Today’s Tip - Sometimes your baby will need his Mom instead of Dad, and vice versa.

Newborns are very intelligent when it comes to differentiating between his mother and father. If you were active and moving around alot during your pregnancy, the baby will associate his mother with activity and moving around. If the father read at bedtime to the baby every night, he’ll associate him with relaxing and sleep.

The baby will prefer a different parent at different times. If food and a clean diaper don’t make him stop fussing, try handing him off to a partner to see if he’s just craving a different person.

Parenting, Social, Pregnancy

Today’s Tip - Always throw dirty diapers in a sealed garbage container if you have a dog.

Your pet will eat them. Ours tore through five diapers we had in a trash bag we had set out, ready to go to the curb. Absoutely disgusting. Last night the dog was up three times pukinng, and her bowel movements this morning looked extra painful. We’re lucky that something worse didn’t happen.

I don’t know what it is with dogs and other feces, but they seem to love them. Diapers don’t digest well, so keep them in a hard garbage can until they go to the curb. Your dog will thank you.

Parenting, Pet, Dog

Today’s Tip - Sign up for uPromise before your baby is even born

Free money is an excellent thing. If you sign up for uPromise, you get exactly that. Basically, it works like a cash back program on your credit card. You make purchases, and then those companies kick back a percentage of the price you paid into your uPromise account. Just put in your credit card, grocery cards and sign up for the Citi uPromise card on the site. Do all your online shopping there. Family and friends can get in on the act. Little by little, over a twenty year period, it’ll add up.

It’s easy, you only have to sign up once. And you just have to keep using your credit card and grocery cards normally for it to work. They’ve also got some nice options for investing what you save on uPromise into a 529 plan.

Parenting, College, Planning

Today’s tip - Breast milk will last for up to 4 hours at room temperature

If you’re pumping, or if you need a little extra supply, or if you’re headed out on a trip, knowing how long a bottle can sit at room temperature is important. A safe time frame is usually four hours, and once milk is warmed up it can be refrozen or refridgerated once, as long as it’s not sitting out for an extended period of time.

Here are some other important breast milk time expiration periods

Parenting, Breastfeeding, Storage

Today’s Tip - Change your baby’s position often to promote physical development

Just like learning math or the alphabet, your infant needs to practice things like sitting down, standing up and crawling to master them. If he stays wrapped up all day, he’ll probably be slow to pick up the necessary gross motor skills. Try to spend twenty minutes each day in the different positions with supervised play time and fun music.

Parenting, Physical, Development

Today’s Tip - Swaddle your infant to help him sleep through the night

If your baby keeps waking himself up when he startles in his sleep, or if he fusses when he’s out of your arms, try swaddling him in a thin blanket. It’ll keep him feeling secure in his crib and will make it easier for you to keep him in a proper position to prevent SIDS.

However, overbundling can cause overheating, so make sure the blanket is thin, his head isn’t covered, the room isn’t too hot, and never place a swaddled baby to sleep on his stomach.

Read more about SIDS

Parenting, Sleep, SIDS

Today’s Tip - Imitate the sounds and faces your baby makes to encourage learning

Even though you might feel silly making oohs and ahhs back to your infant when he talks, you’re actually flattering him. By encouraging communication through imitation, you help your baby vocalize and practice at making the sounds he needs once he starts gibbering in words. He’ll learn to enjoy going back and forth with you…no promises on whether or not it’ll help when he’s fifteen and won’t tell you how his day at school went.

Parenting, Verbal, Development

Today’s tip - Make sure both of you are able to go out every once and awhile.

Hasn’t happened to us yet, but I’ve heard plenty of warnings from other first time dads. All their wives, at one point, got a little hot under the collar at the fact that it was very easy for their husbands to go out and have a good time, while they were tied down at home. So dads, make sure you’re wife can have a girls’s night out. My wife hasn’t taken one yet, but she knows the offer is always there, no matter what. It seems to make it easier on our relationship when I want to head to the bar or catch a movie, since she knows I’d do the same for her in a heartbeat.

Parenting, Social

Today’s Tip - Don’t worry too much if your newborn is bowlegged early on.

My wife and I were worried when we noticed our son’s legs had a definite curve to them, as if he’d been riding a horse while he was in the womb. Turns out that’s fairly normal early on. Once he begins using his legs it should correct itself, so we’re not worried for the time being.

If time goes by and your baby still looks like he’s walking with legs bowed out, talk to your pediatrician.

Parenting, Physical, Development

Today’s Tip - Don’t be alarmed at your baby’s wacky feeding schedule

When they’re young, infants can be all over the place with their feeding amounts. One time they’ll go for seven ounces, another time they’ll go for one. It’s called “cluster feeding.” Usually a big feeding is followed by a long nap. So if it happens right before bedtime, rejoice and enjoy a nice long snooze yourself.

Parenting, Feeding, Routine