|
Below, you'll find extensive information on leading
nicole baby love articles and products to help you on your way
to success.
For Baby's First Christmas, A Lump Of Coal? Ten Baby Gifts To
By Stephanie Gallagher, Fri Dec 9th
What could be worse than a lump of coal in baby's firstChristmas stocking? One of these ten gifts: 1. Any Toy or Product With More Than 10 Pieces That Must Be PutTogether
Ever see a new parent on Christmas day? You know why they lookso tired? Because they spent the previous 12 hours puttingtogether a single baby toy that promised to be "easy toassemble." If you see the words, 'Assembly Required' anywhere on thepackaging, that is not a gift you want to give for baby's firstChristmas. If you're absolutely in love with a particular toy or babyproduct that requires assembly, put it together yourself beforeyou give the gift. The new parents will appreciate your effortsas much as the baby gift itself." 2. Frilly, Impractical, "High-Maintenance" Baby Clothes You know the outfits: They're oh-so-cute, yet oh-so-impractical.They have buttons instead of snaps. Or they have no snaps in thelegs. Or they snap up the back, rather than the front, turningdiaper-changing into a gymnastics exercise for the parents. Orworse yet, they're dry clean only. Think about it: What new mom has time to take her baby's clothesto the dry cleaners every time he spits up?" 3. "Hot Button Baby Christmas Gifts" These are products the parents will only use if they subscribeto one particular parenting theory or style. For example, books like "On Becoming Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo and"Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems," by Richard Ferber, are "hotbutton baby gifts," because parents tend to either stronglyagree or strongly disagree with these theories. So are things like breast pumps and nursing pillows (unlessyou're absolutely sure the new mom is nursing), and bottles andbottle accessories (again, unless you know for certain theparents are using them). 4. Incomplete Gifts Don't make your recipients work to enjoy your gifts. If therecipient has to buy something else in order to use the gift,it's a loser. For example, a Boppy (special nursing pillow) is a great gift.But the Bare-Naked Boppy is not, because you have to buy aslipcover for it, which costs almost as much as the originalgift. Most people expect to have to buy batteries for toys and babygear, but including them is one of the most thoughtful thingsyou can do to make your Christmas gift
Moola Matters
iVillage Parenting expert Michele Borba offers sane, simple ways to talk to your kids about money problems.
Rescuing Sarah?
One mom wonders if McCain was Palin's "helicopter parent" in a recent interview.
Is your son a bully?
What to do when your angel is actually the class bully.
Famous Mommies
Is 8 Enough for Kate?
Monster Magic
Rid the room of monsters and boogeymen every night with these simple little tricks.
for baby stand out. 5. Wipe Warmer Not only do wipe warmers cause wipes to dry out and getdiscolored, they're often more uncomfortable for thancold wipes. Babies are much more sensitive to heat than we are. They don'twant anything too hot touching their skin, whether it's a warmedwipe or hot bath water. 6. Baby Bouncy This stabilized exercise ball, which retails for $39.95, issupposed to calm a colicky baby and help the mother "exerciseher core" at the same time. But how many moms can accomplish anything while trying to soothea colicky baby? Yes, do like to be bounced, but theytypically enjoy a motion that requires the parent to be on hisor her feet, not sitting down. What's more, there are cheaper bouncing alternatives that lastmuch longer, such as the Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker,which goes from birth to 40 pounds. 7. Baby Walker Each year, some 8,000 children are treated in hospital emergencyrooms because of injuries related to baby walkers. The AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics has called for the sale of baby walkers tobe banned in the United States. They are simply unsafe. That should be reason enough to skip the walker for baby's firstChristmas. But if it isn't, consider this: Baby walkers do nothelp children walk sooner. In fact, they can delay walking. 8. Cradle Another beautiful, but impractical, baby gift, cradles areunsafe because the rocking can cause baby to turn over andsuffocate. 9. Newborn Clothes Even if the baby was born last week, newborn clothes are a babyChristmas gift "Don't." There reasons are simple: 1) The parents probably already got oodles of newborn outfits atthe baby shower 2) typically grow out of newborn clotheswithin a few weeks. A better bet: 3-6 month clothes. 10. Baby Shoes Pediatricians recommend that go barefoot or with socksuntil they're actually walking, making baby shoes unnecessary.Some doctors even say baby shoes can interfere with proper grossmotor development. For a list of holiday baby gifts that are sure to please, go toThe Shopping Mom's Guide to Baby Gifts About the author:Stephanie Gallagher, a.k.a., The Shopping Mom, is the author ofseveral parenting books and Editor of The Shopping Mom's Guideto Baby Gifts, http://www.gifts-babies-love.com
|
