Feeding and Diaper Charts

Since the time my son was born, I have been charting his food intake and diaper outputs.  My husband and I learned this from our postnatal stay at the hospital, and have found it very helpful in determining whether things are going well with our son or if there are areas for improvement.  For example, for the first few weeks of his life, we were told that our baby should have 6-8 full diapers per day to ensure that he's getting enough milk.  I also wanted to keep track of how much time he breast fed, and how much formula supplementation he took in so that if he was not getting enough, then it could be increased.  I was also pumping at the time, so I wanted to keep track of the frequency of pumps, as well as yield. 

So I created a chart that included: Date, Time of Day, Length of Time on Left Breast, Length of Time on Right Breast, Breast Milk Consumed, Formula Consumed, Pee, Poo, Pump Time, and Pump Yield.  This may seem a little neurotic, and it definitely isn't for everyone, but it really helped me keep track of things when I was so sleep deprived.  As time went on, I continued to use the chart, but added headings that were relevant and took out ones that weren't.  For example, once I started to sleep train my son, I added columns for nap times and bedtimes.  This really helped me to find the ideal sleep times for him.  When my son started to go on solid foods, I used the chart to keep track of each new type of food he had been given and it provides a running record of what he likes and hates as well as any allergic reactions.  I also noticed there was usually a relationship between how much he ate for dinner and whether he slept through the night.

I've kept all my son's feeding and diaper charts in a binder and it's nice to have a little record of his daily life since birth.  The only problem is: I don't know when to stop…
 

Stopping Milk Production

There seems to be a change every other week ever since I've become a mother.  Just when you get used to doing something, it's time to learn a whole new way of doing it.  This week for me, it's trying to stop my milk production.
I've weaned my son from the breast completely since he was seven months old.  However, I have still been pumping and giving my son breast milk in his bottles.  This Monday, with my son turning 15 months old, I stopped pumping completely. He is now drinking homogenized milk.

I was so excited at the idea of the freedom to eat and do whatever I pleased since it would not be transferred to my son through my breast milk.  However, before I could even go out to a Japanese restaurant to have my raw fish sushi, or go to a nail salon to have my first manicure in over two years, I was hit with so much discomfort in my breasts.  That really put a damper on my enthusiasm!

Tuesday was the worst.  I had such discomfort.  I could not hold my son without it being agonizing.  However, it's now only Thursday and I'm feeling much better.  Here's what I found helped me:

1. Expressing a little bit of milk by hand to relieve the discomfort.  This will not cause your body to signal more milk production since only a little is expressed.

2. When it seemed like my breasts felt too hard or lumpy and I was afraid of a plugged milk duct, I wrapped my breasts with a very warm towel for around 5 seconds.  I'm in the home stretch so I don't want to experience any side effects such as mastitis.

3. I found that wrapping refrigerated cabbage leaves around my breasts brought instant relief.  It may have been the coolness of the leaves that did it at first, but it also helped reduce engorgement.   

I've read that it varies between women, and that it can take from weeks to months for breast milk to cease completely, but at least some of the things I mentioned may help to ease some discomfort.  

Daylight Savings and Babies' Sleep

My son has recently been weaned from the pacifier a couple of weeks ago (see blogs from Oct. 15-21).  I was dreading the sleepless nights and challenges that would bring.  However, it came and went extremely smoothly. 

When it was time to "fall back" for daylight savings time this past weekend, I didn't give it a second thought.  Being 15 months old, my son has already gone through several of these time changes, so this should not be so hard.  Wrong!  The clocks changed on Sunday, and today is Friday and my son is still having difficulty with going down for naps and staying asleep until 6:30am.  In the past few days I've been putting him to bed at 7:30pm, which is the old 8:30pm and he has been waking up at 5am, thinking it's 6am.  I'd go in to check on him and remind him it's still early and turn on his lullaby music to help him get back to sleep.  He'd drift back to sleep eventually and needs to be woken up at 6:30am.  However, he then blows right through his usual morning nap time at 8:30am.  He has also been having a difficult time getting to sleep for his noon nap.

I will have to bear with this for a while.  However, for the next time change in March, I will try a more gradual process:

1. Three weeks before the time change, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the usual time for naps and night time sleep.

2. Two weeks before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.

3. One week before the time change, I will put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week for naps and night time sleep.

4. When the time changes, I will put my son to bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous week, which is in effect 1 hour earlier than I had put him to bed three weeks prior.

When the time comes, I will write a blog on how that technique turns out.

Toxic Chemicals in Children's Products

When it comes to buying things for our children, we need to find out all that we can about the products available on the market today.  There are many reviews on the web based on how well a product works, how much kids like them, how practical they are, etc.

I've recently found:
 
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/childrens-products/index.php

which is a website that provides information on a broad range of children's products based on the amount of toxic chemicals contained within the products.  They have done testing on specific products manufactured mainly from 2006-2009 and given ratings to many children's products, including car seats, backpacks, toys, etc.  You can search for specific products before making the decision to purchase it based on the additional information you find on this website.

Breast Milk and Caffeine

Up until recently, I had been extremely vigilant about my caffeine intake because my son is still drinking breast milk.  I only had decaf lattes - which were only a once in a while thing, stayed clear of chocolate in all of its forms, and drank only herbal teas that were caffeine free. 

For some reason, when my husband brought home boxes of Halloween chocolates last week, I didn't think twice about eating some "fun-sized" treats.  That is until I noticed my son was acting a bit out of sorts.  If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that I just weaned my son from the pacifier last week.  So I thought that was the reason for his moodiness.  My son has always been active, but a few days ago, he had been more challenging; he woke up from his naps in a very sullen mood, he threw tantrums, and would not stay still for story time.  I know that these are all typical behaviors for toddlers, but it was more than normal. 

Sure enough, I stopped having chocolate and other caffeinated treats two days ago, and my son's behavior seems back to normal.  I remember the days when I had to wait until I had a couple of days' worth of extra breast milk - either frozen or in the fridge - so I could have some caffeinated treats or spicy foods.  Then, to make sure that my son did not get any kind of reaction from my breast milk, I used to "pump and dump" the milk for up to a day following the "binge".  I think my slip-up has come from the fact that I've been doing this for 14 months now and see the end coming near.

So this is just a reminder to mothers out there about caffeine intake – it can affect your child's behavior if he or she is still drinking breast milk.  If it doesn't, that's fine, but if it does, simply reducing or cutting out caffeine altogether may make a difference in keeping your child's mood more steady.

Pacifier Weaning Day 7

Last night my son went to bed without any pacifiers.  I feared that it was going to be a hellish night, but it was not that bad.  He went to sleep.  At 11pm, he cried loudly.  I went to check on him – his temperature was okay, diaper was fine and he quieted down as soon as he saw me.  He just needed some comfort.  I rubbed his back as he laid back down and placed his stuffed animals next to him.  I reminded him that it was time for sleep and turned on soothing music.  I stayed with him for a few minutes and said goodnight.  When I left he cried, but only for a few minutes and then went back to sleep.  Then he woke up at 6:10am.

Overall, I am very happy with this gentle weaning technique and my son seemed to adjust well to it.  Prior to trying this method, I was afraid that it was going to be a repeat of what we went through with weaning from the breast – which was horrible – but this was absolutely a breeze in comparison.

Pacifier Weaning Day 6

Yesterday was Day 6 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-5 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had been cut and cut a bit more off so that it was down to the stub.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After his bedtime routine, my son went to sleep quietly.  He woke up at 6am crying and seemed very upset.  When he saw me, he calmed down and handed me all his pacifiers.  I took him out of his crib and held him and let him play in my bed until it was his normal wake up time.

My son went to sleep easily for his naps during the day, but they are definitely shorter during this weaning period than they had been.  The longest nap he had this week was only 45 minutes compared to the 1-2hour naps he used to have.  I hope things eventually settle back to the naps being longer!

After my son's afternoon nap, while he was playing, I brought the pacifiers and a little gift bag to him and explained that he is a big boy now and does not need his pacifiers anymore.  I explained that we are going put the pacifiers in the bag and the Pacifier Fairy will come to get them and give them to little babies who need them.  I asked him to place the pacifiers in the bag and he did it happily.  I praised him for being such a good boy and asked him to wave goodbye to the pacifiers.  We then took the bag and placed it outside our front door and said goodbye to it.
I will provide an update tomorrow as to how things go tonight…

Pacifier Weaning Day 5

Yesterday was Day 5 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-4 of pacifier weaning).  I had made no changes to the pacifiers from Day 4 of weaning.  I put my son to bed at 7:20pm.  He went to sleep without a fuss and slept very well.  He cried at 6am non-urgently on and off for 10 minutes and went back to sleep until we woke him up at 6:40am.  The only difference that I've noticed is that his second nap was shorter than usual – only half an hour as opposed to 1-2 hours.

More updates on Day 6 tomorrow…

Pacifier Weaning Day 4

Yesterday was Day 4 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-3 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had the tips cut off and cut a bit more off.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After his bedtime routine, my son went to sleep quietly.  He woke up at 5:50am and began talking in his crib.  This was unusual, but he sounded very calm and cute.  He was in no way upset.  He fell back to sleep after 15 minutes and woke up at 6:30am, which is his usual wake up time.

The naps were very different this time.  When I tucked my son into his crib for his morning nap, he gestured with his arms and said "up".  He's never actually done that before.  I gently reminded him that it was nap time and he stopped gesturing up, but took a pacifier in his hand and then quickly threw it down.  After I left his room, he cried for 30 minutes on and off before falling asleep and only napped for 15 minutes.  It was the same for his afternoon nap; it took him 30 minutes to get to sleep and napped for only 30 minutes.  This was obviously out of the ordinary since his naps tend to be at least an hour long.  

More updates on Day 5 tomorrow…

Pacifier Weaning Day 3

Yesterday was Day 3 of weaning.  (Refer to previous days' posts for Days 1 and 2 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had holes poked into them previously and cut just the tip of each with a pair of sharp scissors.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After story time, I tucked my son into his crib at 7:20pm like always and said goodnight.  Prior to leaving his room, I couldn't resist seeing his reaction to the pacifier.  My son took a pacifier, put it into his mouth, took it out, then looked at it, and chucked it to the side.  It was really cute!  He grabbed another pacifier.  I turned off the lights and left the room.  He then went to sleep quietly.

At 8:20pm, he made a small cry for 2 seconds, and went back to sleep. At 4am, he cried non-urgently for 8 minutes and then quieted down.  He cried for 30 seconds at 4:20am and went back to sleep.  At 4:45am, he cried again for 2 minutes and went back to sleep.  He cried at 5:45am for 1 minute and went back to sleep until 6:30am.  This was unusual.  So obviously, the snip to the pacifier made more of an impact than the 7 holes poked in it from days 1 and 2.  Still, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be.  I'm sure we would have had many hellish nights if I had made him go cold turkey in the first place.  Hopefully by snipping the pacifiers and making them undesirable first, it won't be as difficult to take them away in a few days' time.

There were no noticeable differences in his naps from the previous days.  More updates to come in the upcoming days…

Pacifier Weaning Day 2

Last night was Day 2 of weaning.  I had made no changes to the pacifiers from Day 1 of weaning.  (Refer to blog on October 15, 2011 for Pacifier Weaning Day 1).  I put my son to bed at 7:20pm.  He went to sleep without a fuss.  What was out of the ordinary was that he cried for 2 minutes at 1AM and went back to sleep.  At 6AM he again cried for 2 minutes and went back to sleep until 6:40AM.  There were no noticeable differences during his naps today.

Pacifier Weaning Day 1

Last night, I began the process of weaning my 14 month old son from his pacifier. (Refer to blog on October 14, 2011 for reasons to wean and source for weaning technique).  I took all of his pacifiers and poked seven holes in them with a large pin.  The idea is to for the pacifier to flatten when he sucks on it and make it less enjoyable.  Then, as usual, I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After story time, I tucked my son into his crib at 7:20pm like always and said goodnight.  He took a pacifier in his mouth and lay down.  He was quiet for a while but began crying at 7:30pm.  This was unusual.  He usually either cries right away for a few minutes when I leave the room or just goes down quietly.  My husband's theory is that he tried all the pacifiers and found them to be "defective" and started crying. 

Overall though, my son had a good night's sleep.  He slept until 6am without a peep.  As for his naps, there were no noticeable differences from the previous days.

There will be no changes made to the pacifier tonight.  I will provide updates tomorrow on pacifier weaning day 2.

 As a side note: I have been putting my son in his crib with a small plush bear for three months now in hopes that he would use the bear for comfort before and after he is weaned from the pacifier.

Gentle Pacifier Weaning

Now that my son is 14 months old, my doctor has advised me to wean him from the pacifier.  My son is very attached to his pacifiers and has been using them to help him sleep at nights and during naps.  I usually have 5 pacifiers in his crib so that they are within easy reach whenever one falls out of his mouth while he sleeps.  This has been working beautifully but alas, I agree with my doctor that it is time to say good bye to the pacifier.

I've done a great deal of research and the message is consistent:
1. There might be an increase in the risk of middle ear infections with prolonged use of the pacifier.
2. Toddlers who use pacifiers throughout the day do not have opportunities to talk, laugh, or make sounds and it can affect their language development.
3. Prolonged pacifier use might lead to dental problems such as tooth misalignment.
4. I've also heard from other parents that the longer a baby uses a pacifier, the harder it will be for him to get weaned from it.

During my research, I also stumbled upon a technique that is more gentle on the baby than going cold turkey.  Here's the link so that you can read the technique yourself: http://www.bye-bye-binky.com/Bye-Bye-Binky.pdf  It is based on changing the association with the pacifier from a positive one to a less pleasurable one.  I think this technique makes sense and sure hope it will work!  I will begin the process tonight.  The reason I've chosen to start at night is because my son tends to fall asleep easier at night, so it will probably be less for a struggle than introducing changes to his pacifiers during nap times.  I will provide updates tomorrow as to how things go tonight…

Reflux Remedies for Infants

At around a month old, my son began to show signs of reflux, which is common in most babies.  Every now and then after he ate, he spat up.  At times it was only a little, but sometimes it was quite a gusher!  I wanted to make sure that he got all the nutrients he got and kept it down as much as possible.  So I changed a few things in the way I was feeding him, and the frequency of reflux decreased.  Here's what worked for us:

1. Make sure to burp baby half way through, and after each feeding.  At times a trapped air bubble can come back up the esophagus and bring along large amount of milk.

2.  Hold baby vertically for 20 minutes after each feeding so that the milk has a chance to get digested.

3.  Place a foam wedge under baby's mattress – at the head of the crib – to create an incline to help things keep moving downwards rather than upwards when baby is sleeping.  Note: Do not place foam or pillow on top of the mattress directly under baby's head as that can cause baby's head to tilt forward too much and cause difficulty breathing.

4. If necessary, feed baby less food, more often. For example, 3oz every two hours rather than 4oz every three hours.

Pizza Grilled Cheese Recipe

My son took to pizza from the first time I offered it to him.  Knowing how much he loves pizza, I decided to do a "bait and switch" and offer him something else with a little more substance.  Now he gobbles down my whole wheat grilled cheese sandwiches and it is much easier to make than pizza.  I cut these into small squares for him.  There's no need for ketchup for dipping since there is marinara sauce in the sandwich to give it flavor and keep it moist.  Here's my recipe:


Ingredients:
1 tsp marinara sauce
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 tsp margarine or butter

Directions:
Preheat skillet over medium heat.  Assemble the sandwich by spreading marinara sauce on one slice of bread.  Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.  Top with second slice of bread.  Microwave sandwich for 30 seconds, or until the cheese slightly melts and holds the sandwich together.  The bread should be very moist at this point.  Gently spread butter or margarine on both of the outer sides of the sandwich.  Grill until lightly browned on both sides. 

Starting Baby on Finger Foods

One of my sisters is a nurse and has a 6 year old.  She told me that there is a window from age 9 to 12 months in which babies should be fed finger foods.  If this window passes, and baby is still on milk or purees, they will have difficulty with - and tend to gag on – solid foods when they are introduced.  So when my son was nearing 10 months and kept refusing finger foods, I started to worry a little.

The first thing I introduced to my son was Cheerios since it has very little sugar or sodium, has some whole grain and can melt in a baby's mouth.  I had also heard many parents swear by Cheerios as treats to keep babies and kids calm for trips and outings.  My son refused every time I offered him Cheerios.  Then, I tried original Goldfish crackers.  As soon as I placed a goldfish cracker on his tray, he took it right away and gobbled on it – he had two teeth at the time.  I gave him a few more and he ate them with no problem!

I was so happy my baby started to eat finger foods before he reached 10 months – we made it just before the window had closed!  The next day, I phased out the crackers and introduced Cheerios.  He was much more receptive to the Cheerios and soon became pretty much addicted to them.  They were wonderful!  Whenever I had to cook or wash dishes, I gave him a handful of Cheerios on his tray or snack cup and he just helped himself.

I found I had to use the old "bait and switch" trick to get my son to try many foods.  First I would try to give him something that I knew was an easy sell.  Once I knew he liked it, I'd switch it with something similar in texture or look but either different or healthier.

For example, when initially introduced mashed potatoes to my son, he tried a little bit from the spoon but pushed it out with his tongue.  I think he was not used to the thick consistency.  But I knew that he loved light cream cheese on low-salt crackers, so I spread his crackers with the mashed potato.  He ate it up!  I could tell that he was probably thinking, "Hum…there's something different about this cream cheese…" but it got him to give it a try and discover he also liked it.    

For the longest time, my son kept refusing meat.  Even when offered meat purees, he did not like it.  The only meat he had was sliced organic deli turkey meat that had been cut up into small squares.  Then last week, my husband and I got some curry goat take out.  It was very tender so, I thought I'd offer a small piece to my son.  For some reason, he grabbed it right away and ate it.  Then he wanted more and more!  I had to stop feeding him after he had eaten 3 good sized chunks, otherwise he would have kept eating.  The next day, I made beef stew and he chowed down on the beef.  A few days later at the mall, I gave him some meat from my Chubby Chicken strip from A&W.  He couldn't get enough of that!  Then I made chicken cacciatore at home and he loved it.

I think the trick is to keep offering foods to your baby and find out which types of tastes and textures they are ready for at the time.  Offer foods that are along the same lines as what they like and expand from there.

I still feed my son purees of fruit and vegetables as the texture of most fruit and vegetable is still too crunchy and challenging for my son.  Also, purees are much denser than say, cut up fruits and vegetables, so with a few tablespoons of purees, I know my son is getting a lot of good stuff.

Baby Refusing Bottles

My son had always breastfed only for comfort as he tended to fall asleep at the breast after only a few minutes. My doctor had warned from the time my baby was only 2 weeks old that by pumping and bottle feeding more frequently than breast feeding, my baby would soon refuse to breast feed since it is easier to get milk from the bottle. To my surprise, at 3 months, my son he began to refuse the bottle. Whenever he was given a bottle, he screamed as if someone was trying to murder him! At first, I thought it was reflux, but my son had no problem with breast feeding.

I had a hunch that my son preferred the breast to the bottle. So I began breast feeding on demand during the day and bottle fed during the night, only to find my baby ravenous when I gave him his bottles. I did a great deal of research and found out that apparently, many babies prefer the breast to the bottle as they prefer the real nipple to the rubber ones.

Here's what worked for me:

1. Distraction – I fed my son the bottle while also distracting him with squeaky toys. This worked most of the time.

2. I found out, by accident, that my baby would not go to sleep hungry. When he was drowsy, he drank the bottle very smoothly and made no complaints. Then, he just drifted off to sleep. I then burped and held him upright for 15 minutes so that he wouldn't get reflux.

3. I tried many different types of bottles and nipples. I found two types of bottles/nipples worked extremely well for my son:

MAM bottles – its nipples replicate the softness and shape of the breast. My son had no problem drinking from this bottle.

Dr. Brown bottles – these nipples were extremely soft and my son took to this bottle very well.

Now I know that feeding a baby while the baby is distracted is not ideal, and feeding a baby to sleep has consequences down the road of him associating sleep with eating. But I was desperate at the time. My son was not getting much milk from the breast and refused the bottle when he was fully alert. At 3 months old, I did not want him to start losing weight and getting dehydrated. So if you find yourself in a similar position with your baby, do know that the first two suggestions work. However, I would suggest trying different varieties of bottles and nipples first. I did it in the wrong sequence …

Choosing Toddler Car Seats

I've been putting off buying a new car seat for my son for some time since his weight is still technically within the guidelines for his infant car seat.  The reason for this is the beauty of the convenience of his current travel system – with the car seat that clicks into the stroller.   

I have been looking forward to having my son in a forward-facing car seat for some time.  I thought he would enjoy looking out the window as his seat would be more upright than it is now in the rear-facing position.  However, this will have to wait.  I've done some research and it turns out that with regards to safety, it is best to have a baby/toddler sit in a rear-facing position for as long as possible – past the age of two!  You can refer to this article for more information:

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/qt/rear_facing.htm

I've done some research and have decided on the Britax Marathon 70 Convertible car seat that will be purchased in the next coming week.  It got great ratings.

Here are some links to reviews in case you're also in the market for a toddler car seat:

http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats/britax-car-seats
http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats


This car seat is rear facing for babies 5-40 pounds and forward facing for children from 20-65 pounds.  My son will be rear facing for a long time to come...

Increasing Breast Milk Supply

Low breast milk supply can be very stressful to a new mother.  When my son was first born, he did not take to breast feeding until he was more than 1 week old.  Before then, I pumped to get my milk going.  Even once he began breast feeding, it was mostly for comfort as he often fell asleep after only a few minutes.  So I mostly relied on pumping to try to increase and then maintain my breast milk supply.  I remember this as being a very stressful experience as I had to pump every 2 hours around the clock to get enough milk for my son.  Whenever I missed a pumping session, I noticed that my milk had decreased noticeably.

During my stay at the hospital after my son's birth, I attended a lactation clinic and had heard about fenugreek as a possible herb to increase breast milk supply.  So after a month of pumping 12 times a day,  I asked my doctor about using fenugreek.  I was given the green light and began to take 2 capsules 3 times a day.  Within a week, I only had to pump every 4-5 hours and had more than enough for my baby.  I then started to freeze the milk so that I had an extra supply just in case.

Prior to taking fenugreek, I had done some research and had read that it could make one's urine and sweat smell like maple syrup.  But I experienced another side effect: over production of milk.  More precisely, over production of foremilk.  My baby began showing signs of discomfort with gas as foremilk has more lactose, which is more difficult to digest than the fatty hindmilk.  For each pumping session, I simply stopped pumping after the first few minutes, when the milk looked really thin, and dumped it. Then I continued pumping so that the foremilk to hindmilk ratio was lower.  Whenever I breastfed my son, I manually expressed some of the foremilk over the sink beforehand.  This worked well for us.  Hope this helps you!

Food Ideas for Underweight Babies

My son has always been a very active baby.  Even during my ultra sound screenings, my husband and I were told that he was an active baby.  He gained weight very well during the first four months of his life.  However, once he began to roll over and started to become more mobile, his weight leveled off.  He was on solids at this point, eating baby cereals and pureed fruits and vegetables along with his milk.  He generally ate well, but he also burned off a great deal of energy.  I became concerned when his weight remained the same for several months at a time, and only increased by two pounds over the course of 5 months, from age 6 to 11months.

Here's what worked for us:

1. Avocado – the doctor suggested I feed my son avocado as it has a lot of good fat and calories.  Every morning, along with his milk, cereal, and fruits, I fed him 3 tbsp of mashed avocado.  That change alone helped him gain 1 pound in a three week span.  I don't know, maybe he was due for a growth spurt then anyway, but eating avocado can only be good for him.  One thing to note is that avocado has a lot of soluble fibre, so make sure your baby is well hydrated.   

2. Yogurt – after the initial 1 pound gain after feeding him avocado, my son's weight leveled off again for a month, which is fine.  At this point, he was a year old, so I could give him dairy products.  I fed him Minigo yogurt, along with his usual breakfast. 

3.  Cheese – when I first tried to introduce cheese to my son in cube or grated form, he wanted nothing to do with it.  Then I made a grilled cheese for him, and cut it into tiny cubes. He couldn't get enough of it. 

4. Starch – I can't count how many types of pasta shapes I've offered to my son.  He didn't seem to like any of them.  Then, when I was about to give up on pasta, I found one called Ditali.  It's like a small round hollow cylinder.  Once cooked it's a perfect size for babies to pick up with their fingers.  Add some pasta sauce and let your baby go at it.  Breads are also very popular with babies.  My son likes Subway's parmesan oregano bread and other soft breads.

5. Meat/protein – so far, my baby has not really taken to much meat.  However, he loves to eat organic deli turkey slices.  I just cut them into small squares for him.  There is also a type of fried tofu that he loves.  I don't give him the chewy skin on the outside, but he loves the soft inside part of the tofu. 

These are only a few food ideas to help your baby gain weight.  Keep trying to introduce different varieties of these categories of foods.  There will be things your baby likes and you will see a pattern as to the flavor, or texture that is preferred by your baby and expand from there.  Along with these, babies should also eat a variety of fruits and vegetables in their diet.  Also, babies should not gain too much weight in a short period of time since it can strain their bones and joints which are only beginning to develop. 

Parent Recommended Baby Products

There is a website that I really like to browse through once in a while.  It's called Parent Tested Parent Approved. It features new products for babies, children, or the family that has been tested and recommended by parents.  You can also sign up to become a tester yourself and try new things for free!

Here's the website: www.ptpamedia.com  

Getting Baby to Nap

I just put my baby down for his morning nap.  Every morning after breakfast, he has some play time.  Then right at 8:30am, I read him his nap time story, and after some kuddles and kisses, I put him into his crib.  With some initial protest he naps for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Things were not always like this.  It took me a long time to figure out how to get him to nap in his crib.  When he was a newborn, of course he slept a great deal.  However, once he was around 3 months, he was more alert.  He only seemed to nap when he was in the car, the stroller, or being rocked to sleep.  I kept receiving advice from other parents, and books that I read also said the same thing: put baby to bed when you see sleep signs.  I tried this.  However, this was confusing as at times my son began rubbing his eyes and yawning only half an hour after he woke up.   At other times, I didn't see sleep signs at all, and my son just got cranky and miserable.

Here's what I found worked:

1. For a few days, observe your baby to see a pattern.  Usually around 2 ½ to 3 hours after waking in the morning, your baby should be taking his first nap.  It's the sleep signs that he shows around this time that indicate readiness to sleep.  Once you find a time that your baby tends to show his first sleep signs, stick to it as the baby's nap time.

2. Have a brief nap time routine such as: change diaper, read one book, kuddles, and kisses, turn on soothing music, and in the crib.

3. The location of the nap should be consistent: in the crib whenever possible.  Even now, whenever we have my son nap in the car or stroller, he tends to have a more difficult time napping in his crib the day(s) that follow.  Having him sleep in the crib consistently for 3-4 days in a row makes nap times much easier.

4.  The room should be conducive to sleep: black-out blinds/curtains, comfortable room temperature, a ceiling fan for air circulation (to reduce the chance of SIDS), and a white noise machine if possible. 

5.  If your baby uses pacifiers to soothe himself to sleep and is able to put it in his mouth, place 5 pacifiers around the crib so he can replace it himself if it falls out of his mouth.

6.  If he wakes up in less than an hour, do not go in for 15 minutes and see if he'll go back to sleep.  I've read that you can wait for an hour, but I find that if after 15 minutes he doesn't go back to sleep, there's no point in waiting any longer.

7.  The afternoon nap tends to be 2-3 hours after the baby wakes up from his morning nap.  

Baby Advice for New Parents

I'm beginning this blog to share my experiences and what I've learned in the past 13 months of being a parent.  Stay tuned...