Is my Baby Carsick?

As someone who has always suffered from motion sickness, one of my first thoughts of when I had babies in carseats that were facing backwards was," wow that would make me really motion sick, I wonder if the baby could be feeling the same way?"
  This week my family will be embarking on a very long car ride followed by a  2 hour boat ride so again I visited this question of whether my babies could be feeling motion sickness and is there anything I can do about it. The fact is that motion sickness is the result of confusion between the eyes and the ears and this of course can occur in a person of any age and may very well be hereditary.
 After researching quite a bit about the issue I have come to the conclusion that my children are not currently showing any signs of having motion sickness and since the symptoms tend to get better with age, there is a good chance that they will never feel the effects of a choppy surf.

 If you have noticed that your kids are excessively sweaty, fussy, having an increased amount of saliva, or are continuously yawning while in the car, they may actually be feeling ill rather than sleepy. These are some of the main symptoms to look out for, and if they seem to resolve when the vehicle stops you may just have your answer.
 Prevention for young babies can be difficult as they are facing backwards and that can immediately cause eye/ear confusion. However, there are steps you can take to help; you can give your little one a clear view of the outside, try to remove shades that may block their view, and give them some fresh air, with a gentle breeze blowing on their face.
Some things can even be done before you leave the house. Avoid feeding baby while you are on the road or in the air. Also for long trips plan baby's naps around your travel. Sleeping through any travel will help baby feel less of the bumps and jostling that comes with any movement.
 I know how difficult it can be to travel with motion sickness, so I want to stress, if you feel that your baby or toddler may have some belly trouble when in motion just keep an eye out for some of the big clues. If it is to the point where you are seeing complete belly eruptions day in and day out it may be time to visit the Dr. and ask about some over the counter meds that make life a little easier on everyone and cut down on the travel time anxieties.

Fill Baby's Belly with Fiber

A full belly is one of my Top 10 Must Haves for your little one to reach his optimal amount of sleep. With young infants it can be simply a matter of increasing the number of feedings each day, however, when it comes to an older infant or a toddler a full belly can be a much harder goal to reach.

Babies go from great eaters to extremely picky overnight and that is when it is important to know

exactly which foods you should be offering, because at that point every little bit counts. Your child's taste can literally change from one day to the next, so you may easily find yourself at the end of the day realizing; your toddler has really not taken in many calories, and he will most likely be waking overnight looking for a snack.

 As adults we tend to focus soley on fat, calories and sugar, but when it comes to introduceing food to your baby, fiber should be on the top of your list. Foods that are high in fiber take longer to digest and will therfore keep everyone fuller longer.  To decipher how much fiber you should be pushing, take your toddlers age and add 5. So if your baby is 1, you will offer 6 grams of fiber per day. To acheive this, it will be helpful to start learning which foods are fiberous and contain at least 2.5 grams per serving.

Below I have listed a number of foods that will help your baby's belly feel fuller longer -

- Whole Wheat Bread

-Whole Grain Waffles

-High Fiber Cereals

-Brown Rice

-Beans

-Whole Wheat Pasta

-Leave skins on fruits, such as apples and pears

-Freah fruit over canned

-Oven baked potatos/fries with the skins on

-Smoothies - Sneak in fruits/veggies and proteins

                  - These move quicker through the system so they are great for kids with reflux.

If you find that you have not been offering your baby much fiber up until now, you should make it a gradual process. Introducing too much too quickly may cause constipation, which really just replaces one problem for another. So if you are typically serving a sugary cereal in the morning, slowly mix in a healthier option day by day. Adding fruits can also be beneficial. Plenty of water and other fluids will help baby's body to keep things moving and avoid any backups as well.

Start offeirng these high fiber foods early on so your kids grow to like them and will expect them at each meal. Kids thrive off of consistency with their mealtime routines just as they do with their bedtime routines. So when they know what to expect, they will be more likely to eat a full lunch or dinner and and therefore be more likely to get a full nights sleep.

My Top 10 must haves to Help Baby Sleep!!

1. Room Darkening Shades - I mean DARK!!!
  - Whether it is time to go down for the night or just a nap, your baby's room should be pitch black. The darkness strongly contrasts with the daylight and helps to regulate baby's biological clock.
Day = awake, Night = Asleep

2. A Full Belly - Be sure your toddler isn't on a diet:)
 - Many people start to introduce solids to their toddlers and don't realize that they have replaced entire feeding with some peas and carrots, we don't want baby on weight watchers. Try adding some proteins into the mix.
 - For infants a Dream Feed can be a great option to help baby get through the night without waking to eat.

3. Sound Machine - I mean LOUD!!!
 - Be sure the sounds are not super robotic, it should be natural and calming and of course loud. Here is the one I like:
http://www.target.com/p/homedics-sound-spa-relaxation-sound-machine/-/A-10121441#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink

4. A Friend - If baby is over 6 mos, he should have a BFF in his crib. This will help to comfort your older infant or toddler when he wakes throughout the night and give him some someone to play with when he wakes in the morning.

5. Swaddle - Every baby loves a swaddle..trust me. If your baby seems to struggle while in the swaddle, be sure it is super tights and baby's arms are straight down at his sides. Here is the swaddle I like:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3726439

6. A Lamp - Those incredibly bright overhead lights you have on during the bath and bedtime routine..TOO BRIGHT!!!
 - It is important that the bedtime routine, including the bath, has a relaxing atmosphere, and that begins with the correct lighting. A little lamp that you can bring from room to room with be helpful to have just the right brightness.

7. Wake-Up Clock - These are awesome for toddlers.
Love these:
http://www.zazookids.com/

8. Bedtime Relaxation Routine - A must for everyone to decompress, its shocking to go from alot of activity to the crib. At least 30 mins before your baby or toddler is due to be off in dreamland, you should begin allowing him to decompress. Head for the bath and then to his sleep space for some quiet play and book or songs. For older children this is still important, school age kids really benefit from discussing their day, letting you know what they enjoyed or had trouble with throughout their day.

9. A bright Morning Wake-up - A good way to say "yes this is the time I want you to get up everyday!"
 - When you go into your baby or toddler's room at wake up be as cheery as possible. Open the shades, let in the sunshine and praise the for having such a good night in their bed!

10. A relaxed Parent - A rushed routine, stressed mom, and anxious dad will only hinder baby's ability to relax himself.
 - Try to enjoy this part of the day, it will help everyone settle a little easier

The Reflux Generation

I have begun to notice that reflux is the new "in" diagnosis for babies. More than half
of the babies I visit have reflux to some degree. And even those families who have not formally received the diagnosis, suspect that their baby is suffering from this painful burning condition. Parents have now become so concerned with any bit of spit up that leaves their child's mouth, it has become yet another anxiety on the road of parenting an infant.
 As the parent of a baby who was diagnosed with reflux, I completely understand the difficulties it can bring. It is incredibly hard to listen to your baby grunt and cry while they try to digest they're previous meal. However, I have noticed that most parents, including myself, who have given their baby one of the many medication options, really don't know if the meds are what helped their baby get releif. There are so many formula options, suggestions for breastfeeding moms and special diets for toddlers, that how can you really know if your baby needs those drops twice a day?

Even with the grunting and my son's extended belly I wish that I had been offered all of the other solutions out there. I was never told that there are certain solids I could be offering my baby that would digest faster or that a smoothie would help my little one keep down his dinner through the night. I did not know until much later that babies with reflux sleep better on their bellies and that thickening the formula with cereal can help a baby belly. Doctors are just so quick to say, "which pharmacy should I send it to?" you don't even have the chance to get all the details and alternatives. Luckily most of us moms know to do some of our own research along the way, it would just be nice to know that we have heard all of our options when we talk to the professionals, not just handed  the bottle of elixir, that has yet to get a real stamp of approval from many of the moms I know.

Weaning baby from her BFF...the Pacifier

When I discuss sleep plans with my clients I typically advise them to introduce a pacifier to their newborns to give them a chance to use it as a soother at bedtime. I do however try to have parents limit the pacifier to the child's sleep space or carseat only, and after a few months it really can be taken away all together. For infants, there are few reasons not to introduce the pacifier but as a kid gets older it can inhibit speech and cause more temper tantrums as a child has difficulty communicating. But more and more often I have noticed that parents are afraid to even consider the introduction a pacifier for fear that baby will never want to give it up. While this can be true with some children, I find that giving a baby a pacifier is really nothing to fear, there are some easy and effective ways to eliminate it from baby's day to day when ever you choose.
 One of my favorite methods for saying bye bye to the "binky" is to bring the "pacifier fairy" over for a visit. For this you can either have a friend dress up as the fairy and come with her magic net to collect all the pacifiers throughout the house, or you can say that you are collecting them for the fairy and put them in the mail for other babies to use when they snooze. Another great aspect of this method is that the fairy leaves a  prize for your little one in exchange for being such a big kid.
A similar method could be used around a birthday or special holiday in exchange for some big kid gifts.
As the fairy is a "cold turkey" technique, there are also gradual options. Making the pacifier less appealing to the child can work wonders. You can cut off a small piece off of the pacifier each day until there is really nothing left to suck on and you will find that your baby or toddler quickly becomes disinterested.
Another idea I like is to sew the pacifier in the belly of your little one's favorite stuffed animal. If there is no favorite friend maybe you go pick out a new one, this will not only eliminate the pacifier use it will help your child to become attached to a new soother.

  So many new parents feel lucky when their baby does not want a pacifier, and while it can make some things easier down the road, the pacifier is a great way to help baby self soothe and trigger the calming reflex.

Crib Sheet Warning

This week a few clients expressed concern about their baby's crib sheets and the fact that in the morning the sheet would be off the mattress and at times the babies have actually been wrapped up in the elastic end of the sheet.  This can be a real concern with ill fitting sheets for babies who are mobile in their crib. When the sheet is not securly wrapped around the mattress even a light tug can cause it to come off and quickly become wrapped around an infant or toddler. The baby typically becomes wrapped in the sheet with the tightest areas around their necks or ribcages and as they begin to struggle the sheet only become tighter. Most children who end up wrapped in the sheet are at an age where they can roll themselves into the bedding, however they are not able to UNroll themselves.
 There are a few great options to ensure this does not happen with your child's crib sheet. Sheet clips and suspenders work well, there are also crib safety sheets which have a secure - fitting to help everyone sleep a little more soundly.
http://www.inventiveparent.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=SLEPSFSH