When I needed to buy my girl her 1st pair of shoes I didn’t know what to start with. And I decided to write this article to help young parents with this tricky option.So let’s start.

When should I buy my baby the first pair of shoes?

You really should do this when your child has started to walk. Cause for most babies it’s better to start walking barefoot.  Though you can buy your newborn some cute bootees it would rather a whim then a need.

What size of shoes my baby needs?

If it’s possible, better take your child to a shoes store to be sure the shoes fit correctly. Try whether you can slip the baby’s shoe on and off the foot easily. If you can insert a finger in hill part and there is some vacant space for toes you’re holding an ideal size shoe for you baby.

How often should I buy shoes for my kid?

Till three years old kids’ foot grow very fast – approximately half size every two months. Be sure to check whether shoes still fit your child at least once a month. Buying your kid inexpensive though quality shoes firs 2-3 years can be an option.

What else should I know about baby shoes?

In quality baby shoes shoe hill part must be firm to hold immature baby’s ankle. The shoe must be flexible cause babies are so active and they just learn to walk. You’d better choose hook-and-loop/Velcro fasteners they easily fix child’s leg and easy to handle. But be attentive cause Velcro shoes are easy to take off,  children learn fast, and soon you can find your kid barefoot standing in the yard. Laces-up shoes can be an option but be ready to re-tie them a lot. Good quality shoes have an arch support to help immature child’s feet.

Before buying make sure your kid walks nicely in the shoes and feels him/herself comfortable. You can ask your baby to choose the pair he/she likes from among those you’ve tested, then you can be sure your child is going to wear these shoes with pleasure.

Have a good shopping!

More useful tips about getting shoes for a baby.

I recently recorded a video with useful tips that one should know before purchasing baby shoes. The video is just 1 min 30 secs, but packed with useful tips.

Watch and enjoy. In case of any questions feel free to comment.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1149166/how_to_choose_baby_shoes/

I decided to dwell upon this theme cause we’ve faced schedule problems with my daughter.
I think that schedule is a great thing for kids, for the certain extend… Moreover, I’m not the follower of that ‘let them cry’ method. I think that each child has the biorhythms of its’ own and if my daughter wants to sleep I let her to, and if she cries with hunger I feed her not waiting for 3 hour period to end.

I’ve read many articles from moms and other ’specialists’ on how to get the child on a schedule letting them cry themselves to sleep. And I’ve read other articles where authors write about the psychological trauma which the baby crying from loneliness gets. I myself don’t let my baby cry on her own in the dark room, I’ll always come and comfort her. There is no doubt, that each mom chooses her own way of bringing up her own child…

So I’ll write about my experience. What schedule can a one month old child have? The schedule of meals and sleep.
For the children who are breastfed and for those fed formula the schedules can be completely different. For the children who eat formula can sleep longer and have longer periods between meals. The infants who are breastfed has smaller sleep intervals cause a breast milk is lighter then formula so it takes less time to digest it. The child feels the hunger more frequent. I used to breastfeed my daughter every 1.5 hour till she was 3 month old. I didn’t notice any schedule at first but then I understand that every day we have the same routine. And when she was 6 month old she lived according to her schedule which she made herself, we didn’t force her.

Another reason for not sleeping is some kind of discomfort or pain. Handle it and your child will be thankful and will be sleeping at night.

I think that every child has the biorhythms of its own and according to them he or she makes the schedule in a month or two. And if the child does not sleep at night there might be a reason. It may happen so if the child was born at night. If so with all your patience and love try to help your child to understand that night is to sleep: every evening make your child a bath with valerian or lavender, lull him/her a little sing a quiet song.

Another reason for not sleeping is some kind of discomfort or pain. Handle it and your child will be thankful and will be sleeping at night.

As you may read in my previous post, it can be rather expensive to raise a child. As in any situation there is always cheaper way out that will reduce your costs for having a baby.

Delivery. You may choose home births, or midwives instead of a traditional hospital setting. If it suites you it can dramatically cut the delivery expenses and make the process itself more comfortable.

Stuff for kids. Say yes to seconds! If you want to afford everything you need for your baby, garage sales, yard sales and second hand baby stores are three best options for you to get large items for an infant’s room. Cribs, crib sheets, cloths, high chairs, and even larger toys and furniture can be purchase second hand. Wise shopping can help you to save money. Though, there are thing which better not to buy at seconds such as crib mattress and infant car sit – you’d better invest in your child safety. Another option that may save your budget is not to buy some stuff… No crib – sleep with your baby and enjoy the close interaction, no stroller – use slings or baby carriers, no high chair – use your chair just put the pillow on it.

Breast feeding – aside from the fact that breast milk has many good qualities it is definitely cheaper then formula. It spear you from buying bottles, bottle warmer and sterilizer, moreover there is no need in constant washing of materials. If breast feeding is not an option for you contact programs that help defray the costs of food, WIC (Women, Infants and Children) is one of them.

Diapers. To reduce your expenses you may use cloth diapers through a diaper service, or off brand disposable diapers.

Don’t focus on brands. Children don’t understand them; they just need clothes to be clean and made from natural materials. There are many great off brand baby products available new that present the same number functions as expensive ones.

As I see, there are two types of costs for having a baby. First, are tones of stuff you are to buy beforehand the delivery or right after you bring your newborn baby home. I’ve found a good list on http://www.surebaby.com/baby_gear.php:
Crib with mattress- $160-$750
Crib bedding set- $35-$270
Crib blankets (4-6)- $8-$40 each
Fitted crib sheets (2)- $8-$20 each
Water-proof mattress cover- $10-$20
Bassinet or cradle- $35-$260
Changing table- $70-$600
Changing pad & cover- $25-$50
Dresser- $90-$650
Rocker or glider- $90-$500
Car seat- $35-$280
Stroller or travel system- $30-$300
Playpen or porta-crib- $60-$180
Swing- $45-$130
Play center or walker- $50-$125
Mobile- $25-$70
Baby carrier or sling- $20-$140
Monitor- $20-$230
Baby gate- $35-$250
Bouncer seat- $30-$90
Toy box- $25-$90
Gym or play mat- $25-$90
Doorway jumper- $25-$60
High chair- $45-$240
Diaper bag- $10-$60
Diaper pail- $20-$45 Refills- $15-$20 (3 pack)
Thermometer- $10-$90
First aid supplies (kit)- $20-$30
Humidifier or vaporizer- $15-$130
Bottles 8 oz & 4 oz (8-10)- $10-$20 (3 pack) or $20-$40 (starter set)
Bottle warmer- $18-$35
Sterilizer- $30-$70
Breast pump & accessories- $45-$350
Breastfeeding pillow- $20-$35
Bath tub or seat- $15-$35
Hooded towels (4)- $6-$30 each
Wipes (a lot)- $4-$5 (pack)

You may also need :washcloths, diaper rash oil/powder, nail clippers, nasal aspirator, baby wash, lotion, oil, shampoo, extra nipples for bottles, bottle brush, breastfeeding pads, receiving blankets, car seat head support (for newborns) and of course lots of toys.

The second group is everyday expenses:

Diapers. You may need from $70 to $120 a month for disposable diapers (6 to 10 a day) and close to $1000 for cloth diapers till the time you child will be potty-trained, although these will increase the amount of laundry you need to do.

Baby formula.  If you intend to feed your baby formula rather than breast milk, baby formula costs up to $25/can for powder, and a can lasts about ten days – that’s $75/month for formula alone. Breast feeding is cheaper, though not always possible.

Day care. If you need it, daycare is the largest baby expense. A good daycare can easily cost over $800/month. Dayhomes are cheaper, though they have their own pitfalls.

Baby clothing – you need lots of it cause children grow very fast especially on the first year of life. Clothes for first year may cost you from $500 to $1,200

Having a baby is expesive, but worth it!

When I’ve just become a mom I’ve heart a lot about the Baby Einstein educational movies for infants. I thought it was interesting, moreover I wanted my girl to become a brainy one and was sure that the Baby Einstein would help her.

I searched the web trying to find information concerning baby educational films. I read a lot and now I’ve made some conclusions, moreover, I’ve stated to problems:
1. Where to get Baby Einstein or Brainy baby movies?
2. Does my child really need this kind of stimulation?

There are tones of sites in the internet where one can buy everything connected to the Baby Einstein Company starting with the Baby Einstein baskets,  baby einstein missions music ending up with Baby Einstein birthday cakes and Baby Einstein cake decorations, but all this stuff is rather expensive. Then I’ve found some Baby Einstein and Brainy baby series in one torrent. Although it’s illegal, people still download these educational films there. And here is another problem – is this worth it?

I think not. To tell the truth, I’ve bought my girl the Baby Einstein basket and she was excited with the movies, but in few weeks she become nervous and manipulative, she brought me the DVD remote and cried till I turn her favorite series on. So what the problem, you might think, just turn it on make your child happy and relax for a while. The thing is that the American Academy of Pediatricians recommends not to let young children watching TV until they are at least 24 month old and the BE company doesn’t reveal this info.

Moreover, there was a study by researchers at the University of Washington which showed that educational movies influence negatively on the infants (8-16 months) language skills development and it influence neither positively no negatively on children from 18 to 24 months.

I decided not to show the Baby Einstein movies to my girl till she is 24 month. It’s only you to choose worth it or not!

Learn how your baby education can get better if you play together.

Your child was lying in his/her cradle or playing quietly on the floor and now he/she is starting to squirm and cry in a fretful tone, maybe waving his arms and kicking his legs. May be your child is bored and just needs some of your attention or your gentle hug. Hold your precious in your hands lull for a while, show something interesting switch the activity and he/she will be fine.

It is hard to mix up crying caused by pain with other crying types. If your baby is in pain, he/she will suddenly cry out at the top of his/her lungs. The cry will be shrill and loud, your baby’s face may become red. Your infant may stiffen his/her arms and legs and squeeze her eyes shut. Try to understand what causes pain to your baby and try to stop it. If you failed contact your doctor.

When my daughter is coming down with some kind of illness, her behavior changes a little. Instead of playing quietly on the floor, she is only satisfied if she has 100% of my attention or if I hold her on my hands. She sleeps restlessly. She cries in a whiny, half-hearted manner, as if she doesn’t have enough energy to throw a full-blown fit. If you notice such symptoms and suspect your child is sick, but you are not sure and can see no obvious signs of illness, continue to watch your baby closely and take his/her temperature periodically. If you have any doubts at all, contact your pediatrician.

Babies usually suffer from colic in the first three months of their life. It is said that male infants more often have colic. I was not that lucky mommy whose child hasn’t got colic. My girl began her consistent crying every evening sometimes at night, but some infants cry off and on all day. She was hard to comfort, and her cries was generally rhythmic and hard to control. It helped when she was lying on her stomach or when I took her for a ride in her stroller. In fact, she was almost impossible to quiet. Try to keep in mind, your child needs your attention and the whole patience you have. There is good news about colicky babies though – they will grow out of it after a few weeks.

Finally, if you can’t understand why your child is crying you may contact your doctor. Describe how your baby is crying, when he/she is crying, and are you able to comfort her.

Now that you know how to understand your baby’s crying your communication is going to be more successful.

Read more info about baby crying, its reason and what to do.

When I’ve just become a mother my baby sounds crying made me sad, scared and sometimes nervous. But in a few weeks I’ve become a mature mom and understood that nobody will understand baby sounds crying better than me. Now I can distinguish between her different crying sounds and I know what respond she needs.

As babies can’t talk one and the only way of communication for them is crying. They show their needs, wants and displeasures by crying. When you learn how to differentiate types of crying you will comfort your baby in most situations.

Since an infant cant talk he/she reveals her hunger in crying. Hungry crying is almost rhythmic in nature your baby may cry in short bursts. Your child begins to suck on his fingers or smack his lip? It is also the sign of hunger. Just give you precious something to eat: the breast or bottle and the problem is solved.

When baby becomes tired, sometimes it’s hard for him/her to fall asleep, especially if he/she is younger than nine months. When the child wants to sleep he/she can cry suddenly and in an increasingly louder tone. And if you don’t help him/her get to sleep quickly, the child only becomes more irate!

Children are very subtle creatures and the rule the more the better doesn’t work with them. So don’t over stimulate your child with games and exercises if you do the child can react by fidgeting, and crying in a whiny, fretful cry. In this case stop the activity lull your child, give him the breast or a bottle.

More insightful readings on baby crying.

When my daughter was three months old I faced the dilemma whether to take swimming lessons with her or not. I surfed the net looking for baby swimming centers and other information about baby swimming lessons. Among the huge piles of splendid offers on infant swimming I found some interesting research of the American Academy of Pediatrics. So, in this post I’ll draw your attention to the drawbacks of an infant swimming for you to have the whole picture of this subject.

As you know, movement and exercises are good for babies and you may think the more movement the better – not always – the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

According to AAP children are not ready for swimming until they are 4 years old. One year old children are able to perform some elementary swim moves but these are more like the lines of a dog paddle than a traditional swimming stroke, or front crawl. When a child is not ready for something it takes him/her longer to learn, the same concerns aquatic skills, moreover they are limited by the children’s neuromuscular capacity. And even more, starting early doesn’t result into a better result. So if you want your child to become a future Olympic swimmer an infant swim program won’t help you with that.

The training can also have a long-term effect on the child’s self-sufficiency, as motivation is very important in the development of any skill and infants do not have a motivation yet.

If you want your child to attend swimming lessons in terms of his/her safety you have to mull over one fact before.  “When instruction attempts to optimize learning by reducing fear of water, children may unwittingly be encouraged to enter the water without supervision” the AAP warns.

Anyway, you are to choose. If swimming lessons is just the way of socializing and spending a good time with your child go for it. And if their task is to boost your child’s motor skills be ready, cause it can be disappointment in store for parent and child.

You can find some great baby swimwear tips in this article.

When I got to know that I’m pregnant the first question was “How to calculate due date of baby?” You can never be sure in things like that; you can only expect. Even if you have accurately calculated your baby’s ‘due date’ there is still only a 5% chance it will be born precisely on this date!

Because every woman and her baby are unique, no one knows how long it takes each separatly taken mother to grow her baby. It is normal and healthy for babies to be born at any time from about 37 to 42 weeks of the pregnancy. The babies born during this 5 weeks’ period are mature and ready to be born, but sometimes it happens that a baby born 3 weeks earlier or later than estimated ‘due date’. In the first case (born less than 37 weeks) babies are called ‘premature’, and babies born later than 42 weeks are called ‘overdue’. As I know, in most cases babies are born either one week earlier or a week later their due date. My girl was born 4 days later then her due date.

Pregnancy is said to be 40 weeks long. This term was first developed by a German obstetrician called Naegele in the 1800’s. He said that a woman’s pregnancy should normaly last 10 lunar months (or 280 days) which is close to 9 calendar months. But Naegele used the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period as a definite starting moment to base his calculations on, as conception usually happens 2 weeks after this a pregnancy is really only 38 weeks long (or 266 days), being about 8 ½ calendar months. That is why, two weeks after conception a woman is said to be ‘4 weeks pregnant’.
Naegele’s rool is based on a regular menstrual period which is 28 days, so if you have such you can calculate due date of baby using it.

9 months + 7 days after the first day of your last normal menstrual period (or 280 days after this day).

To calculate due date of baby faster and easier use Due Date Calculator