The first few weeks of a new baby’s life are a busy time for parents. But this is also a great time to take photographs of your baby.

Here’s how to make the most of this opportunity:
• Dress the baby in an outfit that fits just right. If the outfit is too big, your baby may wriggle down into it and obscure the face.
• Take pictures in an area of your home that benefits from great natural light. Filtered sunlight through windows helps produce wonderful images.
• Placing the baby on something like a beanbag gives great natural support while you take your photographs.
• Get close, then closer. It’s OK to take a close-up shot. You want to see more of your baby and less of your room.
• Zoom in on specific feature: a hand, a foot, an ear and those perfect tiny toes. They will never be that small again.
• Use a parent’s hand in the photograph with the baby. Contrasting the different sizes of an adult hand and a baby’s hand makes for an interesting image. You could use a sibling’s hand, too.
• Photograph your baby on a solid-colored, or lightly-patterned, blanket.
• Include a favorite toy or blanket in the shot.
• Photographs of sleeping babies can look very cute. So plan ahead and create a space for your baby to have a nap where you can take a good picture. Leave yourself space to walk around to get unobstructed shots at different angles.
• Take lots of photographs. The more you take the better the chance of taking ones that you really like.

ENJOY A STRESS-FREE SITTING
As babies get older, and stronger, they are better able to pose for a portrait sitting. At around six to eight weeks babies may be lifting up their heads. At approximately six or seven months they can probably sit up. At this stage you could also consider using the services of a professional photographer who can bring their equipment to your home. This is less stressful for the baby than traveling to a studio and so can lead to better portraits. It also means both parents can participate with the baby in the sitting.

LEARN FROM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Professional children’s photographers are used to interacting with babies and have accumulated a variety of tricks to get babies to smile for, and look at, the camera. Parents may use the opportunity to watch and learn how the photographer interacts with the baby to get the most from the sitting. They will see how the lighting is set up, how the sitting area is prepared, how different outfits and favorite toys are positioned close at hand. When the session begins, the photographer starts talking to the baby. The baby responds with a quizzical look and then with a smile. Snap. A toy appears in the photographer’s hand and the baby giggles. Snap. After a short while, the baby has been photographed in different outfits, in different poses, with a favorite toy and a favorite blanket, with mom and with dad. The result is an album’s worth of beautiful portraits that capture a special moment in a family’s life.

One company with professional children’s photographs in major metropolitan areas throughout the country is Our365 Portraits. They have been taking portraits of babies in their own homes since 1948. You can learn more about its approach to taking beautiful in-home children’s portraits at our365portraits.com, or by calling 1-877-850-5437. Mention The CuteKid for a special deal.

• Diapers – Bring a package or two of diapers. They are pricey and newborns go through so many. Think about getting each guest to bring a pack as well, and as a motivator, you can enter everyone who does into a prize drawing.

• Load of laundry – Find a cute laundry basket (or something similar) and load it with everything laundry. Include laundry detergent, stain remover, fabric softener, and a mesh laundry bag for baby socks (that way they don’t get lost in the washer).

• Baby Monitor – Everybody needs one of these. Some parents even set up one in every room of the house. It’s such a reassurance for new parents to be able to hear their baby at all times. Now they even have video monitors but they are a little on the pricey side.

• Crib – This is a great gift to purchase together with other partygoers. Everyone can pitch in a certain amount of money and the guest of honor gets a beautiful and necessary gift.

Since there’s never a shortage of clothes or bottles given at a baby shower, try something different. Have fun and use your imagination when trying to come up with baby shower gift planning and ideas. These gift ideas are very practical and can be used by every new mom and her precious little baby. And always remember you don’t have to break your budget to get a great gift.

Another way to overcome baby sleep issues is by finding out where your child can sleep the best at. Some may sleep better in their crib in their own bedroom, other might be better off with a bassinet sleeping in your bedroom. Some might even sleep better when lying right next to you in your bed. Parents usually cycle through many different sleeping arrangements within the child’s first 2 years trying to find the right one. It is also good to make sure you use many methods to get them to sleep, because they want to go back when they wake up the same way they originally fell asleep. So it is good to cycle through rocking them to sleep, nursing them sleep, singing or reading them a story. Both parents should take turns doing these things as well.

Another suggestion to help you avoid baby sleep troubles altogether is to set a nap schedule and stick to it. You can even set the times around when you are most tired throughout the day, just make sure to stick to that schedule. Lie down with your baby at these times every day and after a week or so, they will fall into the same routine with you. For your own sake, take this time to grab some sleep yourself, rather than trying to get something accomplished while the baby is napping.

To keep baby sleep issues away you and your child, get them in a routine of going through the same bedtime rituals every night. As your baby gets used to them and remembers them, they will be able to sleep more peacefully and will stay asleep longer too. Getting into a ritual of bath time, rocking, story, and song will get to realize that sleep is coming next.

If your baby has the opposite problem and can’t go to the bathroom, mix 2 ounces of Karo syrup with four ounces of warm water in a bottle.  This should help loosen their stools and get them moving again.  If your baby has croup, a breathing condition, have them breathe the moist, warm air that comes from either a vaporizer or hot shower.  If you baby comes down with a case of colic, other health remedies for babies include filling a hot water bottle with warm water, only about 1/3 full.  Put a towel over top of the bottle.  Gently lay your baby down, so that they are lying across the bottle.  This should help ease their stomach pain.

Other health remedies for babies can help with the common cold.  If your baby gets a case of the sniffles, mix some camphor and lavender oil with some warm olive oil and rub it on their chests.  You can help the cold go away faster by boiling water and adding some freshly squeezed orange juice to it for some extra vitamin C.  You can also mix a couple drops of eucalyptus oil with some hot water.  Put this in a close proximity to where your baby is sleeping, but make sure it is out of their reach.  This not only smells good, but it should help clear up any nasal passages that are blocked.

Health remedies for babies can help with things like teething too.  Using something called oil of cloves, found in any health food store, is great for healing toothaches.  Rub a small amount where the tooth is coming in at.  To help with constipation, add some prune juice to water.  Chamomile oil can also be rubbed on their belly to help ease them of their constipation pains.

• Actor Molly Ringwald had girl/boy twins, Adele and Roman born in July.
• Anniston, daughter of actor Chyler Leigh. Born in May.
• Actress Anne Heche had a son who she named Altlas born in March.
• The singer Gerard Way had a baby girl and named her Bandit Lee who was born in May.
• Bardot Vita, daughter of actor David Boreanaz, born in August.
• Beckett Edward, son of actor Nicole Sullivan, born in August.
• The actor Charlie Sheen had baby boy twins named Bob and Max, born in March.
• The TV personality Julie Chen had a son and named him Charlie,, born in September.
• Charlotte Grace, daughter of actors Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. Born in September.
• Rachel Griffiths’ daughter was born in June and she named her Clementine Grace.
• Rugby player Gavin Henson and singer Charlotte Church named their son Dexter Lloyd who was born in January.
• Eleanor, daughter of actor Robert Sean Leonard. Born in January.
• Elizabeth, daughter of actor Tim Allen, born in March.
• Hal, son of actor Hank Azaria. Born in June.
• Hayes Logan, son of actor Kevin Costner, born in February.
• Henry Tadeusz, son of actor Colin Farrell, born in October.
• Lucille, daughter of comedian Maya Rudolph and director Paul Thomas Anderson. Born in November.
• Jasper Warren, son of singer Brad Paisley and actor Kimberly Williams born in April.
• The musician M.I.A. had a son in March and named him Ikhyd.
• Jesse Jameson and Journey Jett, twin sons of fighter Tito Ortiz and ex-porn star Jenna Jameson, born in March.
• Kayden Bobby, son of actor Angie Everhart, born in July.
• Kaydnz Koda, son of rapper T-Pain, born in May.
• Kenzo, son of designer Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou, born in May.
• Leo, son of actor Julie Delpy, born in January.
• Luka Bodhi, son of Chef Tom Colicchio, born in August.
• Marion and Tabitha, twin daughters of actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, born in June.
• Mars Merkaba, daughter of singer Erykah Badu and rapper Jay Electronica, born in February.
• Max, son of cyclist Lance Armstrong, born in June.
• Ossian, son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, born in April.
• Otis Tobias, son of actor Tobey Maguire, born in May.
• Petal Blossom Rainbow, daughter of Chef Jamie Oliver, born in April.
• Satyana, daughter of actors Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof, born in March.
• Scarlet, daughter of singer Melanie Chisholm (a.k.a. Sporty Spice). Born in February.
• Designer Tommy Hilfiger’s baby boy Sebastian Thomas was born in August.
• Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, daughter of actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, born in January.
• Sophia, daughter of actor Jude Law, born in September.
• The musician Joel Madden and socialite Nicole Richie had a son in September and named him Sparrow James Midnight.
• Walker Nathaniel, son of actors Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, born in September.

Perhaps these can be some names that parents to be can use for their 2010 babies.

One of the most significant jobs you surely have as a parent is keeping your child safe while riding in a car. Thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes every year. The correct use of car safety seats helps keep children safe in case there is a car crash. Nevertheless, with so many different car safety seats out on the market right now, it’s no wonder why so many parents find this overwhelming. The type of car seat your child needs depends on quite a few things, including the size of your child and the type of motor vehicle you may have.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highly recommends that all infants should ride rear-facing right from the first ride home from the hospital. They ought to remain rear-facing until they reach the highest height or weight allowed by the manufacturer of their car safety seat.  At a bare minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they weigh at least 20 pounds or are at least 1 year of age. Once your child has reached the highest weight or height permitted by the manufacturer of the seat for rear-facing, she/he can ride forward-facing in a more convertible seat. Nevertheless, it is best for him/her to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of his/her car safety seat. She/he should ride in a forward-facing seat with a harness until he/she outgrows it, which in most cases would usually be at approximately 4 years of age and about when your child weights 40–65 pounds.

Once your child has outgrown his/her forward-facing car safety seats, they are now old enough for a Booster seat. It is in everyone’s best interest for children to ride in a harnessed seat as long as it is possible, which would mean at least to 4 years of age. If your child outgrows his/her seat before reaching 4 years of age, you should consider using a seat with a harness approved for children with higher weights and heights. Booster seats should be used with a shoulder and a lap belt and should never be a lap-only belt. When you are using a booster seat for your child, you must make sure that the lap belt lies low and fits perfectly across your child’s upper thighs. The shoulder belt should also be crossed in the middle of your child’s chest and shoulder.

Remember, be a good role model and make sure you always wear your seat belt. Our children always observe and learn from their parents. If you are not sure of how to use any of the safety recommendations for your infants always call the manufacture or read the instructions and make sure that you install your infant’ safety gadgets properly.

Baby Models and Talent Agencies

Baby modeling can be great fun for the parents and the baby model. Every man and women that enters parenthood will tell you that their little one is the cutest little baby on the planet!

Many parents do not realize that there is a huge demand for baby models, due to the big range of baby products in the market. Each company producing one of these baby products want to maximize its sales. There could be no better way of doing so than by having some really cute baby model, beautiful kids associated with the product. Welcome to the world of baby mo

Baby Modeling

deling!

Every parent of a small child knows about the huge list of baby care products available in the market. Just to count a few, from nappies and wipes, to rusks and cereals, to rash creams and skincare products, to baby clothes, the list is endless.

Baby modeling is a great way to show off your adorable baby to the world. While steering your baby on a path towards a modeling career might be the last thing on your mind, a modeling photo shoot can prove to be a lot of fun for baby as well as the parents.

If you intend to take your baby one step closer towards a modeling career, you can start off with a reputed talent agency for kids. These agencies have tie ups with big companies who want some talented, cute kids to represent them.

It is always a good idea to start off with a good talent agency, for the directors and photographers, who run the photo sessions, are good at working with young babies and anxious parents because they have done it many times earlier.

BABY CONTESTS

Baby contests have become quite popular now-a-days. There are a lot of Baby photo contests and video contests that you can get your little one into. You can register online for participating in such contests. Some of the famous and legitimate baby photo contests are Gerber baby photo contest, The Cute Kid contest and The Regis and Kelly baby contest. You can even start off with a simple Google search and you will find a lot of contests to choose from.

Most of these contests give money and prizes to the winners. Imagine your kid being rich and famous at the age of 3! Some of these contests are free and others charge a small fee for participation.

Most of these contests require you to send your baby’s photograph to the contest website. You can do this by emailing the pictures or uploading the photos on the contest website itself. It is a good idea to take professional help, which would make it more fun and take the stress out of the whole process.

If you have a really cute and beautiful kid, you can enter into such contests and who knows, your kid might be the next baby superstar!

Along with the fame and the riches, it could bring a lot of fun and enjoyment to you and your baby.

Famous Parents and their Famous Kids

Lessons in disguise?

by Jarrod Thalheimer

How is it even possible that Kevin Federline comes off as being the better parent to his children than Britney? How about notorious hooker-hound Charlie Sheen? He’s downright “Father Knows Best” stacked up against little Miss-Pimpin’-Out-the-Kids-for-My-New-Reality-Show Denise Richards. Are such children destined to live lives of rampant overexposure and chronic drug abuse all culminating in an early death? Is fame to blame or is it just their crappy parents?

Do Perfect Parents Exist?

And what about the other side – the picture-perfect celebrity parents? Everyone knows Angie and Brad bend over backwards in service to their tribe. As a couple they commit to making sure at least one of them is always home while the other is not. They travel together, play together, and even save the Earth together. Thanks to the tattoos and a few alternative-lifestyle forays, Angelina’s not exactly June Cleaver. But the attitude she displays toward her children appears downright responsible and mature. How frustrating is that to absorb when you fed your kid Cheetos for her last breakfast?

So what do you do? Can famous parents, good or bad, somehow help you to be a better parent?

Find a Good-Bad Example

Let’s say your children gang up and shave the neighbor’s cat butt-naked. You lose your cool, scream like a crazy woman, and then douse the whole lot of them with the garden hose. As you leave your damp offspring shivering and crying in the yard you head inside, mix up a mid-day margarita, and put up your feet and relax, secure in the knowledge that your parenting methods – as shocking as they may be – aren’t anywhere near as bad as that “monster” Alec Baldwin or perma-stoned rapper Snoop Dogg. A good-bad example can work wonders for our self esteem.

Then you have the super parents. They spout off their quotes left and right about how much they care, how good they are, and how much they provide for their little ones, but everyone knows they don’t do it alone. They have teams of nannies and assistants to ensure they never lose too much sleep or ever leave the house with baby blech on their shoulder. Perfect parenting is an illusion – making it right at home in Hollywood.

One can suggest Tom Cruise is bananas, but when my own neighbor makes his kid practice competitive bocce until 3 a.m. six nights a week you start to realize Hollywood doesn’t exactly own the franchise on crazy. Tommy-boy is just more visible than the bocce bozo next door. Besides, when you get right down to it, we all more or less think everyone else is nuts.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Knowing that there are celebs out there who aren’t exactly winning parent of the year awards doesn’t let anyone off the hook. A bad parent is a bad parent, famous or not. So if there’s anything to be gained from the rollercoaster of insanity that Hollywood families present, it’s a sound note of caution. Watch carefully all that you see. Remember you don’t know the whole story, and focus instead on committing yourself to becoming a better parent in your own right each and every single day. It’s the only thing you can really do.

We can all agree that dangling a baby off the balcony over a street in Berlin is not something we should do with a child. To waste our time lecturing that bizarre man-child Michael Jackson on what he should be doing is stupid. He went over the ledge a long time ago. Better to instead make a few mental notes about babies and balconies and focus instead on your own day-to-day adventures in the wide world of mom-and-dad-dom. Your kids will be glad you paid attention to them instead of to the tabloids.

What’s do you consider the worst celeb parenting moment?

The Babymoon

Your destination before baby

By Michelle Bruns

First comes love, then comes marriage, but before baby comes… the babymoon? This age-old nursery rhyme has had a few revisions of late thanks to a modern phenomenon called the babymoon. Long gone are the days that couples sat around feverishly preparing and patiently awaiting the arrival of their bundle of joy. More and more couples, pregnant belly and all, are packing their bags before their little one arrives and heading off for some R&R.

Research shows that the term babymoon was first conceived in 1996 by Sheila Kitzinger, author of The Year After Childbirth. In its origin, the term referenced the time that mommy, daddy, and baby spent post-birth to bond. More recently, the term seems to have developed into a retreat that preggo couples take prior to the birth of their offspring.

Many Web sites focus solely on offering babymoon planning and resources. From day spas touting prenatal massages to resorts that offer weekend Lamaze retreats, there is a babymoon package for practically every type of couple. Paired with bottles of sparkling cider and/or delivery of any craving the mommy-to-be is experiencing, these vacation packages are focused on letting the expecting couple put their feet up, reconnect with one another, and refresh before their special delivery arrives.

If your jump onto the babymoon bandwagon involves an airline flight, there are a few things of which to take note. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say that the safest time for a pregnant woman to travel is during the second trimester (18 through 24 weeks). Having the lowest risk of miscarriage or premature labor, the second trimester is also usually when expectant mothers are feeling their best.

Here are a few other tips the mother-to-be may want to consider when taking flight to their babymoon destination:

• Properly fasten the seatbelt under your belly and across the top of your thighs -this will offer you and your pea in the pod optimum safety while flying.
• Keep your blood flowing. Every 30 minutes, get up and walk around or at least stretch your legs and flex your ankles if the seatbelt sign is on.
• Drink, drink, drink (water, of course). Becoming dehydrated in the air is dangerous for you and baby-to-be.
• Seats at the bulkhead (the first row behind a divider or partition in the airplane) typically offer extra legroom. And, with no seats in front of you, it is easier to get to your seat without having to wriggle your pregnant belly between the rows. (Note that without a seat in front of you, you’ll also be without a tray.)
• Seats over the wings of the airplane offer the smoothest ride.

Even if a seven-day babymoon at a five-star tropical resort is not in the cards for you, one-day babymoons at a local destination can serve the same purpose. Reconnecting and relaxing with your partner before your baby arrives is the most important goal. Sometime during your bonding, try and schedule a good night’s sleep as one last hurrah – it’s something you may not experience for a while once your little one makes his or her entrance into the world!

Where did you and your partner babymoon?

Three sides of the vaccination debate

By Michelle Bruns

Childhood vaccinations are one of the most contested topics out there today. Whether you join the growing trend of parents choosing to skip the recommended vaccine schedule, or stick with what’s worked for parents throughout history, this is a decision every new parent must make. Recent headlines about the negative side effects of some vaccines are pitted against those outlining fears of possible infectious outbreaks should vaccinations cease. Weighing the benefits and the risks can be an overwhelming decision for many.

Pro-Vaccinations

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stands on the pro side of vaccinations for children. Thanks to the current vaccination schedule, many childhood illnesses have been reduced or stamped out entirely. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have compiled statistics regarding the annual occurrence of diseases in the U.S. before immunizations. The center states that, pre-vaccination, more than 13,000 people contracted paralytic polio and 9,000 people (mostly children) died of whooping cough. In addition, 6,100 people died of invasive pneumococcal disease while survivors developed complications which included seizures or deafness.

Fortunately, with the development of vaccinations and adherence to vaccination schedules, diseases such as these are preventable today. However, those traveling to and from other countries where these illnesses are still present and others are more common can reintroduce these disorders back into the U.S. With the risk of infection still at hand, so is the risk of unvaccinated children (and adults) contracting these deadly diseases.

Anti-Vaccinations

All the benefits of immunizing your tiny patient aside, recent headlines are influencing personal beliefs and causing an increased number of parents to opt out of vaccines. People are questioning the correlation between vaccinations and autism or other chronic conditions, as well as vaccine manufacturing concerns. But not all parents have the right to refuse inoculation for their infants. In the United States, 20 states allow parents to decline vaccine for personal reasons, 28 states require that you have a religious reason, and both Mississippi and West Virginia have made full vaccinations for infants mandatory.

William Sears, MD, author of more than 30 books on childcare, including The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, says, “I believe our nation can tolerate a certain percentage of unvaccinated children without risking the overall public health in any significant way. Since most children are vaccinated, our nation has enough ‘herd immunity’ to contain outbreaks like [the recent measles eruption in San Diego, CA].”

However, parents who skip shots for their infants often face a roadblock they cannot avoid: daycare and school immunization requirements. Each state has its own prerequisites where vaccines are concerned, so check with the National Network of Immunization Information (http://www.immunizationinfo.org/) for requirements in your state.

Alternatives

Parents like Jennifer L., mother of two from Orange, CA, has chosen an alternative immunization for her children, based on Sears’ methods. “I know that vaccines have positives, but I’m really concerned about the number of them when the babies are so small,” she says. “I’m also wary of them because of all the issues that we see with various drugs getting recalled, having side effects.” Taking into consideration her own concerns as well as her pediatrician’s recommendations, Jennifer chose to immunize each of her children based on what she believed to be their individual needs. Her eldest son did not receive his first vaccination until the age of nine months, since he did not attend daycare, whereas her youngest son received his first immunization at two months of age based on concerns of a recent whooping cough outbreak.

Choosing to delay certain vaccines is one alternative to skipping the traditional immunization schedule completely. Another possible option is to choose which brands of vaccinations your child receives, such as those that are mercury-free or contain minimal traces of mercury, which may ease your concerns about the studies that link autism to vaccinations.

Finally, talk to your pediatrician and see what he or she has to say about the most current research on vaccinations. After all, it is your child’s health that should be the number one priority, whatever stance you decide to take about your infant’s immune system.

Immunization Schedule for Birth Through 23-Months-Old:

·         HIB Vaccine

·         Pneumococcal Vaccine

·         DTaP Vaccine

·         Hepatitis B Vaccine

·         Rotavirus Vaccine

·         Polio

·         MMR

·         Chickenpox

·         Hepatitis A

·         Flu

·         Meningococcal

·         HPV

·         Combination Vaccines

What is your approach to vaccinations for your children?