safe side it is good to have lots of pillows and other soft things strategically located in case she decides to take a nose dive into the floor.
May 14, 2011
Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 2:27 pm
For babies that are unable to sit or stand on their own gyms or play mats is an excellent way for the babies to have fun. With newborns the gyms and mats are good from propping up their heads. There are even gyms that help with eye development by having the contrasting white and black patterns. Little by little as they grow the babies will get to learn music, phonics and cause and effect from the gyms. They make a great gift for any occasion.
As the hand eye coordination and muscles develop the baby gyms and activity mats are excellent for promoting healthy bodies and minds. They can incorporate the important tummy time and also for the all important bonding with your baby. The gym not only offer a way to develop their minds but also help with important motor development skills that they will carry with them for their lifetime.
One of the newer gyms is the Spin and Explore Sea Gym that was developed by a group of paediatricians. Vital development phases can be introduced to the babies with the gym. It is shaped like a surfboard and has little sea creatures to grab the attention of the child, like turtles, dolphins and fish.
The child can also spin in their stomachs to build neck and stomach muscles. There are also rattlers, a mirror, squealers and crinkly flaps to enhance their playtime. The brand Lamaze is well known and makes good quality products that are for learning. This gym is made in an outer space theme with a sun on the mat. The bars of the gym have rocket ships, planets, stars and monkeys that are dressed in space suits.
Baby Einstein is a great choice for educational toys for newborns to preschoolers. The gym they have has a soft mat to lie on and look at the bright colours, toys and characters that will hold their attention and encourage them to explore.
May 13, 2011
Filed under: Child Birth — Alan @ 3:45 pm
Everyone knows about the current crisis in the British maternity system, and the increasing shortage of trained midwives. This has lead to increased anxiety amongst pregnant women about giving birth, but a new support CD has been launched to help women through the trauma of labour.
The Labour Companion CD has been produced by Natal Hypnotherapy, and has been developed with support and help of midwives. It is intended to be a tool that will provide comfort and guidance to those women in the difficult and advanced stages of labour. The intention is to help to keep them calm and focused so they can manage their contractions better.
The calming voice of the British hypnotherapist Maggie Howell will reassure women in labour and they will be talked through relaxation, breathing and visualisation techniques appropriate to the stage of labour they are in at the time. The CD can be listened to from the very onset of labour so that the listener is calm and relaxed from the off.
This CD is obviously in no way intended to take the place of a midwife, testers have reported that the calm voice in the background has helped both the mum-to-be and their partners in those times when they are alone. One tester, Kirsty Clifford, has nothing but praise for the CD, saying that although she could hear both her husband and midwife, Maggie’s voice in the background brought about an feeling of peace and tranquility.
She says she was able to relax and just let her body do it’s job, and she is positive that listening to the CD made the whole birthing experience a lot easier and quicker than if she hadn’t been listening to it.
There are three tracks on the Labour Companion CD which have been designed to reflect the different emotional stages a woman is likely to go through(1). As Laura Nickell said about using the CD for the recent birth of her baby “The excitement phase track helped remind me of all my preparation and get me in a positive mindset. The Serious stage helped me stay focused when became intense and the Adrenaline track helped me relax when scared”
The CD was developed in response to feedback from some of the 100,000+ women who have already benefitted from the award winning Natal Hypnotherapy. Research from 1251 of these women was recently presented at the 1st World Congress of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Andrology WCOGA demonstrating that listening to the CDs led to a decrease in intervention and c-section rates(2). Women loved the preparation CDs but felt that they needed “the voice” during the labour to help them stay calm and focused. As Kirsty Clifford wrote about her experience using the Labour Companion CD – “When the voice matched the soothing voice on the birth preparation CD, my body automatically responded by relaxing and I found I was breathing more deeply”.
To get the maximum benefit from the Labour Companion CD, women should ideally learn and practice the techniques from the Natal Hypnotherapy Birth Preparation CDs and Effective Birth preparation book during the last trimester of your pregnancy.Labour Companion CD can then be used to reinforce the techniques during the birth as Bella Jordan explains “The Labour companion CD really helped me re-focus on what I had tuned into when listening to the Birth preparation CD. The 2nd track was really helpful just to hear the voice and the reminders to relax. The 3rd track was very helpful – I had it on regularly to bring me down off the ceiling.”
Once again Natal Hypnotherapy is providing a powerful yet safe and easy to use resource for women who want to get rid of fear and anxiety and approach birth with confidence and joy.
The CD retails at just £11.99 and can be bought directly from Natal Hypnotherapy or from any major retailer including Amazon, the NCT, Foyles and Waterstones.
May 6, 2011
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 1:58 pm
PLAGIOCEPHALY AWARENESS WEEK
To tie in with Plagiocephaly Awareness Week free events will be taking place across the country between the 16-22 May. Hosted by the leading provider of treatments for Plagiocephaly, Ossur UK, the “Heads Up” events aim to educate parents about the syndrome.
Plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome, affects 1 in 30 babies in Britain. The name describes the skull abnormality on one part of the baby’s head. These “Heads Up” events will educate parents on topics such as how to spot the first signs of Plagiocephaly and repositioning techniques to help avoid it developing. There will also be support for those parents whose babies are currently undergoing treatment.
A spokesman from ‘Technology in Motion’, Stephen Mottram, says that the events are vital in raising awareness of Plagiocephaly as many babies are going undiagnosed and suffering from problems in later life related to the syndrome. He added that the events would discuss available treatments and demonstrate repositioning techniques which, in some cases, have been proven to prevent Plagiocephaly developing.
Booking a place is not necessary, just turn up on the day. Events are being held in baby friendly venues, entry is free and refreshments are provided.
Heads Up Events:
- Monday 16 May – Manchester – Kids Unlimited
- Tuesday 17 May – Weybridge, Surrey – Piccalilys Play Café
- Tuesday 17 May – Coventry – Coffee Totts
- Wednesday 18 May – Bristol – Rimando’s Cafe
- Wednesday 18 May – Kent –Adventure Submarine soft play area
- Thursday 19 May – Oxford – Funtime soft play centre
- Thursday 19 May – Newcastle – Runamokka play cafe
- Friday 20 May – Leeds – Gingerbread Cottage
Plagiocephaly Awareness Week is being spearheaded by Ossur UK, which has successfully treated over 3500 babies for Plagiocephaly since 2003. Ossur uses baby safe and technologically advanced PlagioCare™ system, which is proven to correct babies’ head shape. The treatment uses a custom made helmet, crafted for each individual infant to bring about a permanently improved, normal head shape, giving each child the best start in life.
Please see www.plagioawarenessweek.co.uk for more details.
Filed under: Child Birth — Alan @ 2:09 am
Hypnobirthing will be coming to three north Essex area hospitals and is a technique where mums can have an easy and drug free birth while under hypnosis. The Colchester Hospital Trust is only the second in all of the UK to offer classes in the relatively new practice.
The Colchester Hospital, later this spring and the Harwich and Clacton hospitals will have the classes given by midwives that are already trained practitioners in hypnobirthing.
The thought is that hypnobirthing will make a big difference in the labour experience for the women with whatever form of birth they decide to have. Marathons have to be prepared for both mentally and physically and hypnobirthing is a way to prepare mentally and physically for childbirth.
The courses are not covered by NHS since they are over and above the normal costs, therefore there will be a charge for the course of £250 per couple and there is homework that all participants will be expected to complete. The course is good for women that are at least 16 weeks pregnant and of course their partners as well. The technique was first used in the United States and is now practiced in more than 15 countries
May 5, 2011
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 2:03 am
The next time you are walking down the children’s aisle take a glance at the baby food jars that are meticulously stacked. Flavor after flavor after flavor what could be simpler and easier than the easy opening lids. It is edible instantly, but would you eat it.
But if you were to make you own baby food it would be delicious and straight forward with nothing hidden. Use organic vegetables, get a steamer and get cooking. Clean the vegetables thoroughly. One of the best loved homemade baby foods is the infamous potatoes and carrots.
But do not forget the apples, peaches, squash and what ever else looks good and is in season. You can steam them all together to make things quicker and easier. Steam away until the food is tender and then let it sit and cool.
Seasonings and salt are really not needed as fresh fruit and vegetables have their own sugars and natural seasonings. Make sure you take out any seeds or fibers that may choke the baby.
Separate all the foods and put them into the processor individually and include just a bit of water to soften the food to touch and as your baby grows to be bigger the near liquid mixture you used for them as a baby can have some bigger portions of the veggies or fruits mixed in.
Does the baby crying in its sleep keep you up all night, do you get scared when you hear the baby crying at night and when you check on them they are actually sleeping. Are you baffled at how this can be, crying and sleeping at the same time.
