Newborn Baby Clothes, That's The Least Of Your Worries

From dressing them in newborn baby clothes to feeding them and all the way through to looking after their every single need, having your own baby brings unique physical and emotional challenges that you can't really appreciate until you have your own child. It is very very different than looking after other people's.

From the age of eleven I have been involved with babies. One of our neighbors had a baby girl and I used to go and play with her, watch her being fed, changed and bathed. As I became a teenager I used to baby-sit for neighbors and friends, a practice I continued until I got married.

Because of my love of babies and children I decided to take it up as a career. I started my working life training to be a pediatric nurse. Unfortunately because of family illness I was not able to finish my training. However, I still continued to take care of other people's babies and became adept at changing diapers, bathing them and giving a bottle. With all this experience you would think I would have been well prepared when I had my own first baby.

I certainly thought I knew enough to cope when I brought my daughter home from the hospital. Boy was I wrong. Yes I was capable of dealing with the practical aspects after all I'd looked after lots of very young babies over the years but what I hadn't factored in was the emotional side of things. It's easy to stay detached and cope when you don't have the responsibility of the baby twenty four seven but totally different when you are the mom and dad.

After giving birth you suddenly realize that this tiny, helpless miracle is wholly dependent on you for everything and you obviously want to make sure that you do things right. The first big hurdle comes with the first feeding time. If you are breastfeeding you have to learn how to do it right to avoid frustration for both you and your baby. But even if you are bottle feeding you have to learn how to make up the formula, and the best way to hold your baby to ensure they don't take in too much air when they are sucking.

Diaper changing is much easier these days especially if you use disposable diapers. When I had my children in the 1970s we used cloth diaper squares and even though I knew the different ways to fold them to fit the baby it somehow seemed a lot different now it was my baby. I was scared I might damage the umbilical stump or prick her with the pin, things I had never worried about before.

The same was true when it came to bathing her for the first time. I was worried I'd let her slide under the water or that I'd drop her when I was lifting her out of the bath. And was I too rough when drying her and was I making sure that she was properly dry so she wouldn't get a rash or chapped skin?

And how much harder is it to comfort a crying baby when you are tired and have no idea why she is crying having fed her, changed her, winded her and cuddled her? The more upset and frustrated you get the more that transmits through to this screaming bundle and it seems to become a vicious circle.

I am happy to say that I very soon became as competent caring for my baby as I had been when caring for other peoples children. It was far easier the second time around as you know more what to expect and you realize you are going to make mistakes but they usually turn out okay.

The feeling of wanting to be the perfect parent and get it right all the time never goes away even when your child is grown up and has a family of their own. When I look at my grown up family today and see what they have achieved I realize we did a pretty good job. And buying newborn baby clothes was the easy bit!

More Than Baby Clothes

When I started this blog I not only wanted to focus on baby clothes and kids clothes but on other things to do with children - hence the "more" in the blog title. So here is one of the "more" postings about my experiences in looking after children.

Before I moved to the USA I owned a nursery (preschool) in the UK that took children from the age of 45 months until they started school at five years old. Parents often asked what they needed to do to prepare their child for nursery. Did they need to teach them to read, write, and recognize numbers or count? Important as these achievements are there are other skills children need to acquire before starting in a more educational setting.

Here are some of the most important things you can do to prepare your toddler for the first step to formal learning whether you are in the USA or the UK:

• Talk to your child about what they can expect - make this fun and perhaps play a game of "let's go to preschool". The more fun your child has learning about what they are going to be doing once they start this new venture the easier it will be for them to settle.
  

• Visit the preschool so that they are familiar with where it is, the layout and to meet the staff and other children. After the initial visit with mom and dad I used to invite the child to come for one or two sessions (mom could leave them if they were happy to) so they got a chance to play and join in the activities.

• Make sure your child can listen to and follow simple instructions. This is a very important skill as during the course of the day they are going to have to follow the directions that the teacher gives them not only to help them learn but also for following safety procedures.

• Get your child used to sitting and listening to stories and joining in with songs and nursery rhymes.

• Teach your child to take turns. There are lots of activities where turn taking is important: in a conversation, playing games (as matching pairs, dominoes etc.) and waiting in line.

• Help them to be independent when it comes to personal care such as going to the bathroom, putting on and taking off their coat/sweater and taking off and putting on their shoes.

• Arrange for them to have play dates with children of a similar age so they get used to sharing, playing and socializing with other children.
  

• Make time to talk to and listen to your little one so that they are able to hold a conversation with other children and their teachers. It is also useful to teach them that it is okay to have all kinds of feelings but that there is a right and wrong way to express them.
  

• Be supportive of your child by praising their strengths and letting them develop at their own pace. All children are different and don't learn everything at the same age and there will be things that your child excels at and others that he's not so good at.
  

• Don't oversell the idea of preschool by saying things like "it'll be the best fun ever" or "there's nothing to be afraid of". Take seriously any fears and anxieties they have and reassure them.
  

All these skills can and should be taught in a fun way through play and everyday activities. Remember they will have enough formal lessons when they start full time education. Let them play and be children while they can.

Buying Cheap Baby Clothes And Kids Clothes Is Better Than Sacrificing Family Fun

In today’s economic downturn more and more parents are looking for ways to save money while still being able to enjoy family time with their babies and kids. Buying cheap baby clothes, cutting down on the amount of money spent on toys and clipping coupons to help with the grocery shopping bill are all measures that some families have had to adopt to help with the family budget.

But these cost cutting actions do not mean that you have to miss out on family outings. There are lots of activities you can enjoy together that are cost little or no money to enjoy.

The first thing I would suggest is to join your local library if you are not already a member. Not only will you be able to check out books to read to your child but many libraries have a range of free activities that you can join in.

For instance my local community library offers weekly preschool story sessions, baby story sessions and bedtime story sessions where the kids can go in their pajamas, take their favorite toy or blanket and cuddle up to hear someone else read a story for a change. They also get to socialize with other kids and their parents and learn to sit and listen.

My library also does a monthly family Saturday movie matinee where they show movies based on children's books. This is a great way for all the family to enjoy an inexpensive afternoon at the movies while bringing the characters of a favorite books to life. There is also a scrap booking session and a range of adult programs as well. Your library may well have other activities available so check it out.

Another suggestion is to visit a Toy Library if you have one in your area. Most toy libraries run sessions where your child and their caregiver (mom, dad, grandma or nanny) can go to play and then borrow toys to take home. Again it is a great place to help your child to learn the skills needed for later life such as interacting with other children and adults, learning to share and most important how to communicate with other children. Most toy libraries do charge a fee but I'm sure for those most in need there are some arrangements.

It is also worth checking out the bulletin boards in your local library, church, post office and grocery store for other activities that you can do with your little ones that are free or cost very little money.

Or if you are lucky enough to live near a park or a wooded area why not go on a nature walk and pack a picnic. Seeing how many different birds and animals you can see and hear is a great way to encourage your kids to use their eyes and ears and really take note of their surroundings.

You don't even need to go to the park, even in your own yard you'll be amazed at how many different sights, sounds and smells you will discover - for instance in the Fall try listening to see if you can hear a leaf drop from the tree.

Far too often in our busy lives we forget the simple pleasures in life like spending time talking to and listening to our children. Babies learn language and develop their brain from having interaction with mom and dad through conversation and play. Kids love to spend time doing things with their parents and you are the best ones to teach them about the world around them.

So even if you have to tighten your belt by buying cheap baby clothes and kid’s clothes and cutting down on trips to the movies or pizza restaurant there are plenty of other activities you can enjoy as a family. Who knows, you may all find that it's actually more enjoyable than sitting in front of the TV or computer and that as a family you learn the art of talking to each other again!