2012 End of the Year Tips: Part 2 - Baby

2012 was a wonderful year, and besides the eczema, Lina<3 had a great year. These tips will range from clothing, to cradle caps to toys, to baby gears, and more.

Breastfeeding your baby (if you can) is most wonderful thing you can do for your baby. Nursed as much as possible. It is the first and most important thing I could do for my baby. Lina<3 and I were able to bond. I enjoyed it no matter how painful or difficult it was in the beginning. Breastfeeding all the way is my motto.

Lina<3 had bad, bad cradle caps. To get rid of the scaly, patchy, yellowish flakes that was caked onto Lina's<3 scalp, use this home remedy below (from Babycenter) that I found and works wonders:
 If your baby has a stubborn case of cradle cap, you may want to try an oil remedy to help loosen dry flakes:
Rub a small amount of a pure, natural oil – such as almond or olive oil – on your baby's scalp and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Then gently comb out the flakes with a fine-tooth comb or brush them out with a soft brush.
Be sure to follow up by washing your baby's scalp with a gentle baby shampoo. The last thing you want to do is leave oil on his head, which could clog the pores and cause the flakes to stick. You might try leaving the shampoo on for a few minutes before rinsing, to help cut the oil.
This home remedy does not work overnight, it needs a few weeks to work. Once the cradle caps have cleared up, I continued to brush the scalp everyday and moisturized the scalp as well. To this day, there are still some dry skin on Lina's<3 scalp, but brushing daily controls the amount of dry skin that stays on the scalp.

Lina<3 wear mostly Carters due to the fact that I find their clothes durable and does not get ruin no matter how many times it gets wash. We only buy 100% cotton clothing. I like their pajamas, bodysuits, and play outfits. I believe that the prices of clothes are decent and even better if the clothes are on sale. The snap on buttons does not comes off easily (regardless how much the clothes are wash). I had brought other brands of clothing as well but it does not last long.

With these Dr. Brown's Glass bottles, there are little to no concerns about BPA and other chemical regarding plastic bottles. These bottles are great and durable it does not break easily regardless of how many times it gets toss on the floor (would say these bottles are excellent because I thought these glass bottles appeared to be unbreakable, but one bottle out of the eight bottles that we have, had shattered when it had fell on the floor for the umpteenth time a few days ago). Does these bottles really reduced burping, spit ups, or gas that Dr. Brown's products promotes? It does help to reduce spit ups and gas. It is a hassle to wash all the compartments that come with these bottles so make sure you use the correct brushes to wash out the bottles and compartments unless you use a dish washer.

Worst brush to wash the Dr. Brown's bottles, Munkins. The brush creates a lot of soap studs, which splashes everywhere including self. The handle on the brush is too short and thick. It is hard to get it in and out of the glass bottle I have, always ended up stubbing a finger or two. The fact that this brush stands up on its own is great and does not need to find a place to put the brush. Nipple brush, I never used, and  it got rusty. The bristles on the brush could be softer.

Love links toys, toys that connect to each other and has multiple purpose is always excellent. It can help connect other toys with the links to hang down, and it rattles when connected to each other. It can be used individually. Lina<3 had these links since she was a newborn and still plays with them now.

Using a Vtech walker to assist in walking worked for Lina<3. I had read all the precautions and controversy about using walkers but decided to get one anyway. The Vtech walker's handle is a little big for my baby's little hands but she got use to it. Stay close to the baby when using the walker to walk as the baby will fall.

When it comes to picky eaters, be patient. It drives me crazy when my baby refuses to eat and the homemade food gets thrown out. Try different foods with seasonings (which sometimes works). I am trying store brought organic foods as well (which I never thought I would buy store brought foods but decided to) to see if my baby will eat it or not. However, her eating habits stays inconsistent. Try using different utensils, not just baby spoons/forks, use regular forks, spoons, and even chopsticks (if possible but be careful not to stab the baby).

Lina's<3 diaper rashes used to be pretty severe but now diaper rashes are rare. Using Triple Paste Medicated ointment for diaper rashes works wonders, it takes up about two days to clear up the redness and rash. Even when my baby does not have a diaper rash, I continue to use the ointment to prevent the diaper rashes from coming back.

I have been encouraging reading books since Lina<3 was a newborn. Her little library is continuing to grow. My baby can turn pages with some assistance and know which board books she likes best. When Lina<3 wants Mommy to read to her, she goes and pick up her favorite books ("All About Me" or "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?") and brings it to me. Lina<3 loves her board books even eats some of it, lol.

When it comes to playtime, I try to use that time to teach as well. Teaching through play is a great concept. Babies learn through play. I always use praises when my baby reach a new milestone, such as rolling over, clapping hands, walking, stacking blocks on top of another block because it tells her that she is doing well, and increases her self-esteem.

Sleeping training, should you do it? I did it with a lot of difficulty but with a routine and consistency, it worked. Is Lina<3 sleeping through the night? No, but she is sleeping better, at least 4-6 hours at a time at nighttime and naps 2-3 hours during the day. It is extremely hard to train Lina<3 to sleep especially on myself as a parent, because there was so much crying in the beginning. The crying lessens, and baby did fall asleep on her own eventually. As a new mother who was sleep deprived, it was excellent to watch my baby sleep better because it also meant sleep for me.

I believe I covered most of the helpful tips, at least what I can recall :)


Please be advised that these tips are from my own experiences and if there should be any concerns or questions regarding these tips, please speak to a professional.