Baby-Bouquets hand-make unique gift baskets of babywear with silk flowers and leaves for new mothers and babies making an excellent gift as they not only look like a beautiful basket of flowers for the proud mum, but also provide a practical gift of good quality clothes for the adorable baby, and, unlike fresh flowers, they last!
You can view more Baby-Bouquets at www.baby-bouquets.co.uk
Crawling helps your baby strengthen her muscles enough to walk and is her first way of getting around efficiently on her own. In the traditional crawl, she’ll first learn to balance on her hands and knees. Then she’ll figure out how to move forward and backward from this posture by pushing off with her knees.
Most babies learn to crawl between six and 10 months. But some children never crawl, instead opting for bottom shuffling, slithering on their stomach, or moving directly to pulling up, standing, and walking. It’s getting mobile that’s important, no matter how your baby does it. Crawling typically comes after a baby is able to sit well without support, which most children can do by the time they’re six or seven months old. After this point, she can hold her head up to look around, and her arm, leg, and back muscles are strong enough to keep her from falling on the floor when she gets on her hands and knees. Over the next couple of months, your baby gradually learns to move confidently from a sitting position to being on all fours, and she soon realizes she can rock back and forth when she’s got her limbs straight and her body parallel to the floor.
Somewhere around nine or 10 months, she’ll figure out that pushing off with her knees gives her just the boost she needs to get mobile. As she gains proficiency, she’ll learn to go from a crawling position back into a sitting position. She’ll also master the advanced technique of cross-crawling: moving one arm and the opposite leg together when she moves forward, rather than using an arm and a leg from the same side. After that, it’s just a matter of practice making perfect — look for her to be a really competent crawler by the time she’s a year old.
If your baby crawls backward, is a bottom shuffler (scoots around on her posterior using a hand behind her and a foot in front of her to propel herself), or skips the crawling stage in favour of walking, don’t worry. As long as she’s getting mobile — no matter how she does it — she’s fine.
Whats next?
After your baby has mastered crawling, the only thing standing between her and complete mobility is learning to walk. To that end, she’ll soon begin pulling herself up on everything she can reach, whether it’s the coffee table or grandma’s leg. Once she gets the feel of balancing on her legs, she’ll be ready to stand on her own and cruise while holding onto furniture, and then it’s just a matter of time till she’s walking, running, jumping, and leaping.
As with skills such as reaching and grabbing, the best way to encourage crawling is to place toys and other desirable objects — even yourself — just beyond your baby’s reach. You can also use pillows, boxes, and sofa cushions to create obstacle courses for her to negotiate. This will help improve her confidence, speed, and agility. Just don’t leave her alone — if she gets stuck under a pillow or box, she’ll surely be frightened and may be in danger of smothering.
A crawling baby can get into a lot of mischief. Make sure your house is childproofed, and put a special emphasis on stairway gates. Your baby will be drawn to stairs like an explorer to Mount Everest, but they can be dangerous, so keep them off-limits until your baby has really mastered this skill (usually at about 12 months) — and even then, supervise her expeditions.
You don’t have to invest in shoes just yet. Your baby won’t need to wear footwear regularly until she’s mastered walking.
I recently came accross Liandrea.com.
Liandra.com sells exceptional how-to parenting DVDs, gifts and other products that parents can use as learning and reference tools during the tough times of pregnancy.
This is a really fantastic company which sells Baby / Parenting DVD’s which was setup by Lianne and Andrea, both moms and broadcasters.
Their award-winning DVDs combine expert advice, demonstrations and lots of mom-tested tips from the company founders.
They have a wide range of Video’s available, raning from $15 (£7) through to $25 (£14). . they also do a gift / box set for $34 (£17).
Bringing Baby Home Keepsake Kit
Their kit features the ideal five must-have items for mom and dad-to-be.
Their award-winning Bringing Baby Home DVD, a super soft onesie for baby, a keepsake journal for mom, and a soothing lullaby CD for the whole family, and comes presented in a really nice vinyl case.
I recently came accross Dads-Haven.co.uk.
Dads Haven is a information website for dad’s containing the following sections:
By far the best sections on the website have to by the Forum and Product reviews.
The forum has lots of good chat about everything under the sun, and product reviews as comprehensive… ideal if you looking for a gift / present and need some additional help.
The concept:
With its matt black fabric and brushed aluminium frame, this pushchair oozes contemporary class. Versatility and manoeuvrability are the watchwords: the front wheels can be positioned apart, like a traditional pushchair, or moved together to perform like an all-terrain buggy - in either mode they can be fixed or swivelling. The big, air-filled rear tyres and all-round suspension offer your baby a smooth ride and the padded handlebar offers seven different heights - great if you’re considerably shorter (or taller) than your partner.
| Price: | £279.99, Carrycot £119.99, Combination £399.99, Foot Cosy £49.99, Changing Bag £29.99 |
| Weight: | 13.8kg (with seat), 15kg (with carrycot) |
| Folded: | 100 x 59 x 40cm |
In action:
Folding and unfolding the Apple is straightforward, including removing the wheels to make it extra compact - the manufacturers claim this will even fit in the boot of a Smart car (I have too much baggage in my life to own such a car…). The carrycot is deep and sturdy, perfect for newborns, and when your baby’s big enough, the seat offers plenty of support and an excellent range of seating positions; it can be positioned facing forwards or back, so you can either interact or just let your baby watch the world go by. The suspension and pneumatic tyres make for a smooth ride for parent and baby alike, and the adjustable hood offers generous coverage from the elements, plus viewing windows in the side so you can keep an eye on junior.
Benefits:
This is a clever buggy, capable of many things, and none are too complicated to achieve: changing the seat position, mounting the carrycot, dismantling - all are a doddle. The basket underneath is capacious and its high sides mean you’re unlikely to shed your belongings as you go. And at £200 less than the Bugaboo Cameleon, it represents good value for style-conscious parents.
Drawbacks:
This is a fairly hefty beast at 13.8kg, so it’s not one to go for if you’re going to actually lift it on a regular basis, ie, getting it in and out of the car. It can’t be folded one-handed, which will hinder you on public transport.
A child’s social and emotional development has significant implications for current and later social functioning, for educational, and employment success. If emotional development is fostered at a young age, children are more likely to settle well into school, work co-operatively, confidently and independently and to behave appropriately. A child with poor social and emotional development is at risk of poor relationships with peers, academic problems, of later involvement in crime, of developing physical health and adult mental health problems.
Key to social and emotional development is the child’s early relationship with parents/caregivers. Efforts to support parents in understanding and fulfilling their children’s emotional needs can help to provide a secure base from which to grow into well-rounded, capable adults with robust mental health.