Displaying items by tag: children

Tuesday, 01 May 2012 22:46

Home Birth Step #8: Should I Take a Childbirth Education Class?

In having a home birth you will not have hospital protocol around you. Having the knowledge that a class can give you may be priceless in the end! Your care provider may be able to give you some insight during your appointments, about what to expect. However this does not substitute taking a class and doing hands on learning.

So how do you choose which to go with? There are so many choices, here is a brief synopsis of some of the choices out there.

Hypnobirthing uses a long term training (start early in your pregnancy), of putting yourself in a sort of trance by using a set series of touches to help you deal with your contractions. There are classes you can take taught by certified people or there is a home training that you can do.

Hypnobabies similar to Hypnobirthing but rather than use touch as the corner stone for the self hypnosis it is using actual hypnosis to help through pregnancy and labor. It helps you learn a closer bond with your baby and makes it more of a symbiotic process rather than autonomic. This can also be taught by a certified trainer or by a home class using cd’s.

Birthing From Within this class uses imagery and visualizations to help you move through pregnancy and birth. The class is tought by a certified trainer, but there is a book that you can buy to do your own self study.

The Bradley Method is often referred to as the Husband Coached Birth. This was created to allow the spouse to be more involved in the birthing process. Again they are taught by certified trainers who have used this method or taken an extensive training program to become certified.

Lamaze has long been used in labors as a breathing technique to get through labor. The organization has grown from just birth to doing more about pregnancy and raising children. This is taught by a certified trainer.

Go back to: Step #7: Gathering Birthing Supplies

Go ahead to: Step #9: Birth Support

Go to: Birthing Methods Main Menu

Published in Birthing Places

Car Seat Safety

Something that often gets passed up when thinking about having a newborn is car seats, and how to correctly use them. I can't stress enough how important car seat safety is.You get scared and protective when your child falls? So let's get protective on saving their lives in cars.

Let's start with the chest clip. It is called a chest clip for a reason, not a tummy clip. You want it even with child's nipples or arm pits.

This picture shows a correctly installed infant in an infant carrier.

Correctly installed child.

Another important thing to remember is where the straps come out of the car seat. Make sure the straps are tight and secure, you should not be able to pinch them at all.

If your child is rear facing (AAP recommends to at least 2 years and 30lbs) the straps need to be at or BELOW shoulders.

If your child is forward facing they need to be at or ABOVE shoulders. Make sure the straps are tight and secure, you should not be able to pinch them at all.

When installing the car seat into the car it needs to be tight as possible. If you have the latch system use that, if not, seat belt. But NEVER both. This video shows the importance of making sure it is tight. You shouldn't be able to move the car seat when it is installed. Grab the base of it and shake, if it moves more than an inch, it needs to be tighter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u7Ca-pehs34#!

Did you know winter coats are a big no no in car seats? Watch this video for further explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNGT9eBL_gg&feature=player_embedded

Another big no no is aftermarket products. What is an aftermarket product? It is anything and everything that doesn't come with your car seat. They void the warranty and haven't been crash tested. So those cute car seat covers, are just that, cute but have not been tested to be safe. Bundle Me's, are the same thing, so stick with using a blanket.

Please, never buy a used car seat from an unknown source as you don't know the history of it. If a car seat is involved with a crash, even if it is minor, it could have caused damage to the frame that you can't see. Or what if they washed the straps? Washing the straps, breaks down the material they are made from and can cause them to snap, as well as not being fire resistant anymore.

When it comes to your children, you can never be too safe or too cautious with car seats.

Le'ts keep our kids safe in the car, as well as out.

Published in Baby's First Year

How Children are Treated

Our children are the most important part of our lives, yet we are all human and make mistakes. Parenting for a Peaceful World shows how love, compassion and play to name a few are so important for a child's mental development. It also gives a detailed look into world history of how children were treated and provides information on child-rearing customs and it's affect on societies.

Published in Healthy Family