Immunizations have revolutionized pediatric health and play a major role in helping protect your child
Reading aloud to your baby teaches them about communication, stimulates brain and language development, introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colours and shapes, builds listening, memory and vocabulary skills and gives babies information about the world around them. When reading, your child hears you using different emotions and sounds, which fosters emotional and social development.
There is growing debate about the potential health implications of the chemicals that leach from some plastics and their possible side effects on babies. As a precaution, The Consumer Product Safety Commission has advised parents to dispose of soft vinyl teethers and plastic toys that infants chew or suck on. Clear plastic baby bottles are another area of concern. Not much is known about the effect the chemicals in these plastics have on humans, so it may be prudent to limit your baby’s exposure to them.
Babies’ skin is very sensitive to the sun’s harmful rays. Babies should NOT be in direct sunlight, particularly before the age of six months. Little ones need extra care in the heat to ensure that they do not become dehydrated. Feed babies frequently with breast milk or formula. Use a wide brimmed hat, light and long clothing and a canopy as much as possible. Stay in the shade, particularly between 10am and 4pm when the sun is at its strongest.
If your baby has an orange nose – often seen clearly in photographs – you can rest assured it is a good thing that is reversible and harmless. It also appears on the palms of hands and soles of feet and is the result of large quantities of beta carotine in their diet, which can change the pigmentation in their skin. In other words you are doing a good job of giving them healthy and nutritious foods.
Tandem nursing allows you to nurse both babies at the same time, one on each breast. Nursing two babies simultaneously has several benefits.
You often hear about the benefits of breastfeeding for the baby, but there are also many benefits for the mother:
As a first time expectant mother, one of the first feelings I experienced after learning I was carrying twins was a twinge of disappointment that the scene I had been imagining in my head – myself in a darkened room lovingly rocking and nursing my baby – was not to be. At that point I knew very little about breastfeeding – only that it was beneficial to babies and was therefore something I wanted to do. I knew even less about breastfeeding twins. In fact, I assumed that breastfeeding two babies wasn’t really even a possibility.
Transition is the last phase of the first stage of labour. This is usually the shortest and the most intense part of labour.