BabyWorld

Stem Cell Collection

The importance of stem cells from the cord blood

The umbilical cord contains powerful stem cells that have been used to regenerate healthy blood and immune systems. Cord blood stem cells have been used in more than 35,000 transplants worldwide. Doctors are also researching cord blood as potential treatment for conditions that currently have no cure. Stem cells are able to transform into other types of cells in the body to create new growth and development. They are the building block of the immune system. The transformation of these cells provides physicians with a way to treat leukemia and some inherited health disorders.If parents do not decide to collect the stem cells, they are discarded as medical waste, if not collected at birth. Usually the volume of stem cells collected is quite small, so these cells are usually used for children or small adults. So, the stem cells are frozen and stored by cord blood banks or programs until they are needed.

Jealousy can be helpful as well as hurtful

It is a strong emotion even in grown-ups. It can be more disturbing to the very young child because he doesn't know just what has hit him.

If it is intense, it may sour his outlook on life for quite a while. But jealousy is one of the facts of life and can't be completely prevented, so parents shouldn't expect to accomplish the impossible. However, they can do a great deal to minimize it and to help the child convert it into other feelings that are painless and constructive. If he comes to realize that there is no reason to be so fearful of a rival, it strengthens his character so that he will be better able to cope with rivalry situations later in life, at work, and at home.

Parenting is such a beautiful thing, but difficult in the same time. Who says raising a child is a simple work? It is not. To be a parent means so many things and is such a complex task. When we desire a child from the bottom of our hearts, we do not trully realize that this is more than a wish, as a child is a human being who has needs, who has to be understood according to his age, to be loved, and, most of all, educated. Yes, raising a child doesn't mean only feeding, loving or simply having him around (although there are parents who consider this enough); it's more than that.

Children's curiosity at the age of three is intense

Children want to know the meaning of everything that meets their eyes. Their imagination is rich. They connect everything with themselves. When they hear about an illness, it makes them think, "Will I have that?", or when they hear aboout trains, they want to know right away, "Will I go on a train someday?".

Curiosity is a good thing for the 3 years old children; it is part of their development, and the adults should have the patience to explain them everything in detail, even if sometimes they don't feel to, or are tired, or they had a hard day. Children are part of us, and if we want to have good kids, mentally speaking, we should be involved and explain them everything, in a positive way.

Devotion to the parents

Children at this age are usually easier to lead. Boys and girls around 3 have reached a stage in their emotional development when they feel that their fathers and mothers are wonderful people, and they want to be like them. Even if they are devoted to their parents, they are still people with ideas of their own. The little girl is not about to become an exact replica of her mother but she still will surely be influenced by her in many respects. A boy at this age realizes that he is on the way to becoming a man and, therefore, attempts to pattern himself predominantly after his father.

Emotional, cognitive and language skills

Sunny Mummy -A Spa for Mothers with Small Children

Mothers simply need a break when they feel overwhelmed by their ordinary life; they need to relax and recharge their batteries. When we feel revigorated, we are more optimistic, happier, and more understanding regarding our little ones.

Almost all children have a few temper tantrums between 1 and 3 years. They've gotten a sense of their own desires and individuality. When they're thwarted they know it and feel angry. Yet they don't usually attack the parent who has interfered with them. Perhaps the grown-up is too important and too big. Also, their fighting instinct isn't very well developed yet.

When the feeling of fury boils up in them, they can't think of anything better to do than take it out on the floor and themselves. They flop down, yelling, and pound with their hands and feet and maybe the head.

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It's very important to feed our babies in a healthy way, predominantly in the first years of their life. For a good development, babies need plenty of energy and nutrients. Even though their interest in food is different from day to day, and their appetite and hunger can be unpredictable, we should try to give them the necessary vitamins and proteins for a healthy childhood.

For more information about eating tips, go here:

Eating tips for children (1) - babies - Better Health Channel

Here are some ideas for healthy food:

Dinner:

Tasty Vegetables in dry cooker

2 onions

2 or 3 carrots, peeled, washed and chopped into chunks

100 ml chicken soup

4 or 5 potatoes (or sweet potatoes), chopped

2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 potatoes, chopped

100-200gr of rucola, washed

Put all the vegetables into the dry cooker (you can cut them into small or big pieces, as you wish), then add some flavours like salt, pepper, oregano, ginger (if your baby likes flavours, too). Then add the chicken soup before placing on the heat; and, finally, put on the cap piece, and keep the vegetables on the simmer for about half an hour. At the end, add 100-200 gr of rucola for a better taste. If your babies like to blend the mixture of vegetables, it's ok. They'd love the taste anyway!

Babies and their fears

Babies of a year may become fascinated with one thing for several weeks on - for instance, the telephone, planes over head, electric lights (in my case, the wash machine). We should let them touch and become familiar with objects that are not dangerous or disturbing. It's also wiser for us, parents, not to play up to their interest, or, if it's something dangerous,not to dwell on the danger. It's better to distract them with something else, then to increase their awe.

At this age babies may be frightened by strange objects that move suddenly or make a loud noise, such as folded pictures that popup from a book, the opening of an umbrella, a vacuum cleaner, a siren, a barking jumping dog, a train, etc.

Try not to have these startling things too close to 1-year-olds until they get used to them. If the vacuum cleaner bothers them, try not to use it for a while, at least while they're nearby. Then try it the first time when they are some distance away.

A baby weighing much under 5 pounds will probably need to remain in hospital where an incubator and expert care are available.

It's hard to get over your anxiety

Most premature babies develop quite normally, allowing for their prematurity. Though they gain weight slowly at first, they usually gain and grow more rapidly for a while later to make up for this. Naturally, they cannot make up for their youngness. The baby who was born 2 months early and has become "1 year old" should be thought of as really a 10-month-old.

By the time a premature baby weighs 6 pounds, he needs no more coddling or worrying than any baby, but this is very hard for the parents to believe. In the beginning the doctor may have cautioned them against being too optimistic, and only gradually became more reassuring. The baby probably had to be in an incubator, watched constantly by nurses and doctors, and probably had to be fed by tube at first. The parents might not have been able to get near him most of that time, though most hospitals are now encouraging parents to touch and, where possible, hold and feed their premature babies from the very beginning.

There are many women asking themselves which way they should choose when giving birth: vaginal birth or C-section? Of course, there are women who can't even choose, because there are certain problems that may occur during pregnancy, so the only choice they have is C-section. Anyway, there are pros and cons regarding this issue, and there are some opinions and studies that could help us making the right choice.

There are some things each woman takes into consideration at childbirth, and their decision depends on many factors like pain, risks for both baby and mother, and even the recovery.

There are also specialists who make studies and it is good to read more and get informed about this important aspect of a childbirth.

A baby starts by using the head

It's a gradual process by which a baby learns to control his body. It starts with the head and gradually works down to the hands, trunk and legs. Just as soon as he's born, he knows how to suck. And if something touches his cheek - the nipple of your finger, for example - he tries to reach it with his mouth.

Baby No.2

Most of mommies love the ideea of having a second baby, and sometimes they simply feel it. And when they want to get pregnant with their second child, they realize that things are not going as they have planned.

They realize it is such a long way to get there and conceiving is extremely frustrating, not only for women trying to have their first child (when they are afraid of infertility after months or years of trying), but to mothers trying to have their second child, too. When you have your first child, you don't even think to be infertile, and it's said that after your first baby, you get pregnant easier, but this is just a myth, or some women are effectively lucky, aren't they?

Babies and the outside world

Babies don't have much contact with the outside world during the first 2-3 months. Most of the time they seem to be listening to what their insides tell them. When they get the message that all is well, they are very peaceful. When the message is about hunger,or indigestion, or tiredness, they feel wholeheartedly wretched because there's nothing to distract them. It's an irritable period for some babies. One has colic, another has spells of irritable crying, a third always screams for a few minutes just before falling asleep.

As babies get beyond the 3-month period, they take alot more notice of the world around them. They turn their heads in all directions, all by themselves, and seem pleased with what they see.

How a baby feels about strangers

You can get an idea of how a baby goes from phase to phase in development, by watching the reaction to strangers at different ages. This is how it goes in a doctor's office for a typical baby, let's say a girl, until she's about a year old.

Watching them grow

There is nothing in the world more fascinating than watching a child grow and develop. At first you think of it as just a matter of growing bigger. Then, as the infant begins to do things, you may think of it as "learning tricks". But its more complicated and full of meaning than that. The development of each child retraces the whole history of the human race, physically and spiritually, step by step.

Babies start off in the womb as a single tiny cell, just the way the first living thing appeared in the ocean. Weeks later, as they lie in the amniotic fluid in the womb, they have gills like fish. Toward the end of the first year of life, when they learn to clamber to their feet, they're celebrating that period millions of years ago when our ancestors got up off all fours. It's just at that time that babies are learning to use their fingers with skill and delicacy. Our ancestors stood up because they had found more useful things to do with their hands than walking on them.

Sneezing

Babies sneeze easily. Sneezing dooesn't usually mean a cold unless the nose begins to run, too. It is most often caused by dust and dried mucus that has collected in a ball in the front of the nose and tickels. If the breathing is obstructed, you can first moisten then remove the mucus with the corner of the washcloth.

Food for a healthy life

After giving birth to a baby, mothers get through alot of changes, physical and mental ones. They have to get used to their new lifestyle, to their new baby, and, as a result, they need to change even their culinary habbits, especially when they are breastfeeding; when mothers end up breastfeeding, they are happy to have control on what they eat, so that it would be easier to loose weight. Here are some goodies I invented, and I can say I love eating salads (only for the evening meal, cause I am a foodie, and I cannot live only with salads, you know?):

Fresh salad with red cabbage and corn

1 green onion, washed and chopped
100g rucola

1/2 redcabbage, washed and chopped

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

1 lemon

150g canned corn

Mix all the vegetables together with the extravirgin olive oil, lemon and salt (and pepper if you like it). Enjoy it!

What is common in infancy

It is common for a baby's eyes to turn in or out too much at moments in the early months. In most cases they become steady and straight as the child grows older. If, however, the eyes turn in or out all the time or much of the time, even in the first months, or if they are not steady by 3 months, an eye doctor should be consulted.

Many times parents think their baby's eyes are crossed when they are really straight. This is because the skin area between the eyes is relatively wider in a baby than in an older person; so the amount of white of the eye showing on the inner side of the iris is much smaller than the white on the outer side (toward the ear).

Another reason babies' eyes sometimes appear crossed is that when they are looking at something in their hands they have to converge (cross) the eyes a lot to focus on it, because the arm is too short. If you think your baby's eyes may be crossed, you can check the image of a light as it is reflected in the baby's pupils. If the image of the light is always located symmetrically on the baby's pupils, its unlikely that the eyes are crossed.

Mouth troubles in babies

Thrush

Thrush is a mild fungus infection of the mouth. It looks as if patches of milk scum were stuck to the cheeks and tongue and roof of the mouth. But, unlike scum, it does not wipe off easily. If you do rub it off, the underlying skin bleeds slightly and looks inflamed. Thrush usually makes babies' mouths sore. They show the discomfort when they are trying to nurse. It even occurs in babies who are taken care of to perfection. If you suspect it, consult the doctor promptly for diagnosis and treatment. If there is a delay in getting medical advice,it is helpful to have the baby drink half an ounce of boiled water that's been allowed to cool, or suck it from a piece of sterile absorbent cotton, after the milk. This washes the milk out of the mouth and gives the thrush fungus less to live on.

Blueness of the skin

It is typical in many newborn babies for their hands and feet to look blue. Babies who have a pale skin often show a bluish mottling of the skin all over their bodies when undressed. In both cases this is insignificant, and it disappears as the baby gets older.

Birthmarks

Most babies have a collection of red, mottles spots on the backs of their necks when they are born. These also commonly occur in two other places: between the eyebrows and on the upper eyelids. These blotches disappear gradually in most cases, and nothing needs to be done for them.