Today’s first time parenting tip - Press down on the tops of your baby’s foot to get them to flatten out their feet.

Infant’s aren’t exactly the most cooperative creatures when it comes to getting dressed. They’re usually squirming all over the place and a fair about of “baby wrangling” is the norm for any trip out of the house, especially during the winter months.

Here’s a trick my dad taught me for getting a baby to uncurl his toes while you’re putting on shoes. Grasp their ankle so that your thumb rests on the top of their foot just below where it starts to run into their leg. Gently press down here, and their toes should uncurl.

This same trick can be applied to hands that are balled up into fists. If you gently press with your thumb on the back of their hand, you should see the fingers unfold.

Parenting, Clothes, Dress, Shoes

Today’s first time parenting tip - Don’t forget to have fun with your baby

The past few posts I’ve written have been advice geared towards doing the “right” thing with your baby. As my wife just pointed out to me, it makes it sound as if parenting is a no fun, do it by the book deal.

But of course it’s not! There are tons of books, videos, blogs (this one included) that offer advice on what you should or shouldn’t do for your baby. Don’t get so caught up in it.

Throw out the rules every once and a while and just have fun with your baby. Today, I saw huge, tall hill with snow on it and no trees. My first thought was, “That’s an awesome sledding hill.” My second thought was “I want to take my son sledding.”

Is sledding the safest activity in the world? No, probably not. You could argue that it’s not safe for adults to do either. (When I was a kid we’d specifically sled down hills with trees on them. To an eleven-year-old, this was fun for some reason.) Will I take him?

Absolutely. I think he’d have a blast. We’ll get him all bundled up, hop on the sled with him and take off down the hill. I’m confident enough in my sledding ability that I can stop us or bail out safely if we need to.

So take a moment, and do something fun with your baby today. Forget whether or not you’re a good parent or not and just make them laugh.

Parenting, Fun, Laugh, Activity

Today’s first time parenting tip - Pronounce words correctly and praise your baby, even when he gets it wrong.

Our son is starting to learn his first words, between “uh-oh” and “da-da” you’d think there wasn’t anything else to say. He can try other words, but he doesn’t quite get them right. Things like a ball are “gall” and kitty ends up more like “tee-tee.”

As parents and adults, I think the natural instinct is to say something like “No, it’s ball.” A better way to say it might be “That’s right! It’s a ball.”

Your child’s vocal chords and ability to make different noises is still in the early stages right now. By saying “no” to them, you’re implying that they got something wrong in saying a ball was a “gall.”

But in fact, he got it 100% right! He doesn’t call anything else a “gall”, and he always says it when he’s bouncing it around. He understands the concept of a ball, but he just can’t say the right word

By saying “That’s right! It’s a ball!” You’re praising him for correctly identifying something, and at the same time correcting his pronunciation. As he learns how to make different noises, he’ll start to make the correct sounds as you keep teaching him the “right” way to say things without confusing him and his ability to correctly identify concepts.

At the same time, you don’t want to say “That’s right! It’s a ‘gall’”. This merely reinforces the incorrect pronunciation and you’re essentially teaching him that the word for a spherical object is “gall”.

Parenting, Development, Vocal, Language, Learning

Today’s first time parenting tip - Let your baby read and explore his books at his own pace

As adults, our tendency is to read a book, left to right, beginning to end, cover to cover. Infants have no such tendencies. In fact, they no nothing about the “proper” way to read books.

But most adults (myself included) want to take over when babies want to skip ahead, close the book, or just merely turn the pages.

And at this point in their lives, that’s more than fine. You should be letting them lead the reading if they want to, enthusiastically jumping around with them, discovering the different images and words of the book.

The most important benefits of reading at this age are the bonding that occurs between the two of you, the daily routine, the different words, images and sensations that come along with reading. The actual “reading”, i.e. left to right, front page to back, etc. Are probably one of the least important aspects.

As your child gets older and his tastes get more sophisticated, he’ll grow to love actual stories, one’s that have beginnings, middles and endings. But until then, let your preconceptions go and rediscover books all over again with your baby.

Parenting, Reading, Learning, Development, Fun

Today’s first time parenting tip - Treat falling down like no big deal (unless they’re really hurt)

Some babies handle adversity really well. They’re the ones that are always into everything, constantly getting knocked in the head and falling over themselves as they tear around with their new found motions. Some start wailing at the smallest little things.

When your baby starts to walk, the latter kind of baby can be even more frustrating to handle. Every time they fall, even if it’s three inches onto their butt, you’ll need to pick them up to console them. To a certain degree, some parents cultivate this behavior by making a huge deal out of the slightest little thing.

Sometimes, the baby isn’t hurt, they start crying because it seems to be expected of them and the parents are making a big fuss out of something small.

If you think you fall into that category, try making the harmless falls and slight knocks into something fun. Saying “Uh-oh!” and raising your hands as if to say “What happened?” should become your replacement reaction.

After a while, they’ll start to imitate you! Our son cried when he dropped something and couldn’t get it back, but we adopted the “Uh-oh!” tactic and now he says it all the time! When he falls down, drops something and even a few times when he’s just saying it for fun.

Parenting, Behavior, Fall, Down, Cry

Today’s first time parenting tip - Let your infant pick out something to hang onto when he first gets to the store

If it hasn’t happened to you already, it will. The screaming, wailing child at the grocery store. You’ll have a full shopping cart and you’ll be in the middle of the line when it hits.

What can you do to mitigate tantrums? Something you can try is to let your infant or toddler pick out something they want when you first get to the store. It should be something small and cheap, if you’ll be doing this regularly. For instance, my son (who is 11 months old and frankly is very easy to please) was fussy until we let him grab an orange of the fruit stand at Trader Joe’s.

That orange was his best friend all the way until halfway home when he dropped it sitting in his car seat. This may not work for all kids, but it’s something to try.

By giving them a tangible reward at the beginning of the trip, you’re making the prospect of a reward more real than just saying “If you’re good, you can have a treat at the end.” Without that treat in hand, children are more likely to act on impulse when they see something they want.

By having something already, it forces them to choose. “I’ve got this thing I want already, is it worth giving it up for that other thing I probably won’t get?” You’ll also teach patience and the ability to connect their good behavior with a good result. (Because it’s in their hand constantly).

The downside to this is every time you go in the store, you’ll have to get them something. After all consistency is key. That’s why, if you try it, make the payoff a small treat like a piece of gum or even a healthy snack you bring in from the car.

Parenting, Behavior, Discipline, Tantrum, Prevent

Today’s first time parenting tip - If your baby has some food that disagrees with him, a drink of formula or breast milk should do the trick

Tonight we had our son try pickles and a little bit of mustard with some turkey, bread and cheese, almost like he was having his own little sandwich. He loved most of it and gobbled it down.

Then about an hour after he went to bed, he woke up screaming and we couldn’t console him at all. His abdomen felt firmer than usual and we were getting worried. So while I furiously looked up symptoms on the internet while my wife played with him and his toys (that seemed to calm him down), the symptoms he was having indicated that he was either colicky, constipated or had heartburn. (Hard abdomen, discomfort, no fever, no sharp pains or hurt when we pressed gently on his belly).

Since he’s probably too old for colic and his bowel movements are disgustingly normal, we decided to try the remedy for heartburn that doesn’t involve milk of magnesia - a drink of milk.

He sucked a few ounces down and seemed to feel a lot better after a couple of good burps too. He needed some cuddling to go to sleep, but as of an hour later, he’s still sound asleep. I’ll post updates as the situation progresses.

Parenting, Heartburn, Remedy, Treat, Symptoms

Today’s first time parenting tip - If your baby is between 6 - 59 months, get them a flu shot

It’s the midst of flu season, and you’re wondering if it’s necessary to have your infant immunized against the flu. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the CDC say that children 6 - 59 months.

Children with diseases like kidney disease, diabetes, or asthma should get the shot, because influenza could lead to complications in high-risk situations like these. If your infant lives with someone who is over 65, you should also want to give them a flu shot to protect the older family member should your infant come down with it.

The flu shot can reduce the chances of getting the flu by 80%, and if your infant is getting it for the first time, they will get two shots, a month apart, probably in the upper thigh.

If your infant does come down with the flu, here’s how you’ll know:

• Fever
• Chills
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Dizziness
• Loss of appetite
• Tiredness
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Weakness
• Ear infection
• Diarrhea
• Infants with the flu may simply seem sick all of a sudden or “just don’t look right

If you think your infant does have the flu, take them to the pediatrician, because flu in infants can be serious. At home, you can help the symptoms by:

• Drink lots of fluids to prevent dehydration
• Get plenty of rest
• Take baby tylenol to relieve fever and aches (but do not give aspirin unless your doctor instructs you to do so)
• Dress your infant in layers, they can become very hot or very cold quickly. This way you can dress or undress easily

The flu should be gone in a week or two after it runs the course naturally.

Reference link - Kids Health

Parenting, Health, Influenza, Flu, Sick, Vaccine

Today’s first time parenting tip - Take shoes off your baby while they are learning to walk.

Baby shoes could possibly be everyone’s favorite part of a baby’s outfit. Everyone oohs and ahhs over how small they are, how feet could possibly be so tiny, etc. etc.

But putting shoes on your baby while they’re learning to walk can make it harder for them to get the hang of taking steps.

Usually, shoes have rubber soles that have no slip or give. That means that an unstable baby who may be shuffling his feet or sliding them around won’t have that necessary give he needs to stay up. And that means he’s going to bite the dust.

Shoes can also be big and clunky on your baby’s feet, making it easier for them to trip themselves up.

So if your infant is walking around inside or doesn’t need to be wearing shoes for appearances, make sure you take them off as often as possible. An alternative would be to opt for shoes with a leather sole, so they’ve got a little slip to them and won’t trip up your baby.

Parenting, Shoes, Walk, Development, Learn

Today’s first time parenting tip - Don’t give your infant soda for the first two years of their life

This tip seems pretty obvious to me, and hopefully to a lot of other parents. But I saw someone driving with their infant, couldn’t have been more than a year old, and they were sucking down a bottle of Faygo orange pop in the rear-facing baby seat of their old Toyota Camry.

Call me a stickler, but I think you should teach a child how to eat right before they learn to eat wrong. And sugary, caffeinated and carbonated drinks don’t figure into that mix.

The nutritional value is nil. The effects of being addicted to caffeine are real. And the weight gain throughout their childhood years can be real too.

The best way to make it easy to say no to soda? Lead by example. Don’t drink it in front of your kids, and don’t keep it in the house. The less access they have to it and the less they see you, the number one person they learn from drinking it, the better.

Providing lots of healthy alternatives like juice, water, milk, etc. is key too. A cold soda every now and again is fine, you don’t have to be a warden, but be reasonable. And if their too young to remember kicking back a cold coke with their dad on a hot summer’s day, then there’s really not point in giving it to them.

Parenting, Soda, Pop, OK, Nutrition, Health