From the moment you bring your precious infant home, his or her (or their!) room will become a special place for you and your child. Even if you keep your baby in your bedroom at night for the first few settling-in months, you’ll probably use the baby’s room for ch­anging diapers and other everyday tasks. The sooner you and your child feel comfortable in the nursery, the better. (Yes, you need to feel at home in the baby’s room, too, as you’ll be spending a lot of hours there!)

Once you’ve got the crib, comfy chair, changing table, and optional extra bed in place, the rest is child’s play. If your family includes older ­children who share baby’s room, their needs will obviously dictate a lot of the furnishings and accessories. If the room is for the baby only, you may be tempted to go for broke with decorative treatments. There’s no harm in doing this as long as you avoid items with small parts or cords, but you don’t have to spend a fortune on special effects. Babies can’t really see details or pick out the nuances of color until they’re six months old or so. Until then, bold patterns in black and white serve much better to stimulate their eyes and brains.

If your taste tends toward the lively and modern, a baby’s room in black and white with red accents may be just the ticket. If not, however, you can provide short-term toys and board books that stimulate baby just as well and decorate in a way that better suits your style.

1. Buy storage-friendly furniture
Get a crib with drawers underneath or buy a crib skirt and some under-bed boxes, which are great for stashing all those excess diapers and wipes. Still short on storage? Consider a cube system like the IKEA Expedit, which can grow with your tot and be outfitted with drawers and doors to hold toys and books on the bottom. Plus, you can stash clothes they’re growing into or growing out of on the top.

2. Trick out your closet
Use every inch of space already available in your nursery by maximizing your closet’s storage. Little outfits are short, so double your closet space easily using a double-hang closet rod on one side. Then use a portion of your closet to create flexible shelving by adding a sweater bag. Both can be found at The Container Store.

3. Containerize everything
Find attractive open bins for the shelves of your changing table and give each bin a specific category. Inside your closet you’ll want to use clear, stackable containers so you can see exactly what’s there. Label them with size and season. For example, seeing “12-month, summer clothes” is a lot more helpful than having to take down a huge bin of hand-me-downs from the top shelf and then having to dig through. Important: Whatever you do, skip the toy bin! It just becomes a repository for all the tiny pieces, and ends up with stuff on top of it, so your child will never be able to open it to retrieve those stuffed animals anyway.

4. Go vertical
Have a small nursery? No problem! Utilize your vertical space — backs of doors and even the walls are often overlooked areas. Have excess toiletries or tiny shoes? Put an over-the-door shoe bag with clear pockets on the inside of your closet door so that you can compartmentalize all the small stuff and keep it from cluttering up your surfaces. Stick the thermometer in the top row right next to the Infants’ Tylenol, so next time your baby has a fever in the middle of the night you know exactly how to find it (and it’ll be too high for them to reach as they grow!). Have a ton of pictures or other keepsakes to display? Don’t clutter your dresser — hang floating shelves on the wall to show off your treasures. It will look intentional instead of haphazard, and once your child is more mobile, he won’t be able to destroy them so easily.

5. Toss the junk
Having a baby often means you’re showered with gifts. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep and love everything Cousin Gertrude gave you! Take a picture of your kiddo wearing the item or playing with it, write her a thank-you note and put it in the outbound pile. As a parent you need to constantly manage both the inflow and outflow of stuff in your space, so dedicate a bag or two for things that are no longer in active use, and once they are full, get them out. Store the items that you love that make the cut for a future child, but pass others along to a mommy friend with different taste or donate them. Swimming in excess samples from the hospital? Stash a few in your diaper bag, use up the ones you love and toss the rest! You don’t need random stuff you’ll rarely use.

After nearly 40 weeks of being pregnant, it’s not uncommon for women to want to try to induce labor on their own. While most of these fun tactics are simply that, it can’t hurt to put them to the test! Remember that you should only try to naturally induce labor after 38 weeks when your baby is considered full term. So get to work and see if one of these will work for you!

Balsamic Vinegar. Add a splash to your evening salad!

Acupressure. Pressure points in your back and shoulder well can be stimulated using your thumb and forefinger.

Massage. Work only with someone who is trained in pregnancy massages. He or she will know the right pressure points that can induce labor.

Nipple Stimulation. This really does work, as the hormones produced can cause contractions! However, it needs to be done for an hour at a time, which may lead little time for other things.

Spices. Licorice, basil, oregano and motherwort are all spices that have been linked to inducing labor.

Foods. Juicy pineapple, eggplant, spicy foods and Chinese foods have all been said to induce labor. Fortunately, these foods will be tasty during your final weeks of pregnancy whether they induce labor or not!

Sex. The sperm help to soften the cervix and also have prostaglandins, which induce contractions. And, orgasms cause contractions, which may set you off into labor after having a bit of fun.

Castor Oil. There is some debate over this, so be sure to use with caution. While castor oil is known to stimulate contractions, it can also cause diarrhea and vomiting. However, it is these cramps in the bowels that often set off contractions.

Exercise. Whether it’s swimming, taking a long stroll or swinging on a swing, all of these exercises have been known to stimulate contractions.

Bouncing on an Exercise Ball. Consider it great practice for the real thing. This bouncing causes the baby to move up and down, hopefully getting him or her ready to make the grand exit.  Luna Lullaby offers a great Bounce-a-Bye Baby Ball that is helpful before birth during your pregnancy, during birth to ease any pressure or discomfort and after you give birth as a workout for mommy and a great way to soothe a fussy baby.

Tea. Raspberry leaf or thyme tea are great ones to try. With raspberry leaf, it should be incorporated into the diet around 34 weeks. Not only can it lead to a natural induction, but it can shorten labor, a real win-win situation.

While the medical community is mixed on whether or not these natural induction methods actually work, they are safe to try after 38 weeks. Has one of them worked for you? Share your story with us!

Image c/o squidoo.com

Swaddling – An old tradition with modern versatility

Swaddling is a tradition as old as recorded history. There are records of swaddling in texts written ancient Romans, ancient Greeks, and even the Bible. Today’s swaddle wraps are a far cry from the old ones, but they work in the same fashion.

How it works

Swaddling refers to a specific technique used to wrap a blanket around the infant. The blanket is wrapped tightly but not too tightly so that the baby is not pinned into position but his or her limbs are snugly tucked into their body.

This position accomplishes two things:

1. First, it emulates the feeling of being in the womb, making the baby more comfortable and keeping them warm.
2. Second, the blanket prevents the baby from waking up when they accidentally move their arms or legs. This allows for longer periods of uninterrupted rest.

Swaddling today

Today’s swaddling blankets are different from the older ones in several important ways. First of all, the best modern swaddle wraps are made from cotton muslin. It is softer than ancient fabrics so that it is more pleasant next to a baby’s sensitive skin. Additionally, it has a little stretch to it, allowing it to be used for swaddling more easily.  Finally, it is a thin material that provides insulation and ventilation so that the baby is warm without overheating.

These blankets come in a variety of colors and patterns, but they all are a great source of comfort to both mother and child during this special time.

If you have had the opportunity to look for baby or infant products recently, you were probably shocked by the sheer number of products available. This can make it challenging to by anything for your own baby as well as for anyone you know who might be expecting a child, even something as simple as a baby blanket.

One of the first things to consider when choosing a baby blanket is which fabric the blanket is made from as this is one of the most important characteristics of the blanket. Cotton muslin baby blankets are the best ones available for several reasons including cost, durability, appearance, and quality.

Your choices in fabrics

Here are some of the other popular materials and why they pale in comparison to cotton muslin for baby blankets:

-        Silk. Popular in Asia, this material is impractical as it stains easily and is difficult to clean.

-        Wool. Although there are over 200 types of wool on the market, they are usually too rough for a baby’s skin. Wool blankets can be good as layering blankets for babies who live in extremely cold and harsh environments.

-        Synthetic microfibers. Brightly colored, stain resistant, and cheap, these blankets have their strengths. However, many parents do not want synthetic fibers near their infants, preferring organic fibers such as those in cotton muslin instead.

-        Cashmere. The softest and most sumptuous of blankets, these are prohibitively expensive and difficult to clean, making them a poor choice.

-        Regular cotton.  Standard 100% cotton material is ok, but depending on the blanket it may lack the flexibility and breathability of muslin.

Bouncing for all the right reasons

With all the products on the market aimed at parents and promising to be the best soothing product available, it can be hard to discern what works and what doesn’t, or what you really want versus products that end up being a waste of time and money.

One product that many parents are interested in is the infant bouncer. There are a variety of models available, but overall this seems to be a pretty effective soothing method for many infants.

Soothing with a bouncer

Babies enjoy repetitive motion. This may be due to the fact that they were often in motion while in their mother’s womb, or because it is simply enjoyable to be bounced. Whatever the explanation, it can be hard on tired parents to bounce their infant constantly, which is where the infant bouncer is very useful.

When your baby is in the bouncer, he or she can be stimulated or soothed, and your hands are free to attend to other tasks. Bouncers come with a variety of features, including some that have multiple motion settings, so your baby will be entertained while he or she is awake and a more gentle setting can be used to lull the little one to sleep.

Remember, safety first

While there are a variety of infant bouncer models to choose from, make sure that any bouncer you use is sturdy, has a wide frame to avoid tipping issues, has a three or five point safety harness like the one on a car seat, and that your child is within the height and weight limitations for that particular model. This will ensure that your baby is safe while being soothed.

Soothing sounds for baby

The sounds of an upset baby can be frustrating for parents, and even embarrassing if the baby is crying in a public place. Parents rush to soothe the baby, doing anything and everything they can think of to calm and soothe their little one.

One of the most effective ways that parents can soothe their babies is with soothing sounds.

Infants and noise have a unique relationship: a jarring noise can provoke tears, upsetting a baby while other sounds provide a consistent calming effect.  Three sources of soothing sounds include white noise, the voice of the baby’s mother, and lullabies.

3 Types of Baby Soothing Sounds:

-         White noise can be any sound that is consistent and serves as a noise barrier, muffling other jarring noises. It is thought that white noise mimics the sounds the baby heard while she or he was in the womb, so it is comforting to hear white noise outside of the womb as well.

-         Mother’s voice. Another sound the baby became accustomed to while developing in the womb was the sound it his or her mother’s voice, which allows them to find solace in her familiar tone now that they are surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds in the world.

-         Lullabies. Perhaps the “oldest trick in the book” when it comes to calming an infant, almost everyone can remember some of the songs they heard during their childhood. From “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to “You Are My Sunshine,” these songs are an easy way to calm your infant when he or she is upset.

Bouncing is a common technique for calming a crying or upset baby and was the inspiration for our Bounce A Bye Ball. You have probably seen more parents than you could ever count pacing back and forth, doing a unique dance to bounce their infant into a calmer and quieter state. This technique is not limited to children without colic; parents of colicky babies can often help their child find relief and soothing by bouncing him or her gently.

Bouncing – fun and helpful!

Despite the fact that the exact cause of colic is not known for certain, there is a significant amount of anecdotal evidence to support the fact that bouncing is extremely helpful for colicky babies. Possible explanations for the effectiveness of this approach to soothing colic include the following three:

1. The baby may be able to release gas that has built up in the digestive system. For infants who are having trouble with digestion and gas, bouncing may be a necessary supplement to burping after meals to release pressure and alleviate pain.

2. Bouncing may also have a soothing sensation because it mimics the feeling of being carried in a mother’s womb. A child inside his or her mother’s body feels the sensation of bouncing as she goes through the running, walking, sitting, and standing of her daily routine. Bouncing may mimic this sensation in a way that is enjoyable and relaxing for your baby.

3.   Finally, bouncing may be a way to stimulate the development of the vestibular system, a part of the baby’s neurological system that supports coordination, gross motor skills, and balance.