When you're a new mom, your baby's health is your primary concern. Coupled with the anxiety of wanting to do everything right in caring for your new infant, your own health suddenly takes a backseat. This should not be the case. How else can you care for your child if you're not in top shape?
The state of your postnatal health is crucial to your ability to breastfeed your baby. When you're feeling poorly, this affects your milk supply. And when you neglect to care for your own breasts, you and your baby will become quite uncomfortable during his feeding time. Take it from me: I didn't bother at first with those nipple creams, thinking that I didn't really need them. But pretty soon, they started getting really sore and eventually cracked. Breastfeeding became quite painful for me and not so enjoyable for my baby, who didn't like sucking on a dry, rough nipple.
I learned my lesson quite well. Before giving birth to my second child, I already prepared myself for breastfeeding duties. I did this by reading maternity books and here are some breast care tips for all women out there who are expecting their first babies and planning to breastfeed them.
Daily washing of nipples – Clean your nipples daily but avoid using soap because it strips away the natural oils that protect the skin from drying and cracking, and it can aggravate a sore and cracked nipple. Always treat your breasts with care — don't rub them dry for gently pat them dry instead.
There is no need to wash your nipples before or after each feed but, before you fasten or put on your bra after feeding, let your nipples dry in the air, and always wash your hands before handling your breasts in order to prevent infection.
Engorgement - About 3 or 4 days after you have given birth, your breasts will fill with milk. They will become larger and heavier, and feel tender and warm when you touch them. If they overfill it is known as engorgement. Engorgement usually only lasts a day or two, but it can be uncomfortable and may recur.
To ease engorged breasts, take off milk by manual expression or by feeding your baby. In addition, you may find that it helps to bathe them with warm water or cover them with warm towels, or to strike them gently but firmly towards the nipple.
Engorgement can recur at any time during the period of breastfeeding, particularly if your breasts are never properly emptied or if your baby misses a feed.
Blocked ducts - A blocked duct may occur in the early weeks of breastfeeding. It may result from engorgement, from a bra that is too tight, or from dried secretions on the nipple tip blocking a nipple opening. If you get a blockage, your breast will feel tender and lumpy and there may be reddening of the skin.
To clear a blocked duct, start the feeds with the affected breast and gently massage it just above the sore area while feeding to ease the milk gently towards the nipple. If the blockage will not clear, don't offer the breast to your baby and consult your doctor immediately as it could become infected and result in a breast abscess, which is painful, although not a catastrophe.
Sore nipples – When you begin breastfeeding, your nipples may feel slightly tender for the first minute or so of sucking. This tenderness is quite normal, and it usually disappears after a few days. Sore nipples, however, are a common problem in the early weeks and can turn what should be a pleasure into something of an ordeal. Incorrect latching on and carelessness when taking your baby off your breast are the Principal causes of sore and cracked nipples, but taking care to start and finish feeding Properly can prevent these problems arising, and is essential if they are to heal after they have become sore or cracked.
Sore nipples heal quickly when they are exposed to the air so; if possible, go topless or braless occasionally, especially when resting, in order to let the air circulate over them.
Cracked nipples - If a sore nipple becomes cracked, you may need to keep the baby off' that breast up to 72 hours and express milk from the breast to avoid engorgement. Cracked nipples can be very painful, and they can lead to breast infection. To help avoid cracked nipples, apply a drop of baby lotion to your breast pad.
Mastitis - The first signs of mastitis (breast infection) are swelling, tenderness, and reddening of the affected area, accompanied by flu-like symptoms, which can include a high temperature, chills, aches, headaches, and perhaps nausea and vomiting. If you think you have developed an infection,- contact your doctor, if treated promptly with antibiotics, mastitis usually subsides within a day or so. You cannot pass the infection on to your baby, because it only affects your breast tissue, not your milk.
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Road Safety tips for Schoolers
Educating our children on how to protect themselves while bound for school is a must. Proper information equip our children on how to avoid accidents and provide us peace of mind as they wave their hands goodbye to start off their day.
Riding the Bus
School bus transportation is safe. In fact, buses are safer than cars! Some accidents occur as pupils are entering and exiting the bus. Here are some safety tips you can tell your children:
1. Have a safe place to wait for your bus, away from traffic and the street.
2. Stay away from the bus until it comes to a complete stop and the driver signals you to enter.
3. When being dropped off, exit the bus and walk ten giant steps away from the bus. Keep a safe distance between you and the bus. Also, remember that the bus driver can see you best when you are back away from the bus.
4. Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus.
5. Stay away from the bus until the driver gives his/her signal that it's okay to approach.
6. Be aware of the street traffic around you. Drivers are required to follow certain rules of the road concerning school buses, however, not all do. Protect yourself and watch out.
Walking and Biking to School
Even if you don't ride in a motor vehicle, you still have to protect yourself. Because of minimal supervision, young pedestrians face a wide variety of decisions making situations and dangers while walking to and from school.
1. Mind all traffic, signals, and or the crossing guard —never cross the street against a light, even if you don't see any traffic coming.
2. Walk your bike through intersections.
3. Walk with a buddy.
4. Wear reflective material, it makes you more visible to street traffic.
Riding in a Car
You might have heard before that most traffic crashes occur close to home ... they really do.
Here are a few safety measures.
1. Wear safety belts. Safety belts are the best form of protection passengers have in the event of a crash. They can lower your risk of injury by 45%. You are four times more likely to be seriously injured or killed if ejected from the vehicle in a crash.
2. Everyone needs to be buckled up properly. That means older kids in seat belts, younger kids in booster seats and little kids in child safety seats.
Read more...
Riding the Bus
School bus transportation is safe. In fact, buses are safer than cars! Some accidents occur as pupils are entering and exiting the bus. Here are some safety tips you can tell your children:
1. Have a safe place to wait for your bus, away from traffic and the street.
2. Stay away from the bus until it comes to a complete stop and the driver signals you to enter.
3. When being dropped off, exit the bus and walk ten giant steps away from the bus. Keep a safe distance between you and the bus. Also, remember that the bus driver can see you best when you are back away from the bus.
4. Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus.
5. Stay away from the bus until the driver gives his/her signal that it's okay to approach.
6. Be aware of the street traffic around you. Drivers are required to follow certain rules of the road concerning school buses, however, not all do. Protect yourself and watch out.
Walking and Biking to School
Even if you don't ride in a motor vehicle, you still have to protect yourself. Because of minimal supervision, young pedestrians face a wide variety of decisions making situations and dangers while walking to and from school.
1. Mind all traffic, signals, and or the crossing guard —never cross the street against a light, even if you don't see any traffic coming.
2. Walk your bike through intersections.
3. Walk with a buddy.
4. Wear reflective material, it makes you more visible to street traffic.
Riding in a Car
You might have heard before that most traffic crashes occur close to home ... they really do.
Here are a few safety measures.
1. Wear safety belts. Safety belts are the best form of protection passengers have in the event of a crash. They can lower your risk of injury by 45%. You are four times more likely to be seriously injured or killed if ejected from the vehicle in a crash.
2. Everyone needs to be buckled up properly. That means older kids in seat belts, younger kids in booster seats and little kids in child safety seats.
Read more...
Is Home Schooling Effective?
How do you describe home schooling? In the United States, it is a growing trend championed by parents who believe that the best education a child can receive is available in his or her own living room, not in the traditional classroom.
Home schooling is winning more advocates every year. Home schoolers have sprouted in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand, indicating that interest in home schooling is spreading around the globe.
In its basic concept, home schooling is not as radical as it may seem. "Home, not the school, was the original educational system," suggest Raymond and Dorothy Moore in their book Home-Spun Schools. "Until the 18th century, most children who went to school started at twelve or later."
Notable persons, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, were schooled at home. In fact, compulsory-school attendance laws were not introduced in the United States until late in the 19th century. So, according to author and home-school parent Kerri Bennett Williamson, home schooling is not just a recent fad, but "an old educational standard." Indeed, home schooling was the standard for most people in Biblical times.
Why are so many parents making the decision to teach their children at home?
Religious Reasons
The National Catholic Reporter estimates that from 50 to 90 percent of U.S. parents who practice home schooling do so for religious reasons. These parents are generally concerned about protecting their children from what they perceive as atheistic influence in the schools. "The backbone of the home-school movement is the Christian Fundamentalist community, which believes that religion is either abused or ignored in the classroom," said Time Magazine.
Damaging Immoral Influences
Other parents have pulled their children from public schools to safeguard them from exposure to damaging immoral influences at an early age. "Things were getting pretty out of hand with immorality in the schools," said one man who decided several years ago that he and his wife, would school their children at home. "We were concerned about our children and about the sad state of affairs in the school."
Educational Rather than Ideological
Sometimes, parents choose home schooling for educational rather than ideological reasons. They are fed up with overcrowded classrooms, low academic standards, and safety problems prevalent in many public schools. Disappointed by the often lackluster results of institutional teaching, they believe that they can help their children more by giving the one-on-one attention that home schooling makes possible.
Parents Involvement
Explaining why some prefer home schooling, the book Home Schools: An Alternative states: "Parents (who school at home) have 100% involvement with their children . . . They can devote their attention to their own child's education."
Does It Work?
Those who advocate home schooling say that children learn more effectively at home because lessons are woven into many aspects of the family's' daily activity. "Many families begin with a mathematics textbook, but then discover that lessons can be learned through everyday experiences. Shopping and checkbook balancing for example can help their students comprehend money management, while home repairs make an excellent primer in measurement," said an educator.
Some studies have shown that home schoolers generally earn scores at or above the national average on standardized achievement tests. But such results do not necessarily prove that home schoolers are better off than conventionally schooled children.
The Criticisms
Home schooling is not without its critics. Many school officials have expressed concern over the inconsistent quality of education being offered through home-school efforts. The Time Magazine puts it this way "Good intentions do not automatically translate into solid education.*'
• Parents may not be capable of providing adequate home education. According to NEA's (National Education Association) official position statement, "Home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive educational experience."
• Home-schooled children are too isolated and are deprived of normal interaction with other children their own age.
Advocates Objection
• Parents don't need college credentials to be good teachers. "Parents need not know all the answers in order to encourage their children to seek answers to their own questions," says the book Home Schooling —Answering Questions. Children can be directed to appropriate source materials. Parents and children can learn together. And where advanced training or expertise is required, private tutors can be hired on a part-time basis.
• "Children are not socially isolated," said Brian Ray, director of the National Home Education Research Institute. "Home schoolers usually take -field trips to the zoo or to the
museum. They play in the neighborhood just like other children. The idea that. they're locked up in a closed room from eight in the morning until ten at night just isn't right."
The Challenges
• Commitment
Home schooling takes "not just courage, but stamina, inventiveness and steady nerves," says Christianity Today. So if you are contemplating home schooling, think realistically about the commitment involved. Diligent effort and good organization will be needed to keep up with chores and other family responsibilities in addition to providing a daily academic program for the children. "You might be working so hard you'll feel like quitting," Ray said. "It's very demanding."
• Home-Schooling Laws
For example, in the United States, home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but the levels of regulation vary considerably. In some places, teaching your child at home simply means notifying
the local school superintendent and filling out a one-page form. In other states, a parent must be a certified teacher to qualify for
home schooling. Determine what local policy is so that you can comply with all the legal requirements.
Read more...
Home schooling is winning more advocates every year. Home schoolers have sprouted in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand, indicating that interest in home schooling is spreading around the globe.
In its basic concept, home schooling is not as radical as it may seem. "Home, not the school, was the original educational system," suggest Raymond and Dorothy Moore in their book Home-Spun Schools. "Until the 18th century, most children who went to school started at twelve or later."
Notable persons, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, were schooled at home. In fact, compulsory-school attendance laws were not introduced in the United States until late in the 19th century. So, according to author and home-school parent Kerri Bennett Williamson, home schooling is not just a recent fad, but "an old educational standard." Indeed, home schooling was the standard for most people in Biblical times.
Why are so many parents making the decision to teach their children at home?
Religious Reasons
The National Catholic Reporter estimates that from 50 to 90 percent of U.S. parents who practice home schooling do so for religious reasons. These parents are generally concerned about protecting their children from what they perceive as atheistic influence in the schools. "The backbone of the home-school movement is the Christian Fundamentalist community, which believes that religion is either abused or ignored in the classroom," said Time Magazine.
Damaging Immoral Influences
Other parents have pulled their children from public schools to safeguard them from exposure to damaging immoral influences at an early age. "Things were getting pretty out of hand with immorality in the schools," said one man who decided several years ago that he and his wife, would school their children at home. "We were concerned about our children and about the sad state of affairs in the school."
Educational Rather than Ideological
Sometimes, parents choose home schooling for educational rather than ideological reasons. They are fed up with overcrowded classrooms, low academic standards, and safety problems prevalent in many public schools. Disappointed by the often lackluster results of institutional teaching, they believe that they can help their children more by giving the one-on-one attention that home schooling makes possible.
Parents Involvement
Explaining why some prefer home schooling, the book Home Schools: An Alternative states: "Parents (who school at home) have 100% involvement with their children . . . They can devote their attention to their own child's education."
Does It Work?
Those who advocate home schooling say that children learn more effectively at home because lessons are woven into many aspects of the family's' daily activity. "Many families begin with a mathematics textbook, but then discover that lessons can be learned through everyday experiences. Shopping and checkbook balancing for example can help their students comprehend money management, while home repairs make an excellent primer in measurement," said an educator.
Some studies have shown that home schoolers generally earn scores at or above the national average on standardized achievement tests. But such results do not necessarily prove that home schoolers are better off than conventionally schooled children.
The Criticisms
Home schooling is not without its critics. Many school officials have expressed concern over the inconsistent quality of education being offered through home-school efforts. The Time Magazine puts it this way "Good intentions do not automatically translate into solid education.*'
• Parents may not be capable of providing adequate home education. According to NEA's (National Education Association) official position statement, "Home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive educational experience."
• Home-schooled children are too isolated and are deprived of normal interaction with other children their own age.
Advocates Objection
• Parents don't need college credentials to be good teachers. "Parents need not know all the answers in order to encourage their children to seek answers to their own questions," says the book Home Schooling —Answering Questions. Children can be directed to appropriate source materials. Parents and children can learn together. And where advanced training or expertise is required, private tutors can be hired on a part-time basis.
• "Children are not socially isolated," said Brian Ray, director of the National Home Education Research Institute. "Home schoolers usually take -field trips to the zoo or to the
museum. They play in the neighborhood just like other children. The idea that. they're locked up in a closed room from eight in the morning until ten at night just isn't right."
The Challenges
• Commitment
Home schooling takes "not just courage, but stamina, inventiveness and steady nerves," says Christianity Today. So if you are contemplating home schooling, think realistically about the commitment involved. Diligent effort and good organization will be needed to keep up with chores and other family responsibilities in addition to providing a daily academic program for the children. "You might be working so hard you'll feel like quitting," Ray said. "It's very demanding."
• Home-Schooling Laws
For example, in the United States, home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but the levels of regulation vary considerably. In some places, teaching your child at home simply means notifying
the local school superintendent and filling out a one-page form. In other states, a parent must be a certified teacher to qualify for
home schooling. Determine what local policy is so that you can comply with all the legal requirements.
Read more...
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