Introducing Solids Part V

It became clear that my daughter has a palate for flavor and spice after she giddily ate the well seasoned creamy beef broth of the mushroom soup. I am not really surprise after all I season her egg yolk every morning! I am also pleased that she is so excited and happy to try new and very different foods (even though I never anticipated that she would try so many so soon). Since I do not always have something savory for her to taste, I wanted her to have another go to food like the egg yolks she has for … Continue reading

Introducing Solids Part II

Since I tend towards the unconventional and more researched based health and diet guidelines, I had no interest in giving my daughter (or son for that matter) the standard rice cereal which is overly refined and enriched. Instead, I wanted her first tastes to be as pure and clean as possible, hence the organic produce. Once my daughter sank her new bottom teeth into a soft sweet organic nectarine, her demand for solids only increased. I slowly began to introduce new foods to her diet in the form of little tastes. She was very excited to taste most of the … Continue reading

Introducing Your Children To Someone New

If you read enough single parent blogs and articles you will see one subject popping up over and over- dating. That’s because we all just keep trying. Simply because our marriage didn’t work out doesn’t mean we are resigned to a life alone. Everyone needs companionship and love, none of us are immune, and so we keep trying. What this means to your children depends more on the individual child than their age or any other factor. Some children accept the fact that you are dating and don’t seem to give it a second thought. Other’s act like this person … Continue reading

Introducing Pets to Newborns, Pt. 3

Today I conclude my examination of how to introduce a household’s pets to newborns. On Monday I looked at how expectant parents can prepare their pets for the infant’s arrival; today I’ll outline the steps you can take after the baby is born. When it’s about time to bring the baby home from the hospital, first take something with the newborn’s scent on it, like a burping cloth, back to the house. This is most effective for dogs but can also help cats with the adjustment. Pets will then find the baby’s scent familiar once the infant itself arrives. You … Continue reading

Introducing Pets to Newborns, Pt. 1

I am currently babysitting the newborn of a friend until the baby is old enough to go to daycare. The baby will only be at my house for six days, but this is a good opportunity to begin training my dog in how to behave around infants once the time comes for me to have a baby of my own. My dog behaved better than I feared when my friend arrived with her newborn. Our previous experiences with Chihiro at the houses of friends with babies indicated that she might constantly try licking the baby’s face, something she does with … Continue reading

My Last Blog

This is going to be my last blog as the Adoption Blogger for Families.com. I’m looking forward to spending the summer with my kids, possibly working at their school, and taking on new writing projects. I may well guest blog occasionally for this or other Families blogs. It seems the Adoption Blog will continue, so I hope this blog, along with Families’ forums, can be a source of information and community for adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. Yesterday I could think of a million things to say in my last few blogs and wondered how I would fit it … Continue reading

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading

Baby Blog Week in Review: July 21st Through July 27th

What types of activities do you like to do with your baby? Is it playing on the floor, reading or taking walks? How about cooking? Check out this past week’s articles for new activities as well as some important baby safety news and recalls. July 21st Babies Are Most Likely to Get Bitten By a Dog According to a 2006 study published by the Journal of Pediatrics, children less than one year of age were the most likely group to be bitten by a dog. What is even more disturbing, is that children less than nine years old are more … Continue reading

Introducing Art to My Little One

Chances are that you are already introducing your baby to art whenever you look at a picture book or name colors and shapes, but why not go a little bit further and expose your toddler to more sophisticated fare. You might be surprised at how much he picks up and understands. I learned this lesson myself earlier today. A new friend invited us to an art program for children at a local museum. The program was geared for children aged three through ten with a parent. My two older children fall within this range and were excited about the prospect … Continue reading

Introducing a New Task or Expectation, Part Two

Earlier this morning I wrote about ways to determine when a child is ready to learn a new task or have more responsibility. Making sure that a child has at least some awareness and interest in moving forward developmentally can save a parent many headaches in trying to nudge a child along the path. Once you know it is time to ‘make it happen,’ however—be it toilet training, learning to read, dressing himself, or whatever—the real challenge comes. There are steps you can take to help make the process smoother. I have found that there are really three steps in … Continue reading