Life with Baby

Why Sip & See Parties Are Taking Over Baby Shower World

After-delivery get-togethers are starting to become more popular, with more and more people using them as a way to let people get a peek at the baby after he’s been sequestered with Mom at home for a month or two. Sip & See parties started mostly in the South, and they’ve started to gain traction in other parts of the country. They’re often held as an alternative to a baby shower.

First and foremost, everyone gets to see the baby, which is the whole point to begin with, right? You get a chance to introduce your little buddy to your wider circle of family and friends all at once instead of having people dropping by unexpected. And you can use a lot of the same decorations and theme ideas you did for the original baby shower to make things easy. People drop by, have a few cocktails, drop some baby advice to the parents and then head home. [Read more…] about Why Sip & See Parties Are Taking Over Baby Shower World

Decorating Your Baby’s Nursery

by Guest Writer Leave a Comment

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.” ~Don Herrold

The other day I had tea with my best friend, Zenovia, who is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first baby. She had a happy pregnancy glow which seemed to make everything about her a little brighter. As we chatted about her upcoming arrival, she began sharing the details of how tough it had been to figure out how to put together a nursery, but her nesting instincts had dictated that she get it all worked out before the ninth month. I had to laugh as I listened to her tale of woe. I remembered going through the exact same worries and frustrations when I was pregnant, too! I’d be willing to bet that most expectant moms share similar challenges, especially when it comes to the baby’s nursery. [Read more…] about Decorating Your Baby’s Nursery

New Baby Checklist: Must-Have Baby Products

by DP Nguyen 2 Comments

One of the best parts of pregnancy is getting your home ready for your new baby. There are a million baby products out there, and sometimes it can get confusing on what you need for your baby’s first year and what you really don’t need. I’ve broken it down to what I think are must-have products for a new baby.

You definitely want to have all the essentials in your home in the final trimester. Although your due date is around 40 weeks of pregnancy, full-term babies can arrive anytime between 37 and 40 weeks. You want to make sure that your home is stocked up with all the essentials and must-have first year baby products before your little one comes home from the hospital.

How to Swaddle a Baby

by DP Nguyen 4 Comments

Your baby has spent the last nine months in a cozy, warm, and secure watery world. Now, he suddenly finds himself in the real world – where it’s cold and filled with bright lights, loud noises, and weird smells. This “alien” world can be alarming and even scary to a newborn baby. That’s why mothers have swaddled their babies for thousands of years.

Swaddling – which is the act of snugly wrapping a newborn in a blanket – is comforting and soothing to babies. It helps calm cranky babies, and it mimics the tightness and security of the womb. Another reason that mothers swaddle their babies is practical. Swaddling keeps the new baby warm in the first few days after birth. Since newborns can’t regulate their body temperature yet, swaddling is one of the best ways to keep them toasty and comfy in this new world. Swaddling a baby on his back also decreases the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Unique Baby Names: Are They Harmful?

by Guest Writer 1 Comment

When hip-hop royalty couple Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z gave birth to their new baby girl earlier this month (January 2012), only a slight few were surprised when the couple gave their daughter a “unique” princess-worthy name—Blue Ivy. While some scoffed that her name sounded like a new strain of marijuana, others congratulated the couple for choosing a name that was so personable to them. In fact, many non-celebrity parents have begun following suit and are now donning their newborns with non-traditional names too. But will straying away from the baby books potentially cause havoc on your child’s self-esteem and success rate later on in life? Some researchers believe so.

In a 2010 study, British researchers evaluated more than 3,000 parents who had either given their child a unique name, unique spelling, or gave their child a “unisex” name such as Taylor, Ashley, or Bailey. What researchers found were pretty astonishing—20% of surveyed parents wish they could change their child’s name. Why? They found out a little too late that a name is someone’s identifier and can cause several consequences for them later on in life. To learn how, continue reading below.

[Read more…] about Unique Baby Names: Are They Harmful?

Bringing Home Baby

by Guest Writer 1 Comment

There is nothing like anticipating the birth of a new baby, whether it is your first or your third. Parents wait nine months for their new addition to to arrive, and they go through the process of planning the event and preparing to bring the little one home.

However, when it starts getting close to your due date, there are a few key things that can be done to help better prepare the growing family. From ensuring that the nursery is ready-to-go to taking care of the needs of other family members, it’s best that these things are done in advance.