Sharing Baby Photos Online with Birth Announcements & Baby Photo Album Services
December 24, 2007
Congratulations! You’re a new parent and you’ve brought your precious, beautiful baby into the world. You want to shout from the rooftops that you have this wonderful bundle of joy and you are so proud! You have seen or heard about online birth announcements before, and realize that they are a quick, easy, and no hassle way of spreading the news of the birth of your precious baby. Below we’ll outline ways you can share your baby photos online or create your own online birth announcements.
The easiest way to create an online birth announcement is to go to a site that already has birth announcement templates for you to choose from. There are free birth announcement websites where all you do is upload a baby photo and some information and you are set to go, and there are other birth announcement websites that present you with the opportunity to create mini-journals of your baby, usually for a fee. There are sites that specialize in birth announcements that spotlight your religious preference or even for your favorite sports teams. From traditional to unique and even humorous, there is a birth announcement service out there for everyone.
Back to School Strategies
December 24, 2007
Back to School Strategies
by: Dawn Goldberg
I’ve spent the last two weeks getting ready for school. Not for me to go to school, but for my two girls. Of course, there was the requisite new school clothes shopping. Not only do I have girls who like clothes, but my older daughter grew six feet this summer, or so it seems! Nothing fits!
Then, there’s the whole school supplies issue. “No, you can’t have a new backpack. This one is only two years old and in good shape.” “Yes, you can have a new lunchbox as your old one is falling apart.” “No, Kathryn, YOU do not need a new lunchbox; yours is fine.” Oh, and then the REAL school supplies!
We spent the day before school doing all this and more. I find that I do a kind of nesting thing and get my house in order before school starts. Some of what I did to get ready for the start of school:
Baby Food: Healthy Choices You Make That Matter To Baby
December 23, 2007
Baby Food: Healthy Choices You Make That Matter To Baby
by: Janice Wee
Once your baby is past 6 months old, milk alone is just not enough. Your baby needs solid food. In fact, between the ages of 4 to 6 months, babies should start getting used to eating solid foods.
Start with a taste of baby food. Just 1 teaspoon in the beginning. Some babies might love these new tastes while other babies may hate it.
Don’t fret if your baby refuses these new foods. You could coax baby by adding a little milk to the baby food, so that baby is assured by the familiar taste. For a breastfed baby, add a little breast milk. For a formula fed baby, add a little formula milk to the baby food.
What you feed baby at this tender age makes a difference to his or her future tastes. Give baby greens at this young age so he or she would grow to love veggies.
Sounds far fetched?
With my kids, that is exactly what happened.
Parenting: How to Help Your Firstborn Become Friends with the New Baby
December 23, 2007
Parenting: How to Help Your Firstborn Become Friends with the New Baby
by: Peter Andrews
It’s normal for a firstborn child to feel upset and unwanted when a new baby arrives. He or she is used to being the only child and had the family’s complete attention so far.
So when your second bundle of joy arrives, he can easily feel jealous because he sees a most of the attention going to the new arrival.
Remember that the big brother or sister will need plenty of attention when the new baby arrives. He or she may not be able to articulate his need for a hug or to sit in your lap. All the same, his needs do not diminish just because there’s a new baby in the house.
The older child needs reassurance that he is still loved and important enough to warrant time and attention. He may equate time with love. A new baby will naturally take up more of your time and energy, but it is often difficult for an older child to accept that.
What If Your Teenager Get Pregnant?
December 23, 2007
What if you received a letter from a 13 years old girl telling that she is pregnant? Her monthly period has stopped. She is so scared and not knows what to do. How do you react to her and what should you do to help her?
First, calm down yourself. If she is your daughter, your niece, cousins or your friend’s daughter or who ever they are try not to show disappointment. Try to be cool when you face such situation. You have to understand that it’s not easy for her to tell her personal problems with someone else.
You must talk with the girl face to face and understand what she is facing. This is a dramatic frightening moment for her, so not make it rough. Try to find out by yourself is she really pregnant or just afraid she might be. Buy her pregnancy test kit. Take her to doctor to do more test because the sooner you’ll know the truth, the sooner you’ll be able to deal with it.
She probably thought you are the only person she trust to solve her problem so don’t get upset with her. If she is pregnant, her body is going to through a lot changes. You can consult her problem with doctors or go to Planned Parenthood clinic in your area.
So You Want to Know the Truth about Child Birth and Labor?
December 23, 2007
So You Want to Know the Truth about Child Birth and Labor?
by: Suzanne Doyle-Ingram
Labor and childbirth was an amazing, positive experience for me, both times. I am very fortunate, I know. But I do believe that if you prepare yourself through education (reading books, reading articles like this one, taking prenatal classes, etc) and taking good care of yourself while you are pregnant, you will have a far greater chance of a pleasant birth experience.
There are many things you can do to increase your chances of an empowering childbirth experience. These are the things I did:
- Pregnancy yoga classes
- Regular Chiropractic care
- Chose a Midwife instead of a doctor
- Hired a doula to be with me through the labor and birth
- Took high quality vitamins, folic acid and natural iron supplements (made by Flora, derived from natural sources, not metal)
- Took a 18 hour prenatal class from a former midwife (NOT at a hospital)
- Lastly, I believed, truly believed that my body knew what it was doing. I was not scared at all. I knew in my heart of hearts that pregnancy is a healthy state of being, and that my body would know exactly what to do when the time came. And it did!
So many people seem to enjoy telling stories of excruciating pain during childbirth. Others will tell you their labor was 87 hours long! I do not know why women do this to each other. Yes, I will grant you, labor is painful. But it is also powerful and incredible what your body can achieve!
Liven Up Your Baby Shower With A Few Games
December 22, 2007
You have a baby shower planned for a friend; you have organised the invitations, and sent them out to everyone on the list. You have even planned the food that is going to be available at the shower. Then you think, but what do we actually do? Just talk and hand over the gifts; or shall we play a few shower games?
Well, it does seem that many people do opt for playing a few baby shower games. If you are the playful type, and think some games will go down well at the shower, then why not have a bit of fun? There are no strict rules about baby shower games. In fact, you could take just about any party game and play it as it is. It is probably better, though, if you either come up with one or two unique ideas yourself, or give a baby twist to an ordinary party game. There must be thousands of variations you could come up with.
Here are just a few ideas that might stimulate more in you:
Baby Strollers - On A Budget
December 22, 2007
Baby Strollers - On A Budget
by: Martin Smith
Since you got the news, you have begun gather the things your new bundle of joy will be needing. If this is your first baby you may be overwhelmed by all the decisions at first. The type of stroller you will use for your baby is one of the biggest decisions you will need to make.
Your budget is the first thing to consider when you are choosing from among the many different types of strollers. Stroller costs can range from $10 to $400 and higher. The lower end strollers are generally the light weight umbrella strollers.
These strollers are advantageous because they are easy to fold and can store almost anywhere. The features and quality of the stroller may increase as the prices increase. Strollers come with a variety of features and you must decide which ones are most important to you.
Do you prefer a regular stroller and a car seat or a convertible travel system? There are travel systems that come with a stay in the car base, an infant carrier/ car safety seat, and a stroller frame for the infant seat to which it is attached.
Is Change Really About Behaviors in Public Schools?
December 22, 2007
Is Change Really About Behaviors in Public Schools?
by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Much is written about behaviors in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. The question is to ask is it really the behaviors that need to be changed? Are not behaviors the desired end result? Doesn’t our society long for young people whom demonstrate the behaviors of respect as well as being engaged students? Would not our schools be far better off with students whose behaviors consistently contribute positively to the overall goals for the school district? If our young people could consistently behave in a way that leads to a balanced life and achieve their dreams, wouldn’t that be incredible? From the answers to these questions, then behaviors are truly the desired result and hence are the end and not the beginning.
What prompted these questions were several recent conversations with clients. A school administer had contacted me about providing some consultation work around bullying. Schools across America are facing an increased in “bullying” and have instituted numerous programs. Some of these programs have been successful, but the bullying isn’t going away even when the perceived causes change.
Should the Dad Attend the Birth of His Baby?
December 22, 2007
Should the Dad Attend the Birth of His Baby?
by: Tony Luck
Not so long ago a dad-to-be would pace up and down outside the labor room and would be admitted only after the birth. Modern practice is to assume the dad-to-be should be at the birth to offer support. But an increasing number of dads, moms and midwives would prefer he stayed outside.
Some of the reasons given are:
• Some moms feel the loss of dignity and ‘not feeling attractive’ is sufficient reason to banish their partners to the corridor.
• Some dads think the sight of baby being born will put them off sex with their partner in the future. Others can’t bear to see their partner in pain.
Researchers at the University of Toronto suggest that women have a happier childbirth if they are supported by a trained woman rather than a stressed father-to-be. This woman could be your mother, a friend who’s had a baby of her own or a doula (a professional female birth partner); her presence can have a calming effect on the mom-to-be.
