How Do Babies Learn To Talk?
Babies communicate in many different ways. Even though they can’t yet talk, their repertoire is amazing – facial expressions, smiling, crying, babbling, moving nearer to Mommy, arm gestures, whining, screeching. The list is endless. Speech plays a small part in communication before the age of two – the ways in which babies communicate their needs are as individual and special as they are.

One of the best ways to encourage language development is to simply talk to your baby. Babies learn by imitation and repetition. Whether he is playing, watching or listening, your baby is learning from you and from the world around him. Imitation and repetition are important if he is to develop any new skill – how to talk, how to sign, or just how to interact with the world.

Baby sign language gives babies and parents another tool for communication. Many studies show that signing does not replace speech, but actually aids its development, by improving a baby’s confidence in his ability to communicate.

How Are Confidence And Communication Linked?
Babies who able to communicate their needs successfully will become more confident than babies who struggle to be understood. Every time you respond to your baby correctly – validating his efforts at communication – his confidence grows. As your baby’s confidence grows, so does his ability to communicate. This is a positive spiral. Sadly, the opposite is also true – when a baby is not shown that his efforts at communication are working, he may withdraw. Some babies go on to develop very extreme ways of getting your attention – also known as tantrums!

How Should You Respond To Your Baby’s Messages?
To help with speech development, babies need to know you have received their messages when they try to communicate with you. Nod, smile, or pick him up, but make sure your response fits what your baby is trying to communicate.

Is Baby Sign Language Important For Communication?
Talking is only one small part of communication. For pre-school children it is often only a small part of their range of skills. Children – and adults – communicate with each other through touch, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice. Babies instinctively communicate by using hand gestures. Learning baby sign language can help your baby make sense of the world in this natural way.

Speech development is a natural progression for children as they listen to what’s going on around them. Talking to your baby, reading stories, explaining every day chores and activities, are positive ways to encourage speech. Adding sign language gives your baby another tool for communication. There is no evidence to suggest that baby sign language slows down speech development – but the opposite may in fact be true.

I hope you enjoyed this guest post. It is brought to you by the Baby Sign Language website. We know signing to your baby is very important so we are a FREE resource to help answer any questions you may have.

~Misty Weaver, Chief Editor, Baby Sign Language

Image by daveynin via Flickr

We are excited about partnering with Midwest Nannies to offer their customers an easy way to try our Baby Insights application. Our goal is to make the transition into parenthood easier by taking away some of the worry about whether baby is getting what he or she needs. We know Midwest Nannies offers quality care, which makes our partnership such a good fit. The partnership with Midwest Nannies and using the Baby Insights Day Tracker can be a critical component to any family-friendly back-to-work arrangement.

After returning to work, new moms and dads will want to know how much baby ate or slept, how many wet diapers they had, or what their mood was throughout the day. If their baby is on medication, then it’s also important to know when dosages where given. The Baby Insights Day Tracker makes it easy for parents and caregivers to track and share this information. Not only can working parents easily access and track how their baby is doing on a daily basis, but it also helps the caregiver to track and see patterns over time or to provide parents with the ability to see weekly reports. Tracking data and information in Baby Insights also helps parents to feel bonded with baby and to lessen feelings of missing out on baby’s daily activities and developmental milestones.

Parents and caregivers both have the same goal…to make sure baby is receiving the best care possible. Using the Baby Insights Day Tracker can help bridge the information gap between parents and caregivers. For instance, if baby is not sleeping well at night, parents can easily go in see their napping pattern for the past two weeks along with their nighttime sleep and identify patterns or areas to work on to help improve baby’s sleep. It also helps to be able to combine the sleeping patterns with baby’s eating habits as another way to gauge why baby may not be sleeping well. These data can also be used when parents meet with baby’s pediatrician for well baby check-ups.

For mom who is still breastfeeding and pumping while at work, using Baby Insights Day Tracker can help mom adjust her pumping schedule to make sure baby has enough milk during the day and caregivers can use it to help support mom with her breastfeeding efforts by planning or scheduling baby’s feedings to coincide with mom’s breastfeeding schedule.

Keeping a daily record of baby’s eating and sleeping habits not only helps to ensure good quality care for baby but it supports good communication between parents and caregivers which leads to the best possible care for baby.

If you have a nanny agency, contact us for your free subscriptions today. If you are a parent working with a nanny agency talk to your nanny agency about partnering with Babble Soft.

Contact Babble Soft Here

About Midwest Nannies, Ltd.

Midwest Nannies, Ltd. is a private employment agency specializing in childcare needs. Midwest Nannies, Ltd. recognizes the importance of having quality childcare. We believe your childcare provider has the most important job there is; caring for your children! Midwest Nannies, Ltd. knows the worry and frustration parents go through while searching for childcare. Midwest Nannies, Ltd. is committed to serve our clients on an individual basis to meet their special needs and/or requirements. Midwest Nannies, Ltd. is “Committed to Personal and Quality Service.” We stress service, honesty and a caring attitude!

Babies born before their due date need special care, especially if they were very small at birth (less than 3 pounds).  Feeding premature babies is a unique challenge; it mainly depends on how early they were born, whether they have any medical issues and the severity of those issues.  It is also important to track how often your baby eats so you can share this information with healthcare providers and other caregivers.

Breast milk is ultimately the best source of nutrition for a new baby; it has proteins in it that can help fight infection and to promote growth.  If your baby was born before 34 weeks they often can’t feed from a bottle or breast due to the fact that they have trouble coordinating sucking, breathing and swallowing all at the same time.  However those born after 34 weeks may be able to feed from a bottle or the mother’s breast.

A good rule of thumb is to feed your premature baby 8 to 10 times per day and that will help prevent dehydration.  Six to 8 wet diapers a day is one indication that your baby is getting enough fluids.  If your head is now spinning with the “how many”, the “when” and the “how much” you may find it helpful to take a moment and track this information.  Premature babies tend to sleep more often than full-term ones but the duration is usually shorter.  In addition, with premature babies, sometimes you need to awaken them to feed them.

Soon after the birth of your premature baby start pumping if your baby is not able to breast feed.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help and do not hesitate to make sure those caring for you know your desire to breastfeed.   Once your milk supply is strong enough you can decrease how often you pump.  At 36 to 40 weeks, premature babies usually are able to suck and will most likely breast feed every 3 to 4 hours, but they may still need additional formula.  Once your baby is able to start nursing be prepared to nurse frequently and since they cannot take in much as milk at each feeding until they’re closer to term pump afterward to keep your milk supply up.  Some new mothers find it helpful to track this; either how often pumping occurs and how much, how much formula is given at each feeding and information on whether or not the baby was content, fussy or tired.

The video below shows you how to track breast and bottle feedings using the Babble Soft Baby Insights Day Tracker. These online tools are meant to help new parents easily track feedings and monitor baby’s fluid intake. There is also a feed tracking worksheet that you can print out to quickly write down feeding information to input later. By entering the feeding and intake data into Baby Insights, then parents can take advantage of the various graphs and reporting that is readily available and can help you identify patterns and monitor baby’s weekly intake or intake across multiple days. Parents of premature infants have found these charts and graphs especially helpful when meeting with baby’s pediatrician.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Research indicates that food allergies in children are on the rise and are more common in children, especially children who have parents with food allergies. The good news is that children can often outgrow food allergies or intolerances but this requires some vigilant tracking of what they eat in their early years and keeping a good record of food allergy symptoms. There currently is no cure for food allergies but there have been some advances made in food allergy treatment. There continue to be many food allergy research initiatives and studies which are helping to make advances towards a better understanding of how to cure and treat food allergies.

A child can have a food allergy or sensitivity to any food or food combination but the most common foods are wheat, eggs, soy, fish, milk and tree nuts. Allergic reactions can range from very mild to severe. For babies or toddlers, it’s especially important for parents to be aware of food allergy symptoms since young children may not be able to articulate how they feel after eating a certain food. Allergic symptoms include hives, wheezing and swelling within 2 minutes to 2 hours of eating an allergic food. Other less severe symptoms may appear after longer periods of time including within several days and can be chronic and on-going. These symptoms might include eczema or other skin irritation, vomiting or diarrhea, runny nose and mood changes such as clinginess, increased fussiness or periods of stomach pain.  This is why its often a good idea to keep a food diary of how much and how often baby eats a food when introducing new foods.

For babies, other symptoms might include increased night wakings, frequent diaper rashes, mucous or specks of blood in bowel movements, frequent spitting up or burping which can also include reflux. Reflux is sometimes a symptom of a food allergy or food intolerance. Keep in mind that children can have an allergic reaction to food even if they have eaten it before without a problem. Some food proteins build up in a child’s system over time and once a threshold is reach, a reaction can occur.

If you suspect your child might have a food allergy or a food sensitivity, check your doctor for information on how to track food allergy symptoms and test for food allergies. Here at Babble Soft, we offer an easy, online tracking program for helping with baby food allergy tracking which you can try for FREE for two weeks.

Here are some food allergy information sources that you might want to check out as part of Food Allergy Awareness Week.

Food Allergy Initiative- Take part in their “Give It Up” campaign which encourages everyone to give up their favorite food this week in effort to show their support for others who suffer from food allergies. You can also find resources here to write to your elected officials to voice your support for continued food allergy research. Join the Food Allergy Initiative on Facebook too!

FAAN- Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network: Find all the information you might ever need about food allergies along with recipes, alerts and support from others who deal with food allergies. You can also join FAAN on Facebook.

Take a moment to review this public service announcement from FAAN called “Respect Every Bite.”

Being a new mom is full of choices.  If you’ve made the choice to breastfeed your new baby rest assured that that is one of the most important decisions you will make as a new mother.  It’s hard to refute the benefits of breastfeeding and nowadays there are a lot of resources out there to help you along on this new journey such as how to find a certified lactation consultants, workplace accommodations for breastfeeding moms in the new health care law and health insurance plans that may cover breastfeeding related expenses.

The past few years has seen resurgence in the popularity of breastfeeding.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months. Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of many issues including ear and respiratory infections, diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome for babies and a lower risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer for mothers.  More recent is the study published in the journal Pediatrics, which states that if most new moms would breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life, it would save nearly 1,000 lives and billions of dollars each year.

If you are a new mom returning to work who does breastfeed then you probably are already thinking about what to do.  The need for a reliable, efficient and easy to use breast pump is almost essential to keep up with breastfeeding at work.  A good breast pump is also a necessity for moms of premature infants who may initially be unable to breastfeed and need to express their milk.  A high quality breast pump can be an additional expense for families that they might not have counted on. At this point you may want to contact your health insurance company to find out if they offer any assistance/programs for new moms; surprisingly many of them do.  And be sure to look into using your health-care flexible spending account (FSA) for breastfeeding related expenses too – many will cover breast pumps with a doctor’s note.

You may also want to consider having a visit from a certified lactation consultant either prior to returning to work for tips on pumping or at any point after baby has come home.  A lactation consultant is a health care professional who is knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced in lactation (breastfeeding). The lactation consultant’s primary focus is to provide education, assistance and support to breastfeeding women, including how to help and support those new moms returning to work. Services and visits from a lactation consultant may also be covered by your insurance.

One really good source of breastfeeding information on whether or not health insurance will cover a breast pump or a visit from a certified lactation consultant recently became available on Medela’s website. While Medela is best known for its breast pumps and accessories, they are also very invested in helping moms succeed in breastfeeding.  This online resource will help new moms with their questions about whether or not their health insurance will cover certain breastfeeding-related expenses, including for example, lactation consultant services, breast pump rental/purchase and other costs.

Image via Wikipedia

Your Current Schedule

One of the first steps in balancing your work and family life is to do a little legwork before making your request and take a close look at a work schedule that you would prefer.  Make sure to ask yourself the right questions; determine what tasks you can do alone, which ones are collaborative, and how accessible you need to be to clients. Look at the following arrangements and decide which one might be best suited for your employer and you.

• Working from home/remote access
• Flextime.  What this means is that instead of starting at 8 am, you might come in at 7 am and leave at 4 or come in at 9 and leave at 6.  There are many choices with this.
• Establishing quality part-time work or job-sharing opportunities
• Exploring the option of a four day work week.  Say you used to work M-F 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., maybe you could try working 4 days a week, 10 hours a day and then you would always have an extra day off in the week, it doesn’t even have to be a Friday, it could be Wednesday and then you would never have to work more than 2 days in a row.

Communicating with your Employer

Once you have decided on some possible schedule options, the next step is to communicate this to your employer on what flexible work arrangement you would prefer, secure their support and explain why the family-friendly work arrangement you’re proposing is in your employer’s best interests. Make sure to write your proposal in a way that puts your company’s interest up front and shows your commitment.  It is best to set up a time to talk with them, come prepared and be ready to compromise, if necessary.  Show up with Plan A but also realize that Plan B may work just as well.  Here are some tips to follow.

• Review what the current policies are for family friendly work arrangements.  Talk to colleagues, HR or dust off the HR manual that’s on your shelf.
• The next step is to see what flexible work arrangement you would prefer.  Be persuasive, positive and open to suggestions.  In addition, don’t hesitate to “wow” them with statistics, such as 77% of employers allow parents to gradually return to work after childbirth or adoption as part of their efforts to hire and retain valuable employees. Recent studies show that employers are providing more flexible work options now than they were 10 years ago.
• Put together a business like, detailed proposal that focuses on your employers needs not yours.   Include the following: hours/days, job responsibilities you’ll be able to handle, if job sharing, a detailed list of how you’ll break up your job responsibilities and if telecommuting be sure to review the childcare and work arrangements ahead of time.  Some employers do require that if you do telecommute you have a childcare plan in place.

More Resources for Creating a Family Friendly Work Arrangement

Take a deep breath.  As a mom returning to work, you are not alone.  Many moms return to work and are able to achieve a good balance between work and family.  You are now one of them.  As you begin this new journey new issues may arise such as pumping/storing breast milk while at work, as well as the creating a system for keeping in contact with your child’s providers.   There is support and resources available to you to help.  Listed below are some resources that may also help with your transition back to work.  Consider staying on track with Baby Insights Day Tracker™ when you return to work.

• If you’re a breastfeeding mother returning to work, here is more information on how to get insurance reimbursement for a breast pump or lactation services: Breastfeeding Insurance Reimbursement
• This book offers practical tips and advice for working moms: Moms on the Job: 7 Secrets for Success at Home and Work

What will your family friendly work arrangement look like?

When to Start Baby on Solids

Once baby can sit up and start grabbing for food (and other things!) to put in her mouth, it might be time to consider starting baby on solids. Most parents typically start thinking about feeding solids to their baby between 4 and 6 months of age with many waiting until closer to 6 months. At this age most babies have developed the ability to swallow food and their digestive system has had more time to mature.

How to start baby on solids

It’s typically recommended that you start with simple, basic foods such as rice cereal or some other low allergen cereal. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adding breast milk or warm formula to the cereal with about one tablespoon of cereal with every 4 to 5 tablespoons of breast milk. Introduce the cereal to baby with just a small amount of cereal on the tip of the spoon. She may not be very interested initially, but give her some time to smell and slowly taste small amounts and warm up to the idea of eating solids.

Start with a once-a-day feeding, preferably when baby is in a good mood and is not tired or cranky. Do not expect her to eat much in the beginning. Remember, solids are new to your baby and she is just getting used to swallowing food. As baby gets used to eating more solids, she’ll be ready for a few tablespoons a day. Keep a record of how much you’re feeding baby each day and how much of it she is eats. As the amount of food she eats increases, then you can start to gradually thicken the consistency of the cereal or add an additional feeding.

Wait a few days before introducing new foods so you can identify any allergic reactions that your baby may have to a specific food. Keep a food diary of which foods you have introduced and whether you noticed any changes in baby’s behavior or other allergic reactions (such as diarrhea, increased gas or a rash). When starting your baby on solids, keep it simple with one grain cereals, vegetables and fruits. Most pediatricians will recommend that you offer vegetables before fruits and to introduce mixed grain cereals and wheat last.

What to expect

• Expect it to be messy. You might often wonder if more food is ending up on the floor and on your baby than IN your baby.

• Remember that babies still have tiny tummies. Keep meals small. When you baby moves away from the spoon, turns her head way or starts to play with the food, then she’s probably done eating.

• Expect to see a change in your baby’s stool. Once your baby is on solids, her stools will change in color and in odor depending on what baby is eating.

• Baby will still need breast milk or formula throughout the first year in additon to solid food. Some pediatricians recommend breast feeding or formula feeding prior to a meal of solids or as the first meal of the day to ensure baby is getting essential nutrients.

We hope this article helps you feel more at ease with starting your baby on solids. It can be very exciting, so enjoy it! Pretty soon, we will have a way for you to track your baby’s solids in Baby Insights™ so stay tuned!

References:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_introducing-solid-foods_113.bc?page=4

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/pages/Getting-Started-with-Solid-Foods.aspx

So, without further hesitation, we are pleased to announce the winners of the giveaway. All winners have been notified by email.

Grand Prize

Canon Sure Shot Digital Camera

Grab the perfect shots of baby and family with this high, quality compact digital camera. It has face detection technology and face detection self-timer for effortlessly capturing those candid shots. A print and share button make for easy and direct printing with a photo printer.

• 12.1 Megapixel- Allows you to take quality, high resolution photos of your baby and family that can be enlarged up to 13 x 19.
• 4x optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer- Advanced preset for automatically detecting photo conditions. Includes 18 shooting modes and 9 special scene modes.
• 2.5 – inch LCD screen- A high resolution screen for viewing shots easily with a crisp, clean pictures. Also has a night viewing mode for easy viewing in low light.

Winner: Kim K. who had multiple entries. Congratulations to Kim! We hope you have a great year full of wonderful photos.

But wait, there’s more!

Mabel’s Labels Camp/School Pack Gift Certificate

How many times have you sent your baby or child off to day care, school or camp and wished that you had an easy and simple way to label your baby’s bottle, sippy cup, diaper bag or even their shoes? Mabel’s Labels are the perfect solution. These colorful, bright and personalized labels make it a breeze to mark your child’s items in a way that much cuter and cleaner than just using a regular old sharpie.

The Camp/School Label pack comes with the following:

• 15 personalized super durable and waterproof labels- making them perfectly usable for toys, dishes, bottles and much more.

• 40 Iron-On tags or 50 Tag Mates- The Iron-On tags will adhere to almost any fabric and are designed to withstand washing, drying and wear and tear. The Tag Mate labels are a great alternative to iron-on labels. Also, designed to withstand washing, drying and wear and tear, these labels peel and stick to clothing care tags.

• 8 Shoe Labels- Extra tough and extra sticky labels that fit nicely on the insole of shoes, boots and skates. They will not rub off on socks when shoes get wet and are made to be kid durable!

• 2 Bag Tags- Sturdy metal tags that can be attached to diaper and school bags, luggage, backpacks and more!

Available in three different sets of coordinating colors!

Winner: Tammy, who left a comment.

Twilight Turtle

An adorable plush turtle that can turn any room or ceiling into a starry night. Lights up in three soothing colors and works as the perfect nightlight to help soothe and calm children and babies into a comforting sleep. Projects real star constellation so you can sit with your child and identify the different star patterns. Comes with Star Guide and 8 constellations. Auto shut-off after 45 minutes help save the batteries!

Winner: Amy who had multiple entries.

Babble Soft Subscriptions

Babble Soft applications not only help parents stay organized and on top of it all, but it makes a great gift for new parents or parents-to-be. Enter to win one of these subscriptions for yourself or as a gift to someone else. A Babble Soft subscription includes access to Baby Insights and Baby Say Cheese as well as access to our mobile web application on your internet-capable mobile phone.

One lucky winner 12 month subscription to Babble Soft. Three winners 3 month subscription to Babble Soft.

Winner of the 12 month subscription: Corrie who had multiple entries.

Winners of the three 3 month subscriptions: Nadia, Josie and Lisa- all of whom had multiple entries.

Pacifier Pod

This is just too cute to pass up. A JJ Cole Pacifier Pod helps keep baby’s pacifier in an easy to find, easy to carry place. A stylish little pod with an “attach anywhere” handle means you can keep it attached to your purse, belt, diaper bag, stroller or car seat. Keeps baby’s pacifier clean and sanitary. Comes in designer prints with coordinating trim and are machine washable and dishwasher safe. PVC and phthalate free for additional peace of mind.

Winner: Tree who had multiple entries.

Baby Sleep Consultations

After sleep coach and owner, Nicole Johnson, overcame her son’s sleeping issues in a way that complemented her own parenting style, and after such a happy success, she knew it was her mission to help other tired parents “find their child’s sleep.” Your baby’s sleep shouldn’t be stressful and The Baby Sleep Site^TM strives to provide a strong, non-judgmental, support network to help you and your family sleep better. The Baby Sleep Site^TM has helped countless families through free online articles, step-by-step e-Books, and private and personalized sleep consulting services.

Two (2) people will get TWO FREE e-mail baby sleep consultations to help with your sleep struggles. You’d be surprised how far you can get in just two e-mails! If you already have an account with The Baby Sleep Site^TM, your account will be credited.

Winners: Julie and Teresa who both left comments.

Please claim your prizes by Sunday, February 7th or we will choose new winners. Thank you and congratulations to the winners and many thanks to everyone who entered!

If you haven’t already tried our Baby Say Cheese online album, then we highly recommend you give it a whirl. One of the joys of parenthood is capturing the perfect shot of your baby as he or she grows and changes. Now with a digital camera, practically a staple for every new parent, the possibilities are endless when it comes to the number and types of pictures you can take of your baby.

We thought it would be helpful to provide you with a few tips for creating beautiful, keepsake photos of your baby.

• Get creative by using the zoom feature on your camera to capture up close some of baby’s distinct features. Create feature photos of baby’s feet while lying on the ground with the camera pointed at the bottom of his feet.

• Getting physically close to baby for photos or getting down on their level is also another way to find good angles for taking photos of baby.

• Another good photo idea is to create an entire series around baby’s “firsts.” Capture baby’s first moments with family, first bath, etc.

• Use the telephoto on your camera to try and get photos of baby when they are otherwise occupied and not quite as aware of your presence. This can result in some very natural looking photos.

• Use indirect lighting whenever possible instead of a flash to prevents baby from looking washed out and also to avoid temporarily blinding baby.

• Play with photo editing software to adjust lighting, play with colors or remove color all together for timeless looking black and white photos.  All in all, keep your camera close during those first few months and keep practicing.

And now with these tips in hand, it seemed only fitting then that our giveaway Grand Prize should be a Canon Sure Shot Digital Camera. Be sure to read to the end of the post for information on how to enter!

Grand Prize

Canon Sure Shot Digital Camera

Grab the perfect shots of baby and family with this high, quality compact digital camera. It has face detection technology and face detection self-timer for effortlessly capturing those candid shots. A print and share button make for easy and direct printing with a photo printer.

• 12.1 Megapixel- Allows you to take quality, high resolution photos of your baby and family that can be enlarged up to 13 x 19.
• 4x optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer- Advanced preset for automatically detecting photo conditions. Includes 18 shooting modes and 9 special scene modes.
• 2.5 – inch LCD screen- A high resolution screen for viewing shots easily with a crisp, clean pictures. Also has a night viewing mode for easy viewing in low light.

But wait, there’s more!

Mabel’s Labels Camp/School Pack Gift Certificate

How many times have you sent your baby or child off to day care, school or camp and wished that you had an easy and simple way to label your baby’s bottle, sippy cup, diaper bag or even their shoes? Mabel’s Labels are the perfect solution. These colorful, bright and personalized labels make it a breeze to mark your child’s items in a way that  much cuter and cleaner than just using a regular old sharpie.

The Camp/School Label pack comes with the following:

• 15 personalized super durable and waterproof labels- making them perfectly usable for toys, dishes, bottles and much more.

• 40 Iron-On tags or 50 Tag Mates- The Iron-On tags will adhere to almost any fabric and are designed to withstand washing, drying and wear and tear. The Tag Mate labels are a great alternative to iron-on labels. Also, designed to withstand washing, drying and wear and tear, these labels peel and stick to clothing care tags.

• 8 Shoe Labels- Extra tough and extra sticky labels that fit nicely on the insole of shoes, boots and skates. They will not rub off on socks when shoes get wet and are made to be kid durable!

• 2 Bag Tags- Sturdy metal tags that can be attached to diaper and school bags, luggage, backpacks and more!

Available in three different sets of coordinating colors!

Twilight Turtle

An adorable plush turtle that can turn any room or ceiling into a starry night. Lights up in three soothing colors and works as the perfect nightlight to help soothe and calm children and babies into a comforting sleep. Projects real star constellation so you can sit with your child and identify the different star patterns. Comes with Star Guide and 8 constellations. Auto shut-off after 45 minutes help save the batteries!

Babble Soft Subscriptions

Babble Soft applications not only help parents stay organized and on top of  it all, but it makes a great gift for new parents or parents-to-be. Enter to win one of these subscriptions for yourself or as a gift to someone else. A Babble Soft subscription includes access to Baby Insights and Baby Say Cheese as well as access to our mobile web application on your internet-capable mobile phone.

One lucky winner will win a 12 month subscription to Babble Soft. Three winners will be selected for a free 3 month subscription to Babble Soft.

Pacifier Pod

This is just too cute to pass up.  A JJ Cole Pacifier Pod helps keep baby’s pacifier in an easy to find, easy to carry place. A stylish little pod with an “attach anywhere” handle means you can keep it attached to your purse, belt, diaper bag, stroller or car seat.  Keeps baby’s pacifier clean and sanitary. Comes in designer prints with coordinating trim and are machine washable and dishwasher safe. PVC and phthalate  free for additional peace of mind.

Baby Sleep Consultations

After sleep coach and owner, Nicole Johnson, overcame her son’s sleeping issues in a way that complemented her own parenting style, and after such a happy success, she knew it was her mission to help other tired parents “find their child’s sleep.” Your baby’s sleep shouldn’t be stressful and The Baby Sleep Site^TM strives to provide a strong, non-judgmental, support network to help you and your family sleep better. The Baby Sleep Site^TM has helped countless families through free online articles, step-by-step e-Books, and private and personalized sleep consulting services.

Two (2) people will get TWO FREE e-mail sleep consultations to help with your sleep struggles. You’d be surprised how far you can get in just two e-mails! If you already have an account with the Baby Sleep Site^TM, your account will be credited.

Deadline to enter is January 31, 2010, 8:59 p.m. EDT.

Here is how you can enter:

1. Leave a comment. – 1 entry

2. Stumble this post. – 1 entry (Leave a comment that you stumbled)

3. Follow us or one of our sponsors on Twitter:  @babblesoft,  @mabelhood, @babysleepsite and leave a comment to let us know you’re following. (1 entry for each sponsor followed)

4. Tweet  or Re-Tweet about this giveaway. For example: Win a Canon Sure Shot Camera in the Babble Soft New Year’s Giveaway http://bit.ly/6jedsp (via @babblesoft). Be sure to include the link back to this post and our Twitter name (@babblesoft) so we can track your entry. Feel free to tweet about any of our prizes- including those from @babysleepsite and @mabelhood. (Can enter multiple times with multiple tweets.)

5. Become a fan of our Facebook page and a fan of the Facebook pages of one of our sponsors . Leave a comment to let us know you’ve become a fan (1 entry for each page you’ve fanned)

• Babble Soft on Facebook

• Mabel’s Labels on Facebook

• The Baby Sleep Site^TM on Facebook

6. Subscribe to the Babble Soft Blog, the Baby Sleep Site^TM Blog or Mabel’s Labels Blog (and leave a comment letting us know you’ve subscribed):

• Babble Soft Blog via RSS or via Email (1 entry)

• The Baby Sleep Site^TM Blog via RSS or via Email (1 entry)

• Mabel’s Label’s Blog via RSS (1 entry)

7. Subscribe to Babble Soft, Baby Sleep Site^TM or Mabel’s Labels Newsletters and leave a comment telling us which newsletters you’ve subscribed to.

• Babble Soft e-newsletter (upper right corner of this page). (1 entry)

• The Baby Sleep Site^TM Newsletter (1 entry)

• Mabel’s Labels Newsletter (1 entry)

8. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this blog post. Leave a comment with a link to your blog post. (10 entries)

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How to buy diapers

When you buy diapers, make sure you do some math on how much you are paying for each diaper. Companies tend to put a different number of diapers in each box. I think they do this on purpose, so you don’t realize you’re paying the same or more for each diaper, depending on what you’re buying. For example, someone once told me to go to a membership warehouse (e.g. Costco or Sam’s Club) and buy their store brand diapers and it’s cheaper than the name brands like Pampers® or Huggies®. I just went to Costco’s website and see that a box of 216 store-brand size 1-2 diapers is $39.99 and a box of Huggies® size 2 diapers with 258 diapers in the box is $49.99. So, yes, you can spend less money by buying the store-brand, but you’ll be buying a new box sooner and not saving anything per diaper. Either way, you’ll be paying $0.19 / diaper for this size. When you get to size 5 diaper, also notice that you not only pay the same $49.99 for both brands, but you get less diapers. Based on prices today, you will actually pay more for the store-brand, paying $0.30 per diaper for 168 diapers and pay $0.28 per diaper for 176 Huggies® diapers. So, even if you don’t like math, take a calculator to get the most bang for your buck.

How many diapers to buy

Saving pennies might not seem like a big deal, but when you add up the amount of money you can save when you figure out just how many diapers you will buy in the first two years, it really does add up! Since I’ve already gone over how many diapers your baby will use by age, I’ll only reiterate that it will be in the neighborhood of 4,700 in the first two years alone (you can try to potty train early). I calculated that’s roughly $500 you can save by making sure you buy the box where you pay the least per diaper! If you have twins or triplets, watch out! This makes me wish I had done the math when I was buying a lot of diapers!

How to cloth diaper

Truth be told I only half-considered using cloth diapers, but this seemed like a good place to give you resources on where you can go to learn how to cloth diaper your baby. I found a really good video that shows you how to cloth diaper, which looks VERY similar to disposable diapers, if you choose an “all-in-one” cloth diaper. Here’s the video:

How to clean cloth diapers

According to The Cloth Diaper Whisperer, finding the routine that fits you takes some time, but the simple steps that tend to work are:

Using your washing machine:

1. Cold Water Rinse (no detergent)
2. Hot Water Wash with detergent
3. Rinse – If the load is particularly bad, consider a “quick wash” instead of just a rinse
4. Dry – Medium heat for about 60-80 minutes or hang on clothes dryer

In the same video series as above, here’s one on how to clean cloth diapers.

How to put on a disposable diaper

Here is a very good video on how to put on a disposable diaper:

If you are considering cloth diapers, but aren’t sure whether it’s more work or not or whether it will really save you money, here is a very good series of posts explaining the benefits: Cloth vs. Disposable. As I said, I never quite ventured into cloth diapers. I think I just became so overwhelmed with baby “stuff” when I was pregnant the first time, I just didn’t have any more brainpower to make that decision and I never revisited it the second time around. Researching for this article may have changed my mind!

How to organize clean diapers

Many people just keep the diapers in the box as quickly as you go through them, but if you want another way to organize your diapers, you can consider a Diaper Stacker or Diaper Essentials Organizer

How to store dirty diapers

Storing dirty diapers will keep your nursery (or any other room in your house) from smelling like a bathroom and prevent you from needing to run to the dumpster after every diaper change. We used the Diaper Champ because you can use regular kitchen trash bags rather than buy the expensive inserts that you have to keep buying with other systems. If you are using cloth diapers, you can use a wet bag or laundry bag to store soiled diapers.

I hope you enjoyed this article about how to: diapers and found the information useful.

Share your diapering tips!