Archive for the ‘Safety’ Category

Apr
01

Baby Bath Time

Safety
No Comments

Baby Bath Time

Giving my kids baths was always great fun for me.  After I got over the sheer terror of it and they were old enough to like it.

Bath TimeWhen your baby first comes home he or she will probably still have his or her umbilical cord stump on- which means a reprieve.  No full on baths until it has dried up and fallen off, only sponge baths.  Soon enough though the cord will fall off and your baby will develop a funky smell from milk dribbles and similar.  It will be time for a bath.  Any parent in their right mind is a little overwhelmed about the first bath.  It is a lot to do! Babies are so slippery when they are wet! Water can be dangerous! What do you do?

First, take a deep breath and get everything together that you’ll need.  Never leave a baby alone in water.  Ever.  Even for a moment.  So get everything ready first.  You will need a towel (I grab two, just in case), a wash cloth the baby bath tub, baby wash, baby lotion, a fresh diaper, fresh clothes, and the baby.

I like to run a super hot shower for a few minutes before I give my newborn a bath, it warms up the bathroom.  New born babies are not so good at regulating body temperature yet, so they get cold fast.  When you fill the baby bath tub the first few times add less water than you think you’ll need.  Test the water first; you do not want it too hot or to cold.

When bathing your baby use one hand to help him or her stay up in the water.  Use the other hand for washing.  The parts that I typically really pay attention too are the baby’s diaper area and the area around his or her neck with all of the little creases.  They get dribbles in there and it can get messy fast.  Typically, doing a quick bath is enough.  Then get him/her dried off, lotioned up and dressed again so he or she does not get to cold.

www.barebabies.com

Oct
20

Child proofing your house for baby – Part 4 of 4

How-To Parenting Safety
No Comments

In the bathroom

  • Adjust your water heater temperature to 120F degrees.  Babies love to grab the bathtub faucet and will scald themselves.
  • Never leave water standing in the bath, a sink, or even a bucket. Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental deaths of young children, and babies can drown in practically no water at all. Especially if the child falls and is knocked unconscious by their efforts. Check out this great toy storage for any bathtub. It has holes to allow water to drain and spots on top to hold all your baby needs for quick clean up at bathtime.
  • Keep medication and cosmetics high up.  Babies love to investigate and their mouth is the first place it goes.
  • Make sure there’s nothing your baby can climb up on to raid the medicine cabinet.
  • Keep shavers and hair dryers unplugged and out of reach.  Even if you like to take a bath, put your razor up high because a baby could climb in an empty bath or shower and grab your razor.
  • No electrical appliances near bathtub.
  • Use a bath mat or stick-on safety strips to reduce the risk of slipping in the bathtub.

For more great safety ideas, check out the products at Barebabies.com!

Oct
20

Child proofing your house for baby – Part 3 of 4

Baby Furniture Safety
No Comments

Bedtime Safety

  • Don’t choose homemade or antique cribs. They probably don’t conform to today’s safety standards, which includes a smaller distance between bars to prevent getting their head stuck.  A great selection of cribs can be found here at barebabies.com.
  • Remove from the crib all mobiles and hanging toys. By five months, most kids can push themselves up on their hands and knees and can get tangled up (and even choke on) on strings.
  • Keep the crib at least two feet away from blinds, drapes, hanging cords, or wall decorations with ribbons
  • Check toys for missing parts. Throw away any broken toys or toys that could lose pieces that can choke a baby.
  • Toy chest lids should stay up when opened (so they don’t slam down on tiny fingers). See our models for a boy or for a girl at Barebabies.com
  • Don’t leave dresser drawers open. From the baby’s perspective, they look an awful lot like stairs.
  • Keep crib items to a minimum: a sheet, a blanket, bumpers, and a few soft toys. Babies don’t need pillows at this age and large toys or stuffed animals can be climbed on and used to escape the crib.
  • Don’t leave your baby unattended on the changing table. Many changing tables now have straps to buckle your child in so even if you are standing right there but get distracted, they can’t fall off.

For more great safety ideas, check out the products at Barebabies.com!

Oct
15

Child proofing your house for baby – Part 2 of 4

How-To Safety
No Comments
Child Proofing

Child Proofing

Kitchen Safety

  • Install locks on all of your low cabinets and drawers.  It might be a good idea to have on drawer or cabinet of non-breakables that is ok for baby to play in while you cook. Another idea is to have a special kitchen basket of toys to help keep.
  • Keep baby’s high chairs away from the walls. His strong little legs can push off and knock the chair over.
  • If you are investing in a new home or stove, look for models that have knobs up high away from the reach of babies and toddlers. That baby will quickly grow. Stove knobs will also be helpful on a stove you already own with knobs down low.
  • Use the back burners on the stove whenever possible and keep the handles turned toward the back of the stove. Children can easily grab the handle and dumb boiling food or water onto them.
  • Never hold your baby while you’re cooking. Teaching him what steam is or how water boils may seem like a good idea, but bubbling spaghetti sauce or hot oil hurts when it splashes.
  • Put mouse and insect traps in places where your baby can’t get to them.
  • Use plastic dishes and serving bowls whenever you can — glass breaks and, at least in my house, the shards seem to show up for weeks, no matter how well I sweep.
  • Post the phone numbers of the nearest poison control agency and your pediatrician near your phone.

For more great safety ideas, check out the products at Barebabies.com!