Travel Baby

Any parent would only wish for the best for his or her baby. As such, one of their primary concerns is that the baby gets ample rest and is secure in its bedroom. In any case, getting a bassinet for your baby is certainly the right way to go. A bassinet provides a safe and durable place for your baby to rest, lessening the initial anxiety you may feel about caring for him or her and ensuring his or her safety.

The Benefits of Providing a Bassinet for Your Baby

A bassinet can be both functional yet stylish. Usually recommended for infants up to 4 months, these are also portable and can be carried around anywhere, which makes it useful for family vacations. With so many parents making an issue out of mobility nowadays, particularly those who still work full-time while managing a family at the same time, bassinets are helpful additions to the house. It looks good as a permanent fixture in your room, while at the same time easy to take along on journeys, thus lessening the need for you to request an extra crib for your baby to sleep in when you travel.

Bassinets are also usually partly covered, which serves as good protection for a sleeping baby especially if you are carrying it out on the streets. Babies are generally more susceptible to infections and sicknesses, and having a light physical shield to protect them from bacteria in the air in some sense lessens the risk of them catching an infection, albeit only to a partial extent.

Bassinets can also be quite flexible as they can be converted to actual prams and carriages, given that you have the wheels and the tools to add on to it. Therefore, when your baby grows, it is possible not to waste the bassinet as you can turn it into something more useful.

Familiarizing Yourself with the Types of Bassinets

In general, there are only two types of bassinets. There is the stationary bassinet, and there is also, as talked about, the portable bassinet. Also touted “Moses baskets” the stationary bassinet cannot be moved around as it is designed to have a more permanent fixture in your home. A portable bassinet, however, serves useful to those who are constantly traveling – these may be the more sturdy types of bassinets as they are specifically designed to withstand effects of the rain or the sun, or the current weather. 

How to Know Which Type of Bassinet to Buy

This is pretty simple to identify, as all you need is to ask yourself these questions: Will I be traveling frequently? Will I always be bringing my baby with me as I travel? If your answers to both questions are yes, then you should certainly invest in a bassinet of your own – particularly a portable bassinet. Otherwise, you should be fine with a stationary one.

The “Cocoon” Feature: One of the Best Things About a Bassinet

The “cocoon” feature is one of the best things that a bassinet can offer to a baby. Bassinets are generally designed to provide that safe, comfortable, and secure feeling that will make the baby sleep better. In fact, most neo-natal units make use of bassinets to allow babies to sleep well.

This is something that normal cribs don’t offer, and as such, make bassinets a more attractive option. Bassinets also work better for rooms that have less space because they require less clutter to set up, and are daintier and lovelier to look at than most cribs.

What to Look for in a Good Bassinet

The same three universal standards apply when you start searching for a bassinet of your own: size, quality, and design.

Choose a good-sized bassinet that will fit comfortably in your room or the baby’s room. Do not be dazzled by larger sizes if you know that it will only end up making your room look quite cluttered.

As for quality, while portable bassinets are normally the sturdier kind, choose a bassinet that will last for years, especially if you are planning to have more kids after.

Design-wise, choose one that looks best in your room – this now depends on your personal preferences for the room and for the baby.

Never hesitate to pay premium for a good quality bassinet – this is an important thing to remember. Remember that this is now about the safety and security of your baby – of course you don’t want to risk those by buying a cheap yet low quality bassinet.

What to Do with Your Bassinet When the Baby Grows Up

There are several things that you can do with your bassinet when you feel that you no longer need it. You can sell it to someone else who happens to need it at that time, you can convert it to a pram and use it for your growing child, or you can keep it should you want more babies in the future.

In other words, a bassinet can be a very important part of your life as a mom. Getting one for your home means that you truly care about the safety and security of your baby. These are two things which you will not and should not compromise when it comes to child rearing. Make sure you do your research in advance before buying your choice of bassinet so that the investment you make will truly be worth it. Good luck, and happy bassinet shopping!

By: Erik Schimek

I am a grandpa and I know that babies cry. And why not! They can’t speak, they can’t tell you what they need, so if they want to communicate to you they cry!

Because we know that babies will cry, there is no way around it, but you can do some things to reduce the number of times that they do, and reduce the length of time.

Try to deal with your baby before they start crying. If you can do this then the odds are that they will cry less, and when they do it will be for a shorter period of time.

That’s all fine and dandy, but how do you deal with your baby before they start? The answer is a two part answer.

Learn why they cry Anticipate that the circumstances are such that when they will start and then eliminate or reduce the circumstances that will lead up to it.

So here it is, why do they cry, and what can you do to minimize it

Reason # 1. They have pooped or wet their pants and they need changing. To anticipate this problem check their diaper regularly. One of my daughters has a feel test, she puts a finger on to the diaper to feel if baby is wet. The same daughter also has a smell test. She picks up baby and takes a whiff of the area that is covered by the diaper. If the baby needs changing do it before the crying begins. Reason # 2. They want to be held. They want to be close to mom or dad. They want to hear familiar voices, feel familiar touches. Many babies have a routine, such as after being changed or after being fed they want to be held. Learn what their needs are and if they need to be held (after being changed for example)  then pick them up. If you are not always able to pick baby up consider using a carrier such as a Heart to Heart sling or BabyTrekker carrier. That way your child can be held and you can still have your hands free. Reason # 3. Baby is hungry. Learn to watch for the signs that your baby is hungry. When you baby is hungry does he or she start to fuss, make noises, etc. If it is close to the time to feed baby do so before they start to cry. Another suggestion is to keep a journal where you can record the time of the day, the signs that the baby is making indicating that they are hungry, and what happened when the baby was fed. Reason # 4. Baby is either too cold or too hot. Most babies, especially newborns like to be bundled up and kept warm. Try to avoid situations where the baby will feel cold. If stepping outside make sure baby is well bundled. If changing the baby’s clothes make sure that you are all set with everything you need so that you can quickly make the change and get your baby wrapped back up again. Reason # 5. Baby has had too much excitement. If you are out visiting with family and friends and your baby’s routine is changed it may be difficult for the baby to take it all in. When you are out and about with your baby periodically take some time away from everything and everyone to have some calm and quiet time with just you and baby. Reason # 6. Baby doesn’t feel good. Eventually you will be able to distinguish the crying that happens when your baby is not feeling well versus the cry that means that baby is hungry or uncomfortable. When you baby is crying with that “I’m not feeling well cry”, make sure that there isn’t a piece of clothing that is causing the crying. If that isn’t the problem take their temperature. If their temperature is above normal or if the crying persists contact your doctor. Reason # 7. Mystery reason. There is no real reason why the baby is crying. It’s their normal fussiness crying. Here are some things that you can do to help to soothe baby. Wrap baby up and hold him or her close Put baby in a baby sling carrier and start moving. Quite often the motion of being carried will calm the baby Rock gently in a rocking chair Take baby for a car ride Take baby for a walk in their stroller Touch the baby with slow and gentle movements of your hands. This is especially useful when the baby’s back or belly is rubbed. Let the baby suck on their pacifier  

By: Joseph Peterson

If you are a new parent or a soon to be parent there is no doubt that you have started to notice the massive variety of strollers available. They all have different looks, different uses and most noticeably, different price tags. It is enough to leave you wondering how to judge which is the best value.

The stroller that is the best value for you is one that will meet your needs and last until you no longer need it. Many parents have made the mistake of choosing the cheapest stroller thinking that it was the best value only to have to replace it several times. Many low end strollers are made of plastic or have plastic joints that can wear out, warp and twist in a surprisingly short time. It is best to invest a little bit of money up front in a higher quality stroller in order to save you the money of replacing it in a year.

You know you don’t want to buy two strollers because one breaks but do you want to buy two strollers for different activities? For some the answer is yes but for most of us it is not. If you are an avid runner and you are going to put in a lot of miles with your jogging stroller, you will need to invest in a high quality jogger that can stand up to the abuse. The stroller that is perfect for jogging is rarely perfect for anything else. Joggers are big and a non-swivel front wheel is necessary for jogging but very difficult to steer any other time.

If you are not an avid jogger you will probably want to find a stroller that you can take for a walk around the neighborhood, a trip to the park or a trip to the mall. There are so many strollers that will fit the bill for all of these activities as well as anything else you can think of. Bugaboo makes great strollers that are easy to push and will hold up through multiple children. The Stokke Xplory has a unique design that many parents and babies love. Orbit baby has created an easy to use and incredibly safe travel system for parents who spend a lot of time traveling.

One thing these strollers have in common is a hefty price tag and yet they are all good value. If you are planning on having more than one child any of these strollers will remain in good condition after years of use. You must also remember that each child will need the stroller for about three years and if you have to replace a cheap $200 stroller three times per child that can really add up fast. For value it is better to spend $500 or $600 once than to spend $200 over and over again and deal with the hassle of a low quality stroller.

By: Andrea Marchant