Great books for parents to read.

Your One-Year-Old by Louis Bates Ames (this series runs up to Fourteen year old). These books are a quick and easy read around 200 pages. The books is broken up into sections and you can skip around to the chapter that you need. It also includes books for you to read and toys that your child should be playing with at that age.

The Disney Encyclopedia of Baby and Child Care. I think you would have to find this used. A basic book, not a lot of "junk" in it. There are two volumes. Volume 1 is about child care from birth to six year old. Volume 2 is A to Z Encyclopedia of Child Health & Illness, has tons of information about each illness, what to expect and what to do. A great first time parents book.


Your Growing Child by Penelope Leach A book I think every parent should have. Anything you need to know about your baby is in this book up to age through adolescents. The book is filled with information to help guide the parents to raise a wonderful child.

What to Expect the first year Most people are familiar with this series. I do like the book, but there are section that just don't apply to everyone. I do like the recipes in the book. I have made a few they can be good. However, I haven't met a child yet that likes the first birthday cake recipe. I thought it was pretty yucky myself.

I think it is a great idea to check some of these books out from your local library. Not every book holds the anwsers for each family. You might have to read several before you find the one that fits for you and your families need.

Dangerous Foods for Children Younger than One

There are certain foods you should never give your baby, especially before they are one. Honey and corn syrup should never be given to a child under the age of one. The reason being is because of the spores they contain can cause Botulism, food poisoning. After your child turns one the botulism risk will decrease. Here are the signs for Infant botulism: Constipation (often the first sign)
Floppy movements due to muscle weakness, and trouble controlling the head
Weak cry
Drooping eyelids
Tiredness
Difficulty sucking or feeding
Paralysis
Call your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns that your baby may have eaten raw honey or corn syrup. Botulism is treatable, even though it is considered serious.

Foods to avoid during the first year are due to choking hazards.
Raw carrots, peas and apples.
Raisins
Grapes
Nuts
Popcorn
Hot dogs(no matter how you slice them)
Corn Kernels
Hard candy

Some foods to avoid during the first year due to food allergies are:
Strawberries
Egg whites
Cow's milk
Wheat
Seafood
Citrus fruits
Tomatoes
Ice cream
Chocolate

If someone in your family has allergies to the food listed above, you should talk with your child’s dr. and ask when to introduce and what symptoms to look for.

Homemade baby food warning!

Here is something I learned that I had never heard of before. Beets, Carrots, Collard Greens, Green beans, Squash, Turnips and Spinach can contain high levels of nitrates and should not be made at home. However the jarred versions of Beets Carrots, Collard Greens, Green beans, Squash, Turnips and Spinach are fine to eat. Baby food companies monitor the nitrates from these vegetable to make sure that they do not get to high. Please check with your pediatrician to find out more information on making homemade vegetables that are high in nitrates. I found that only one infant death has been reported on this type of poisoning. So be careful and talk with your child's doctor.

More on reading

Once you have started your reading routine with your child you will realize that it is not as hard as you thought it would be to get 20 minutes of reading in each day. Most infants love to look at books, whether it is with you or just them sitting on the floor alone looking at them.

Soon your infant will want to hold the book or help turn the pages. This is great. Let them. It is another way for them to enjoy reading time. When you notice that your infant has taken to turning pages, you will want to invest in some lift the flap books. Now, here is the one thing I do not like about the lift-the-flap books. You will have to be a kind and patient parent and have lots and lots of tape, because the flaps are not that sturdy. Remember, you child is learning too, and then sometimes don’t know their own strength. Flaps are easily fixed with tape.
Touch and Feel books are great too, for this age. It is a new sensation and it helps them learn and identify new words, like, soft, rough, smooth, etc. If you are worried about your child eating the books or you just can’t take it. They have cloth book and bath books, which are floatable, some are even non-toxic. I always carry several cloth and tub book in the car with me so that I don’t need to worry about my son eating or hurting himself with the book.

Here are some of my favorite books and authors for older babies.

Authors

Karen Katz (Where is baby’s….)
Sandra Boyton (Moo, Baa, La, La, La,)
Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon)
Helen Oxenbury (Clap Hands, Tickle, Tickle)
Eric Carle (Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

Books

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
Sleep Bunny (Pat the Bunny Cloth book)
Peek-A-Who by Nina Laden
Guess How Much I love you by Sam McBratney
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Big Little by Leslie Patricelli
I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak
One Yellow Lion by Matthew Van Fleet
Mole and the Baby Bird by Marjorie Newman
Global Babies
Usborne Books series That’s Not my…. (Car, teddy, dog etc.)
Usborne Baby Board Books 1 2 3
First Mighty Movers by Hinkler Books (www.hinklerbooks.com) they have great books on their website for little ones.

Books for Newborns

I love books. I love book for any age. I still read children’s books. They make me feel like a kid again. I have a lot of people ask me what books I recommend for newborns and infants.

Do babies this young enjoy books? Yes, it is the whole process and activity. Hearing your voice, at this very young age, is your baby's favorite thing. So when you grab a book, sit down and hold your baby and read, your baby is learning so much. She/he is hearing your voice, being held and snuggled close and being stimulated by the pictures in the book.

So what book should you read? Well, I suggest that you start very simple. Books with only one word and one picture per page are great books to start with. Hold the book about a foot awake from your baby. Why? Most doctors believe that this is where your baby can focus at when they are this young. Having read to many babies, I believe that this is true.

You should try and read several of these short board books to your child several times a day. Wait, what is a board book? Board books are published on hard cardboard, which makes them more durable for small children. The pages are thicker and easier for a small child to turn rather than paper pages. The best part of board books, you do not have to worry about your child ripping a page.

Here are some great newborn and infant books to begin with.

Begin Smart Books series for 0 - 6 months

White on Black, Black on White, Black and White by, Tana Hoban

DK Publishing books have several Baby Faces books

First Words by Bright Baby

Baby Faces Board Books by Roberta Grobel Intrater
(Smile, Sleep, Splash, etc)

Peek A Who by Nina Laden

Remember, babies love to hear you voice. You can read them anything; it is the interaction that your baby will love. You can read them the newspaper, Sports Illustrated, People, a Cookbook. Just include them in the conversation. Stop and ask them what they think. "Can you believe that they are going to build a new park?" Wait and give your baby a few seconds to answers. Then respond by saying "I know you think that is a good idea." Your baby will love this and it will encourage them to start making sounds early.


Happy Reading!!!

Home Made Baby Food

When people ask me about homemade baby food the first book I tell them to get is First Meals by Annabel Karmel. Annabel Karmel is a children's food author and a mother of three. She is a trained Cordon Bleu cook, WOW. Her recipes are easy, nutritious and quick (I like that part). Her website is www.annabelkarmel.com First Meals is a great book to keep on hand to prepare meals starting at 6 months all the way to family meals. She breaks up the book into different age groups; 6 to 9 months, 9 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 months to 2 years, 2 to 3 years, 3 to 7 years, and preschool and beyond and even has healthy snacks, and family meal recipes. She even includes a Menu planner in the back of the book. Just make sure if you are in the 6 to 9 month section that you wait at least 3 days before you give your child any new food to make sure they are not allegoric to them. She has lots of tips and advice that are great for new parents. Annabel also wrote the Toddler cookbook. This is a great book if you want to introduce cooking with young children. There are lots of great color pictures and step by step instructions (with pictures) for your toddler. Some of my favorites from this book are the Easy cheesy bread rolls (page 12); Chicken dippers (page18) and Mini banana muffins (page 34). Remember, you don't have to go out and by the books, check them out at the library first and see if you like them or your child will. Test out a couple of recipes and if they are a hit, then maybe you will need to buy the books. First Meals is available on Amazon for $13.61 and at Barnes and Noble for $16.00 or $14.40 for members. The Toddler Cookbook is available on Amazon for $8.61 and at Barnes and Noble of $8.79 or $7.91 for members.

A new diaper

When I last wrote about diapers we were pretty much sold on Pampers Baby-Dry and Luvs, which we still use. However, my son starting leaking every night. Every morning I would have to change the sheets, and mattress pad, how fun. I went to the store hoping that there was an overnight diaper. Well, Huggies makes Overnites. I bought a small package to try them out. There are most expensive than just a regular pack of diapers. Well, they worked. No more laundry ever morning. Yeah. I think my son like waking up dry too. The poor little guys PJ's would be soaked. I tried bigger size diapers, but they just don't work as well as the Huggies overnites. The overnites come in four sizes. Size 3 16-28 lbs. Size 4 22-37lbs, Size 5 27-40lbs, and Size 6 Over 35 lbs. They are well worth there price for a dry morning. I am still looking for other overnight diapers, hoping that there are more out there for us that have the kids that like to hold it in until they are asleep.