37. Getting comfortable
Breastfeeding is absolutely natural, but it still has to be learned. Much will depend on “reading” the signals your baby gives you. But you can make things far easier by getting settled for a breastfeeding session-which could last for an hour. Lying down is ideal for night-time feeds. For other sessions, seek good back support, such as sitting on a low chair with no arms, or lying up against a bed headstead with plenty of pillows behind you.

38. Guiding your baby to latch on
Once settled, take a deep breath and relax your shoulders. If in private, take off your top to make it easier for baby to “latch on”, that is to be correctly placed on your breast and sucking efficiently. Use your baby’s natural reflex to “root” (seek out) and to suck. If you or baby, take another deep breath and start again.

39. Managing your milk flow
Your baby doesn’t just suck. She “milk” the breast by pressing on your milk supply at the base of the areola (the coloured area around the nipple). Don’t worry about “supply”. Your baby’s sucking stimulates “demand”. However, when your milk comes in, your breast may become engorged and sore for a few days. This makes the nipple go flat so it is hard for baby to latch on. Try these steps to help baby latch on and quickly relieve any engorgement.

40. Changing over during a feed
Let your baby suck for at least 10 to 15 minutes on one breast at each feed. After you’ve burped her, or she has had a short nap, slip a finger between her jaws to break her suction and offer her the other breast. She may be hungry enough to drain this one, too, or she may just suck for comfort. In either case, let her suck till she falls fast asleep.

41. Coping with leaking breasts
Your breast may leak a lot between feeds in the early weeks. You cannot prevent this, but it will diminish as your breasts settle down and supply matches your baby’s demand. To cope with this problem – and protect your cloches – wear disposable or fabric – washable breast pads inside your bra. These will absorb some of the dripping. Change the pads frequently, as wetness near your skin may make your sore.

42. Soothing sore nipples
Sore, red nipples usually result from your baby not latching on properly. Check that she takes the whole nipple and areola area into her mouth, and that her temples and ears are moving (that is, her jaw muscles are working hard). Cracked nipples give you shooting pains during feeding, but don’t stop feeds, as you may become engorged and make the problem worse.

43. Expressing milk by hand
Expressing your own milk means you can freeze it (for up to one mouth) and someone else can give it to your baby – which allows you greater freedom and flexibility. It is an easy and painless process. Help the flow of milk  by applying a warm flannel first.

44. Expressing milk by pump
Expressing with a purpose-made pump can work far quicker and be less tiring than hand expressing. Choose a “syringe”-type pump where the outer cylinder converts into a bottle. First soften your breast with warm water and massage them as if expressing by hand. The feeling an your milk ducts should be like your baby’s jaws.

45. First-year feeding routines
How long should a feed last? How many feeds should I give my baby in 24 hours? Can I tell when she is going to be hungry? Such question are all part of the emotional and practical worries of feeding a baby in the first year. Bear in mind the following tips when planning a feeding routine.
BREAST FEEDING TIPS:

• Always feed your baby as often as she seems hungry. And give her as much as the wants
• For the fist month at least, do not try to establish an inflexible routine.
• If you started off in the first two weeks by feeding your newborn 10 times in 24 hours, this should be reduced to eight feeds, then six, after a further six weeks.
• By two months expect to be feeding about every four hours.
• By three months plans for five feeds a day plus two night feeds.
• By four no five months plan for four feeds a day plus some solids.
• By six months your routine should be two breast-feeds a day: early morning and bedtime.
• By nine months you should be beginning a bedtime feed only.
• If you both want to, you can continue to breast-feed well into your baby’s second

As you probably know, raising your baby easily and effortlessly begins with knowing the answers to the “basic” questions. That’s, there are a few problems nearly all parents experience and would like to know the answers to. The first set about is knowing the answers to these “basic” difficultnesses. And then to avoid these pitfalls.

www.babiesbase.com is the place where you’ll be able to take part in some kind of open discussion. Instead of sputtering to find out what works and what not, learn from others. Somewhere someone has already felt and solved the same problem as you. And is conformable to share the experience. Forums enables you to ask questions, express your opinion, and learn from others.

There made up 791,000 children birthed in the UK last yr – the peak for a generation.

That aimed the population up by 400,000, the largest rise since 1962.

The Office for National Statistics stated there are now 61.4million people living in Britain. That’s rise up of two million since 2001.

For 1st time in about a decennary, birthing and mortalities caught up with immigration as the greatest factor bearing on population growth.

Tens of thousands of eastern Europeans went home as the recession bite.

But half of all births were to women born remote the UK.

Ons statistician Roma Chappell highlighted the significance of the shift.

She said: “You have to go all the way back to 1993 to find a time when the fertility rate went higher.

“For the first time in a decade, natural change exceeded net migration as the main driver of population change.

“Prior to 1998, natural change was higher than net migration. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the UK.

“If you go back, it was common for natural change to exceed net migration.”

The figures confirmed the growth in the ageing population as the number of people over 85 hit a record high.

There are now 1.3million, making up two per cent of the population. The shift in Eastern European migration rates was even more marked.

New arrivals were down more than a quarter from 109,000 to 79,000 in the year to December.

More Eastern European immigrants went home in the same period – up by more than half to 66,000.

And the number registering for work fell 42 per cent to 116,000.

ONS chief statistician Karen Dunnell said the increase in emigration was probably due to the economic downturn.

The surge in Eastern Europeans returning home and the decline in arrivals meant they added only 13,000 to the total population last year.

Borders and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: “The fall in net migration is further proof that migrants come to the UK for short periods of time, work, contribute to the economy and then return home.”

The population is now growing by 0.7 per cent a year, more than double the rate in the 1990s and three times the level of the 1980s.

There are so many wonderful reasons to breastfeed, that sometimes it seems like the ONLY option. In truth the only option is to do what is best for your baby and sometimes that means your breast needs a little help. Many new babies could benefit from supplemental feedings, but this is a scary proposition for new mothers who have heard too much about nipple confusion and how overall breastfeeding success is greatest when it is exclusive from the moment of birth. So, what to do when your baby needs to gain more weight and you are feeding/pumping with all your might and it is still not enough?

The folks at Medela developed the Supplemental Nursing System to give the baby what it needs without compromising future breastfeeding success. This particular one is geared for short-term use; however, there is another model that can be used as a long-term solution. Either formula or pumped breast milk can be placed into the container which is connected to a very small tube.  This tube is taped down to the mother’s breast so that the extra fluid drips into the baby’s mouth while he/she is already nursing. It is a great way to provide the nourishment your child needs without switching to a bottle before good breastfeeding habits have been developed.

Such couples have been made exempt from the national policy anyway; local governments don’t directly challenge central authority. But to visit couples at home suggesting that they have another child nevertheless indicates the depth of feelings in many parts of urban China that the policy has failed. Attempts by the government to link economic progress since the ’70s to population control didn’t succeed; and the coming “four-two-one” problem, where one earner fears being responsible for six dependents in the generations above, has fuelled demands that the policy end now.

More blog:

Bread, cake and pastries
Home  cleaning
Fitness – exercise
Flower and Gardening

Car maintenance
Powder coating

Never miss a meal while you are pregnant, especially breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and your baby has probably been waiting since  he/she woke up in the middle of the night. You may learn that if you wait so long before eating you start to feel sick, this is your body telling you to eat. Do it!

Make sure you are getting enough food you need daily.  It takes 4-6 servings of dairy a day for a healthy pregnancy, this include some cheeses, milk, yogurt.  This provides the baby with calcium which it’ll need to develop healthy growing bones. Adding extra calcium to your diet wouldn’t hurt you either, especially your teeth and bones.

Don’t forget about fruit and vegetable servings. Lots of green is a good choice, so are sweet potatoes.  Not only will you be giving your body what it needs but you’ll start to have more energy. Try laying off the sweets for a week and replace them with healthier items and you will feel better.

Foods to Avoid
Not all foods are safe during your pregnancy, there are a few things you should avoid eating:

-  unpasteurized  products- brie
-  Certain fish- exotic, shark, swordfish, anything high in mercury
-  Raw eggs
-  Undercooked meats- lunch meats. If you are buying a deli sandwich you can ask for them to eat the meat up a little.
-  Caffeine- soda, chocolate. If you find this difficult you can wean yourself off, but the less caffeine in your system the better it is for the baby.

If you are ever unsure of the foods you can eat you can ask your doctor for a list of items to avoid during pregnancy. They’ll be more than happy to share this with you. You may also learn that your stomach won’t handle certain foods that it would before. Some of those foods may include foods that contain grease, fast foods, meat, and certain foods that have a strong odor.

Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to cut out all the fun in your life, you can still treat yourself from time to time. Go out and get a frozen yogurt or a  smoothie. The baby will thank later because you have give her/him good nutrition. Who knows that you really enjoy eating healthier and continue it even after the pregnancy.

Parents shouldn’t concern themselves unless it continues after the age their permanent teeth begin to appear, around six years old. Experts say that it’s the intensity of the thumb sucking and the tongue’s thrust that deforms teeth and makes braces necessary later. Children who rest their thumb passively in their mouth are less likely to have difficulty than children who suck aggressively. If you’re concerned, closely monitor your child and analyze his technique. If they appear to be sucking vigorously, you may want to begin curbing their habit earlier.

Punishing or nagging your child to stop won’t help because it’s usually an automatic response. Put an elastic bandage on his thumb or another method will seem like unjust punishment, especially since they indulge in the habit for comfort and security.

Children usually give up thumb-sucking when they’ve found other ways to calm and comfort themselves. Try to offering them other alternatives to comfort themselves such as a soft blanket or lullaby toy.
If they sucking while they are tired, try giving more naps.  If they suck their thumb frequently while watching television, try to distract them with a toy that will keep their hands occupied.

Older children may need gentle reminders to stop thumb sucking, so give them praise if they use other alternative to calm themselves.  Your child’s pediatric dentist can offer other suggestions for helping your child kick the thumb sucking habit.

It seems to be a natural tendency to react rather than to respond.  We pass judgment based on our own feelings and experiences.  However, responding means being receptive to our child’s feelings and emotions and allowing them to express themselves openly and honestly without fear of repercussion from us.  By reacting, we send our child the message that their feelings and opinions are invalid.  But by responding and asking questions about why the child feels that way, it opens a dialog that allows them to discuss their feelings further, and allows you a better understanding of where they’re coming from.  Responding also gives you an opportunity to work out a solution or a plan of action with your child that perhaps they would not have come up with on their own.  Your child will also appreciate the fact that maybe you do indeed understand how they feel.

It’s crucial in these situations to give your child your full and undivided attention.  Put down your newspaper, stop doing dishes, or turn off the television so you can hear the full situation and make eye contact with your child.   Keep calm, be inquisitive, and afterwards offer potential solutions to the problem.

Don’t discourage your child from feeling upset, angry, or frustrated.  Our initial instinct may be to say or do something to steer our child away from it, but this can be a detrimental tactic.  Again, listen to your child, ask questions to find out why they are feeling that way, and then offer potential solutions to alleviate the bad feeling.

Just as we do, our children have feelings and experience difficult situations.  By actively listening and participating with our child as they talk about it, it demonstrates to them that we do care, we want to help and we have similar experiences of our own that they can draw from.  Remember, respond – don’t react.

Allow your child to express themselves through their interests.  They may find a creative outlet in theatre, dancing or art, or they may be exceptionally talented in the sciences.  Encourage them to embrace what they like to do, what interests them, and what makes them happy.  Help them realize that they don’t need to worry about being ‘like everyone else.’

Teach your child to make positive choices, and praise them for good deeds, behaviors and positive traits they possess.  Encourage them to become actively involved in their community, and introduce them to activities that promote a sense of cooperation and accomplishment.  Be firm yet fair when handing down discipline for misdeeds or misbehaviors, and make certain the rules and consequences for breaking the rules are clearly defined.  Show a cooperative, loving and united front with your spouse when it comes to discipline.

Accept and celebrate your child’s uniqueness. Remember that your child is an individual. Allow your child to have his or her own personal preferences and feelings, which may be different from your own.
And finally, encourage your child to be true to themselves by doing the same.  Show your child how to make positive choices with the choices you make, and that nobody is perfect and you too make mistakes.  Show your child that mistakes can be a great learning experience, and that they should not be ashamed or embarrassed about making them.

Younger children usually do not understand a lengthy explanation of why it’s important that they be home from their friend’s home at a certain time or why they aren’t allowed to play ball in the house.  But the one thing they do strive to do most of the time is to make their parents proud and happy.  So when a young child asks “Why?” or “Why not?” when they are told they can’t play with something or someone or why they have to obey a rule you’ve set forth, simply explain to them that “because it makes me happy when you follow the house rules and do what I have asked of you.”  You should avoid using the term, “Because I said so,” as that only adds to the child’s frustration and confusion.

Older children, adolescents and teenagers alike will probably require more from your explanation.  When they question “Why?” or “Why not?” it’s best to directly, honestly and clearly state your reasoning.  “I asked you to be home by 10 p.m. because we have to be at the dentist’s office first thing in the morning for your check-up and we can’t be late.”  It is also a great opportunity for you to reiterate the consequences of breaking the rule.  “If you are not home by 10 p.m., you’ll be grounded from going to your friend’s house for a week.” Be consistent, be firm, and be clear.

Though your child may challenge you by asking your reasoning why a rule has been put in place, it also shows their growth as an individual thinker.  So try not to get angry or frustrated when they do so; realize it’s their way of understanding their world around them.