Goo-Goo Ga Ga! Why you should talk to your baby!

How do children learn language?

One of the best ways to predict a child's success and ability to learn and read in school is their vocabulary size when they enter kindergarten. It is incredibly important for the language learning that parents talk to their young children. "The key to early learning is [...] a child’s exposure to language spoken by parents and caretakers from birth to age 3, the more the better." (NYTimes)

The way that babies learn how to speak is by imitating language that they hear and that is spoken to them. But TV and media is not a substitution for a real human!

"Educational" TV?

Recent research has shown that infants that watch "educational" baby DVDs and shows may learn fewer words than other children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently stated that there is no such thing as "educational TV" for children under 2. They have a huge battle to fight in America on that front though, as "90% of parents reported that their children under 2 watch some TV. And more than half of parents said they think educational television programming is important for their young child." (IT's NOT!!)

Human Milking and Making Milkshakes: Breast Pumps

So I had my first request for a post... breast pumps! Breast pumps can be very confusing (as are a lot of things you may need for a new baby I have learned!)
So here is my attempt to concentrate the smorgasbord of information out there on breast pumps... from what they are, to whether you may need one, to the different types available, to safety information, to the best selling pumps on the market today...

What is a breast pump?
Simply, a breast pump is a FDA regulated medical device used to extract breast milk from a nursing mother. They can also be used to "maintain or increase a woman’s milk supply, relieve engorged breasts and plugged milk ducts, or pull out flat or inverted nipples so a nursing baby can latch-on to its mother’s breast more easily." (FDA)

Do I need a breast pump?
Whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, you may find you have a need for a breast pump.

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! Heartburn in Pregnancy

So I wanted to write a post for each of many of the pregnancy symptoms and afflictions. I decided to start with heartburn because it's currently tormenting me.

I had never experienced heartburn before in my life prior to being pregnant. And I was a huge lover of spicy and fried foods. Which is really a problem now that I'm experiencing this indigestion. If you are like me, then you may not have known much about what heartburn really was (or felt like) prior to you experiencing it yourself! So I will begin with...

What is heartburn?

Baby Shoes - adorable accessory? Or medieval torture device?

Baby shoes are adorable. I mean - how sweet and cute can you get? Little tiny, perfectly miniaturized versions of your own shoes... and they look even cuter at the end of those chubby, stubby, little baby legs. Right?

I bought those shoes in the picture above for the sole purpose of taking that picture with no intention of putting them on my baby (aside from maybe a one-time photo-op kind of situation). I had never planned on getting lots of little baby shoes - they're not practical! Before your baby can even walk, what kind of need do they have for shoes? And even after they start walking, I've never thought shoes were that practical for them. They can't walk that far, and mostly inside where you can see them (not over a lot of broken glass and such). And it turns out, making your baby wear shoes is actually bad for them.

"Think of the Chinese foot binding practice, which was common in the upper classes. The feet would be bound so that the bones would mold together and be more “dainty.” In much the same way can babies feet become stifled and grow improperly if smothered in small shoes that fit incorrectly."

~ babywalkingshoesguide.com