Baby Blog

Newborns can sleep 16-17 hours a day, and most babies aren’t physically and developmentally capable of sleeping through the night (defined as sleeping five straight hours) until six months or so.  Thus when preparing to bring baby home, having your sleep ducks all in a row should be a priority.  But where to start?  What do you need to know?  Where should baby sleep?  What sleep gear is the best?  What is necessary, nice, or just a waste of space?  There is so much to consider as you ready baby’s sleep space, and this article has great information as well as a needs v. wants v. can-live-withouts checklist to help you get started.

Baby has a first tooth!  Now, what to do and how to celebrate?!  Read this article in Bumbershoots by Nana's Baby Blog to find out how to care for baby's teeth and how the first tooth is celebrated around the world.

Babies inherently possess an eagerness to explore, discover and understand how things work.  Once they can crawl, everything in the room is interesting and deserves a closer look.  But when little hands grab for things like medications, household cleaners, choking hazards or electrical sockets, their exploratory missions can become dangerous.  Babyproofing your home helps make your home safer for baby to explore.  Read Babyproofing Essentials: How to Make Your Home Safe for Baby to learn when, how, and what to babyproof!

You’ve carried your baby for nine months, gone through labor, given birth, and now it is time to start your life as a new family. For many people, that means taking your baby home from the hospital in a car.   Here are some tips to make the ride safer and more enjoyable for everyone.  

While most women’s bodies do produce milk, breastfeeding can feel anything but natural.  It can take a lot of trial and error and cause a lot of tears.  If you want to breast feed, here are some basics to help make the experience easy and rewarding for you and for baby.

Not only can apps help you get pregnant by tracking your ovulation cycles and alerting you to prime fertility, they can help you identify sleep and feeding patterns, find the best price on diapers, and heck, even make parent friends!  Here are our choices – in no particular order - for eight awesome apps for new parents.

What do you pack for the trip to the hospital?  Like all good packing, you want to pack for what you plan to do at each destination.  When going to the hospital to have a baby, there is really more than one stop before "Destination Baby Comes Home," and each has its own particular needs.  Here's what you need to know. 

"Sleep when your baby sleeps."  "Make time for 'me time.'" "Self-care is important."  "Take time for you."   "Enjoy this time; it won't last." ...  Wonderful maxims in theory, but in practice?  Ask any new mom.  Unless you have full-time help, those maxims are easier to say than to follow.   Grown-ups have things to do - even on maternity or paternity leave.  So how can you make the time to take care of you or even just sit a moment and take a breath?  Here are some time-saver tips to help you find some extra hours in the day - for however you wish to use them!