Wee Baby Stuff

So you're looking for a baby name that's different but not weird? Odd but cool? Here's a hundred for you to consider.  And here's a thumbnail to whet your appetite: For girls, how about Finola, Ione or Ondine? For boys, maybe Griffith, Orson or Kermit? (Kermit???? WTF?)  

read more

We've heard it all before. 'We want to name her something different but not too different.' (Too different meaning Avocado or some other item from the produce aisle.) Reader's Digest recently asked 1,100 of their readers to vote for their favorite 'uncommon' baby names. Here are the top 5 for both girls and boys. For the girls: Winner: SadieSecond: (tie) AstridSecond: (tie) HarperThird: FlanneryFourth: Ursula And for the boys: Winner: ZaneSecond: QuincyThird: SilasFourth: JasperFifth: Calvin  P.S. I was an undergrad with a girl named 'Candy'....

read more

It's not something you can buy but it's the most important thing you can do for your baby. Check out this video (it's a tiny bit heartrending, but it turns out OK) about the effects of interacting with your baby or not. It's obvious stuff, but it's encouraging to have something positive to think about when I'm feeling silly about pulling faces in public or playing YET ANOTHER game of peekaboo in the checkout line...

read more

Wallet Pop sat down with registered dietician Susan Burke March, author of Making Weight Control Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally, to get the 411 on so-called, store-bought, healthy kid foods. Here's what's on Ms. March's naughty list: kids' yogurt instant oatmeal fruit juice kids' restaurant meals fish sticks peanut butter rice cakes breakfast bars fruit roll-ups fat free foods To read why these 10 made the list and BETTER OPTIONS for each, follow this link...

read more

Is he real or isn't he? That is the question. If the kidlets haven't asked yet, they will someday. So, what do you say? The department store Santa's, no, but the one who resides at the North Pole, yes? But what if what your child believes doesn't coincide with what his friends believe? Will it lead to ridicule? Parenting expert Grace E. Mauzy encourages parents to prolong the belief in Mr. Kringle for as long...

read more

In this day of Purell stations at every checkout, desk and entryway, it might come as a surprise to find out that a little dirt can be good for the kiddos. Scientists say that it's a matter of 'good' bacteria versus 'bad'. The good stuff, like something called Staphylococci actually blocks 'a vital step in a cascade of events that [leads] to inflammation.' Basically it puts the brakes on 'overactive immune responses' that make bruises...

read more

Snuggling up with your wee one and reading them stories is FOR SURE one of the fun parts of being a parent. Babies don't have to be old enough to 'get' the story to be comforted by your voice or interested in the pictures. So it's fun, but it's also one of the most important foundations for learning that you can give your kiddo. Which is on of the reasons why new-ish website Readers Are...

read more

I know that this is not strictly a Wee Baby issue, but it's something that it can't hurt to have a game plan for for the future. Discipline or the lack of it. Here's what happened and my question is "What would you do?" Yesterday we were in our common-area back garden with Dilly and Teddy, there were a few people out, most of whom we knew and one little boy of about 7 that...

read more

I'm pretty sure most parents want to give their pookies an educational head start in life... I certainly do (how else am I going to live vicariously through my astronaut child?!? ...NASA you have my number), but would you consider getting that educational head start even before your baby is born? The BabyPlus prenatal education system makes some pretty big claims, apparently "Infants who have used BabyPlus are born ore alert and responsive, nurse better,...

read more

Hitting the road with baby this summer? You'll want a packing list so you don't forget anything!  a well-stocked diaper bag extra diapers and wipes baby seat car window shade collapsible stroller baby carrier collapsible crib portable playpen toys, books and other entertaining what not a nightlight baby's cuddly for sleeping....and cuddling baby formula and extra bottles medication sun protection, including sunscreen, hats & umbrellas outerwear appropriate for the weather conditions extra outfits for everyone...

read more

Just as there are lists of popular baby names, there are also lists of the most UNpopular baby names. Of course, you might want to avoid them, or, if you want your wee one to have a unique name--without having to resort to naming her after fruit--you actually might want to opt for one of these fallen-out-of-favor monikers. Although I predict 'Edward' will become popular again once Twilight fans start popping up preggers. ;) Anyhoo,...

read more

Little 15 month old Paisley loves American Idol runner up Adam Lambert. So much so, if fact, she freaks out over not being able to operate her mommy's iPhone to watch his video. Surely to get an 'aww' out of anyone with a soul!! (The ending is priceless!)

read more

Nap. Time.  Together they might be the two most beautiful words in the English language. Because a well rested baby makes life way easier; and nap time is when I get to DO stuff.  So when Teddy decided that napping was NOT COOL my world way thrown horribly askew. Desperately searching for something to get the nap time mojo back led me to Today's Parent's Ultimate Guide to Naps. Which is a good thing, because...

read more

                  Birth order may 'have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development' of a child, but how it effects the behavior of parents is something quite different. For instance.... 1st baby: You change your baby’s nappies every hour, whether they need it or not. 2nd baby: You change their nappy every two to three hours, if needed. 3rd baby: You try to change their nappy before...

read more

7 months. 7 stinking months. That's how long I had morning sickness (or NVP) for. I threw up EVERYWHERE*. Subway stations, malls, random street corners and, on one memorable occasion, straight down my own sleeve. But today I'm feeling slightly better about those 7 months of ick. A study at Sick Kids Hospital (right here in Toronto) has shown that there may be a link between mama's morning sickness and baby's brain development, with babies...

read more

Spit-up happens. For the majority of babies it's just one of those things... you put food in, some comes out. The only consequences are piles of laundry and no dry-clean-only clothes for mommy. No big deal. Unfortunately for some babies reflux can be a bigger issue, in (thankfully rare) cases it can even have tragic effects.Here's the skinny on what reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD) is and what's normal or not from Dr. Green:Babyhood...

read more

If you look at the ingredients list of just about any baby product you'll find a long list of words that no human can pronounce... Triethanolamine, Ceteareths and distearyldimonium chloride anyone?  To those of us who don't have a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry they might as well be Eye of Newt. So just what, I wondered, is the deal with that? Should I be worried? Well, according to the Organic Consumer Association the answer is...

read more

The Fisher-Price 3-in-1 high chair (#P5369) picture above is only one of the dozens of children's products already recalled in 2009. To help you keep up with these recalls, visit consumeraffairs.com. They have a very helpful alphabetized list of items for this year as well as those past. (Take a look at 2008. The number of recalled products for that one year alone is astounding.)  

read more

No. There, I said it. Of course that doesn't mean they're not going to be absolutely gorgeous, print model babies in a week or two, but when they just come out of the shoot, sometimes they can look a little scary. Okay, maybe not YOUR baby, but these babies....well, you decide. (One of my brothers-in-law tells the story about driving home from the hospital after his second daughter was born thinking, 'Bloody hell!', as in...

read more

On the day Ayla was born, it appeared that breastfeeding was going to be a breeze for us. She had a perfect latch and my milk seemed to be coming in slowly, but surely. Everyone from the doctor to the nurses gave us a thumbs up, and life was good. But during our first days home, I had this terrible feeling that she wasn't getting enough milk. Friends and relatives told me every new mom...

read more