Summertime – preventing your baby or toddler from drowning

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Jul 032014
 

Most babies love water.  Not really surprising, it was their habitat for the first 9 months. Bath time doesn’t only wash away the acids of wet diapers from their bums and milk traces from their faces. It also helps them to relax.

don't leave your baby alone in the poolEvery baby is born with a couple of amazing reflexes that potentially makes him an excellent swimmer, right from the start. When you expose your baby to more than just bathing during the first months, and let her experience the joy of swimming all by herself, you will Continue reading »

“Baby was crying, so I fed her my cake!”

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Apr 032014
 

sistersPlus other good reasons to never let your toddler alone with your newborn, not even for 3 minutes…

When I close off the period of maternity care, I always have a conversation with the parents about safety in and around the house. Besides the obvious topics of the approachability of electrical equipment, hot beverages and cleaning products, if a couple already has an older child I also discuss the safety perils of brotherly and sisterly love.

At first the parents usually think that I am overly concerned about the behavior of their toddler. Sometimes they even see it as a sign of distrust, so they get a bit upset Continue reading »

How to use hot water bottles safely

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Dec 312013
 

hot water bottleKeeping your baby warm

The best way to stabilize a baby’s temperature, is to have skin to skin contact. This works even better than the use of hot water bottles, caps and warm blankets together. Besides stabilizing temperature, skin to skin contact is great for bonding. Oxytocin levels rise and stress hormone levels fall, in parent and infant.

But we’re not always in the position to cuddle for hours with our baby. For these times, we need a back up to Continue reading »