Playing with newborn babies

Time to Play!

After nine months of great expectations and wondering what your child is going to be like, the time is finally here! Now is the time for feeding, diaper changing, cuddling, and some fun tummy games with your new baby. Playing with your baby helps with with mental development and emotional health while building a strong bond with parents.

0-3 Months
Your newborn is doing much more than just sleeping, eating, and crying. He is learning and absorbing new things every day. It is important to keep it simple the first three months. Choose toys that are easy to grab and made with different materials and textures. It is easier for newborns to see high-contrast colors and patterns. Also it is important to give your baby one toy at time. Alternate toys and keep it fresh, you don't want to overstimulate your baby and allow them to get bored with their collection of toys quickly. You can always set aside some of their toys to reintroduce them at a later time. As your baby grows they will discover new aspects of their toys that they were too young to notice before! Here are some games we recommend playing with your newborn:

TICKLE, TICKLE, BEE!

• Start by gently placing your baby on his back. Now form a "bee" by pinching your index finger against your thumb.
• Now for the fun part: Start moving your bee above your baby in large, swooping circles while saying in a high pitched voice, "buzz, buzz, buzz...the bee is going to tickle you!"
• Buzz your bee around baby's tummy, almost landing, before rising again. Your little one will love the suspense!
• Now land your bee on baby's belly and give him a tickle, tickle!

*This game will help develop your baby's eye coordination.

TUMMY FUN

• Start by lying on your back and placing baby on your stomach (your babies tummy resting against yours).
• With your face just inches from hers, gaze into their eyes and start to sing, talk or make sounds. This will encourage your baby to lift her head so she can see where the sounds are coming from.
• As your baby grows, spice up the game a bit by gently rubbing her back in a circular motion. This stimulates the muscles your baby uses to hold up her head and push up with her arms
• Another idea: Place your baby on the floor on her tummy. Hold a toy in front of her at eye level. Now slowly lift the toy upward, which will encourage your baby to lift her head.

*This game helps develop your babies neck and arm strength - which helps pave the way for big milestones such as rolling over and crawling.

TOUCH

• Feed your baby's curiosity by giving her lost of interesting textures to touch and feel. Just gather some fabrics from around the house (like a soft washcloth) and a few things from outdoors (leaves or flowers).
• Now gently caress your baby's skin with these items. Some ideas: Tickle her toes with flower petals, brush her arms with soft grass, or rub a leaf against her hand.
• You can also use cotton, silk scarves, or anything safe and appropriate for your baby skin. And of course DO NOT let the baby put any of the items in her mouth.

*This game will help to boost babies sense of touch.

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Preparing your nursery for baby...

Paint and wall paper is one of the fastest and easiest ways to create a mood in your child’s nursery. Light colors are calming; bright colors create energy. Sometimes a nursery acts as both a bedroom and a playroom, so it’s important to consider what colors to use. Also, if you think another child might inherit the room, steer clear from gender-specific palettes. Along with painting the walls, you have the option of using decal stickers to create a theme.

Conventional Paint

When deciding on which paint brand to use, remember to take into consideration that most commercially produced paints include significant amount of volatile organic compound, or VOCs. These chemicals are what keep the paint wet while in the can and speeds up the drying process. VOCs are bad for our health and can lead to kidney and liver damage. If exposed in smaller doses, VOCs can cause dizziness, disorientation, loss of muscle control, and irregular heartbeat. Even if you don’t plan on repainting, check what’s on your walls. Older homes may still have lead present and can pose a serious hazard to your little ones.

Natural Paint

The great thing about living in today’s world is that many companies now produce beautiful nontoxic and zero-VOC paint. Paints and other products are now available that are manufactured from trees and plant oils, resins and herbal extracts, minerals and vegetables pigments, citrus-peel thinners and beeswax. You can even nowadays find food-based aromatherapy paint, with aromas like fresh lemons or vanilla.

With all the options and choices to pick from I don’t see why not have a little with your nursery. The underlying purpose of a nursery is to provide a stimulating environment for children learning, brain development, provide opportunities for exposure to new materials, and support children in helping them become capable and balanced in their activities. The goal is to have children gain an understanding of their world, achieve enriched development and be eager learners for the rest of their lives.

Extra Precautions

Unless the paint of your choice is 100% nontoxic or zero-VOCs, you shouldn’t really paint while pregnant. If possible paint when the expecting mother is not home. Most importantly, paint several months before the baby is due. You never know, your baby may come early and nobody wants to bring a baby home to a house filled with paint fumes.

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Big Ball Fun Workout with Mommy & Baby!

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October Play class now taking sign ups!

Early Education Begins with {Play}

“The Importance of Infant & Toddler Play”

A Complimentary Class for you and your baby.

How does play enhance intellectual development?

How can parents plan for play?

Which toys are best for young children?

Play is the main way that babies and toddlers learn. This class will explain how play boosts brain development and what age appropriate activities and toys encourage curiosity, exploration and provoke wonder. Bring your baby and come play!

Instructor Biorgraphy:

Susan Shepardson, The Play Architect, owns an extraordinary children’s design firm which specializes in “play” rooms for infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and beyond. Susan has over 25 years of experience working with children and a Masters degree in Child Development. She designs play spaces utilizing the latest child development theories, research, neuroscience, and “green” products. Susan incorporates the art of interior design and the science of child psychology to create play environments that are not only aesthetically pleasing and fun but most importantly, promote intelligence. She also provides consultation services to teach parents how to create learning environments for their children. She can be reached at 949.306.7557

Date: Sunday Oct 17, 2009

Time: 9:30- 10:30 AM

Place: Currant Baby & Mommy

Paseo Colorado Mall

289 E Green St

Pasadena, CA 91101

626-577-7005

(Park near Gelson’s, next to Camille’s Sidewalk Café)

Space is limited to 15 adults.

Call now to reserve your spot.

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The Benefits of Cloth Diapering

Anyone with young children knows that diapers are a part of your everyday routine. Yet with so many different brands and varieties, how is one able to narrow down the options and choose what is best for you and your family? Although disposable diapers are quick, easy, and overall very convenient for parents on the go…there are also many perks when it comes to deciding to use cloth or reusable diapers.

Everyday you will see a handful of commercials on TV for Pampers, Huggies, or any other major diapering company. Promises of feeling dryer longer as well as a comfortable fit can be convincing enough; who wouldn’t want their child to be comfortable? Cloth diapers offer a comfortable alternative that is more affordable than ever with benefits that outweigh their competitors!

Disposable diapers use chemicals to help create the illusion of a dry diaper even when it is wet. Your baby may not become uncomfortable when seated in a soiled diaper, but they will also be more likely to stay in that dirty diaper longer. If they don’t feel wet or uncomfortable then they are less likely to notify you that it is time for a changing. According to the Earth Easy website, “Diaper rash also increases with disposable diaper use due to allergies to chemicals, poor air flow and longer time spent in wet diapers which feel dry when wet.” Cloth Diapers will feel wet immediately notifying mom and dad that it’s time for a change. The less time baby sits in a soiled diaper, the less likely they are to incur rashes.

Since cloth diapered babies can tell when they are wet and uncomfortable, they become more aware of when they need to go to the restroom. At an earlier age they are able to make the connection between ‘being wet and uncomfortable in cloth diapers and needing to use the bathroom instead.’ This can help make the potty training process easier and less of a shock for some children, as well as has the ability to speed up the process.

It 's estimated that 10,000 tons of disposable diapers are tossed into landfills each day. They can take up to 500 years to decompose! The manufacture of disposables uses over 1 million metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic each year. Disposables are the diaper of choice for over 80% of North American parents.

Eartheasy.com

Short term disposable diapers appear to be less expensive, especially when purchased in bulk. In case packs, you can get some brands of disposable diapers for only .19 cents each! During the diapering life of each of your children you can change up to 13,000 diapers! That will end up costing you nearly $2,470 in disposable diapers just for one child! Multiply that by how many kids you would like to have and you’ve got yourself a small fortune spent on disposable diapers alone.

Cloth diapers come in a variety of brands and styles that enable you to choose what will work best for your family. There are even cloth diapering services that will launder the soiled cloths for you, but this will end up costing about the same as using disposable diapers. If you want to be on the cost effective side, you can purchase “All-in-one” diapers that you only have to buy once and require no additional purchases of liners or various sizes. Although you may end up spending anywhere from $300-$500 on cloth diapers depending on the brand, you will only have to spend it one time no matter how many children you have!

Currant Baby likes Bum Genius All in One diapers…they are one size fits all adjustable diapers so all you need is the one size and you are set for your babies diapering life! We have had customers that purchase up to 20 diapers so that they only have to launder them every other day, and also customers who purchase less and don’t mind doing laundry every day. (With young children in the house, you most likely will have a load in the wash everyday anyways!) We also like to recommend that between washes you can pre-soak soiled cloths in a bucket of vinegar water. If you want to save change at the Laundromat, air dry cloth diapers out in the sun. The sun will naturally kill any bacteria or yeast left on the cloths.

Cloth diapers also make great baby registry items because some friends or family could spend less by just purchasing one or two! Then there will always be case packs to purchase for those very generous relatives.

Happy diapering!

Sources:

Earth Easy

Baby Center

Parents.com

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LA Parent Magazine Best of 2010!

It's all because of you guys! Thanks for all your support and love for the store...we couldn't have done it without you!

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