www.Life-Excellence.com

by: Kirsten Hawkins

As any mother with a young child will tell you, babies grow very quickly. So for new mothers, making the most out of baby clothes is of the utmost importance. So what do you do when those onesies just don‘t quite snap anymore? How do you get an extra month out of those jeans that are a little too short for the winter months?

The great thing about onesies, is that they‘re a very workable cotton fabric, and there really isn‘t any hemming necessary

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Q. How often should I nurse a newborn infant?

A. No fewer than 8 times per day, depending on how long he gives you at night. If he can go 4 hours, youll probably see two feedings in between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. If you tank him up right before you go to bed, you may only have one.

Q. How often should I nurse an older baby?

A. Depending on your childs age, you should be on a 3-4 hour routine during the day. Remember, as your child gets older, the frequen

by: Kirsten Hawkins

A lot of time and energy goes into clothing your baby during the first year. From the color debate, to the rapid speed at which most infants outgrow their clothing, new parents have their plates full with keeping their babies clean, comfortable and clothed. So what do you do when all of a sudden, the baby doesn‘t want to wear any clothes at all? How do you deal with the exhibitionist stage of your toddler?

At about fourteen months, your baby will most likely

by: Peter Andrews

As with most aspects of parenting, youre sure to come across a wide variety of opinions about babys sleep! Friends, relatives and others have their views on how much sleep babies need, the best sleep routines and more.

Here are some practical guidelines you can follow. Theyve worked with many babies and so are worth trying out. Of course, every baby is different, so nothing works all the time for all babies.

One of the first decisions you must make is about wh

by: Peter Andrews

The growth of your babys language skills is an amazing process. In the short space of a year, she goes from crying to speaking intelligible words.

Can you do anything to help baby along? Apparently yes. There are ways to help the baby develop her language skills more easily and quickly.

Keep in mind that these are only general guidelines. All babies do not respond equally to these actions. In some cases, you might not notice any effect at all.

1. Talk to

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Baby‘s coming home soon - have you got what you need to take care of the little angel properly? You know you need footie pajamas and onesies, baby towels and bibs - but how many is enough? Having done this five times now - please hold the applause and gasps of shock - I consider myself a bit of an expert on bringing baby home to a prepared household. Most estimates of ‘what you need for baby‘ are a wee bit off, in my opinion. Having brought baby home

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Recently, I was at a baby shower for a young friend of mine who is expecting her first child. Most of the attendees were college friends of ours, and almost no one in the room has had a child yet. Needless to say, some of the gifts took some explaining. For many young mothers, some necessities may come as a surprise. In fact many may not know what the phrase "baby layette" means. For those, and for those who just feel like a checklist would make them feel more prepare

by: Kirsten Hawkins

The pink or blue question is a moot one these days, isn‘t it? After all, it‘s so easy to tell the gender of a baby before the happy day, so there‘s no need to guess. Well, that‘s not strictly true. Even with the advances in technology, ultrasound pictures aren‘t always one hundred percent certain, and many parents prefer to be surprised. If you‘re shopping for a new baby without knowing the gender, you still might have to decide whe

by: Kirsten Hawkins

There are some things we take for granted in todays world. Day in and day out we know the sun is going to rise in the morning and set at night, the freeway is going to be jam packed with traffic every Friday afternoon from about three pm until six or seven, and people who are having a baby shower will be able to tell us whether the cute blue sailor suit or the pretty pink dress will be an appropriate gift. Until, of course, we learn that the drive home on Friday was s

by: Michaela Scherr

Everyone has their own special way of parenting " some good and some that could be improved upon. I remember when my daughter was born, later my son. I shouldve done this, shouldve done that and maybe improved in some areas. Comments were all from well meaning individuals trying to help me out.

Most times I appreciated their pearls of wisdom because they made sense. At other times the line dividing the yes we can talk about this crossed over into the no go zon

by: Robert Dybzinski

There are 21,700,000 websites on the subject of GUN SAFETY. If that doesnt tell you just how important this subject isnothing will! Police Departments all around the country, medical groups, gun safety organizations (including the NRA), and thousands of other agencies, organizations, and associations have all dedicated websites to this subject.

Articles appear discussing the 10 commandments of gun safety, 47 rules of gun safety, what kids should be taught about g

by: Kirsten Hawkins

In todays world there are nearly as many styles in baby clothing as there are babies crawling about. Parents who want modern clothing can find it at the nearest Wal-Mart, those who desire alternative forms of clothing for their babies can usually find it online, some people make their baby clothing by hand, cutting cloth and sewing together designs from patterns purchased at the nearest Hancock Fabrics location. The choices are nearly limitless and include styles and

by: Steve Hall

Children are always up for a good game. Well, who isn‘t? Pretend that you are back in school. For the rest of the class period you have two choices as to how you can spend your time. Option #1 is to struggle through endless arithmetic and English worksheets without any feedback except for a stamp that says "Great Job!" Option #2 is to work on the same arithmetic and English content, but on a computer. Yes, you can play a computer game to learn your numbers and verbs.

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Lactation difficulties are not completely prevented by using PDF; you are rested and eating properly, your baby is getting enough food and growing, and your life is relatively predictable. So you might think that youre immune from production issues, right? There are many more factors which play in to milk production that just the ones I listed.

Factors that can affect milk supply include:

• Amount of sleep a mother receives
• Moms diet & nutrition
  

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Do you remember the television commercials for the laundry detergent that claimed to remove the embarrassing "ring around the collar?" The husband and wife would be at some social gathering, perhaps dining on Lobster Thermador at the Rotary Club or some such thing, when one of the Gladys Kravitz-esque attendees would notice a stain on Mr. Commercials shirt collar and point it out loudly enough for everyone this side of Brooklyn to hear, "Hes got ring around the collar

by: Ted Moryto

My son Jack had been quietly playing with his Meccano set when we heard him scream, sweet!

What a cool toy, my friend Dave said, it‘s a ferris wheel. It‘s a solar powered ferris wheel, said Jack.

Dave asked me, How did you get him to play with educational toys, my son only wants to play video games. I asked Dave whether he had ever played educational games or built rockets or space toys with his son. I‘m not really a hands on guy was his answer

by: Kirsten Hawkins

A guide to appropriate weight-gain and what to look for if you suspect failure-to-thrive:

Weight Gain:

Birth " 2 weeks of age

by: Kerry Flinders

Ever feel as if you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off?

Are there way too many things on your to-do list every day?

Are you constantly fighting at keeping your house picked up and orderly?

Do you have children?

Are they doing their fair share???

Or are you doing it for them?

Think about that. Are your children doing their fair share around the home, or are you doing their share for them? As a Professional Organizer I run ac

by: Kirsten Hawkins

So you‘re having a baby. You think you‘ve thought of everything, but at the same time you‘re terrified that you‘ve missed something. Here‘s one thing you may or may not have thought of: laundry. Yes, you know that you will have more, but have you considered the basic differences between your baby‘s laundering needs and yours? If you regularly use perfumed detergents, bleach, or fabric softener, your laundering habits may need some r

by: Noel Swanson

Q. "Five years ago, my son‘s father left. In the meantime I remarried, David, who is a fabulous man. He has tried his best to make friends with my son, Nathan. I handle all of the discipline. We‘ve been married for three years now, and my son still won‘t do anything David asks of him. How can I persuade him to listen to his stepfather?".

A. Although it is problems between you and your ex that have caused the rift, children often feel that they are

by: Charles Kassotis

Are you still following your child around worrying that they might stain their clothes? Do you forbid playing outside because they might get dirty? Do you see germs and infections in every step they take? Are you trying to keep away friendly dogs or cute kittens because they might be disease carriers?

Do any of the sentences above represent your attitude towards your child? If yes, you must reconsider. Depriving your child of physical contact with the "Dirty, Out

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Let‘s skip right past the great diaper debate and assume that you‘ve read what there is to read, done your soul-searching, and made your decision - and for your baby, it‘s nothing but natural against that tender skin. Whether your decision is ecological, economical, or based on something else entirely, you‘ve decided on cloth diapers for baby. Now it‘s time for Diapering 101 - how do you turn a rectangle of cloth into a comfy cover for th

by: Barbara Freedman-De Vito

INTRODUCTION AND INTUITION

Are you and your children moving house soon ? If you‘re moving to a new town or a new region, it can be rough on your children as they may feel uprooted and disoriented. Your children lose the comfort and security of the world they know - from their private spaces to their more public places: their bedroom, their house, their yard, their neighborhood, their school, their local park, their town and so forth. Worst of all, t

by: Ute Fumeaux

The Supermum myth is creating havoc in families and communities around the world. Think about it. There is so much pressure on mothers. Theyre expected to know what their doing with a brand new baby despite having little or no experience except a few antenatal classes and books theyve read. Theyre expected to cope with hormones going crazy, serious sleep deprivation (used by many countries during war time as a torture technique), run a household, sometimes work full o

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Todays parents have more options available to them when it comes to finding and purchasing clothes and other items for their babies than ever before. With the advent of the internet, shopping for baby clothes has never been easier as there are numerous online retailers that can provide almost anything a parent needs. What follows are some of the best web sites for buying baby clothes online.

Discount Baby Clothes

Not surprisingly, some of the best physical dis

by: Jean Tracy

My mother often said, "You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a cupful of vinegar." Let‘s build character by finding out how this applies to parenting.

Vinegar or honey, what do kids really want? "Toys, candy and their own way," answer millions of parents. Then why do too many toys, too much candy, and constantly giving into kids create sour little monsters? Aren‘t these the ingredients for honey?

Consider the three most delicious

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Diapers: as a rule, most PDF babies will need a diaper change that corresponds with their feeding times. This will total 6-8 diapers per day, or more if you manage to change your baby prior to her pooping. Most new parents learn to "time" the diaper change to correspond with the after-meal expulsion of solid waste, but if you miss it, youll have a few more diapers to go through in the course of the day.

Diaper rash: some babies have sensitive skin and will get a r

by: CJ

Parents with Teenagersbe Prepared!!

I am writing this brief article to parents who have or will have teenage girls. I want to share this because if necessary precautions are taken you will save a lot of pain, heartache, and tears!

At the age of 16 my daughter became ill, headache, throwing up, nausea and tired. Yes all the symptoms of pregnancy, as I know the symptoms well as I have brought four girls into this world.

My daughters first response when I asked her if sh

by: Gordon Remdon

Reading is seeing a return with more and more parents wanting their children to read. This has resulted in an increase in the sale of children‘s literature month by month. Parents want to catch their children young and get them hooked on to the written word. Making them aware of the world around them giving them a jump start on to education and learning.

There are many types of children‘s books that you have to choose from when buying for children. No m

by: Jean Tracy

I remember one dad who made his 11-year old son dig his own grave in their backyard. No one remembers what wrong the son had done. Everyone remembers his dad‘s discipline. One mother beat and cursed her daughter shouting, "I wish you were never born." Do you ever wonder if your discipline crosses the line? To find out, let‘s imagine a Discipline Stick. It‘s shaped like a ruler. It‘s effective and it doesn‘t spank hands.

One side of the