Our Baby News

Traveling with Baby: The Complete Diaper Bag

Let us consider the diaper bag. This essential item can best be thought of in the context of your baby as refugee: She is far from all the comforts of home. She has unique and unrelenting needs, and you have to carry enough stuff around to be ready for all of them.

•      Enough diapers and wipes for two babies to last a hike through Yosemite. Bring one per hour, a minimum of three.

•      If you’re not nursing, make sure there’s at least one more feeding than you expect for the amount of time you’re going to be out.

•     Change of outfit x 2, plus one weather change.

•      Snacks—for Mom and sibs as well as baby (if applicable).

•     A spare toy.

•     A spare pacifier.

•     A spare tire.

•     A spare twenty. (Don’t cheat and spend it!)

Think you’re done? Not so fast. The stroller was just the beginning of the traveling show. One more feature to consider, is its ability to hold an infant carrier—for those of you who think you can transfer a sleeping baby without waking him.

The choice of a car seat is less of a challenge than the stroller. There are fewer models, only about a hundred, but since they all have to conform to the same safety standards, the only ways in which they differ are cosmetics and a few conveniences. The basic types are as follows:

• Infant seat: Holds babies up to 20 pounds. There are two types: single unit or base plus carrier.

• Convertible seat: These allow you to keep it rear facing until the baby hits 20 pounds/one year old, and then can be readjusted for a forward-facing big kid.

• Toddler seat: For big kids (over 20 pounds /one year). A booster seat is recommended for children until 40 pounds.

Safety features in the strollers are always one of the most important factors in choosing the best. As usual it is the safety of the baby that is the greatest concern for any parent. However, while buying the baby stroller one should ensure that the stroller remains upright with the diaper bag hanging over the handles.

IS A MISSED PERIOD ALWAYS THE FIRST SIGN OF A PREGNANCY?

Usually it is – however, not every missed period necessarily means a pregnancy. There can be a great many causes for a missed period, many of them emotional.

Girls studying hard for exams may miss periods; so may girls leaving home and starting a new job, or traveling abroad, or falling in love or out of it, or suffering bereavement.

The close link between emotions and hormones is the cause of this sort of reaction. Also, physical illnesses may lead to missed periods, including anemia, thyroid disorders and diabetes (both these latter are hormonal) or experiencing surgery or an accident.

However, in a woman of reproductive age living a full sex life without the use of contraception, a missed period should be regarded as very indicative of pregnancy.

One problem which may bewilder is the ‘half missed’ period. Some women, early in pregnancy, experience at the usual period time a small blood loss which is much less than the normal period but which she naturally regards as a period.

Stress and Your Baby

First, let’s remove the negative connotation from the word “stress.” It is true that stress is invariably some sort of an overload—even metal gets stressed. But daily stress is a normal part of existence. Factor it in to your everyday life and figure out how to cope with it—not how to eliminate it.

So don’t be distressed when I report that even little babies get stressed. By a new or changing environment, by a loud party (possibly even die one being held in their honor), by fatigue at being a two-month-old. When babies get stressed (over stimulated, uncomfortable, tired) they need to be soothed, calmed, and pacified. How to help?

• Babies respond to and reflect parents’ emotions. By cooling down yourself, your baby can cool down, too.