So...How DO Babies Communicate?

Sorry I've been gone for a while but I'm back to posting parenting tips that may be of great help to new moms and dads. It can be very frustrating when your baby is crying and you don't know what to do. So, what does it mean when your baby cries? How do you tell the difference in cries? For starters, below are the reasons why babies cry.

1. I'm hungry
2. I'm tired
3. I'm bored
4. I'm overwhelmed
5. I'm uncomfortable
6. I have colic

But that's all great but how do you know the difference in cries? Well, I'll tell you. Let's start with #1 I'm hungry.

I'm hungry: Your baby usually starts with short cries that build to a steady rhythm of wails.

I'm tired: Exhaustian is expressed through a pattern of short wails, then a longer louder cry. This cry can continue until he falls asleep.

I'm bored: Cranky fussing that starts with irritable noises and escalates to crying if left unattended.

Overwhelmed: Similar to a tired cry but your baby may turn away from you when you try to comfort him.

Uncomfortable: Take a look at his environment. She may be too cold and shiver or be too hot and be flushed.

Colic: All too familiar to me of course....but these cries occur around the same time each day and last for hours. For more info, I offer great colic tips in my book, Baby Prodigy: A Guide to Raising A Smarter, Happier Baby.

Congratulations, you're pregnant

Congratulations...you've found out your pregnant! I've got some great tips that will help your worries go away. If it's your first baby, then you probably need some guidance. If it's your second or third then you may have things pretty much under control. If you're newly pregnant, go out and get some books to help you understand what you should expect during your first, second and third trimesters. They are all great but by far my favorite was What to expect when you're expecting. It was so wonderful reading about how the baby is growing week by week and the author does a great job explaining it. There are also many books on how to take care of yourself too. I highly recommend reading some of them. It is a very exciting time for you so enjoy it. Another thing you should prepare for is losing sleep. So, go out with your husband or wife now and do the things you love to do before the baby comes. Once you have the baby, you will find that you are too tired for the first few months to do anything.

Other things that you may want to read while you're pregnant are books on your child's development. Take advantage of your baby's brain development by providing them with an enriching and stimulting environment. In the next few posts, I'll share some secrets from my book about how to raise a smarter, happier baby! Stay tuned.

When your child gets sick....

I'm sorry but I have not posted in a few days because my daughter has been sick. I wanted to share some my story hoping it may relieve some stress from you and your spouse. Although my husband works at a stressful job and I'm home with our kids, he was and is so great when our kids get sick. My daughter was up almost all night the past few nights and even though he had to work, we both got up together to help her. We have been to the doctor three times this week and each time he came with me. I'm hoping that if there are dads out there that visit my blog that they will read this and understand how much we appreciate their help when we are up at night with the kids especially when they are sick for a week. So dads....try and help if you can even if you have to work. Try and take a turn for one night or two it really is a big help and VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!

Baby Names

If you have children or know someone that has children, then you know what it's like to stress over naming a baby. Granted, there are hundreds of books out there that help you with the naming process. However, if your style is more of the celebrity type like Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise who picked out the name Suri, then you may want to dig a little deeper into unique baby names. If you prefer a name that's common or what's in at the time your baby is born, then those baby name books are a great help.

When my husband and I were naming our second daughter whose name is Lara, we couldn't decide on her name for months. We actually took the name at the suggestion of our friend who rambled off some names while we were at a birthday party. We dug a little deeper into our past (college years) where we all remembered hearing the name. It seems to be an East Coast name. I don't really hear the name out her in California but there is Lara Scott radio host, and Lara Flynn Boyle but other than those people I don't know any other Lara's.

The one thing you should remember about naming your baby is that they will have that name forever so you want to be sure that you won't grow tired of calling her Apple or some other unique name. Try to remember it's your child not you who really has to live with it. Although cute when they are young, babies are not little too long!

GREAT BEDTIME TIPS FOR TODDLERS

Establishing bedtime routines for your toddlers

Do you want to get a good night’s sleep? Of course you do. With two little girls only two years apart, I didn’t get much sleep until I followed regular routines with both of them. It is very important early on to establish good sleeping habits for your baby and toddler. One way to do this is to follow the same routine night after night. I can’t tell you how much easier my life was once my children had a bedtime routine. Here are some secrets that helped me get through those many nights.

Going Wild
Let the giggles and wiggles out! For about ten minutes, let them run around and get that energy out of them.

Soaking your troubles Away
Give your toddler a warm bath and let them relax. You can even give them a little massage with a washcloth.

Attending to details
Don’t forget to brush those teeth! Put on their favorite pajamas and diaper in a low key manner.

Unwind Review the day together. Toddlers like to talk so let them talk about anything they would like.

Wishing Goodnights
Have your toddler give his goodnight wishes to everyone. This can include the family pet and his toys. You can spend as much time on this

Story time
This is my favorite time. Cuddle up with your child and read her a bedtime story or you can make one up. My girls loved their dad’s stories. In fact, I used to listen outside the door to see how creative he was!

Music
Both of my girls loved relaxing to classical music. Of course, the Baby Prodigy Musical Pacifier CDs were a favorite in our house.

Lighting
It is important that you have some sort of light for your toddler. Leaving them in total darkness may frighten them. A night light comes in very handy at this age.

Goodbye with a kiss
Tell your child another goodnight and tuck them in. Leave the room without hesitating and don’t let yourself go back into the room. It can be tempting but sticking to the routine will give you the best results.

And, goodnight to you, hopefully you too will get a good night's rest.

Baby Prodigy Gift for Valentine's Day

Out of all the links I gave you for Valentine Gift suggestions in my recent post, I forgot to mention a gift for your toddler. Between now Feb 3, 2007 and Feb 14, 2007, I'm giving a discount on our DVD (Baby Pre-school) and Toy gift set. You can check it out on www.babyprodigy.com in the store section or view it on amazon.com. Just go to amazon.com and type in baby prodigy and you will see it. If you would like to order, send me an e-mail at, info@babyprodigy.com and mention code 857503 and you will receive this exclusive offer. The gift set retails for $16.98 normally and $19.99 on amazon.com, but I'm happy to offer it to visitors of my blog for $12.99 plus shipping. The DVD in the gift set is a Parenting Magazine Video of the Year and has won many other awards. It comes with a 8 inch plush Dookie Duck for your little one which he can cuddle with when he watches the video.

Odd & Unique Gifts for Valentines Day

Ok, now I've seen everything. I was on the internet trying to buy a gift for my husband for Valentine's Day and came across some gifts I had to mention to you. First I have to say by far the oddest gift I've ever seen is a company that's advertising Dead Roses for sale. That's right! Dead Roses. I'm sure it's a great gift for the Ex but why would anyone buy this. You have to check it out it's at www.deadroses.com. If you have a techie husband than you may want to find unique gadgets at www.gismodo.com or engadget.com. They really have some cool things. Even though some of the prices on these gadgets are expensive, if you have a hard to buy for husband than you may want to check it out. For kids, they have some really neat things. At www.fortunecookie.com you can get a big personalized fortune cookie for you child. I really love it. Another affordable outlet is www.thepopcornfactory.com they have great gift items and are very reasonable. The last resort is always the Bestbuy gift certificate but if your husband is like mine, they are collecting dust on the side until he decides to spend them. Good luck finding that special gift! If I find any more unique sites while I'm internet shopping, I'll be sure to post them.

Children and Nightmares-ET and Night At the Museum

I thought I had passed this phase in my life with my little girls. We'll for the last few days after my older daughter watched ET, my younger one who caught some glimpses of it, now has nightmares. She has become so attached to me in the last week, it's nothing like I have ever seen before. She wants all the lights on all the time and holds my hand whenever she can. Last night after a sucessful run of no accidents in the bed, she had one. She even comes into my room every night and wants to sleep with us. The end result, even if you're child is not watching the movie but is in the same room doing something else, they can still have those nightmares as if they watched the whole thing. She thinks there are aliens in the house. I know spouses disagree with things from time to time but to make my point, I was against this movie from the beginnning!

So how do you correct the problem? Although this is another setback in our daily routine, it will pass. Children really believe it's real so you should take extra care in helping them get through it. Be selective about choosing movies. Think about how the kids will react. If they start to cover their eyes, then it's time to stop watching. However, we did go to the Night at the Museum and she loved it, but I guess you never know.

Baby Einstein AND every other video out there?

I don't really comment about other baby videos out there including Baby Einstein but recently with retailers having little shelf space to share, I think it is important to share this with moms and dads. As the creator of a baby video company, I can understand people liking the Baby Einstein videos and for good reason, however, will parents be open to trying other videos on the market? When my daughters were young, there were only a few competitors to Baby Einstein. However, to be fair, a lot of the stores will not carry the smaller company's products because they are not a big brand name. Things have really changed in the video industry from the late 90's. There are dozens of great videos out there for children of this age group you just have to find them. I hope parents start to try some other companies out there before they all disappear and only have one option left, Baby Einstein! Remember, just because you don't see it on the shelf, doesn't mean it's not a fantastic product. The reason usually has to do with the distributor and the relationship they have with the stores not so much the product.

You can find great baby videos at amazon.com and other fine retailers for a much lower price.

Celebrity Moms

I was wondering how many moms out there actually buy products because they are seen on a celebrity baby? If you see a shirt that Angelina Jolie's baby has on, do you go out and buy it? Does it mean it's better than chosing one on your own? If you're like most people, we love our babies to get that celebrity look like Katie's Holmes, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie or Courtney Cox's babies. Can most moms afford to keep up that look?

Of course not! But there are many stores out there that have lovely clothes for our babies. And, remember, how many times your little one has spit up on the clothes. Probably one too many. Buying a few nice outfits is great, however, the reality is that most of the clothes get ruined. Be a smart shopper when it comes to your baby. Buy soft, easy to wash clothes that can be worn over and over again. Those formula stains hardly ever come out!!

The Wall Street Journal

Although I haven't posted recently, I wanted to mention that my company will be mentioned in the Wall Street Journal on Tues. Jan 30, in the Entreprenuer section. If it's not in this Tues. they said the following Tues. When I get the link, I will put it on the blog. They also may put a clip of the Baby Pre-school DVD on the website. For me and my company, it's quite exciting! I hope you get a chance to view it.

What do I do when I don't like my child's teacher?

Happy New Year!

I want to cover this topic because now that my oldest is in 2nd grade, I've seen more and more parent teacher conflicts! We can all remember when we didn't like some of our elementary school teachers. But what happens when the parent is the one who doesn't get along with the teacher. Unfortunately, I've seen this one too many times and even parents putting in requests for certain teachers as young as Kindergarten so they don't have to deal with all those rumors that went around regarding certain teachers. So, what do we do?

If you can remember back, how many of you actually got taken out of your class because your parents didn't like the teacher. We'll not many of us. And, what I have found is that the principal and faculty tend to stick together. The best thing to do is try to work out your conflicts with the teacher directly. Going over his or her head to the principal doesn't really work well because the principal will then speak to the teacher who will then be upset.

Teachers really appreciate hearing directly from the parents especially when there is a problem. The more you work with the teacher and listen to what they have to say, the more you will find that everyone will be happy, especially your child. What child really wants to be pulled out of a class to go to a new one? Now a days, teachers even give their e-mail addresses and in some cases their home phone number to parents. Stay in touch with the teacher on a regular basis and get to know other parents by joining the PTA.

And most of all, don't take what the teacher says as negative critism of your child. They are just trying to help correct problems that your child may be having in class. Remember teachers have our children for most of the day starting first grade so we may not notice what the teacher notices. In fact, in most cases you will learn a lot from the teacher about your child's habits!!

When will my baby sleep through the night?

I've often been asked the old age question of when will my newborn sleep through the night. Well, although this answer is different for everybody, most infants will develop some pattern of sleep by three months. And, sleeping through the night only means that you may get 6 consecutive hours of sleep. But, for moms who are used to getting three hours at a time, 6 is great news. It is important to establish a sleeping routine early on. I can't tell you how many moms asked me for advice on this. The first question I ask them is if their baby takes regular naps during the day? It is important for your child to have consistent nap times in order to establish a nighttime routine. When my first daughter was born, I did not realize that she needed to sleep so much. After all, babies don't come with directions. We often rely on family and friends to give us good advice when we have our little one. However, whatever way you choose to establish good sleep habits for your baby, remember, good sleep habits for your baby mean more sleep for you!!

HOLIDAY GIFT EXCLUSIVE

Every year I like to offer our customers a special deal on our products. We have a great gift set on our website (brand new) which includes a plush Dookie Duck toy and our Parenting Magazine DVD of the year, Baby Pre-school.

For a limited time, we would like to offer this gift set to you from November 14-November 30, 2006 for $12.99. You must call in to get this offer, 888-813-2408. Mention the offer was on the Baby Prodigy Blog.

INSPIRING YOUR CHILD'S CREATIVITY AT THE HOLIDAYS!

Inspire your child’s creativity at the holiday time and get some great gifts for the relatives on a small budget

It feels like we just took down all of our holiday decorations. But incredibly they are back before we know it. With so many family members and friends, how can we afford to buy gifts for everyone? There is no need to stress this holiday season because I have some great last minute tips for you.

While you are scrambling away trying to get gifts for your relatives, don’t forget that your kids can be very helpful at this time of year. Kids love to help. Besides it’s a great way to spend time together. My parents always used to tell me how much they loved the gifts that my sister and I made for them as kids. Everytime I went into my father’s office, I saw that paperweight covered with tiles that I made for him when I was five sitting on his desk. Not only does it make your child feel proud and special, but it creates long lasting family memories.

So, here are a few ideas for you and your kids to make that special gift for grandma, Auntie Carol, Cousin Lisa or one of your friends.

THE INFAMOUS PAPERWEIGHT
Take a block of small wood and get some tiny tiles. Glue them on and around the whole block of wood. You can get tiles and a block at your local hardware store. You can even take one of your kid’s building blocks to do this (If they don’t mind). Your child can also decorate it with raw macaroni and spray paint. Like magic, you now have a gorgeous paperweight. So the next time you open your window, your papers won’t blow away!

THE BEADED NAME NECKLACE
Your child will love stringing the alphabet beads to make a necklace for Grandma while singing the alphabet at the same time. I had my kids make them for every Aunt and Grandma in my family and they look great. You can get alphabet beads at your local craft store along with some string.

A MOBILE OF PICTURES
Take a regular hanger and some string. By the way moms, those satin hangers you never use will come in handy here. Put tiny holes in the pictures and put the string through the holes. Tie the string to the hanger and you have a hanging mobile of beautiful pictures. You can fasten to the ceiling by tying fish string to the top and putting a tack in the ceiling. Babies aren’t the only ones who love mobiles!

I hope you enjoy doing these activities with your kids. I know THEY will. Have a healthy and happy holiday season.

Baby Prodigy to Appear on wubbcast.com 9/5/06

Baby Prodigy's video of the year, Baby Pre-school will be dubuting on a video podcast for
pre-schoolers. You can view the clip at www.wubbcast.com. The wubbcast is created by veteran tv producer, Fred Seibert who is responsible for hit shows such as the Fairly Odd Parents and the new pre-school show Wubbzy both airing on Nick Jr.

Tune in to the wubbcast (www.wubbcast.com) on Sept. 9, 2006.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Hi:

I love that staples commercial in which the parent is on the shopping cart and the music is playing that it's the happiest time of the year because kids are going back to school. I have to say that it was great having my kids home from school for the summer. However, it's nice to have them go back to school because I'm sure like I did they get bored over the summer. One mistake I made last year was buying too many school supplies. Since I went shopping today for my girls, I wanted to share some helpful tips when buying school supplies. Here they are:

-If you can, get a list from the school. They supply the necessary back to school items. At least they do at our elementary school. I didn't even know they had this.
-Don't overbuy. The teachers will most likely tell you the first week what your child is missing.
-If money is tight, try the dollar stores, they have a school supply aisle there too.
-Some stores have lists in the front that have recommended items for each grade. Compare it with the school list I mentioned above. I spent three times as much last year because we didn't need all of the items.
-The best thing to do is buy when necessary. If you buy thinking you'll hold on to it most likely you will lose it and have to buy another.

Enjoy the rest of the summer with your kids.

What should we do for July 4?

When my girls were little, we had a hard time going out to see the fireworks because they didn't like the loud noise. I might add that our dog didn't either! However, even though we had to hold their ears, they loved seeing the bright colors in the sky. If you don't know where to find fireworks, call your local chamber of commerce, they may be able to find some in your area. You may even want to car your local fire department because I'm sure they know the areas too. If you live by a lake which we do, they often have a firework display going on. We even went to the mall one year because the fire department was setting the fireworks off their too. The best advice I can give this holiday weekend would be to let the professionals set off the fireworks. It is very dangerous to get fireworks in the wrong hands.

CNN had some great safety tips this morning for July 4th. They even had a great tip on how to stay safe from the barbeque. I think you should check that out on their website because the tips came from viewers and were very helpful. If you have any tips, please post a comment on the blog we would love to hear it. Have a great holiday weekend.

GET A FREE CD WITH A DVD PURCHASE

Hi Moms and Dads:

We are starting another promotion that will run from June 22-July 22nd. We are giving away our Baby Pre-School Musical Pacifier CD a $9.99 retail value free with the purchase of our Baby Pre-school DVD. To get this promotion, you must email us directly at info@babyprodigy.com to place the order. Don't wait, while supplies last.

WHAT DO YOU GET HIM FOR FATHER'S DAY

I have always had problems getting gifts for my dad and husband every father's day. Although my dad passed away two years ago, I never knew what to get him. Just when you think you've finally gotten that present that you're sure he'll love, it doesn't work. So, what I found for both my dad and my husband was to just let them pick out their gift. My father over the years, decided to increase his budget which was funny since we were paying for it. But, of course we never complained because he was the best dad in the world to me and my sister.

One bit of bad news on this...my husband thinks that this is the day to pick out that expensive gift he's always wanted. He wants speakers, surround sound. Hope I'm spelling that right. Of course he wants the bose system around $1,200. So what do you do in that case? Well, I'm still wondering what I should do because my husband really does do a lot for our family. I think I'm going to buy him something that I'm hoping he'll like but let him decide if he really wants those speakers. I have to say, getting gifts is really tough. My husband does not really have a "hobby" which makes it harder.

Some small tips...for starters, a great card works wonders. He loves cards from our kids that have big pictures and I love you written all over it. Lunch or dinner at his favorite place works great too. And, in my case just letting him pick what he wants to do on HIS day works great. I don't really have to make any decisions at all. Does anyone have any good suggestions besides a shirt?