It’s an age-old question: Should you let your baby watch TV? Well, the answer depends on who you ask. Pediatricians, teachers, and parents are just some of the people who’ve weighed in on this debate.
As varied as the opinions are, the consensus is pretty clear. Many parents, myself included, that allow their babies to watch TV don’t condone using it as a baby sitter for hours on end. Often, moms need 15 minutes to take a shower or 10 minutes to clean the sticky apple juice off the kitchen floor. Many are also looking for high quality, short educational shows that they can watch with their babies.
There are a lot of companies that cater to developmental needs of babies. Two popular companies are Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein. Both companies offer high quality books, DVDs, and toys for young children.
There is also a television channel geared towards babies called Baby First TV. Â
This channel is geared for babies 6 months – 3 years old. It offers a commercial-free line up of over 40 programs that air 24 hours a day. Their shows are developed by child development experts, and explore different areas including math, language, and creative play.
Baby First TV subscribers pay a monthly fee. It’s also currently open to DirecTV and Dish Network Subscribers only. The company does, however, plan to offer the channel through other cable providers in coming months. You can visit their site for more details.
Keep in mind, though, that you don’t have to subscribe to a channel like Baby TV, to find a program that might be appropriate for your baby for a few minutes. PBS offers programs like Sesame Street that offer the same type of benefit. And, PBS comes with a basic cable subscription, so no extra expense!
As a busy mom with young children, I know there are those days when you need a few minutes to get something specific done. Of course, I try to get as much done during nap time as I can, but sometimes for whatever reason you can’t get it all done. That’s where baby-appropriate programming comes in. If your baby is watching something educational and entertaining, and you can tend to your task for 10 or 15 minutes, it’s a win/win situation.Â
Baby’s first Fall
The general rule for dressing your baby for fall is layering! In the fall, the weather could be warm on minute and cool the next. If you layer your baby’s clothing, you can add clothes or take them off as the weather changes throughout the day. Here are some things you should have for your baby this fall:
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Onesies - A perennial favorite of mommies everywhere, onesies are wonderful. The best thing is that they make them in either short sleeves OR long sleeves, so as the fall weather varies, you can put one on under whatever your baby is wearing for the day. You can then take off the outer layer if your little one is too warm.
Blanket sleepers - Especially when your baby is a newborn, he will spend most of his time in sleepers. Even if your baby is a little older, sleepers are great because they keep baby covered, especially when it’s a little chilly. There are many styles to choose from, and be sure to choose some that are in heavier fabrics than you would choose for summertime. You want to keep your baby warm, but not TOO warm.Â
A jacket - It doesn’t need to be as heavy as a winter coat, but you need to have something for those fall days when it gets a little on the chilly side. Fleece jackets or hoodies are a great option.
Socks - You’ll want to have warm socks to keep baby’s feet covered.
If you have a newborn, those items may be all the items you purchase for now. For babies who are a little older, you might want to check out a few other things to buy in addition to those listed above:
Jeans or Overalls - Depending on the age of your baby, you may have only one or two pairs of jeans for him, or as many as four or five.Â
Long sleeved t-shirts - You might want to get several in different colors. They work well with layering (over a onesie or under a sweater) and are ideal for fall and winter. Â
Sweaters - You’ll want to purchase a couple of sweaters for those fall outings.Â
It’s a smart idea to keep a backpack with extra layers of clothing for baby in the trunk of your car for those sudden temperature changes while you’re out and about and get caught up somewhere for longer than you expected.Â
It’s 11:00 p.m. Never mind that you have to be up early, you are going to look for “just a couple of minutes.â€Â With baby name book in hand, you lay back and get comfortable. Soon you discover that your ever expanding belly is great for propping up books.Â
Before you know it, it’s an hour later, and you are in a heated debate with your husband about why Katherine is a perfect name for you baby. It’s cute, not to mention it goes well with your last name. Your husband tells you that that name reminds him of someone he knew once, and that he’s not a fan of the person he knew or the name. Trying not to be annoyed, you ask him what he thinks the name should be. He offers a name that he really likes, and you think to yourself, “He can’t be serious…â€Â  Â
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Does this scenario sound familiar? I laugh when I think back to these days, as I was pregnant with each of my daughters. It seemed that somehow the name chosen for my first child was, quite frankly, easy. Piece of cake. We knew what the name would be and that was that. Picking out names during subsequent pregnancies was agonizing.Â
I would tell my husband, “I love the name Gabrielle. Do you?â€Â He would just give me that look. The one that said, “ummm…not so much.â€Â He would usually say something like, “I like Charmaine†or pick some other name that I wasn’t particularly crazy about. And so it went, like a very long tennis match — back and forth, back and forth for nine months. Our family and friends were standing by to offer opinions and see who would win out in the battle of the wills. Fortunately we were able to compromise!
To that end, here are baby girl names that are at the top of my list. I’m a fan of modern names (names that have really come into popularity in the last few years), as well as classic names that never seem to go out of style.  Â
1. Maya
2. Avery
3. Grace – Before I had my first baby, I always told my friends that I was going to name my daughter (if I had one) Grace. Of course, my friend got pregnant first and “stole†the name for her daughter! I was so upset at her for awhile, but I think when you like a name you should just go ahead and use it! We ended up using Grace as a middle name. 4. Isabella
5. Kate
6. Lara
7. Elisabeth
8. Kyra
9. Madison
10. Olivia – When my second daughter was born, we were initially thinking about naming her Olivia. We told that to our 4-year-old son. When she was born, however, we decided on a different name. He came to the hospital to meet his baby sister, and kept calling her Olivia. We told him that we actually named her something else, and he looked at us and said, “Okay. But when’s Olivia coming out?â€Â For weeks afterward, he would ask about when his sister Olivia was coming!
Naming your baby girl is fun part of having a baby, albeit there’s probably a little compromising involved. Just remember that you need to pick the name that YOU and your partner like, don’t worry about what other people think about the name that you’re choosing.
-Jessica Holdaway
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Baby Talk Radio, the podcast for the Baby Crazy Crowd. Pregnancy and Baby Care Topics.
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