When my daughter was first born, we always gave her breast milk or formula but as she got a bit older we introduced water into the routine in those rare times when she wouldn’t take a bottle of milk.

Giving your child water in a “sippy-cup” or bottle is not uncommon. But giving a baby under 6 months too much water can be a potential health hazard.

A study done at John Hopkins University is aimed at reminding parents that babies younger than six months old should never be given water to drink, as too much water can put babies at risk of a condition known as water intoxication.

“Because babies’ kidneys aren’t yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water… Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures.”

Full Story Here

…Summer night, white noise, thunderstorm, running stream…all music to my ears. This is just a summary of the great things the Conair SU7 has to offer. The Conair SU7 Sound Therapy Device was designed to help sooth and calm infants. How well does it work? Lets just say my son and I would be fighting over this one if he were bigger and stronger. For now, he had no choice but to share this awesomely relaxing machine with his dad.

For starters, the sound library is amazing. Everything sounds like they should with clarity I didn’t expect for only $19.99, watch out Bose. The Conair SU7 plays 10 soothing sounds. The sound options are summer night, white noise, thunderstorm, running stream, ocean waves, songbird, rainfall, tropical forest, waterfall and heartbeat. Heartbeat is my little boys favorite. This seems to relax him the most, gets him to sleep, and keeps him asleep. I’m assuming it’s because I tend to keep him close to “my heart” most of the time… *awwww*. Now remember, this is great for us parents too. I’m stuck between tropical forest and ocean waves at the moment.

I can honestly do without the clock radio built into the Conair SU7. It functions as a clock radio should but I felt it really wasn’t needed. Now if you’re looking for a sound therapy machine and you happen to need a clock, then I’m sure you’ll appreciate the clock radio more than I do. Regardless, this is a great sound machine that all parents and babies should experience, and fall asleep in the process.

I will leave you with a tip. Conair is selling the SU7 for $27.99 on their website. If you hop over to www.amazon.com, you can find it for $19.99.

If you’re like me you may feel your newborn is a bit “boring” the first few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my child from day 0. Thing is I guessed I expected my little boy to play catch or Xbox 360 with me right away. Well, what I got was a lot of sleeping, some crying, and poopy… yes, I said poopy.

So for parents out there that understand where I’m coming from, well, we may be wrong. Our babies are not as boring as we think. I stumbled upon some very interesting baby facts that make our little ones more interesting than we can ever be…

*And now, I present to you fun facts about babies:

• Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adult we have only 206 in our bodies. The reason? Some bones fuse together later.
• Children born in the month of May are on the average 200 grams heavier at birth than children born in any other month.
• A newborn baby’s head accounts for about one-quarter of it’s entire weight.
• According to researchers at the University of Texas, babies like pretty faces better than plain ones.
• A fetus in the womb can hear. Tests have shown that fetuses respond to various sounds just as vigorously as they respond to pressures and internal sensations.

This is just a sample of interesting and fun facts about newborns and babies. Read about more fun baby facts here

*list from http://www.baby-names-now.com | fun baby facts

We had a post yesterday about myths related to the sex of your baby. Now apparently science is involved - as if they don’t have other things to work on - like building my boy a mini-hovercraft so I don’t have to push his stroller all the time.

Anyway, new research done by British scientist provide [what they consider to be] the first-ever evidence that a mother’s diet at conception may determine her baby’s sex.

“Mothers-to-be who skip breakfast and eat less are more likely to give birth to girls, while moms who consume more calories and a wider range of nutrients — including, specifically, those from breakfast cereal — are more likely to deliver sons.”

I’m not sure if this fall in line with the other pregnancy myths, seeing as (and again - I’m not a doctor) I always thought the fathers sperm dictated the sex of the baby, not which type of cereal you had for breakfast.

You can read more about this here

I don’t know about you, but with the recent addition of 500 reality TV shows on every network, its hard for me to find anything worth watching on television anymore. But apparently, the onslaught of mindless network shows hasn’t affected what your kids are watching.

In the U.S., the average child will watch up to 4 hours of TV a day. But this is by no fault of their own - most daycare centers (70%) have movies or childrens’ shows playing throughout the days to keep the kids entertained, and some school activities include films or movies for the children as well.

Although, studies show that most children start watching TV long before they enter school. And within a year, the average child spends 900 hours in school and nearly 1,023 hours in front of a TV.

Of course, television, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet and counting from shows like Sesame Street, grade schoolers can learn about animals and wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. Its obvious that TV can serve a valuable purpose in some cases.

But what are the negative effects of too much TV?

• Research has shown that children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
• Kids who view violent events, such as a kidnapping or murder, are also more likely to believe that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
• Research also indicates that TV consistently reinforces gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Read More about the effects of TV

Whether you want a boy or a girl, there are plenty of “magical” ways to predict or influence the sex of your unborn child.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Carrying High, Carrying Low: The general story goes that, if you’re carrying low, you’re having a boy. If you are carrying high, then you’re having a girl.

Daddy Gains Weight: The belief is that, if your husband puts on weight during your pregnancy, then you will be having a girl. If he doesn’t put on a pound, then you’re carrying a boy.

Is Mommy’s Face Round and Full?: If people tell you that because your face is round and rosy you are having a girl, they might be right - but then again its 50/50 right?!

You’ve got a Sweet Tooth: Many people believe that cravings are caused by the sex of your baby. Super sweet cravings, like chocolate or ice cream mean that you could be having a girl. Sour cravings like tart candy or lemon juice could be the result of the little boy inside of you.

Again, its important to remember that none of these are based on fact. Although I have been pretty good at guessing whether my friends are having boys or girls based on the “carrying low-or high” principle, but then again I’ve got a 50/50 shot every time…so the odds I’m going to be right are always decent!

Getting stressed out about life, work, money and relationships is common in everyday life. And although it’s something we all deal with on a daily basis (in form or another,) a new study shows that if you’re stressed while pregnant, you may not be the only one who get affected.

At at meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto, U.S. researchers stated that:

“Women who are stressed about money, relationships and other problems during pregnancy may give birth to babies who are predisposed to allergies and asthma.”

More importantly, their finding also go to show that a mother’s stress during pregnancy may have long lasting consequences for the her child later on in life.

This is particularly important, as most couples may worry when the realization of the “true” cost of having a baby and managing the added expenses in addition to the every day finances may cause stress for both parents.

You can read the Full Article Here

Yes, your infant or toddler may be too young to understand the words, comprehend images, or even put the two together. The fact that they do not yet understand what you read to them doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits by reading to your child.

According to www.childliteracy.com, the more you read to your child the better. By reading to your child you are helping them build knowledge through their senses that are still developing.”

“The effort of focusing on pictures develops eye muscles. And each time he hears a particular word, it imprints more strongly in his brain. Think: how do our brains learn? They learn by doing. Each time your baby sees, hears, or feels anything, brain connections form. Eventually, the connections are strong enough to create a skill or a piece of knowledge”, says www.childliteracy.com.

To me, the benefits are obvious and makes a lot of sense. Additionally, reading to your child is another great way to build that parent-child bond. Reading to your baby can be fun for all and very helpful to your child’s early development. Happy reading.

A list of books to read to the little one:

• Lamaze Where’s Caterpillar
• The First Years Pooh Peek & Teethe Crinkle Book
• Sassy Soft Book - I’m a Teapot
• Sassy Soft Book- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Well, here is another great toy I wish I had when I was a kid. I remember I was given a broken telephone to play with. Good times. Anyway, Fisher Price has done it again. Fisher Price’s Laugh & Learn™ Learning Puppy™ comes with two modes of play, learning mode and music games. With music mode there are 10 fun songs for your baby to boogy to.

Learning Mode has six spots on the puppy that teaches your child body parts, ABC’s, and colors. My little one at the moment has learned chewing on the puppy’s ears can be very fun. Learning Mode uses fun songs and phrases to entertain, engage, and teach your little one.

When learning is over it’s time for fun and games. Game mode includes a counting song, color song, the alphabet song, and a body parts song. In addition there are six extra songs for continued enjoyment, boogying, and fun.

Get this toy for your child. It’s fun and you’ll enjoy watching your little one learn while enjoying delightful songs and games. Or you can enjoy watching your child chew on the ears.

**Things you should know:

• Manufacturer Recommended Age: 6 months - 3 years
• Batteries: 3 AA batteries required. (included)

**from amazon.com | Laugh & Learn™ Learning Puppy™

Curious to see what the hottest names were in 2007?

Take a look at the top 10 names for both boys and girls and see if you picked one the most popular names of the year.

You can find out more popular baby names here:

Biblical to Bizarre: American Baby Names | Washington (AFP)

Popular Baby Names | U.S. Government