For generations, parents have known that bedtime stories help kids relax and fall asleep more easily. But what they probably didn’t know, specially for first time parents or new parent like myself, is that reading bedtime stories do more good than just relaxing them and putting them to sleep.

What are the other benefits of telling toddlers the stories of Peter Pan, Cinderella and the likes?

Reading to them can help develop reading skills and emotional child development. You will notice that toddlers will not only look at the pictures but may also follow the words that the daddy is reading.

Another important thing to note is that bedtime stories are the last thing your child will hear before falling asleep and will play in the subconscious part of their mind all night.

Reading Bedtime stories may also be considered as a form of hypnosis, in a good way. All kids stories has values and lessons to learn from it. Reading them these kinds of stories and poiting to them the good values that the stories have will retain it and will be a big help in their mental and emotional development years.

During the age of child development, and of course the young age of toddlers are the time when they believe in magic, Wizards, Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, you have a golden opportunity to program them for maximum success. You can boost their confidense and build their self esteem.

Perhaps, the best way to understand the importance of bedtime stories is to look back and recall some of your own favourite stories from childhood. I remember when I was young, my mother used to tell this story about a young boy who is mean to his mother. He then was turned to a lizard.

I will never forget that story.. I love my mother and I don’t need to be told of that story but honestly, I think it somehow made me what I am today, the loving son. And I want my sons to have that same feeling towards us, their parents.

“As an adult, you may even notice that some of the messages in your favourite stories have played out in your life in some instrumental way.” — Exactly!

What becomes clear therefore is the need to be very aware of the suggestions we are giving our children that will have an effect on their adult life. Are you for example through bedtime stories, suggesting to your children that the world is full of opportunity or a scary place?

Here are some other benefits of reading bedtime stories to kids according to the experts:

• Bedtime stories aid in speech and language development
• Bedtime stories help in the development of healthy sleep patterns
• Bedtime stories help children develop listening skills
• Bedtime stories help boost a child’s IQ
• Bedtime stories help calm the crying
• Bedtime stories help children develop a love for books

Do you know of other benefits that reading bedtime stories can do to children? Please share them in the comments below.

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Here are 5 things that you must be aware of with regards to your baby’s health and safety. These 5 Must Do’s came from expert pediatricians interviewed by CNN (see credit link below).

• Not Waking (and Feeding) the Baby Every 4 hours – Every new parent should take note of this advise and put it on the top of their ‘Parenting Tip’ list. You should feed your baby every four hours regardless if it’s daytime or night time. Remember, sleepless nights are to be expected for caring that sweet little angel. Don’t be glad when you’re baby sleeps all night long and flaunt, “‘The first night home from the hospital she slept all the way through the night!’” Dr. ance Goodman, a pediatrician in Boca Raton, Florida will tell you “She’s not supposed to be doing that!’ “Our pediatricians’ advise: Parents need to wake up their babies to eat every four hours. With a few rare exceptions, newborns should not sleep through the night for the first two weeks of life.Why do we need to wake up babies for their milk or feeding time? Babies who go too long without eating could become dehydrated. Plus, sleeping eight hours at a stretch might be a sign of severe jaundice. Sleeping all night could also mean that the baby is week, lethargic and can’t arouse himself to feed. This should be checked by a Pediatrician.So when is it OK to let your baby sleep through the night? “At the two-week checkup, if your baby is gaining weight and sleeping through the night, hallelujah! Go enjoy it!” says Dr. Ari Brown, author of “Baby 411″ and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Not Feeding When Hungry – Reading the first fact may and could confuse a new parent. If the baby is crying and hungry, the mother errr.. parent should feed him. The ‘feed the baby every four hour’ is a schedule but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feed the baby if he’s hungry after 2 hours from feeding him.Pediatricians say new parents sometimes make the mistake of wanting baby to eat on a strict schedule. The doctors say as long as a newborn is eating at least every four hours, they should keep whatever schedule they want.”A baby is smarter than any grown-up,” says Dr. Robin Madden, a pediatrician in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Whether breast-fed or bottle-fed, they know when they’re hungry and they know when they’re full.”
• Taking Baby to Crowded Places – Don’t do it. Do not take a baby in too crowded places, specially public places. Who knows how many, or what kinds of germs are all flying around the area.Exposing a baby to lots of germy people is a problem for two reasons. One, he could get a life-threatening bacterial infection. Two, even if he gets a fever from a virus (which is less dangerous), doctors will still have to hospitalize him to make sure it’s not something more serious.
• Don’t Confine Baby at Home – Again this may sound conflicting on the previous tip or advise, but there is also a bad thing in confining your baby in the house for a long period of time. Like they say, everything in excess is bad for you.How much is too much?According to the expert Pediatrician, it is a mistake to stay home 24-7 for six weeks with your newborn. They recommend parents to take their newborns for walks outside. They also tell them if they need to take the baby to the grocery store, to pick a time when it will be less crowded.
• Trust Your Inner Voice – This means trusting your motherly (or fatherly) instincts. A book about new fathers-to-be (The New Father’s Panic Book by Gene Williams) mention there that there is such a thing as  motherly instincts that shows even before the baby is born. One such example is the ‘nesting’ stage of pregnancy.Pediatricians said too many new parents don’t trust their inner voice. It’s all about listening to yourself and trusting yourself.

I hope that this advises for new parents and parents expecting to have a baby.

To to wrap things up, here are three more mistakes parents of newborns make, according to our experts :

• They put their babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs.

• They don’t vaccinate their babies even though the pediatric academy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and virtually every scientific organization recommends it.

• They don’t bring a baby with a fever to see the pediatrician. Any newborn with a fever needs to be evaluated by a doctor

Hope this article helps those parents that are looking for answers, tips and advises. If there’s something on your mind, please do put it the comments below.

Source

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A baby shower is a gathering of women with a expected mother-to-be, or Traditionally, a baby shower is held only for the mother-to-be, and only women attend. The original intent was for women to share wisdom and lessons on the art of becoming a mother.
Here are the most common things that the participants in a baby shower is looking for:

1. baby shower games
2. baby games
3. shower invitations
4. invitations
5. baby shower invitations
6. baby invitations
7. baby shower ideas
8. shower favors
10. baby shower favors

And here is a list of some traditional activities that are being done in a baby shower:

Some classic activities at baby showers include:

* Baby shower bingo.
* Guess the birth date.
* Guess the expectant mother’s girth: guests cut pieces of ribbon, yarn, or toilet paper to a length they believe matches the mother-to-be’s tummy circumference. Another similar game is tying a string around her abdomen, and if it breaks for one person, it’s expected she or he is the next new parent.
* Guess the baby food flavour: guests have to taste-test several flavours of baby food and try to identify them.
* Other games include a diaper, with candies or chocolates, throw game.
* Opening the gifts in front of the guests.
* Serving cake, though any type of food or beverage might be served.
* Pass the package
* Sharing 3D ultrasound pictures of their unborn baby: to “include the baby” in the baby shower.

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You look at your baby from head to toe, checking if everything is OK with him, if it is possible to count the hair on his head you would. You will check his fingers, his toes, his face and when you found out that everything’s fine tears will fall from your eyes…AT LAST! After all the pains and sufferings, you will say…IT IS ALL WORTH IT!

A Mother will always have a special bond with their child; it is a link that can never be broken. As time pass by, you will always be there to watch your child grow, from the first step, first food he eats, and when you hear the first word he utter it sounded like music, it seems like an angel whispered to your ears. And afterward it’s time to bring your child to school, 1st day of school is a nerve racking experience for a 1st time MOM, as much as possible you wanted to stay and to wait for your son, checking on him if his doing alright. You’ll guide him on his assignments, and school projects, you will review him on his 1st examination, you’ll notice your child was not that serious about it, you’ll have doubts, fears, questioning yourself did he get what I just told him…

EXAMINATION DAY arrives, the mother is the one who is so nervous about it, the child arrives home you will ask him “so what happened, was it easy?” “Did you answer everything”, but the only answer you will get from your child was a smile on his face.

End of school year is drawing near and as a Mother you would like to know what are your child’s achievements or are there any areas that needs improvement…there is always a parent-teacher meeting at school and from there they will tell you the performance of your child and once you have known that your son is a part of the TOP STUDENTS in his class… an unexplained feeling will embrace you, you wanted to cry, and at the same time you wanted to scream and tell the whole world that my son is in the Honors list. I’m a 1st time MOM myself and happiness of being a MOTHER is endless…trust me it never end.

– Annabelle

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Low Blood Pressure During Pregnancy… Once upon a time, my wife and myself went to the hospital, to her OB Gyne for her scheduled checkup. That’s when I found out that pregnant really do experience low blood pressure.

This was more than 4 years ago when she was carrying our first son, Matthew. That’s the time also that I wrote my experience about it in my Father and Son blog. Imagine that, it has been four years already! I really believe now that internet can most definitely preserve memories.

And now, I would like to do a re-post of that same blog article here for those who are still searching for the information about low blood pressure during pregnancy…. And I know that not only those carrying a child are looking for this info, but also to the first time fathers like myself 4 years ago.

Definition of Low Blood Pressure?

Low blood pressure is the most common term for a medical word for Hypotension. It is the medical term for low blood pressure. You have hypotension if you have a blood pressure of less than 90/60

More information about 90/60 Blood pressure

A blood pressure reading appears as two numbers. On my wife’s case, it’s 90/60.

The first one and higher of the two is a measure of pressure from the arteries when the heart beats and fills them with blood. This pressure is called systolic pressure.

The second number is called diastolic pressure, or it measures diastolic pressure. This is the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats.

In general, low blood is a sign of good cardiovascular health specially for athletes but could also be a sign of problem for the elderly.
Dizziness or being lightheaded can be caused by a sudden drop of blood pressure where the brain did received enough supply of blood.

Dizziness and Lightheaded During Pregnancy

Most of the times this is normal. I did a little research and found out that these happened occasionally on pregnant women.

When you’re pregnant, your cardiovascular system undergoes dramatic changes. Your heart rate goes up, your heart pumps more blood per minute, and the amount of blood in your body expands by 40 to 45 percent.

Here what Baby Center has to say:

During a normal pregnancy, your blood pressure gradually decreases in the beginning, reaching its lowest point in the middle of your pregnancy. It then begins to rise, returning to its regular level by the end of pregnancy.

What should be done about it?

Lie down as soon as you feel lightheaded or dizzy, so you won’t fall and hurt yourself if you do faint.

Doctors also advised to lie down on your left side will maximize the blood flow to your heart — and thus to your brain. It will supposedly keep you from actually fainting and eventually may relieve the sensation of lightheadedness altogether.

Causes of Lightheadedness During Pregnancy

* Standing up too fast – I’m sure that this also happens even if you’re not pregnant. When you’re sitting down, blood pools in your feet and lower legs. To prevent lightheadedness, avoid getting up too fast.. Slowly rise from lying to sitting or from sitting to standing.

* Lying on your back – Not sure about this, but my wife complains that when she’s lying on her back, she feels uncomfortable and dizzy. According to studies, about 8 percent of pregnant women develop a condition called supine hypotensive syndrome – usually in their second and third trimesters. When they lie on their back, their heart rate increases, their blood pressure drops, and they feel anxious, lightheaded, and nauseated until they shift their position. To avoid this problem, lie on your side instead of flat on your back. Either side is better than your back, although the left side is best

* Not enough food and drink – When you don’t eat enough, you can end up with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), which can make you feel dizzy or faint. This can happen much more easily when you’re pregnant.

* Anemia – Being anemic can surely case someone to feel lightheaded and dizzy. If you’re anemic, you have fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen to your brain and other organs. This is probably the reason why my wife was prescribed to take Iron supplement. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. She’s also taking prenatal vitamin with iron now that she’s in her second trimester.

So, after doing this googling and little reading, I told my wife all about it and she’s a relieved with the information. She said “so that’s why I have lots of Iron to take… ”

Hope this also helps some confused and first time fathers out there!

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What Is Low Blood Pressure?

Hypotension is the medical term for low blood pressure. You have hypotension if you have a blood pressure of less than 90/60

Dizziness and Lightheaded During Pregnancy

Most of the times this is normal. I did a little research and found out that these happened occasionally on pregnant women.

When you’re pregnant, your cardiovascular system undergoes dramatic changes. Your heart rate goes up, your heart pumps more blood per minute, and the amount of blood in your body expands by 40 to 45 percent.

Read all about low blood during pregnancy on everything daddy! But again, there’s no need to be alarmed. Relax.

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2. Mirror Syndrome in Pregnancy
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There will be some comments here and there, but the original content will all be here. So, here’s what I’ve written (date)

There is never a ‘too early’ date to choose a baby’s name. Although choosing a baby’s name is a husband and wife thing to do, in my case, I already have a name in mind for my first born baby boy. The only thing for me to do then when my wife got pregnant was to convince her to use that name.

What is the best way to choose your baby’s name? Is there a rule? A guide perhaps? Is there a trend or is it just something that you can pick this instant?

For my second baby (coming real soon!) (update: Well, as of this writing, my second son Sean is 1 year and 2 month old. Time flies doesn’t it?) , we already have a name prepared, well, at least I have. My wife still have some suggestions of her own. Important thing is we agree on it.

Popular Names

There are some parents who like names that are popular and easy to remember. Although there are good, popular names, we have to consider that these names don’t stay popular forever.

Also, if you did choose a popular name, chances are you are not the only one who picked that name and it and your child could have a name that everyone else has.

Celebrity Names

This one I’m guilty of. Yes, i must admit that my first born was named after a famous fiction writer and a TV/comedy actor. Good thing about picking a name from celebrities is that most of them has common enough names that does not get worn out over time. A name Stephen will always be Stephen and will always remain a good choice for a name. Right?

Nicknames

When choosing a name, you can also consider the nicknames that comes along with the name. You may plan on your child never being called by a nickname, but you can’t always prevent this from happening.

You may want others to use your child’s full name (like Joseph), but there will always be someone who calls him by a pet name, (Joe or Joey).

If you really don’t like your child to be called by a name other than his real name, consider giving him a name that has no or are hard to associate a nickname. Examples are Jude, Adam, Blake, Carl or Ross.
Unique Names

What are these unique names? Well, that will definitely depends on you creativity. You could coined in a new name from your name and your wife’s. You could research a named from mythology or some old stories. You could use weather names or nature (summer, river, forest). It really depends on you and your partner’s creativity.

The danger of using a unique name, however, especially if it is very unusual, is that while it may make your child stand out from the crowd, he may stand out too much and can lead to teasing. Also,some unique names can be difficult to spell, so watch out for that.

And finally,

Find a name that both of you like and feel positive about. The most important thing is you and your partner agree on it.

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