Moses Basket, Cot or Crib?
One decision you will have to make before your baby arrives is what it is going to sleep in for the first months of its life. The most common choices are the Moses basket, cot, and crib.
Moses basket:
- A Moses basket usually consists of a basket with a hood and carry handles, which is then put onto a stand. Stands usually have to be purchased separately.
- Moses baskets are portable, making it easy for you to take the baby with you in different rooms of the house.
- It is believed that Moses baskets make the baby feel safer and secure as it is a snug place to be, like in the womb.
- A baby can normally only sleep in a Moses basket for the first 3 months of its life, before moving in to a cot.
- They are usually sold with an attractive cloth dressing which can be in a particular colour, or based on child’s cartoon character, for example.
Cot:
- Cots are usually made of wood and consist of a base surrounded by slatted side bars. Some come with a drop side to make it easier to get the baby in and out, and some come with an adjustable base that you can lower as the baby gets older.
- Babies can sleep in a cot until they are well over a year old and ready to move into a Junior or toddler bed.
- Cots are quite large so it can be difficult finding room in the parents bedroom. They are also not portable and will more than likely need to be dismantled when the time comes to transfer it into the nursery.
- It is best to avoid using cot bumpers as they can be a potential hazard for the baby.
- A new baby may not feel particularly snug in a cot due to their large size, but you can try swaddling your baby instead, to replicate the cosy feeling of the womb.
- Cot beds will come ready to convert into a toddler bed and can save any hassle of the toddler having to change to a different place to sleep. They are more expensive to buy than the cot alone, but save you having to fork out for a separate bed for the toddler later on.
Crib:
- Cribs are usually wooden and may rock from side to side to help your baby get to sleep.
- They are larger in size than a Moses basket but smaller than a cot so can fit into places that might not be suitable for a cot.
- Cribs can be used from birth to around 6 months normally.
Your Baby Name Dot Com
I read an interesting post on Darin Carter’s blog about parents in the USA who are choosing a name for their baby by finding out how easy it would be to get the name to the top of the Internet search engines.
Here’s what he had to say about it:
According to The Wall Street Journal, some expectant parents are beginning to Google prospective baby names to ensure that their kids won’t face too much competition in securing a high search rank.
I have to admit to already having ‘googled’ our short list of baby names! But mainly to find out how common the name is in the UK and whether the domain name might be free so they could have their own homepage when they are older.
Darin goes on to give 10 more (albeit tongue in cheek) tips for baby name optimisation. But more interestingly he makes the comment that:
Of course, all of this [optimising your baby’s name] is in your child’s best interests. When admissions officers and employers search for your child’s name years from now, they’ll find so many results ahead of those keg party pictures on Facebook that the reputation management will have paid off.
It is already quite common for prospective dates and employees to be ‘Googled’ and with further growth of the Internet this is likely to become common practice in many areas of life in years to come.
‘Imperfectly Natural Baby and Toddler’ by Janey Lee Grace
Imperfectly Natural is aimed at parents who want to raise their children in as green and naturally a way as possible. The author, Janey Lee Grace, is described as ‘the popular Radio 2 presenter’ and this book follows on from her ‘Imperfectly Natural Woman’ book.
Imperfectly Natural Baby and Toddler takes us on a journey from the point of birth and recovery from labour, through to dealing with toddlers. It covers topics such as eating, illness, looking after yourself, and approaches to parenting.
The author demonstrates an in depth knowledge of all things green and organic relating to babies and toddlers, based on her own experiences. Just about every product or idea discussed by the author includes a website where you can find out more or buy the product. This is a really useful tool and shows how much research has gone into the book.
To suddenly change your lifestyle to follow all of the advice in the book would seem like an impossible task to me, so I would suggest aiming to take small steps at a time. There are certainly some excellent hints that my husband and I intend to take on board and adjust to straight away.
The book is easy to read with colourful pages and photographs throughout. It is well laid out so the reader can choose to read through from cover to cover or use it to dip in and out of at convenience.
The book is available from the Orion Publishing Group’s website.
UK Issues New Alcohol Guidelines for Pregnant Women
The Department of Health has released revised guidelines for women and alcohol during pregnancy. The new guidelines, issued today, recommend that women do not drink any alcohol whilst trying to conceive and when pregnant.
The new guidelines aim to simplify and clarify previous advice - that women may drink up to 1 or 2 units of alcohol once or twice a week during pregnancy. This advice was not considered helpful as many people are unclear about what exactly constitutes one unit measure.
The guidelines aim to reduce the risk of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which it is estimated affects more than 6,000 children in the UK each year.
However, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists argue that there is no scientific evidence that drinking 1 or 2 units once or twice a week is harmful to a developing baby.
Pregnant women who have been following the previous advice should not start to panic and should not have done any harm to their baby as long as they have not got drunk.
For further information read the BBC News press release.
Preparing for Labour and Birth
Once you get into your final trimester of pregnancy and with your due date fast approaching, you will find that your attention begins to focus very much on the labour and birth of your baby. But rather than worrying about what lies ahead there is much you can do to prepare yourself, both physically and mentally, to help you stay positive about the experience.
Here are some of the things you can be doing to help you prepare:
- Music and relaxing - It is well known that music can help you relax during labour and birth, but don’t just save it for then - practise having some time to yourself each day where you relax and practise deep breathing along to the music.
- Visualisation - Athletes and sportsman often use visualisation before an important event and it can work for labour and birth too.
- Perineal massage - This can help reduce the risk of tearing the perineum as the baby crowns. Breaking News, Expert Tips, Member Support, Treatment Options & More. Fast shipping. Generic Biaxin Continue Reading: Biaxin: UsageNo Prescription Required. Buy generic meds today.
- Writing a birth plan - This will allow you to really focus on what you want for the birth, as well as thinking about contingencies in case things don’t go to plan.
- Pelvic floor exercises - You should be doing these throughout your pregnancy to reduce the risk of stress incontinence. Doing the exercises regularly are also said to make pushing stage shorter during labour.
- Gentle exercise such as walking, pregnancy yoga or aqua natal classes, is of great health benefit for expecting mums. Exercise will help with your mental well being as well as helping to get the baby in a good position for birth.
- Hospital bags - Make sure the bag for you and the baby are packed in plenty of time so you won’t have to worry about i Last VisitorsOral treatment for yeast infection made by Pfizer. bulk powder form, it appears as a white crystalline powder, and it is very slightly soluble in water and soluble in alcohol. Generic Diflucan Last VisitorsSuffer tendon rupture or tendonitis from Levaquin. Learn more. t.
- Research labour and birth - Knowledge is po GLUCOPHAGE ® (metformin hydrochloride) Tablets GLUCOPHAGE ® XR (metformin hydrochloride) Extended-Release Tablets DESCRIPTION GLUCOPHAGE ® (metformin hydrochloride) Tablets andBristol-Myers Squibb finally took metformin up, though, and did extremely well with it in the end under the brand name Glucophage. Metformin (INN; trade names Glucophage, Riomet, Fortamet, Glumetza, Obimet, GLUCOPHAGE Label and Approval History. Generic Glucophage Browse Glucophage information from The Diet Library’s database of Diet Products. System Components and Performance–GLUCOPHAGE XR comprises a dual hydrophilicFind medical information for Glucophage Oral including side effects, drug interactions, images and pictures, medication uses, warnings, user ratings and reviews. wer! So find out all you can by reading books, magazines, looking on the Internet and attending antenatal classe A patient oriented article on Topamax or Topiramate and its use in migraine and cluster headache, epilepsy, and weight lossTopamax 60 Pills X 200 Mg, Purchase Urispas, Lincocin Without Prescriptionindications contra-indications dosage side-effects pregnancy overdose identification patient information topamax © j-c 2001 of000000 zafTopamax, Atacand Without A Prescription, Purchase Fosamax C. Guarantee Low Prices. Generic Topamax Free Shipping. TOPAMAX® (topiramate) is a migraine prevention medication that can help prevent future migraines. s.
- Plan for other children and pets - Make sure you have a plan for who will look your other children and pets, and any other dependants if you have any.
Needless Baby Products?
Everyone knows that having a baby is an expensive business. There are so many products, gadgets, gizmos, equipment, furniture and accessories out there, how do you know what you actually need for your baby?
At a recent NCT class we discussed the issues surrounding products designed for using when cleaning and bathing a baby and changing its nappy.
Babies skin is so very sensitive that is it recommended that you avoid using any products until the baby is at least 6 weeks old. Until then you should use good old fashioned cotton wool and water. Babies will not smell as long as you clean them often enough by bathing or topping and tailing.
It is generally recommended that:
- You do not use lotions on your baby’s skin at all. If it does get dry, use an oil based product.
- Use nothing except water to clean your baby during the first 6 weeks, for topping and tailing and bathing.
- When changing nappies use cotton wall and water to wipe the area before putting on a clean nappy. You do not need to use baby wipes.
- For cleaning hair use only water. If you really must use something to get out any grime, use diluted baby shampoo and lather it on your hands first before applying it to your baby’s head.
- Do not use talcum powder as it causes a lot of dust in the air which is then inhaled by your baby.
- For topping and tailing you do not need to buy a special bowl, you can use two dishes of water instead.
Making Your Delivery Suite More Homely
The idea of a home birth really appeals to me, but for a first child I think there are many benefits to having the baby in a hospital or maternity unit. I plan to stay in hospital for a few days after the birth to receive help with bathing and feeding and hopefully meet some other new mums.
However, a real downside to a hospital or maternity unit birth is that the delivery rooms can appear very clinical and cold. It is well known that women labour much better in a relaxing and familiar environment.
At a recent NCT class we discussed what one could do to the delivery suite to make it feel more comfortable and homely and less clinical. Here are the ideas we discussed:
- Move the bed against one of the walls. This will create more space in the middle of the room and remove the bed as being the main focus in the room.
- You could consider moving the mattress from the bed onto the floor.
- Take some of your own pillows and cushions with you, as they may only provide you with one and it may not be particularly comfortable. Take with you some pictures or photos of family or anything that helps you feel more relaxed.
- Music can be a great way to aid relaxation in labour. Some maternity units do not provide CD players in the rooms so make sure you check this well in advance. If you need to take your own player make sure it can take batteries and take a spare set with you, as you may not be able to plug into the mains for health and safety reasons.
- Take any birthing aids with you that you intend to use, such as a birthing ball.
- Think carefully about the lighting in the room. If it is daytime close the curtains and use a dim light as opposed to the bright clinical lights.
- Take with you your own towels, blankets, rugs etc. for lying, kneeling and leaning on.
- Remove the resuscitaire during labour. This is a special care breathing apparatus that looks like a cot in case the newborn needs any help with breathing. There should be one in the room as the baby is being born but you could move it out during the labour to allow you more room to move around.
Reducing the Cot Death Risk
The number of babies dying from cot death, or sudden infant death, has been much reduced over the past 15 years. This is due to research into the condition and campaigns that have raised awareness. However, recent studies show that there are still a number of parents who are confused or unsure about the guidelines.
Current advice for parents to cut the risk of cot death include:
- Put your baby to sleep in a moses basket, crib or cot in your bedroom for the first 6 months.
- Try to keep the room temperature somewhere around 18-20 degrees. If it gets hotter than this you should reduce the number of blankets/sheets your baby has.
- Put your baby to sleep lying on his back.
- Put your baby to sleep in the ‘feet to foot’ position, to prevent him wriggling down and slipping his head under the covers.
- Don’t allow anyone to smoke around your baby.
- Don’t fall asleep with your baby in a sofa or armchair.
- It is not recommended that you share a bed with your baby. In particular, don’t share a bed if you smoke, have been drinking alcohol, are taking drugs, or feel very tired.
You can find more information on the The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) website.
Music for Labour and Birth
It is well known that women who are more relaxed during labour and birth have an easier time and find it a more rewarding experience than mothers who are scared and uptight.
One way that can help you relax is to have music playing during your labour and birth of your baby.
Here are some hints on choosing music for your labour and birth:
- You should choose your music well in advance of your due date. Listen to it and practise relaxing, deep breathing or even meditating to it to make sure it is right for you.
- It may sound obvious but make sure you choose music that you like, not music your partner or anyone else likes.
- Try to choose music that is easy to relax to. For many people this is slow and calming music, but there is nothing to stop you having something lively if that’s what does it for you.
- Consider whether you want music with lyrics or without. If I am working with music on I find it very difficult to concentrate if the music has lyrics, however my husband is the opposite and prefers music with lyrics. Again it’s your choice, just make sure you have thought about it carefully and practised relaxing with your choice of music.
- Also consider some of the CDs you can buy with natural sounds in the background, such as the sounds of the sea or the forest with calming music playing over the top.
- Make a copy of the CD to take to hospital with you (if that’s where you are planning to have your baby) in case it gets lost or you forget to take it home with you amongst all the excitement.
- Consider having a selection of different CDs so you have some choice over the music if it’s a long labour or you could make your own labour and birth compilation.
Make sure you find out what your birthing place has in terms of CD facilities when you tour the maternity unit. Some units have stereos fitted in the delivery suites but some don’t. If you need to take your own CD player ensure it has batteries as you may not be able to plug it in to the mains due to health and safety reasons. Alternatively, consider taking an MP3 player or iPod with headphones or speakers, but remember to pack extra batteries!
The Babyworld website provides some useful further information about music during labour.
Writing a Birth Plan
What is a birth plan?
A birth plan is a written outline of a woman’s preferences for labour and birth. It is not a legal document - your midwife or health provider will try to adhere to your wishes wherever possible but certain medical situations may arise which may mean this is not possible. However, your health provider should always consult you before intervening or carrying out any medical procedures. You can change your mind about anything that is written on your birth plan at any time.
Why write a birth plan?
Writing a birth plan can help get straight in your mind your hopes for the birth and will help to prepare you for if things don’t quite go to plan. It also provides a good prompt for discussion about the birth with your birth partner(s), midwife, and anyone else you may wish to share it with. It gives the midwife/ health provider an idea of how you want the birth to go and will be particularly useful if there is a shift change during your labour or you have to be transferred to another hospital.
How do I write a birth plan?
During your pregnancy try to find out as much information as you can about labour and birth, from sources such as books, the Internet, and going to antenatal classes. The more information you have the better equipped you will be to write your birth plan.
Ideally you should have written your birth plan by around 35 or 36 weeks of pregnancy, so you have time to discuss it with your midwife, birth partner(s), and anyone else in plenty of time before the big day.
The plan needs to be written down but doesn’t have to be long (1 page is fine), and should include some of your hopes for the birth, anything you feel strongly about and a contingency plan if things don’t go the way you hope. It is up to you what format you choose to write it in. It could be handwritten or typed, in paragraphs or bullet points; you could download a pro-forma from the Internet or ask your midwife or hospital if they have a form or prompt sheet for you to fill in.
I found it most useful to write mine in bullet points under some main headings. This should make it quick and easy for a midwife or carer to find information quickly and easily during the labour and birth. I started by brainstorming all my thoughts and ideas about anything relating to labour and birth, then grouped all my notes together into bullet points under the following headings:
Summary, birth partner, labour, pain relief, the birth, after the birth, induction and acceleration, interventions and caesarean.
The following websites provide a good source of further information about writing a birth plan.
- E Parenting - also has a useful form for you to download and print.
- Anna’s New Parent Pages
- Ask Baby.com
