New Mom Baby Fears? Not Even Pregnant Yet and Scared?

I am constantly around new babies – I swear I sneeze and there are 2 new babies in my life from my best friends to cousins to family members. Sometimes it is overhwhelming hearing about all of their “new-mom” or “to-be-mom fears.” It makes me think, what kind of new mom will I be? I did a little research and here are some new mom baby fears and how you can conquer them. J

LEAVING THE HOUSE WITH YOUR NEWBORN

• Fear: You don’t want to expose him to all sorts of germs. 
• Re-Think It: Sneezing kids and groping strangers are legitimate concerns, but cabin fever is an even bigger one. You need fresh air and a change of scenery to boost your spirits. Plus, even very young babies benefit from the stimulation of a different environment. 
• Move Forward: Run errands together, go for strolls, and boldly live your life. But be smart about bugs: Avoid crowds until your child is 3 months old (especially during the winter, when colds and flu are rampant).

MAKING NOISE DURING NAPTIME

• Fear: Everyone says, “Don’t wake a sleeping baby.” 
• Re-Think It: Tiptoeing around the house impedes your ability to get things done in those precious free moments, like tidying up or phoning a friend. Ordinary household noise won’t wake most babies, who are used to sounds from the womb. 
• Move Forward: While it’s certainly not advisable to blast your stereo, break out of your Cone of Silence. If your child is particularly noise-sensitive or tends to awaken prematurely, try turning on a fan. And if you live in a bustling city environment, a white-noise machine can effectively mute street sounds.

PUTTING YOUR INFANT DOWN TO BED WHEN HE/SHE IS CRYING

• Fear: The last thing you want is to leave her emotionally scarred from your “abandonment” or feel like you are being a “mean Mom.” 
• Re-Think It: Endlessly rocking and patting your still-wailing baby can heighten up your anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion levels — three things a new mother definitely doesn’t need any more of. What’s even worse: A child who spends almost all of her time in Mommy’s arms may become even fussier when you put her down. Nip it in the bud!! It will become a vicious cycle. 
• Move Forward: Accept that crying is part of being a healthy baby, not something you always need to stop. Often, it’s your child’s way of soothing his or herself. While it’s fine to soothe your infant for a while, placing her in the crib and leaving the room to take a breather is totally permissible. Just make sure he or she is not in distress.

 SLEEP-TRAINING

• Fear: No one wants to listen to her child shriek for hours nonstop. 
• Re-Think It: If a few months of nighttime wakings have left you feeling super tired – now imagine doing it for a year or more! While stumbling into the nursery multiple times a night to help your baby settle down feels like the right thing to do, it’s not: Sleeping through the night and self-soothing are learned skills — and it’s your job to teach them! 
• Move Forward: By 3 months, your baby is developmentally ready for sleep-training. While you can certainly wait until, say, 7 or 8 months to let her cry it out, keep in mind that the older she gets, the more ingrained her nighttime habits will become. Start by putting your child in her crib, drowsy but still awake.

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Le Top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did not say that!

Daughter: “Dad, when am I going to the dentist?”
Dad: “Soon baby.”
Daughter: She looks at her twisted teeth and says,

Good because it’s like a circus in my mouth”. 

– Gabriella, age 7

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us at editor@letop-usa.com!

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Parent News: FDA Bans BPA in Sippy Cups and Bottles

Decisions, decisions.  Should you throw out your old sippy cups and bottles or are they okay to keep using with your young ones? I love all the new sippy cups – the colors the fun Disney designed ones, etc.  There’s a much better selection than one year ago, that’s for sure! My question is, do we need to make the switch to BPA free? Should I toss all our old sippy cups and buy new, BPA free ones at our house? It definitely depends who you ask. The FDA said last Tuesday, July 17, 2012  that baby bottles and children’s drinking cups could no longer contain bisphenol A, or BPA, an estrogen-mimicking industrial chemical used in some plastic bottles and food packaging.

We’ve long been warned of the potential hazards of BPA, which has estrogen-mimicking properties, so much so that manufacturers voluntarily stopped using it. Manufacturers have already stopped using the chemical in baby bottles and sippy cups, and the F.D.A. said that its decision was a response to a request by the American Chemistry Council, the chemical industry’s main trade association, that rules allowing BPA in those products be phased out, in part to boost consumer confidence.

BPA is often found in cans and plastics and other types of food packaging. BPA is also found in hundreds of other plastic items, ranging from water bottles to CDs to dental sealants. But the FDA has repeatedly stated that those findings cannot be applied to humans. The federal government is currently spending $30 million on its own studies assessing the chemical’s health effects on humans. SO, essentially the new prohibition does not apply more broadly to the use of BPA in other containers, said an F.D.A. spokesman, Steven Immergut. He said the decision did not amount to a reversal of the agency’s position on the chemical. The F.D.A. declared BPA safe in 2008, but began expressing concerns about possible health risks in 2010, and said there is “some concern” about the chemical’s impact on the brain and reproductive system of infants, babies and young children.

BPA has been used since the 1960s to make hard plastic bottles, cups for toddlers and the linings of food and beverage cans, including those that hold infant formula and soda. Until recently, it was used in baby bottles, but major manufacturers are now making bottles without it. Plastic items containing BPA are generally marked with a 7 on the bottom for recycling purposes.

Interestingly, the chemical can leach into food, and a study of over 2,000 people found that more than 90 percent of them had BPA in their urine. Traces have also been found in breast milk, the blood of pregnant women and umbilical cord blood. Some advocates also pointed out that the decision did not include BPA used in containers of baby formula.

Recent research has linked BPA to behavioral problems in human children. A study last October in Pediatrics found pregnant moms with the highest levels of in their urine were more likely to have daughters who were more aggressive, hyperactive, anxious or depressed. No behavioral effects tied to BPA exposure were seen in boys.

Though the plastics lobby clearly helped to ban BPA, understandably moms and other consumer groups who would not buy plastic products for their babies made life such hell for the plastic companies that the industry had to step in.

Have you gone BPA free and how? Are you using sippy cups or baby bottles that you’d recommend to other parents out there? I know many of you feel strongly about this – let us know your thoughts!

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Tips for Putting Your Baby to Sleep in a Crib

I was talking to my best friend Kristen yesterday who had a baby boy in February – and she is dying of sleep because it has become really hard to put him down for naps and even to bed at night. She kept pushing on me that when I have a baby, nothing is predictable—except for a shortage of shut-eye!  It’s every parent’s recurring nightmare: you and your baby are super tired, but your baby will not fall asleep.  In the first few months of your baby’s life, getting her to sleep can be a challenge. Newborn babies sleep around 16 hours a day, but due to the need for frequent feedings, these often occur in one- and two-hour stretches at a time. When your baby is 3 months old, sleep time increases up to five-hour intervals, and by 6 months, she may sleep from nine to 12 hours at a time. Mayo Clinic experts point out that regardless of your child’s age, it’s never too soon to learn how to put a baby to sleep in a crib to encourage good sleeping habits.

This post has been moved to our website. To view the full post and specific tips for putting you baby to sleep click on this link: http://blog.letop-usa.com/?p=25614

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Get a Move On! Exercises to Do with Your Baby to Lose the Baby Weight

Exercise is often the last thing on the minds of many new moms, especially when taking into account what to do with a little one while you workout. You may be surprised to learn that there are a wealth of exercises you can do with your baby!

Many women celebrating the early months of motherhood share the same complaints: fatigue, lack of energy, and an inability to “get going.” The irony is that daily exercise has been proven to help increase stamina and improve bodily functions.

Exercise has many benefits for new mothers that extend beyond physical fitness. Increased mental improvement and ability to cope with stress and anxiety as well as more energy are additional benefits of postpartum exercise. There are many exercise options that involve working out with your new addition.

Consider the following benefits of exercise for moms:

• Healthier and stronger bones, muscles, and joints.
• Reduction in body fat and controlled weight level.
• Increased mental improvement, reducing occurrences for postpartum depression, anxieties, or stress.

Dance with your Baby
Literally. Wear your baby and dance yourself in shape.

Yoga
Yoga is a workout option that helps to increase range of motion, muscle tone and breathing. Babies often enjoy the up and down movements involved when changing positions in yoga.

Walking
Walking with baby in a stroller or in a carrier is an exercise that can be performed at your own pace. You are able to control the length and intensity of each walk, increasing each of these factors as you build endurance. There may also be some stroller walking groups in your area.

Postpartum DVDs
If you’re not yet ready to work that body in public, consider using a post partum exercise DVD.  If you are self-motivated and feel like you are more likely to get it done in the comfort of your own home.

Other workouts
Your baby can be incorporated in other, more typical forms of exercise as well. Airplane ride, crunches, baby leg lifts and flying baby all provide entertainment for your baby as well as exercise for you. Using your baby in these exercises also provides extra resistance, such as if you put your baby on your stomach or lap when doing crunches.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW LE TOP BABY FALL 2012 COLLECTIONS
HERE

Le Top Baby “Toy Zoo” Collection Striped Footed Coverall

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Uma Thurman Welcomes a Daughter!

Photo by: Donald Traill/AP

Third times a charm! Uma Thurman, 42, delivered a baby girl this past weekend on July 15th. The new baby’s name isn’t revealed yet, but her the baby daddy is financier Arpad Busson. Thurman is already mom to daughter Maya, 14, and son Levon, 10, with actor Ethan Hawke.

We think this super cute Le Top Baby “Baby Blossoms” skirted footed jumpsuit would look so charming and sweet on her new arrival to the family. This charming white one-piece skirted footed jumpsuit is crafted with the softest cotton for delicate skin. This one-piece features an embroidered pastel bouquet across the yoke and petite ruffles with pink picot trim along the skirt and cuffs. Pink satin bows adorn the dainty footies. Back and underneath snaps assist dressing.

Le Top Baby “Baby Blossoms” Skirted Footed Jumpsuit

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Beach Crafts: Sand Candles Craft for Kids

Summer is really here and so are fun beach days with the kids. What do kids tend to bring home with them? SAND! In their shoes, beach bags or even in sand pails because they can’t bear to part with the beach. Here is a fun activity – sand candles – to make use of all of that extra sand and continue your kiddo’s fun on a hot summer day!

Tip: For extra fun add sea shells from the beach to the top of your candle mold to add a little “beachy” effect!

TOOLS NEEDED: 

• Large heat-proof mixing bowl
• Sand
• Empty 1-pound coffee can
• Paraffin or old candle stubs
• Candle wicking
• Thin wood dowel or stick

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill the bowl three quarters full with slightly damp sand and ask your child to dig a mold about the size of his fist.
2. Using your hands, bend one side of the coffee can rim to form a spout. Fill the can halfway with paraffin and set it in a saucepan that’s one fourth filled with water. (Never place the can directly on the burner.) Then melt the wax over very low heat; when it has melted, turn off the heat.
3. Cut the wicking to 6 to 8 inches longer than your mold is deep. Rest the dowel across the bowl’s top and tie one end of the wick around it. Press the other end into the bottom of the mold.
4. Now it’s the adult’s job to carefully pour the wax into the mold until it reaches about 1 inch from the top.
5. Once the candle is cool, remove it from the mold, brush off any excess sand, and trim the wick.

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Vanilla Pudding Pops for Kids – Creamy and Yummy!

What is better than something delicious, creamy and cool on a hot summer day? Vanilla pudding pops for your kiddo! Check out this great recipe!

This post has been moved to our website. To view the full recipe go to:

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New News for Spanking? Should You or Shouldn’t You?

Spanking is in the news again.   The old saying is if you spare the rod you’ll spoil the child. But a new study finds spanking a child may do more long-term harm than good.

The study in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found a high percentage of American parents spank or slap their children. And it suggests children who are spanked, hit, or pushed as a means of discipline may be at an increased risk of mental problems in adulthood — from mood and anxiety disorders to drug and alcohol abuse.

It equates harsh physical punishment with increased mood disorders, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug abuse and dependence, severe personality disorders and even depression.  Individuals who are physically punished have an increased likelihood of having mental health disorders. Approximately 2% to 7% of mental disorders in the study were linked to physical punishment.

Some people might even say that spanking turns into abuse later in life.

Many parents don’t believe in it and feel that punishment is a “time out” or sitting in the corner that can do good – even taking away a Nintendo or PS3 or the TV is enough of a punishment for many children today. The reality is that many parents say they do and would use spanking as a form of discipline. So what is the right tactic?

Parents’ right to use physical punishment has been abolished in more than 30 nations, but not in the USA or Canada, says the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment, endorsed by the United Nations and others.

For the study, Afifi and colleagues analyzed data from a government survey of 35,000 non-institutionalized adults in the USA, collected between 2004 and 2005.

About 1,300 of the respondents, all over age 20, were considered to have experienced physical punishment as children. They reported that they had, sometimes or more often, been “pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped or hit by your parents or any adult living in your house.”

But some family researchers argue that spanking, used properly, can be appropriate discipline.

I personally am a fan of not spanking and anyone who needs suggestions on more-effective methods of discipline to a primer on USNews.com called “3 Alternatives to Spanking That Work for Parents and Kids”:

• Focus on rewarding positive behavior rather than punishing bad deeds. Check out this video with Alan Kazdin, director of the Yale Child Study Center, showing how to praise a child right with immediate, focused praise rather than the bland “good job!”
• Time-outs work, but they have to be done right to serve as effective punishment. A good time-out is short, focused and doesn’t involve lectures after the fact.
• Be consistent in how you discipline your children. This one’s tough for all parents — hey, we’re humans too! — but will go a long way toward making your home a haven rather than a battlefield.

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Fourth of July Nachos – Red, White & Blue!

Looking for a quick and patriotic appetizer for this upcoming Fourth of July? Check out my Patriotic Nacho Recipe! Cheap, easy, quick…my kinda way to get these done and still have some fun! Voila!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag blue corn tortilla chips
• Cooking spray
• Aluminum foil
• Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• Salsa
• Sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place blue corn tortilla chips on a foil-covered baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle the chips with shredded Monterey Jack, then bake at 350° for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Top the nachos with salsa and sour cream.

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Le Top Baby “By the Sea” Collection Striped Sailor Skirted Romper and Sleeveless Striped Sunsuit Romper & Shirt

 

 

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