Parenting Under the Stars

Making your own baby food really isn’t that hard and it’s much healthier for your baby. Most jarred foods are very watered down, have added sugar, chemicals, additives and cost more.

Some baby foods that are easy to prepare and good for first foods include sweet potatoes, avocados, pears, apples, butternut squash and rice.

• Sweet potatoes are yummy baked; the insides scoop out easily and usually don’t require much extra blending. Bananas mash up easily when they’re ripe as well but it’s best to use a blender to puree them. You can add either a little baby formula or water to help it blend because otherwise it might be too thick.

• Cook peeled cored apples and pears with a little water on low over the stove for a yummy fruit blend. Once your child has tried a few foods you can experiment by blending a couple other ones together.

It’s better to make up a big batch and freeze it so that you can stock up ahead of time. I used ice cube trays and once they were frozen, just put them in zip lock bags.

Once your baby is around eight months you can start adding a little texture so don’t need to blend the food quite as much. Many babies can tolerate a little herbs and spices for flavor but that’s a personal preference.

• There’s an excellent blog called Simply Baby Food Recipes dedicated to homemade baby food with recipes, instructions and videos for babies from four months to toddlers.

Is it baby blues or postpartum depression and what’s the difference? Baby blues are more common and strike over half of us. This is not surprising since mothers are dealing with a hormone imbalance, lack of sleep and possibly unrealistic expectations.

Most moms in magazines look fresh, happy, perky and peaceful. No wonder some of us get depressed. Not everyone bonds instantly with their baby as soon as he or she is born either which can lead to feelings of guilt and fear. Deeper feelings develop for baby once you spend some time together and get your strength back.

Go easy on yourself and reach out to other mothers who are going through the same things. Lack of sleep will make almost anyone get a little irritable so the first few weeks you’re bound to have some grumpy moments.

If you can get some help from family and/or friends during the first couple of weeks it makes a big difference. I was a basket case at times even though I had help. My mother was there often and I remember my husband feeding me while I breast-fed the twins.

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression lasts longer and feelings of sadness, confusion and guilt can go on for months.

If you continue having trouble sleeping even when the baby is sleeping that is another possible symptom of postpartum depression. I do recall having trouble sleeping myself but don’t think I was necessarily depressed as much as I cherished the time alone and had a zillion things to do.

If you are seriously depressed, don’t be afraid to reach out for help especially if you’re having thoughts of suicide or harming your baby. There are support groups available in many areas and your doctor might also suggest medication.

Postpartum Depression Support Group Links

• Postpartum Support International (U.S. and International Listings)
  
• Postpartum Depression Groups in Canada
• Postpartum Depression Network
• Online PPD Support Group

My daughter purchased some of these cloth diapers with plush covers by Jamtots and they’re adorable.

This is the dalmatian print cover, he also has a green one with a pea pod, and his name embroidered on to it.

I became a grandma in my thirties and it has been a lot of fun. Our twins were kind of freaked out about becoming an aunt and uncle at eight though.

We’re used to it now since she has two children but at supper time, it’s a tight squeeze around the table. I usually make too much food because it’s so hard to gage from one day to the next how much everyone will eat. They eat it all eventually as the evening progresses anyway.

Last week my mom and sister babysat for my daughter while she went to the movies and he wouldn’t settle down. They were playing some soft lullabies but they probably would have had better luck with rock or reggae.

He falls asleep at the computer with me while I play videos but he seems to prefer AC/DC and Damian Marley. When he’s awake, you have to hold him tight because he rocks back and forth hard while slapping his thigh.

Although it’s crowded here, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to bond with them. Once they move out, I will miss them but still looking forward to having a little more space. I’m sure they feel the same.

Resources for organizing small spaces

If you’re in the same boat or are looking for ideas on how to organize things in small spaces, see:

• How Do You Organize Your Small Living Space?
• Creative Homemaking
• Small Space Solutions

These maternity t-shirts from Due and Sprout answer commonly answered questions that many pregnant women get tired of being asked. I think it’s a great idea although you can only answer one question at a time with each t-shirt.

It would be perfect for pregnant celebrities as the CBS Early Show stated. Just wear the “Yes I’m pregnant” t-shirt and everyone knows and if they don’t they will soon enough once they see the picture of you wearing it.

Other pregnancy questions answered:

What are you having? You can get a shirt saying boy or girl or that you’re not finding out.

Was it an accident? Expected.

Do you have a name? No name yet.

Is this your first? First, Second.

For those compulsive belly touchers: Ask, then touch.

It’s hard to balance enough love and attention for all when baby first comes home. It’s important to help ease the transition for older children and let them know you still love them.

It’s common for some kids to regress, especially if you just finished potty training or bottle feeding. Some will even vocalize their wish to be a baby again, which is understandable if the baby appears to be receiving all the attention.

It’s better to switch from crib to bed long before your baby is born so that they connect it with the fact that they’re growing up rather than they have to make room for a new baby.

Blaming Baby

Don’t blame the baby for everything even if that is what’s stopping you from going to the store or the playground. You don’t want your child looking at your baby as an obstacle.

Helping With Baby

Some children enjoy helping and it makes them feel useful and grown up but don’t overdo this since they still need their own time. A simple task like getting a diaper will get old if you’re asking them to get it every time.

Enhance the positive

Remind your son or daughter of all the things they can do that the baby can’t and reassure them how proud you are of them for growing up, learning their ABCs, feeding themselves, coloring in the lines etc.

• I have noticed that when we’re busy with another child, that’s when someone decides to draw a mural on the wall or does something weird with the cat litter.

Sometimes one is going to get more attention than the other and you can’t always have eyes in the back of your head. Ideally you will have a spouse, friend or relative to help pick up the slack for the first few weeks.

Seek Support

You might not feel like getting out but it is helpful to interact with other parents. They can give you support and ideas on how they manage. Many churches offer parent groups at least once a week and they’re often free.

• For online support, resources and advice see Parenting.Org, Keep Kids Healthy, Practical Parenting Advice, and Family Fun.com.

This Potty Watch is not a bad idea to help potty train children but it still can’t take the place of a parent in my opinion. It flashes at different time intervals (30, 60 and 90 min.) and plays familiar songs to remind them it’s time to go.

There are special potty training inspired lyrics to go with the songs if you want to sing a long to help inspire your child. Here are the lyrics that go along with London Bridge:

Look at me, it’s potty time,
Potty time, potty time.
Look at me, it’s potty time,
Let’s go potty now.

The same tune works for tidying up, so why not. “Now it’s time to tidy up, tidy up, tidy up…..” That song really grated on my nerves after awhile, but maybe I’m a party pooper.

Sometimes it may get tiring to remind your child to try to go to the potty or you could forget yourself. A little reminder from the Potty Watch wouldn’t hurt occasionally but I can’t see it training your kid on its own. It may be a good reinforcement tool. You would probably end up reminding them to go to the potty every time the song came on, but suppose eventually they would connect it themselves.

• How would this work at a daycare? Would they all have to be on the same timers? It could become quite the zoo if there were 30 timers going off at different intervals playing different songs!

It’s gotten rave reviews from lots of people and it’s cute and is only ten dollars. I can’t help but think it would get a little annoying after a while but suppose it depends on how long the potty training process takes for your child. I wonder if it’s water proof.

“We found that our son simply was not interested in remembering to go on his own, so we found the Potty Watch, which he loved. You program this wrist watch to play songs and light up at 30-, 60-, or 90-minute intervals; then it resets itself and starts the countdown all over again,” said Heather Ledeboer to Parents.com.

Pamela Parkinson, CEO of Potty Time, Inc., points to this as another example of the great experience people have with the Potty Watch and their willingness to share that experience. The grassroots company has put a lot of effort into creating and developing a product that is both fun and useful.
“We have held the belief that a well-designed, fun product will do more in the current marketplace than most marketing campaigns,” said Parkinson. “When people love your product they talk about it for you. Having sold into 48 states on word-of-mouth advertising, we continue to rely on great product development that really serves parents and children.”SANDY, Utah, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire

If you’re still at the sleep training stage, Jackie at Nursing Your Kids gives us her take.

The main difference between generic and brand name baby formulas is the price. Maybe the label might look fancier on the brand name too. Breast milk is advised to be the best for baby but formula is perfectly acceptable as well. You can save quite a bit of money opting for a store brand rather than a big brand name. I just thought I would give you the heads up since the nutritional quality is the same in both.

“As with most consumer products, brand-name infant formulas cost more than generic [store] brands. But that doesn’t mean that brand-name formulas are better,” report Mayo Clinic staff. “All infant formulas sold in the United States must meet the nutrient standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although manufacturers may vary somewhat in their formula recipes, the FDA requires that all formulas contain the same nutrient density.”

The main types of formula are cow’s milk, soy based and protein hydolysate. Soy and hydolysate are usually used when there are problems with allergies to cow’s milk.

Our twins were lactose intolerant when they were babies so the doctor advised us to put them on soy formula. I did breastfeed for a few months but got a bad infection and the doctor told me to stop to take the antibiotics. I later found out I did not have to stop nursing so was a little ticked about that.

Visit “Infant Formula: The Next Best Thing to Breast Feeding” to learn more about formula from the Mayo Clinic.