To promote healthy eating and healthy choices in our children we must begin when they are babies & toddlers. When you begin to introduce your child to food start with healthy foods. There will come a time when your babies & toddlers will need something to chew on to help bring in their new teeth, now rather than giving them a sugar loading cookie, try a carrot stick. Simple substitutes like this will teach your babies & toddlers to make healthy choices, they will carry these lessons with them as they grow.

You must understand that bad eating habits are taught and learned. It is your responsibility as a parent or child care provider to give babies & toddlers the guidance they need to grown and learn and to make good choices in life. Be sure you alwayssuggest good foods to babies & toddlers, because babies & toddlers need all the nutrition that they can get. You are the provider of food, so take the time to read labels and make good choices yourself, in the long run you will be teaching babies & toddlers to do the same.

The Roth is kind of weird until you get used to it in terms of how much you can put in (contribute) each year depending on how much you earn (compensation). Because of this you really have two limits, one dealing with your compensation and the other dealing with your contribution. Let me explain.

If you need more information about Roth IRAs, you should consult a tax professional such as a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Financial Planner. You can also get more information directly if you take a look at IRS publication 590 - Individual Retirement Arrangements. Using a Roth is the #1 best trading account to use while investing in the stock market.

Whether you are driving to the end of the block or across the country; correct installation of a baby car seat suitable for the age and size of your child is essential for baby car seat safety. If yours is one of the new designs, correctly installed and the appropriate size for your child’s age, height and weight, baby car seat safety levels are increased even more.

Browse and select your baby car seat from all of the major manufacturers like Graco, Century and Peg Perego and obtain further baby car seat safety tips.

Using baby shower checklist-hostess are the best way to stay organized if you are planning a baby shower. The more organized you are the better the shower will be. You also want to make things as stress free for yourself as possible so that you don’t come across as the frazzled hostess.

• Set a date for the baby shower
• Make guest list
• Choose location for hosting the shower
• Choose a theme
• Decide what type of a menu you want to serve
• Choose the type of invitations you’re going to send out
• Decide what games and activities to include
• Enlist help

Three Weeks

• Send Invitations (be sure to include RSVPs deadline and directions)
• Order food
• Order cake

Two Weeks

• Buy baby shower decorations and party favors
• Plan games
• Buy favors
• Buy a guestbook for the guests to sign
• Make sure that your menu is finalized

One Week

• Wrap gifts
• Take a final count of the accepted guests
• Phone those guests that haven’t yet responded
• Confirm food and cake
• Confirm guest list
• Make sure you have enough film for the camera
• Prepare and clean your home (if the location of the shower)

One Day Before the Shower

• Start putting up the decorations
• Prepare the party favors; make sure that you have enough
• Make sure all the games and activities are organized
• If the cake was ordered pick it up or have it delivered
• Set up the chairs and tables; add more decorations
• Make sure you enough ice and beverages

The Day of the Shower

• Do any last-minute decorating
• Blow up balloons
• Prepare the punch and other beverages
• Set up the food and cake
• Have a guestbook ready at the door for guests to sign
• Have a side table ready for the gifts
• Greet guests at the door
• Enjoy!

Hope this baby shower checklist-hostess will be a great help to you. Now you just need to get on with making all of the above start happening. Good luck and have a fun time!

A new arrival in the family ushers in immeasurable joy and happiness. It is a special occasion not only for the respective mother and father, but also for the entire family and their friends. Celebrate this joyous occasion with style. Go in for classy yet useful baby gifts for the newborn. A few tips are listed below that my help you choose the ideal baby gifts for some one you love and care about.

# Baby beds with a number of tiny pillows in different shapes. A baby bed is very useful because babies soil the bed frequently and to have a spare one always helps.

# Soft toys. Cuddly teddy bears and dolls keep the infant company. They also create a cozy atmosphere, making the baby feel very comfortable.

# Baby wraps and blankets. Baby skin is very soft. Keeping this in mind always buy soft wraparounds for the baby. The wraps should not have any kind of buckles or buttons as this may hurt the baby.

# Organic baby clothes. Soft and comfortable organic baby clothing - sure to make both mom and baby happy.

# Woolens. Sweaters woven from the finest wool only should be considered for gifting purposes. This also applies to caps, hoods and socks.

# Body suits are considered ideal as they cover the baby from head to toe without the help of drawstrings and buttons. Also they are easy to handle when in a body suit.

# Baby Gifts can also include diaper sets. Though some may consider it a bit impolite, the fact is that they are very useful to the parents who never seem to have enough of them.

# Beautiful baby baskets are one way of gifting more than one item at a time. You can put in various articles that will come in handy for the baby as well as the mother.

# Baby milk bottles. If the mother is breast-feeding the newborn, these will be useful only after six to seven months.

# Pacifiers, rattlers, piggy banks and chimes are among other items that are appropriate for the occasion.

# Shower items form a very important part of baby gifts. Shower tubs, shower toys, soaps and oils come under this category. Moms can be gifted shower aprons as well as baby shower invitation cards.

# For babies in the crawling stage, ideal gifts include rocking chairs and horses.

# Even at this stage it is advisable to gift soft toys as there is a chance toddlers may hurt themselves with hard toys.

# Such toys may include soft stacking rings, clutch cubes and balls.

# Items like play sets, figure books, alphabet blocks and fitting blocks and puzzle name stools can be gifted to babies over one year.

# It is better if chocolates and other goodies accompany gifts. This gives twice the joy to the baby.

A wide range of baby gifts awaits you online. So what are you waiting for? Happy clicking.

It’s true. Colic is MUCH harder on the parent than the infant. My daughter survived six months of colic unscathed. My husband and I are a different story. We have deep psychological scars that send us scurrying for the nearest exist every time we hear a baby cry.

As parents, we were newbies. We had never even changed a diaper when we brought our bundle of joy home from the hospital. I had heard a few horror stories about babies with colic, but never thought in a million years I would be the proud owner of a colic baby. So, imagine our horror, when on about our third week of parenting, our daughter started screaming every day around dinnertime. And, I’m talking blood-curdling, “I’m-in-severe-pain” sort of screaming. Screaming that lasted four hours and drove everyone in the household to tears.

We thought for sure something was horribly wrong.

A doctor appointment later, I was assured that my daughter was fine, and she probably just had “a little colic.” Not to worry, that the colic would pass within a “couple of months”.

Yeah, right. Define a “couple of months”.

Those of you who have a baby with “a little colic” know there is no such thing. Experiencing a colic episode is extremely traumatic. You feel helpless, angry and frustrated when everything you try to stop the crying fails miserably. You feel like you’re a bad parent or that your baby hates you. But, don’t despair. Empower yourself! There are tons of strategies, tricks and products out there to help you deal with a colicky baby.

A guaranteed colic-buster we used time and time again was white noise. “What is white noise?” you might ask. Good question. Here goes.

White noise is the full spectrum of sound frequencies a human ear can hear combined together all at once. Huh?

Okay, again in layman’s terms. Have you ever been in a crowd full of people, for example, at a sporting event? Everyone is talking at the same time. You can’t decipher every single conversation, but you do hear the roar of the crowd (it happens to make me sleepy). That is white noise. Oh, yeah, I get it now!

Now, do me a favor. Put your hands over your ears and listen. Do you hear a roaring? What you are hearing is the white noise your own body produces within. The same noise your baby heard for 40 weeks or so while in the womb.

So, for a second, imagine you are a baby in the womb. You’ve spent most of your existence in a place warm and dark, where you were well fed and had no distracting noises, lights or outside stimuli. Then suddenly, you burst on the scene and have a whole big world to absorb. The stimuli eventually stresses you out, and since you can’t communicate very well, the only way you know how to blow off steam is to cry and cry and cry some more. This is the latest scientific explanation of the cause of colic. Your baby is over-stimulated throughout the course of the day. To relieve stress, they cry uncontrollably for several hours. Oh, man.

So what can you do as a parent?

Recreate for your baby the feeling of being in the womb. Lower lights, reduce visual stimuli, swaddle the baby and turn on some white noise. Babies seem to be positively effected by the noise frequency of a hair dryer, clothes dryer and vacuum cleaner.

Unbelievably enough, this works! When I first heard about this theory, I was extremely skeptical. But out of desperation one day, I pulled out the vacuum cleaner and plugged it in. It was like turning off a water faucet. Immediately, our baby quit screaming. If you unplugged the vacuum, she started screaming again. It was weird. But, it worked.

Wait, though! Don’t just plug in your vacuum cleaner and run it for several hours. The noise decibels will damage your baby’s hearing. You need to be able to control the volume of the white noise your baby is hearing.

White noise downloads and white noise CD’s are available for purchase almost everywhere. Just go on Yahoo! or MSN and do a search for “white noise baby”. For just a few dollars, your baby can have the comfort of white noise, and you can have your sanity back.

Getting a baby to adjust to a normal sleep schedule can be a challenge for new parents. Here are some tips so that both you and your baby can get a good night’s rest.

1) Establish a routine - A kiss good night or stroking the baby before sleep can calm the child, or bathing and cleaning the child before bed time. Make sure to repeat these patterns. Once the baby becomes familiar with this routine, they will know that it is time to sleep. Also, make sure the baby sleeps in the same place and in the same conditions as much as possible.

2) Try lullaby music - Lullaby music can calm the child as can white noise CD’s. The sound of a vacuum cleaner is also known to have a soothing effect.

3) Make sure that the room temperature is not too hot or cold and that the baby is in a location that is away from any noise or distractions that may cause the baby to awaken.

4) Shorten nap time during the day - If the baby sleeps too much during the day, then he or she may not be able to sleep as well at night. When napping, keep the lights on and try not to give the baby any cues that it is bedtime by avoiding the night routine. No need to wake the child from napping, but if conditions are brighter and a bit noisier, then the baby will probably wake up on its own.

5) Rocking - Rocking and massaging the baby can relax the child and this may be good as prelude to sleeping through the night.

6) Read a story - Read a story or spend some time with the baby before bed, instead of just dropping the baby off in the crib and leaving. This extra time will allow the baby to transition into sleep.

7) Feeding - Make sure the baby is getting good nutrition. If you must feed the baby in the middle of the night, make sure to keep the lights dim so as to not disturb the baby’s sense of time.

Make sure that it is quiet at night and that there is activity during the day. Babies need to learn the difference between night and day.

Keeping your baby safe at all times is one of your greatest concerns and responsibilities. There is so much to consider and it is very easy to overlook something that might be fairly obvious to some but escape others. Things like covering electrical outlets, putting up baby gates and turning pot handles to the rear of the stove are discussed in this article and is presented in a question and answer format.

Q. What is the best way to approach baby-proofing our home?

The best way is to see your home from the eyes of your child. It is recommended that you get down on your hands and knees and crawl around your home. This will enable you to see hazards you might not have recognized at your full height. Are electrical outlets in baby’s reach or are there electric cords hanging down that your baby can pull on or get tangled in? Does your furniture have sharp corners? Are there precious items at your baby’s level that should be put up out of reach?

Q. What is the most hazardous situation for my baby?

Any situation that places your baby in harm’s way is the worst situation for your baby. The most hazardous situation for your baby is choking or anything that might cause him to stop breathing. The most hazardous situation for you baby is one that caused an injury that could have been prevented.

Q. What are some things I need to consider when I am baby-proofing our home?

There are many things to consider. Your baby is a quick mover so it is never really safe to leave him unattended if at all possible. Consider putting up all valuables and breakable items out of reach of your baby’s. Anything that is small enough to fit in his mouth should be removed. If in doubt as to whether any one item is small enough to fit in your baby’s mouth and pose a choking hazard take an empty toilet paper roll. If it fits inside the tube it go in his mouth and possibly harm him.

Q. Why do I need baby safety gates?

Baby safety gates can be placed in doorways or at the top and bottom of staircases. The gates can prevent your baby from getting into the kitchen or bathroom. They can also prevent your baby from tumbling down the stairs or climbing the stairs and falling. The mesh or the holes in the gate should not be large enough for your baby to put his toes through to climb the gate. Gates now are being made to operate hands-free or one handed. There are gates being made with the bars going vertical instead of horizontal reducing the chances of your baby being able to climb the gate.

Q. What are electric outlet covers or locks?

Electric outlet covers look like plastic plugs when they are inserted and prevents your baby from sticking his fingers or something else in the outlet and getting a serious shock. Electric outlet lock plates can replace typical outlets and in order to insert anything into the outlet the plug has to be inserted and turned.

Q. It was suggested to me that I have motion alarms on our doors and windows, why would I need them?

Some kids are very active and able to do things you would be very surprise about. Children have been known to open windows and fall through screens and become seriously injured. There are many news stories where toddlers have gotten up in the night and unbeknownst to their parents open the door and go outside. Some are found wandering around and others are not so lucky. Some windows now come with a mechanism to prevent the window from being opened more than an inch or two. The alarms will alert you to the door opening and you can intervene before something tragic happens.

Q. What kind of baby-proofing products are available?

There all kinds of baby products available and most are reasonably priced. There are motion sensors, corner cushions for sharp corners on furniture. There are electric outlet covers, cabinet and drawer locks of different types and cord retractors for window blinds.

Q. Is there anything available to protect my baby from getting in between banister posts?

There is netting available that can be attached with screws that will prevent your baby from getting between the banister posts. This product is similar to the deck netting available for outdoor decks.

Q. Are there baby proofing checklists available?

Yes there are baby-proofing checklists available. You can locate them online and they are printable. Specialty stores, hospitals, and pediatricians are all possible sources for such checklists.

Q. How can I baby proof my nursery?

You can baby proof your nursery by keeping your baby’s crib away from windows and blinds cords. Put outlet protectors on all outlets. Make certain to dress your baby in sleepers rather than using blankets. When your baby begins sitting up place the mattress in the lowest position. Do not put stuffed animals or pillows in the crib with your little one, they could nestle up to them and suffocate.

Q. How can I baby proof my kitchen?

Put all cleaners or chemicals up out of reach of your baby. Make sure all drawers and cabinet doors. While cooking put all pot handles toward the rear of the stove. Do not allow electric cords to hang over counters where your baby can pull on them. Better still, if possible unless you are feeding your baby keep him out of the kitchen.

Q. How can I baby proof my car?

You can baby proof your car by making sure the car seat your baby will ride in is installed correctly and that it is the correct one for your baby. Remove all loose items that could become missiles in a crash or quick stop, and place them in the trunk.

In Conclusion

The bottom line of baby proofing your home and your car is to be mindful that the most common things can be hazardous to a baby or small child. You can obtain a checklist of things to look for when baby-proofing your home. Window blinds cords should be shortened and outlets should be covered. Look at your home and car through your baby’s eyes, you might be surprised at hazards you miss when you are looking from adult height.

There are many types of car seats available on the market today. In order to be able to make an informed decision it is best to check out car seat manufacturers. You can also check any consumer guide for information on recalls, seats that have been crash tested, the best type of restraint systems for your child. Before that even starts be aware of the fact that there are many types of car seats. The choice you make will be based on your prior research and your child’s needs. A note of caution: before you purchase a car seat check the manufacturer’s recommendations and be sure the seat is compatible with your vehicle.

One type of car seat is the infant only car seat. This seat comes with a detachable base, comes with higher weight and height limits, harness slots that will help to change the seat from rear facing to front facing. The multiple slots can be adjusted to fit your baby. They also have handles that can be folded down while the child is in the car. They can be raised to make carrying your baby easier.

Convertible car seats are bigger and heavier and may not be appropriate for some newborns. The reclining position and ease of adjusting the harness are important assets. A convertible seat can be used rear facing for most newborns and front facing for older babies over twenty pounds. The American Pediatric Association recommends a child stay rear facing until s/he reaches the maximum weight and height listed by the manufacturer. The straps and are adjustable to a child’s size, the seat should be moved to the proper position for the weight and height of your baby. The seat belt should be threaded through the seat belt path.

Forward facing seats cannot be used in the rear facing position. They are only for children over a year old and over twenty pounds. They can be used with either a lap only or lap/shoulder belt system.

Combination seats also cannot be used in the rear facing position and are also only for babies over a year and over twenty pounds. It has an internal harness for children whose weight is between forty and fifty pounds. It can convert to a belt position booster seat by removing the harness for larger children. They can be used with lap only or lap/shoulder belts.

Booster seats come in different types. Some come with shield boosters that are padded bars that lock into position much like the handlebars on carnival rides. There are booster seats that come with a high back to support your child as s/he rides in a car. Some booster car seats are built into vans and some cars. Check with your vehicle manufacturer to be sure the seat will accommodate your child’s size. There are travel vests that attach to the seats with lap only belts.

Now that you know the types of car seats, there are things that must be considered in order to ensure the safety of your baby. Is the seat safe? How did it fare in crash testing? Is the restraint system easy to manipulate? If they are difficult to buckle your child in or remove him from the seat your child’s safety could be compromised. In an accident, a sudden stop, or quick swerve will the seat hold your child? If the seat moves in any way in these situations your baby could be at risk. The car seat should attach snugly to the seat if properly installed. With seats that have multiple belt slots to accommodate your child be sure you use the right one. The belt should be at your child’s shoulder level or just above.

Most newer car seats come with the LATCH (lower anchor and tethers for children) system. Installation is supposed to be easier but they are difficult to use and are not always safe. Parents complain that upon installing seats with this system there is too much slack, the seats have a tendency to move or slide out of position. In an emergency situation this could have seriously disastrous results. A company has created a tool called Mighty Tite that is used to pull in the slack and it has been safety tested and is recommended.

As previously stated check consumer guides and online sites for recalls. This is especially important if you have a used car seat. If you purchase your seat second-hand you need to inspect it thoroughly. Check that all belts and buckles are in good shape and working as recommended. Make sure the belts aren’t frayed or the buckles cracked. Check the frame for any breaks or gaps that your little one could get fingers stuck in or that are sharp. If you find such things don’t use the seat until you can get it repaired or replaced. If the seat comes with removable covers it is suggested that you remove them and wash them well. If it doesn’t have cloth covering you might want to buy some. A vinyl seat, could in the summer, burn your little one’s tender skin. In a desperate attempt to remedy this when my own child was an infant, I found a large towel and cut holes in it and place it on the seat so that anywhere my son’s skin would meet the seat, it was protected at least with the towel. If you are really creative you could make your own.

Be practical in purchasing your car seat. If you have an infant buy a seat that will convert to a front facing seat as your child grows. Infant seats also come with a base that remains installed while you are able to remove a sleeping child from the car without disturbing him too much. Some such infant seats can also attach to a stroller frame. This multi-use seat is practical and will save all the bending and unbuckling and buckling of seat belts and then stroller belts. The internal harness keeps your child appropriately restrained.

Let’s go over some important considerations in purchasing car seats. Keep in mind compatibility with your vehicle’s specifications. Check for recalls and safety testing- how did the seat fare in these situations? Is it the proper seat for the size of your child? Can the seat be converted from a rear and front facing seat - it is more economical to buy a convertible seat. Is the installation easy or does the seat seem to move around in the belt system? There is a tool called Mighty Tite that can take up any slack and make the seat secure in its position, thus enhancing your baby’s safety. Choose carefully and choose wisely, you are carrying very precious cargo.