Having a Baby

Baby Showers: What Type of Gift Should You Get?

Baby showers are parties that celebrate a couple’s newborn or expected baby, and they’re extremely popular in Western countries. They’re also gaining popularity in other parts of the world, and while some customs and traditions may vary, the couple always receives gifts from friends, relatives, and well-wishers during the party.

Getting invited to a baby shower is always delightful, but the thought of buying a gift may be a little scary for some people, especially if they don’t know very much about the couple and expected baby. How can you be sure if they’ll appreciate the gift you had in mind? This is where baby shower baskets can be useful – instead of buying a single gift item, fill a baby basket or a toy wagon with several. Pretty, well-prepared baskets make great new baby gifts, and the couple will love you for it.

Of course, putting a gift basket together can be tricky. You’ll have to decide on a central theme for the basket, since a theme would help you pick out the appropriate gift items to fill it with. For instance, do you want to work with a “froggy” theme? A “sports” theme? Maybe you’d like to play on the father’s occupation? The sky’s virtually the limit when it comes to choosing a theme for your gift basket. Here are a few ideas to help you along.

1.) Gourmet cookies. The traditional baby shower is a woman-only affair, and sweets such as pastries, cakes, and other desserts are usually served. A basket of gourmet cookies, shaped like baby items such as bottles, rattles, and bibs, can prove to be a fun addition to the celebrant’s menu. You can have these cookies baked and personalized to make your gift even more meaningful.

2.) Cigars made of chocolate. If the new baby is going to be a boy, it might also be fun to give the new or expectant mom a gift basket filled with cigar-shaped chocolate. Like gourmet cookies, they can be part of the menu for the party, and should make for some enjoyable conversation. This will also be a funny gift for an expectant mother who doesn’t know the baby’s sex just yet, but has implied that she wants a boy.

3.) Real cigars. Of course, not all baby-showers are for women only. Some baby showers have a separate portion of the house reserved for just the men, while some parties even have the men and women mixed together. When the men are around, a basket filled with some really good cigars can be a great way to celebrate the little guy, and the father would appreciate the gesture very much. Just make sure not to smoke in the same room as the baby boy!

4.) “Bookworm” basket. When you’d rather prepare a gift basket for the new baby, it’s a thoughtful gesture to include books in the basket, even if the new baby won’t be reading them until after a few years. We all know that children who are exposed to books at an early age are more likely to lead successful, happy lives, so preparing a “bookworm” themed basket is always a great idea.

It’s also a good idea to use books that the parents themselves used to enjoy in their youth. These days, books by Dr Seuss (The Cat In The Hat) and Charles Shulz (Peanuts) are both highly-prized and highly-appreciated. If you give the gift basket during the baby shower, don’t be surprised if they open it right away, placing the bookworm doll (usually a long, very colorful stuffed toy) in the baby’s crib and opening the books for the guests. It’ll be a very nostalgic party!

5.) Animal-themed gift baskets. It’s never a bad idea to fill a basket with items that new babies and their parents will find useful, such as sleepwear, toys, books, and bath items. These gift baskets are easy and inexpensive to prepare, but they’re a lot more fun when centered around themes – and animal themes can be some of the cutest themes you can think of.

An example of an animal theme would be a “froggy” theme. Put in a few stuffed frogs, some froggy sleepwear, some green-and-white towels, and maybe even a personalized “froggy” storybook. You can use the same guidelines to prepare a “bear” theme, a “puppy” theme, a “ducky” theme… the possibilities are only limited by your imagination and creativity.

6.) A welcome wagon. Instead of using a basket, you can instead use a toy wagon and fill it with items the new baby and their parents would find useful. A welcome wagon has its own advantages over a basket – the wagon itself can be used as a toy as the new baby gets older. It’s also easier to sport a “guy” theme – such as with “Go Team!” baby shower baskets – with a welcome wagon. (This is obviously a great idea when both parents are avid fans of a professional sports team!)

7.) Stuffed toys. If you run out of ideas, you can always play it safe with a trio of stuffed toys placed in an appropriate basket. Stuffed toys and dolls are usually the new baby’s first cribside companions, and they’ll keep the little guy from getting bored too quickly. As an example of a good “stuffed toy” gift basket, fill a wicker or egg basket with farm animals, such as cows, ducks, sheep, chickens, and shaggy sheepdogs. It’s easy to create “jungle” and “undersea” stuffed toy gift baskets, too.

Baby showers are great occasions to give gifts and show the couple how much you really care about them and their new bundle of joy. But be careful about giving gifts before the baby shower party itself – some customs and religions think it’s bad luck to give gifts before the baby is born. Otherwise, go right ahead and walk through their door with your gift basket in hand – there’s no doubt they’ll greet you with smiles on their faces.

Posted on September 7th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Having a Baby | Comments Off

Obesity In Children – 11 Tips To Help Your Child Lose Weight

One of the biggest misfortunes of modern living is obesity in children. The huge bodies of these children do not permit them to play happily with their peers. Dieting, in addition to battling with the self-esteem problems that obesity usually brings, is an absolute must for obese children.

If you have an overweight child, you must try every method possible to get him or her to shed those extra pounds so that he or she can live a normal life. First and foremost, you have to consult your physician and talk to him or her about the most beneficial method for your child to not only lose weight, but also maintain good health.

To be frank, if you hesistate to take the basic steps necessary to enable your child to lose that excess weight, you will put your child’s health at risk. When we do not permit our children to play on the road or handle guns, why on earth should we let them kill themselves by eating junk foods?

If you have an obese child, the following tips will be of immense help to you.

1. Do not punish or reward your child with food. Food is one the major problems your child has to face, and using it as a punishment or reward will simply worsen the problem.
2. Encourage your child to eat healthy foods instead of fried foods. Do not keep any junk food in the house.
3. Pack your child’s lunch yourself so that you are aware of what he or she eats. Do not allow the child to buy lunch in school.
4. Ensure that your child does not get any junk food outside the house.
5. Change the food habits of the entire family. Instead of eating fried snacks, eat healthy fruit and nut snacks. Your child needs fresh fruits, raw vegetables, or frozen yogurt.
6. Study the food pyramid whenever you are in doubt about your child’s dietary needs. This will ensure that you give your children a good balanced diet.
7. See that you child does not drink any soft drinks. You will have to face a lot of rebellion initially, but your child will develop an abiding love for water. Water not only keeps a child full, but also digests fat.
8. Introduce a lot of physical activity into your child’s life. Encourage them to join a dance class, go for a long walk, jog, run, or play football or cricket.
9. Don’t allow your child to become a couch potato. Keep him or her away from video and computer games. See that your child is active always. Keeping the child active means that he or she now has a healthy alternative to eating. It also means that he or she is burning up all those extra calories.
10. If home methods do not work, you could enroll your child in one of the weight-loss camps, especially designed to deal with weight loss and self-esteem issues in children between the ages of seven and nineteen. One of these camps might be the answer to your prayer.
11. Let your child follow the example you set. If you refrain from eating junk food or indulge in emotional eating, your child will automatically learn from you and will do the same.

You will notice a change in your child if you follow these simple techniques. Your child will carry himself or herself with confidence as he or she sheds those extra pounds. His or her relationships at school will improve when all the teasing comes to a stop.

Posted on September 7th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Having a Baby | Comments Off

Baby Boy Gift Baskets – Baby Shower Gifts for the Little Guy

Baby showers are always great occasions to attend, and everyone loves celebrating the birth of a new baby boy. It’s also customary for every guest invited to a baby shower to bring a gift for the new baby or his parents, and it can be pretty tricky to find the best possible gift to give. There’s always the nagging question whether or not your gift would be appreciated, and there’s also the worry of walking into the baby shower carrying the same gift as another guest.

It’s easy to come up with a totally original gift for the little guy. Instead of looking for a single gift item, look for several and prepare a nice gift basket. Gift baskets contain several closely-related gift items bundled into a nice basket, which can be decorated with ribbons, gift wrappings, banners, etc. There are countless possible designs for a gift basket – all you have to do is decide what you want yours to look like.

Of course, baby boy gift baskets should look different from baskets for baby girls. It would be downright wrong to theme a basket for a baby boy with a pink color, and it’s a sure way to sour the mood at any baby shower. Here are a few helpful tips to help you prepare a suitable gift basket that the parents – and all the other guests – would love you for.

Tip #1 – Try to use a masculine or neutral color. Blue is the most popular color for baby shower gifts for baby boys, but green, brown, white, and purple are acceptable colors too. Avoid pink and yellow, since they’re mostly “girl” colors. Keep colors in mind whenever you shop for items like towels, sleepwear, bibs, and bottles – in other words, items that the little guy will be using for a long time after receiving them.

Tip #2 – Try using alternative containers for the gift items. While wicker baskets are the most common and acceptable kinds of containers (owing to their usefulness after the party), you can also try hampers, baby bathtubs, and wagons. Wagons make great toys when the little guy gets bigger, and you can even design your gift basket as a welcome wagon. If you’re walking into the baby shower with a very young companion, you can let him/her pull the wagon into the party – it should make an interesting entrance!

Tip #3 – Don’t use too much decoration on the gift basket. Using too many ribbons, gift wrapping, and other ornamentation may make the basket look a tad bit feminine, so keep it to a minimum. Baby boy gift baskets are much better presented with banners, flags, and slogans than with ribbons and buntings. Take the opportunity to decorate the gift basket with a message for the little guy – for instance, if you’re planning to prepare a basket filled with star-shaped cookies, you could include the sign: “A Star Is Born!”

Tip #4 – Stuffed toys are actually fine. Some might argue that stuffed animals are for baby girls only, but they make for good cribside company for the little guy. Certain animals, such as “jungle” animals like lions, giraffes, and hippos, are very suitable for a baby boy’s crib. But it might be a good idea to fill the gift basket with stuffed sports items, such as small basketballs and footballs, instead. To make it more fun, give your gift basket a theme that matches the parents’ sports preferences.

Tip #5 – When giving “baby” items like shampoos, talcum powder, and baby lotion, try to be a little extra thoughtful and fill your basket with “travel-sized” bottles. This would be a gesture to the new parents to go out and take the little guy out every now and then. Any parent would appreciate the idea that they don’t have to be cooped up in the house.

Tip #6 – If you want to make things a little extra special for the new mom and dad too, don’t be shy about throwing in a bottle of wine or some good apple cider (if the mother is nursing). Taking care of a new baby boy is hard work, and the new parents would appreciate a little something to enjoy at the end of the day.

Remember, though, that many baby showers take place a little before the baby boy is born. In such baby showers, it’s also a good idea to include some gift items for the mother in your gift basket. Naturally the mother is going to be sitting still for most of the time, she’ll appreciate a good book or two. If you can find books that will help make the waiting a little more bearable, then you’ll definitely be doing her a favor.

Most baby showers have themes to them, so an invitation should clue you in on what the party’s going to be like. You can make things a little more fun by preparing your gift basket in the same theme as the baby shower, too.

Preparing a gift basket for a new baby boy can be fun, and it’s pretty easy to come up with a pretty one. But if you think you don’t have that creative streak in you, you can go ahead and buy a baby boy gift basket off the shelf. Many gift basket shops have some pre-made baskets specifically made for a new baby boy or his expectant parents. For a little extra cash, these gift basket shops can even prepare, customize, and personalize the gift basket to make it more memorable.

It’s also a shame when you realize the baby shower is scheduled on a date and time when you’re unavailable. Besides missing a great party, the parents of the little guy will definitely miss you. But that’s okay – you can still have a nice basket prepared by a basket shop, and then ask them to deliver it to the new parents’ doorstep. It would be best if they can deliver the basket during the baby shower itself – it’ll be a very welcome surprise.

Posted on September 7th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Having a Baby | Comments Off