comfortable baby: October 2008

Monday, October 13, 2008

Choosing A Meaningful Baby Name

National Geographic Monkey Short-sleeved Tee and Legging Set

Contrary to the Bard's claim that what is in a name, the rose will smell just as sweet if called by some other name, some hold the view, 'God's name is greater than even God'. We have name, first name, last name, middle name, surname, nickname, pen-name etc. etc. One important post-natal task is naming the baby. Why is naming a baby so important? Because our ancestors were sure that the fate of any person depends on name. perhaps not so much as gender but name allow children to psychologically be aware of themselves as individuals. It is an important aspect of development. A doting mother would use a million names to koo-chee-koo her child- angel, dolly, sweety and the list goes on and on…..Naming a baby involves a ceremony in most of the cultures of the world. In baptism when the baby is christened his name is reinforced by its use in public in church. Hindu babies’ astrological chart is cast by a priest at the naming ceremony based on the exact time of its birth. Hindu name their babies on the name of Gods, great personalities.Muslims name their babies after prophets' or based on Arabic terms which mean good attributes and personal qualities like honesty, integrity.

The Chinese include the five principal elements metal, wood, water, fire and earth in the names of their babies. Commonly the names are kept after the celebrities or great people in the past. Babies are named after eminent person in the hope that the child inherits that nobility or greatness. Tips to choose baby names- one should avoid picking out meaningless names based on easy sounds. In the times to come with the world becoming smaller, one would travel extensively, as well as people immigrate so the name ought not to be ridiculously embarrassing so as to make the poor person a laughing stock. Names should be easy to pronounce as well as easy on ears. No tongue-twisting names please. Names should not sound like the names of some exotic foreign dish. Whatever the name be the baby should be given such upbringing so as to prove true to their names.Check out some interesting Tamil baby names, Kannada songs and know about child labor on these links.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Possible Respiratory Problems In Premature Infants

A premature baby is any infant that is born before 37th week of the pregnancy, although full term babies who have a low birth weight are also considered to be "premmies." When a child is born too early or appears to be too small, they are usually placed in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where doctors and nurses that specialize in the care of premature babies can monitor their progress and treat any complications that may arise.One common complication that many "premmies" face is immature lungs. Due to their early birth, their lungs have not yet developed enough to breathe properly in the atmosphere outside the womb. Three medical conditions that can result from the baby having immature lungs are Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), Transient Tachypnea, and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD).

RDS is harsh, irregular breathing that is caused by a lack of surfactant, an agent that prevents the lungs from collapsing. If a baby is suffering from this condition, the doctor can use a number of methods to treat him. He can administer supplemental oxygen supplies through a respirator or an oxygen hood. Continuous positive airway pressure can also be applied to stabilize the baby's breathing. The child may also need to spend some time in an endotracheal incubator. In the most severe cases of RSD, the doctor may need to administer doses of the surfactant agent to prevent the lungs from collapsing on their own.

Transient Tachypnea is the rapid, shallow breathing that a "premmie" experiences and usually proves to be temporary, passing in a few days time. This condition can occur in full term babies as well.

BPD is a more serious breathing condition that occurs when a child shows signs of lung deterioration. When a "premmie" needs to be on a ventilator for a long period of time, his immature lungs may not be able to hold up under the constant pressure of the respirator. Babies that are on a respirator for over 28 days are especially at a high risk of getting BPD. Once the respirator is removed, this condition usually improves, although the recovery time varies from infant to infant.

As well as these respiratory problems that are associated with immature lungs, a premature infant may also suffer from two other conditions that are known as Apnea and Bradycardia, which are oftentimes tied together. Apnea occurs when the "premmie" totally quits breathing for a few seconds at a time. Bradycardia occurs when the infant's heart rate begins to drop, often in response to the apnea. Physical contact with the baby (such as tapping his chest or back) can usually stimulate him to breathe, causing both of these conditions to subside.

A premature baby also runs a higher risk for developing pneumonia when compared to a full-term infant. Again, this type of lung infection is caused by all the other respiratory problems that these tiny babies can face. It can be treated with antibiotics as well as through intubation and the administration for supplemental oxygen.

If left unchecked, the infection can develop into meningitis, sepsis, or one of a number of other serious conditions that can be fatal.While there are many medical conditions that can affect a premature baby, respiratory problems are several of the most common. Again, most "premmies" are immediately moved to an NICU unit, which will enable the doctors and nurses to identify these conditions right away and begin an effective treatment program. Early detection can ensure that a premature baby can develop into a normal and healthy child.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Tips and Tricks for Hosting a Baby Shower Everyone Will Enjoy

Hosting a well planned baby shower can be just as much fun for you as it is for the mother to be. It's a great feeling to see your friend or coworker surrounded by all of her favorite people and feeling like the center of attention for an afternoon. Whether you've planned 100 parties or have never planned a party in your life, there is always the fear that no one will attend or that the guests won't enjoy themselves. In this article, we'll take a look at some sure-fire ways to ensure a successful shower.

Tip #1: Make your invitations stand out by including a unique baby shower favor
After you've gathered a list of all of the contact info of the friends and family of the mother to be, it's time to get people interested with an invitation that gets people excited about the upcoming party. Try sending a unique shower favor inside the invitation like a personalized tea favor with the name of the new mom and the date of the shower.

Tea favors are a unique way to keep the date fresh in your guests' minds, and also inexpensive - around 90 cents a piece online. By extending some generosity in the form of a unique favor, you'll get people excited about returning the favor by showing up to celebrate the festivities. To ensure the best attendance, make sure to follow up with a phone call about a week before the baby shower to confirm attendance.

Tip #2: Keep the energy high with fun activities

There's a fine line between having too much scheduling at a party and not enough. The way to avoid this is by having a game plan in mind, but not being afraid to go with the flow if things naturally take a different turn. If your games and activities are fun and rewarding, guests will be excited about playing along, naturally creating a high-energy environment.

Try promoting friendly competition by offering a baby shower favor as a prize for the winners of the games and activities. How about an adorable little basket, fill with all of those extra personalized tea favors, baby shower sugar cookies, or cute little jars of sweet "Mommy to Bee" honey personalized with the new mother's name and the date of the shower. Add a pretty organza bow and this unique shower favor makes being an active participant that much more exciting.

Tip #3: Offer lots of different types of food

At a baby shower, people tend to "sample". While there may be one specific time to eat, you'll want to have a wide variety of finger foods available for people to sample throughout the course of the party.

Some ideas are platters of deli sliced lunch meats and cheeses, fruit salads, veggies, a variety of unique dips, wedges of focaccia bread, and sliced sandwich wraps.

Half of the appeal of your party food is in the way that you present it. Dress up your platters with pretty pastel ribbons or embellish the edges of the platters with pacifiers. The food table is another great place for guests to find a shower favor. Try placing a bowl of personalized chocolate bar favors in a bowl on the table. This unique favor is not only scrumptious to eat, but the pretty, personalized wrapper is the ideal baby shower keepsake.
Source: Free Articles

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Baby Gift Set

Finding the Perfect Bassinet for Baby’s Nursery

Submitted by catwomanseven

There are many things a parent to be must consider prior to the arrival of a new baby. Everything from baby proofing the home to putting together a nursery for the wee one are things that every parents deals with even if it’s not their first child. Preparing for the coming of a new baby can be both stressful and time consuming as well. This is especially true for those expecting their first child. Even with Grandparents, friends, and other parents offering advice the process can devour ones free time and make a person feel as though they’ll never have everything ready in time.

As a father of two young children I have experienced many of the overbearing emotions that come along with a pregnancy. In the case of my wife and our two children preparing for the arrival of our two children was a joy, yet at times it felt more like working for a horrific employer who gives ridiculously impossible deadlines that can’t be met regardless of how much overtime you put in. Perhaps these emotions were brought about by the sheer level of excitement and apprehension that accompanied the announcement of the impending births.

When my wife and I found out that she was pregnant with our first child we initially felt a great deal of excitement and started making plans to convert our home office into a nursery. Our excitement quickly turned to trepidation as we realized just how much work was going to be involved and how expensive the project was going to be. For a couple making a modest living this was a fairly intimidating prospect and we quickly reached out to our parents for advice on how to build a humble yet warm nursery.

Both sets of soon to be Grandparents offered up some great advice and my father actually pitched in and offered his woodworking services to us. Though he put together a fine dresser my wife and I agreed that we wanted to buy most of the furniture and put a nursery together that was unlike any other we’d ever seen.

With the dresser and changing station out of the way some of the worries we had began to fade away, that is until we started looking at baby bassinets. Our jaws drop to the floor when we found out just how expensive and elaborate some of these bassinets were. We were not just looking for an affordable bassinet but a simple one as well. While some of the bassinets we saw looked as though they would allow your infant to access the internet through their bed, we did eventually find a few baby bassinets that would allow our child to sleep comfortably and nothing else.

After viewing baby bassinets we began to look at painting our new nursery. Though this was one of the more affordable aspects of preparing the nursery, my wife and I found ourselves constantly disagreeing on the theme of the room. After a week or so of debates and headaches we finally settled on an underwater theme complete with fish, mermaids and whales. The painting of the nursery commenced and completed within the span of three days and it turned out rather well.

Over the course of two months our office was transformed into a nursery and we then turned our sights to baby proofing the home. There was a brief period of time where my wife and I considered postponing the baby proofing as our child would not be mobile for quite some time however we ultimately decided that it would be easier to prepare now rather than later or after the baby was able to get around on her own. We were also surprised at how complicated this process was too as it involved more than simply plugging up outlets and putting child proof locks on doors. We quickly found that we would need to secure all of our loose wires and cables, and better organize our movie collections as many of our movies where on shelves that could be dangerous to young children. We spent a good portion of our budget on baby proofing our home and in the end everything got put away, organized, secured to a wall or the floor and everything turned out just fine.

Though the process was somewhat difficult and stressful it was definitely an experience that I will look back on with fond remembrance.
We went through many of the same things during preparations for our second child albeit in a much more subdued manner. This was partly due to the fact that the home was already baby proofed before child number two was announced and in part because new baby would be occupying the same nursery. Preparing a home for the arrival of a newborn is both taxing and rewarding however practicing patience and focusing on the end result will always make the process more enjoyable.