Choose the Right Kind of Diapers

(This original guide can be found here.)

When mom's due date approaches, it's time to stock up on diapering supplies. Whether you use cloth or disposable diapers is a personal choice. Both have advantages, so you may want to try each kind.

You might even wind up using a combination as your child grows. Here's some information to get you started.

Cloth baby diapers

• Come in cotton, terry, or flannel.
• Can be purchased pre-folded or unfolded.
• Fasten with safety pins, Velcro, or special diaper covers.
• Must be changed promptly when soiled to prevent irritation.
• Must be rinsed and then machine-washed in hot water.
• Can be used with disposable diaper liners for easier cleanup.

Many parents prefer cloth baby diapers, especially for everyday use at home, because they are more economical in the long run than disposable baby diapers. Some parents use the savings to hire baby diaper-cleaning services—companies that pick up soiled baby diapers and drop off a fresh supply of clean, folded ones. Some parents opt for cloth diapers for environmental reasons. A baby may go through upward of 5,000 diapers before potty training, and using cloth diapers cuts down on landfill waste. Even parents who use disposable diapers often keep some cloth diapers on hand because they double as burp cloths and versatile towels. Popular brands of cloth diapers include Kushies, Kissaluvs, Bumkins, Motherease, Fuzzi Bunz, and Little Lambs.

Disposable baby diapers

• Fasten with tape or Velcro strips.
• Are thrown away when soiled.
• Are typically used by daycare centers.
• Help prevent diaper rash and irritation by drawing wetness into a gel layer, keeping it away from the skin.

Though more expensive than cloth baby diapers in the long run, it's hard to beat the convenience of disposable baby diapers, especially when traveling. Popular disposable diaper brands include Pampers and Huggies.

Swim diapers

For the pool or beach, both reusable and disposable swim diapers prevent leaks while babies play in the water. Many swimming facilities require that babies wear swim diapers to protect others.

Prevent Diaper Rash

Diaper rash is a common discomfort for babies, and while you can take steps to prevent it, it's likely that your baby will experience at least one form of baby diaper rash during infancy.

Because baby's skin is so sensitive, many factors can create diaper rash. Yeast or bacterial infections are common sources, but so is simple baby diaper chafing. If your baby develops a rash that looks severe (oozing, pus, or open sores), see your doctor.

Follow these steps to help prevent baby diaper rash:

• Keep baby dry. Most baby diaper rash is caused by wetness, so it's best to change a dirty baby diaper as soon as possible. When diapering, make sure air can circulate inside the diaper. Don't use airtight plastics or wrap diapers too tightly.
• Be gentle. Clean up thoroughly, but don't over-wipe. Pat skin dry; don’t rub. Treat baby's skin as gently as possible.
• Avoid irritants. Be aware of the substances that come in contact with your baby's skin. If baby diaper rash recurs, try changing disposable diaper brands. Double-wash cloth baby diapers in hot water, but don't use detergent or fabric softeners that can irritate the skin. Make sure baby wipes are alcohol-free. Pay attention to how your baby's skin reacts to anything that touches it so you can detect and stop sources of irritation.
• Use ointment. A good barrier ointment like white zinc oxide will keep wetness from baby's skin and is safe to use frequently. Petroleum ointment is also effective, though talcum powder should be avoided, as it can cause respiratory discomfort if inhaled by the baby.
• Detect baby food allergies. Introduce solid foods one at a time and pay attention to any changes in your baby's skin sensitivity.

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Get Ready for Potty Training

Kids develop at different rates. They'll let you know when they're ready to start potty training, usually between ages two and four. It's best to let them set the pace and to use positive reinforcement throughout the process.

Determine whether your child is ready for potty training

The following signs indicate your child may be ready to begin potty training:

• Stays dry for several hours (indicates that bladder muscles have developed).
• Follows simple directions and can pull their own pants up and down.
• Lets you know when they’re having a bowel movement (indicates an understanding of the physical signals around going to the bathroom).
• Uses words for urine and bowel movements.
• Demonstrates an interest in adult bathroom habits.

Gear up for potty training

When they're ready, you'll need a potty seat and training pants. Potty seats come in many designs and colors to help make toilet training fun for kids, but the basic requirements are simply a comfortable place to sit and a removable bowl that mom or dad can empty into the toilet.

When your child is comfortable with a potty seat, you can find child-sized toilet seats that fasten to regular toilets to ease the transition for them. When toilet training is under way, it's time to start using training pants. These pants are easy for your child to take off and put on. Disposable training pants absorb wetness and are convenient for travel or daycare. Cloth training pants can also help with toilet training because they're uncomfortable, and the feeling of wet pants encourages kids to use the toilet. They also ensure that they get changed quickly, since diaper rash is still an issue when using training pants.

Tips for potty training

Toilet training happens. For first-time parents, the best advice is to be patient and let it happen at its own pace. Here are a few more tips:

• Don’t rush or compare your child with others: Every child has their own timing for toilet training. Kids can be ready any time between 18 months and four years. Waiting until they are ready will help make it easier.
• Make using the potty part of your child's routine: Allow and encourage them sit on the potty at regular times while clothed, even before they start using it, to help them become familiar with it. Eventually let your child sit on the potty seat without diapers. Again, this is just to get them used to sitting there, and making it a routine habit.
• Involve your child: Teach your child where bowel movements go. Show them how you empty a diaper into the toilet to help them make the association. You can even let them flush and teach them to wash their hands afterward.
• Give encouragement: Gradually encourage your child to use the potty for its intended purpose. Have your child tell you when they have to go so they can associate the physical urges with the process of using the toilet. Be sure to congratulate them and celebrate their accomplishments at each step.
• Be patient: Accidental wetting and bedwetting at night are normal for many months after a child has learned to use the toilet. This problem usually passes. You can lessen bedwetting by limiting liquids before bedtime. Never get angry or punish a child for accidents.

Always check with your pediatrician if you have questions about your child’s potty training.

Toys & Activities For An Older Baby (3 Months-Walking)

(This original guide can be found here.)

This guide is aimed at babies past the newborn stage (I have written another guide on toys and activities for birth – 3 months if you are interested) up until when they are walking (anywhere between 8 months and 18 months). During this stage babies will gain more control over their bodies, being able to pick up and drop objects, learning to roll over, sit, crawl and then stand unaided.

(PLEASE NOTE: I have used ‘him’ throughout for no particular reason than that my youngest is a boy – it was simply easier than thinking up a unisex way to phrase every sentence)

FLOOR MAT / BLANKET

From about 3 months it is worth moving away from the playgym onto a floor blanket or a floor mat. This is because playgyms are a little ‘passive’ in the type of play they offer and don’t encourage the baby to twist, move and stretch. It is also important that babies are given ‘tummy time’ as often as possible, since health professionals believe this enables babies to learn to crawl. A floor mat (or just a cot sized blanket) on the floor offers the baby a safe and clean space to play on the floor. Dotting toys around will encourage him to reach and stretch for the toys, promoting him to roll over and move around. Play blankets are also very useful if there are older siblings, since the blanket denotes the ‘baby zone’ and they know to avoid the area when charging around.

PLAY NEST (OR A LOAD OF CUSHIONS)

From about 5 months baby will be beginning to learn to sit up, but will need some help at first. Play nests are essentially a big rubber ring covered in fabric. Some have arches above to hang toys from. The idea is that a not-quite-sitting baby can sit in it, but if he tumbles to the side he won’t fall down (therefore cushions all around him works just as well to prop him up). They are very good for when the baby wants a more sat-up view on the world, and toys can still be given to him to play with. I’d recommend buying a few extra of the link rings that the toys hang from. That way you can hang the toys from several link rings in a chain so that they are within reach of the baby.

DOOR BOUNCER

Some babies love a door bouncer and others hate it. It is worth borrowing one from someone for a couple of weeks to see how yours reacts to it before you invest, because it may just gather dust and never get used if your baby doesn’t like it.

READING

It is never too early to start reading. From an early age baby will love hearing your voice, will learn to turn pages for you, may like to touch textured books, and will look at the pictures. Start off with simple board books, textured ones are great. However, remember that you can read anything to your baby: the newspaper, a magazine, your novel, the pizza hut menu etc etc!

BLOWING RASPBERRIES

... on his neck, belly, back, bottom will certainly result in squeals of delight.

AEROPLANE

For some reason daddy’s love this one. Hold him horizontally above your head and move him around pretending he is an aeroplane (making the mmwwaa noises with it if you are so inclined).

SONGS (ESPECIALLY ONES WITH WHOLE BODY, SIMPLE ACTIONS)

Babies love to hear mummy’s voice, and even better if it is in the different tones of songs. Don’t worry if you think you can’t sing, your baby won’t care and will still love it. You could sing children’s songs, nursery rhymes, pop songs, or even TV theme tunes, anything goes! (my youngest will always start dancing if I put MTV on for half an hour!), Some songs with simple actions are: Grand Old Duke Of York (baby lifted up and down), Row-Row-Row Your Boat (rocking forward and backwards), Tick-Tock I’m A Little Cockoo Clock (rocking side to side and up and down), Horsey Horsey Don’t You Stop (bouncing on mummy’s knee).

PEEP-BOO!

Loved by grandparents the world over. Never fails to impress a baby. As you baby gets older, encourage him to peep-boo you.

NOISY TOYS

Obviously there are rattles to shake, but you could also start getting a few musical toys. Try a drum, xylophone, maracas, tambourine, bells etc. You can also make your own ‘rattles’ in different sizes than ordinary ones. Just put any hard objects inside non-glass containers, and glue on the lid to make sure the stuff inside won’t get out. For example: Pasta in a margarine tub, metal screws in a metal tin or lentils in a baby food storage pot etc.

BANGING

As soon as he has learnt how to hold things he will want to bang them. Give him lots of different things that make different noises. For example, his hand on a drum, then a metal spoon on a drum, then a rattle on the drum, now replace the drum with a upturned saucepan or wooden tray. Watch his reaction as the noises change.

TOYS THAT WILL ROLL AWAY

These can be balls, cars, trains, anything that your baby can make move. When he learns that he can do something that causes a consequence (I push the ball, it rolls away) he will do it over and over again. These types of toys also encourage him to move and crawl.

BATH TOYS

If you haven’t already got some bath toys, make sure you do by 3 months. Apart from the obvious ducks and boats, use your imagination when it comes to toys for bath time. A few inexpensive children’s beakers are good for pouring, and use different ‘normal’ toys in the bath as well (our bath toys currently contains a cow and a horse from a farmyard set, and some broccoli (!!) from the kitchen food set). Try and use both sinking and floating toys, so that baby learns to reach into the water to get them.

ACTIVITY TABLE

Entertaining your baby at that age when they can stand but can’t walk is always difficult, simply because they will be frustrated that they can’t walk. Activity tables or any other stand-up toys are risen surfaces that the child stands at to play. The problem is you may need a few stand-up toys but you won’t get much use out of these toys, because as soon as he learns to walk there will be far more interesting things for him to do than just stand and play. This type of toy is best to beg/steal/borrow from others, then lend it on to other mum’s when you’ve finished with it. Charity shops are also good places to look if not.

PUSH-ALONG TOYS

These can be the type to stand up and learn to walk by pushing it, or the smaller toys which he can sit with and push along the ground.

TELEVISION

Don’t feel guilty about it, cbeebies (available on freeview) was invented for busy mums! Just not too often.

This is just a guide to what is available and you will not need to have everything on this list, just a few is enough. Offers of toys from friends and relations is great, always accept them and ask other mums for their idea’s on which toys are worth buying and why. Also, find out if your area has a toy library, great for making sure baby has lots of new and interesting toys. If you can’t find a local toy library, why not start one up?

ONE FINAL NOTE ON TOY ROTATION AND STORAGE

Children will get bored of their ‘usual’ toys quite quickly, but they forget about toys if they have been out of sight for a few weeks so that then these old toys reappear, it’s like they are new again. The idea of toy rotation is that you don’t have all of your toys out all of the time. One of those large plastic boxes with lids is great for storing toys in, and one of these is plenty big enough for the smaller toys your baby will want to play with. So I would recommend buying two of these storage boxes. Keep one out of the way (garage, spare room etc) and the other in the living room. Have an equal number of toys in both, and simply swap boxes every month. Also try to rotate which toys are played with on a daily basis. If we had the rattles and animal soft toys out this morning, we’ll get the musical instruments out this afternoon and get the balls, trains and books out tomorrow etc. This keeps your child much more interested than having all of the toys out all day every day.

Happy Parenting!