Category: babies

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Baby Care Instructions From 1968 Show Just How Much Things Have Changed Since Then

Women continue to learn more about how our bodies work and how science can improve the way we care for tiny human beings. And let’s not forget that there have been some very real developments in the world, like cars that require safety seats, that have irrevocably altered child-rearing.

There’s nothing that illustrates that point quite like taking a look back at how we used to advise moms to care for wee ones, and this list of instructions from 1968 does a great job of showing how different things are today.

The advice here was for the care of your newborn while still in the hospital after birth.

Yeah, most of this is pretty insane, but I really wish someone would have at least considered my nipples.

My mom was going through her things and we saw this, it's rules in regards to just having a baby. It gave me a chuckle….

Posted by Micala Gabrielle Henson on Friday, March 29, 2019

I am not a fan of them not being able to see their babies whenever they want. However, again, I could have done with more sleep and actual recovery time.

Also, real question… how long did it take these women’s milk to come in on this schedule?!?

I assume, unlike many others did not, that the baby was not starving the rest of the time, but simply being bottle fed, since they mention bottles and formula.

Image Credit: Facebook

The list of foods you’re not allowed to eat is very curious. Like…were that many people scarfing green coconut cake on the regular?

And don’t even get me started on the smoking.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Overall, obviously this advice never killed any of us born during that timeframe, and seriously, hospitals could be a lot more mom-focused now, instead of wringing out new mothers to the point that they can hardly function by the time they’re sent home.

But I suppose that’s a soapbox for another day…

The post Baby Care Instructions From 1968 Show Just How Much Things Have Changed Since Then appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Baby Care Instructions From 1968 Show Just How Much Things Have Changed Since Then

Women continue to learn more about how our bodies work and how science can improve the way we care for tiny human beings. And let’s not forget that there have been some very real developments in the world, like cars that require safety seats, that have irrevocably altered child-rearing.

There’s nothing that illustrates that point quite like taking a look back at how we used to advise moms to care for wee ones, and this list of instructions from 1968 does a great job of showing how different things are today.

The advice here was for the care of your newborn while still in the hospital after birth.

Yeah, most of this is pretty insane, but I really wish someone would have at least considered my nipples.

My mom was going through her things and we saw this, it's rules in regards to just having a baby. It gave me a chuckle….

Posted by Micala Gabrielle Henson on Friday, March 29, 2019

I am not a fan of them not being able to see their babies whenever they want. However, again, I could have done with more sleep and actual recovery time.

Also, real question… how long did it take these women’s milk to come in on this schedule?!?

I assume, unlike many others did not, that the baby was not starving the rest of the time, but simply being bottle fed, since they mention bottles and formula.

Image Credit: Facebook

The list of foods you’re not allowed to eat is very curious. Like…were that many people scarfing green coconut cake on the regular?

And don’t even get me started on the smoking.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Overall, obviously this advice never killed any of us born during that timeframe, and seriously, hospitals could be a lot more mom-focused now, instead of wringing out new mothers to the point that they can hardly function by the time they’re sent home.

But I suppose that’s a soapbox for another day…

The post Baby Care Instructions From 1968 Show Just How Much Things Have Changed Since Then appeared first on UberFacts.

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Some Parents Are Annoyed by a Hospital Poster Shaming Them for Looking at Their Cell Phones

We all have to answer questions in this day and age about how much, how often, when and where we choose to pick up our phones. Sometimes we’re reading emails from work, or answering texts from friends or family or looking up a recipe for dinner, and other times we might be scrolling through Facebook or keeping up with the latest snark on the news on Twitter.

The truth is that your kids have no idea what the difference is – they see you staring at your phone and they know you’re not paying attention to them, full stop.

It’s complicated, and we all have to decide for ourselves what we want technology in our homes to look like.

The personal nature of those choices is probably why new parents want to snarl at a hospital poster suggesting they’re going to screw up their brand-new bundle by picking up their phones instead of staring lovingly into their sleeping (or screaming) faces.

Even worse – this was posted in a U.K. version of a NICU, meaning that the parents there spend long, stressful hours waiting for the day they can take their child home.

And, if they’re anything like me (who had a healthy, if pissy, newborn), most of the things they’re staring at on their device are answers to panicked questions about all things baby and motherhood.

The sign reads “Mummy and Daddy, Please look at ME when I am feeding. I am much more interesting than your phone!!”

Surely, the person who wrote it intended it as a reminder of the importance of bonding, but it definitely comes across as shaming in a place where added stress is the very last thing anyone needs.

During those long, late hours spent feeding, worrying, and just disconnected from the real world in general, our devices can be like a lifeline to other people – something not to be discounted, even if moderation is obviously key.

The Yeovil District Hospital responded to the outcry with a statement:

“These posters were created by our Special Care Baby Unit nurses following UNICEF baby-friendly accreditation training and have been in place for a few months. They are intended to be used only within the context of the unit, where we support mums of premature or very poorly babies in building a healthy connection.”

Twitter clapbacked at that as well…

Which is fine, but someone should definitely work on their wording. A simple statement about the importance of bonding with premature infants would have sufficed.

Postpartum is a hard enough time, and we’re already questioning literally everything we’re doing – the last thing new parents need is the hospital staff pouring on more of the same.

What do you think? Good reminder or should the hospital just mind their own business?

Let us know in the comments!

The post Some Parents Are Annoyed by a Hospital Poster Shaming Them for Looking at Their Cell Phones appeared first on UberFacts.

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Here’s the Best Way to Hang on to Your Favorite Baby Clothes for Years to Come

Ahhhh, the sad moment when you realize that your babies are no longer babies, and they’re never going to wear those sweet onesies with feet in them again – and all of those adorable “first” holiday outfits are never going to get used again.

You don’t really have that many options as far as what to do with them – you can donate them, of course, but if you’re sentimental about a few of them, at least, that’s not a good choice. You can keep your favorites in a bin with their baby books, first art projects, and other keepsakes, but you’ll literally never see them again if you do that.

Image Credit: Etsy

Or, it turns out, people on Etsy will take them and transform them into adorable stuffed animals.

I mean, how cool is this? Jammies turn into a teddy!

Photo Credit: Etsy

There are several sellers that advertise the personalized, handmade stuffed animals made from your baby’s favorite clothes, and what emerges are keepsake items worthy of a shelf or cabinet, or even to be played with once in a while, and not just a bin in the basement.

Image Credit: Etsy

Basically, it gives your kid’s onesies a second life, and gives your mama (or daddy) heart a little more time to get used to the idea of letting go.

Just look at this monkey! The cutest thing ever!

Image Credit: Etsy

I absolutely love this idea, but it would first require me to winnow down my “keeper” box to something a bit more manageable…maybe half a dozen instead of a bin so full the lid will barely fit?

A project for a rainy day, for sure.

And fun stuff like a pink, purple and polka dot monkey would emerge!

Image Credit: Etsy

What do you do with your kid’s special outfits once they’ve outgrown them?

If you’ve got a fun way to remember those sweet baby days, share it with us in the comments!

We love to see all your ideas! They make us smile and smile!

The post Here’s the Best Way to Hang on to Your Favorite Baby Clothes for Years to Come appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Dad Was Rewarded for the Time He Spent Talking to His Daughter in the Womb

There are a ton of things people try to do when they or their partner is pregnant.

Talk to the baby, sing to the baby, read to the baby, play music, whatever – and for awhile, we make time to do those things.

For most of us, though – especially if it’s not our first impending bundle – it can be hard to find the time to do as much as we want as consistently as we’d like.

Brazilian father Flavio Dantas made talking to his daughter in the womb a priority, though, and when she was born and heard his voice, it sure seemed like she recognized it.

Flavio wrote,

“I can’t explain the feeling I felt at that moment. Every day I talked to my daughter in her mother’s womb, I always told her that I loved her, that Dad was there and that I was going to be the best father in the world!

When she was born, how did she repay me? With the sweetest smile ever.”

View this post on Instagram

Quando vi minha família pela primeira vez ❤?

A post shared by Antonella (@antonella.vilela) on

I mean, they say newborns don’t smile on purpose, but it certainly seems like baby Antonella did just that when she heard her daddy talk to her in full volume and without amniotic fluid and a uterine wall getting in her way!

Flavio is so clearly thrilled to be a father that you’re not going to be able to help but smile, either.

View this post on Instagram

Papai me dando o primeiro mama rs ?

A post shared by Antonella (@antonella.vilela) on

 

His captions on his pictures are too adorable to paraphrase.

“A love that doesn’t fit inside the chest!” and “God gave me my biggest reason to raise my head, let go of sadness and go after the world to be able to give you,” are just a couple of them.

It’s plain to see that Antonella is so very loved, with her mother also saying things like “if wealth were measured in words, I would sum it up in just one: you.”

Also, her parents are poets!

Seriously, being born into a family that contains these two gems of human beings is enough reason to smile, and Antonella looks ready to return every last drop of love she’s been showered with since conception.

I wish all three of them nothing but the best.

The post A Dad Was Rewarded for the Time He Spent Talking to His Daughter in the Womb appeared first on UberFacts.

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Cocooning Is Something New Parents Are Doing, but It Might Not Be a Great Idea

Forever, new parents have been catered to, helped out, and propped up by the rest of their tribe, family, community, and/or neighbors, and you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase “it takes a village.”

But while in many Eastern cultures the norm is still to invite willing family members for an extended postpartum stay in order to ease the pressure of the transition on new parents, Western parents are trending the opposite direction. 

Image Credit: Pixabay

It’s being dubbed “cocooning,” and basically means that new parents live in isolation with their newborn for weeks (or even months). Their home turns into a place the world cannot penetrate – not even family members and friends who would offer help during what is an extremely lonely, anxious time.

The thought behind the movement is that the practice keeps baby safe from pathogens, gives new parents the chance to bond, and keeps a calm environment for a newborn just figuring out that they’re no longer safe and comfortable 100% of the time.

That said, listen…as someone who has birthed two babies, I’m here to tell you that grandparents and other people who would change some diapers, put baby to sleep so you could shower, cook dinner, bring groceries, or fold a load of laundry aren’t hurting anyone.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If my own mother had not been around multiple days a week, my child would have been rolling around on a floor that was ankle deep in dog hair and dust, for example.

Not to mention that bonding with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members is also important – the more people that love and support your child, the better. Multiple studies exist on the importance of active grandparents in children’s lives, and all show that kids who are close to Grandma and Grandpa have greater chances at early success in life.

Cocooning also seems to be a strange doubling-down on the trend toward insulation we’re already seeing in society. Parents of young kids are already lonely. We’re already struggling to make mommy and daddy friends. We already feel as if we’re doing this alone, with only the internet to turn to for answers to our questions and fears.

Image Credit: Pixabay

As a society, we’re becoming more and more isolated, but when you’re turning your entire life upside down, the best thing you can do is invite the people in who are willing to help you right all of the furniture, clean the rug, and feed you dinner while you get your bearings.

It takes a village. Don’t hide from yours.

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A Mom Brought a Nerf Gun to Her Delivery to Keep Her Husband Awake and Alert

Delivering babies is no joke…but also, if you’re not the one being kept awake by pains, poking, prodding, shifting, baby’s cries, or some combination of the above, well, it can be tough to stay alert through it all.

I mean, labor can last a long time, I get it. Everyone is tired afterward (except your baby). But if you’re there to play the role of supportive partner, napping really shouldn’t be an option.

Which is exactly what expectant mom Samatha Mravik-Miller was thinking when she included a Nerf gun in her hospital bag.

Mom hack level 1,0000Worried about the nights in the hospital with your new born & dad sleeping?Well… then don’t forget one of these in your hospital bag ?

Posted by Samantha Mravik-Miller on Sunday, December 15, 2019

Her post read,

“Worried about the nights in the hospital with your newborn & dad sleeping?

Well…then don’t forget one of these in your hospital bag.”

She included a photo of her holding the gun, ready to wake him up the moment he dared think that a women who had just birthed a baby should be the same person losing the most sleep.

Samantha told Romper that she’d gotten the idea “because when my 5-year-old was born my husband slept through him crying in the hospital.”

The comments were full of their own stories, convincing everyone that this was a widespread issue – and that Nerf guns might be the answer.

Image Credit: Facebook

Said one mom,

“Threw 2 shoes at my husband to get him to wake up.

First night at the hospital after a c section and I couldn’t get out of bed easily.”

Another chimed in, tagging her husband.

“I needed this for when you were sleeping, and I couldn’t get up cause of the scar.”

If there’s one thing that reading this post has taught me (and probably women everywhere) is that even if husbands sleeping through those first days is normal, it doesn’t have to be.

I’d say it’s long past time to take matters into our own hands, wouldn’t you, ladies?

The post A Mom Brought a Nerf Gun to Her Delivery to Keep Her Husband Awake and Alert appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Couple’s Gender Reveal Party Ended With A Plane Crash

Gender reveal parties are getting way out of hand, and this hard-to-believe story about a gender reveal party that ended with a plane crash is proof.

A couple in Turkey, Texas, rented a crop-duster plane and pilot for their over-the-top gender reveal party. The plan was for the plane to fly over the guests and drop pink water — for a girl, duh! The water would turn into pink mist and float all over the guests. And even we can admit the Instagram photos would have been pretty amazing…if the plane hadn’t, uh, crashed.

Photo Credit: iStock

The plane stalled out after dumping its 350 gallons of pink water, possibly due to a shock to its system. It was going “too slow,” CNN reports, and subsequently crashed into the ground. Luckily, it was flying at low altitude for the stunt — but still, a plane crash is a plane crash.

One passenger on the plane had minor injuries, but the pilot made it out without a scratch. The plane was apparently designed to carry only one person, so it’s not clear why there was a passenger in the first place.

Photo Credit: iStock

This disaster is just one in a long string of gender reveal parties gone horribly wrong. One led to a wildfire, while another resulted in an accidental pipe bomb that exploded and killed a grandmother.

All this, despite the inventor of gender reveal parties literally begging people to stop the madness!

Let’s stop, shall we?

The post A Couple’s Gender Reveal Party Ended With A Plane Crash appeared first on UberFacts.

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Babies Nap Outside in Scandinavian Countries – Even When It’s Below Freezing

Some folks prefer to sleep with the thermostat turned down or with a fan blowing on them. Cooler temps promotes more restful sleeping.

But could you stand napping outside when it’s almost zero or even below zero degrees F? Would you make your child do it?

Let me ask you another question. Do you want your child removed from your custody and raised by other people? Because that’s what would happen – at least in the United States.

Midday nap
But in the cold-climate countries that make up Scandinavia, no one would bat an eye. In fact, infants’ that are only days old commonly put outside to catch a few z’s in sub-zero weather.

If that sounds cold, it’s because it is cold. You’re not nuts.

According to the BBC, it’s not even just parents putting the freeze on their kids. Preschools will routinely wheel the babies outside at nap time in the winter. In the Stockholm area, one school pushes the kiddies out until the age of three.

Head teacher Brittmarie Carlzon says,

When the temperature drops to -15C (5F) we always cover the prams with blankets … It’s not only the temperature that matters, it’s also how cold it feels. Some days it can be -15C but it actually feels like -20C (-4F) because of the wind.

To be clear, that’s a day the kids can nap inside, When it feels -4 F.

Photo Credit: Pxhere

So, what exactly is the deal?

Linda McGurk, author of There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather, wrote on Rain or Shine Mama about these outdoor naps. She explains that it’s one of those charming Scandinavian concepts that’s hard for Americans to understand at first and impossible for Americans to pronounce ever.

She calls it friluftsliv, which translates to “spending time outdoors to get a change of scenery and experience nature with no pressure to compete or achieve.” It’s a return to nature, learning about nature, an immersion in nature, while also cultivating love and respect for it.

Sticking your baby outside for a nap is part of friluftsliv. There’s no need for music players, wave machines or heartbeat noises because the sounds of nature are lulling and relaxing enough.

Scandinavian style nap: outside

There is also the belief that kids who spend a large amount of outdoors and away from the petri-dish that is preschool are less likely to get sick.

If you want to try this, make sure your baby is reclined in a stroller. They should wear a wool layer under a snow suit with attached mittens, plus a hat and bunting bag. You should be able to see their face and they shouldn’t be able to turn their head. Check your baby often for signs they are getting too cold. Watch for wild animals, nosy neighbors and child protective services.

Or, embrace your American-ness, put them in a onesie and let them sleep inside. That’s okay too.

The post Babies Nap Outside in Scandinavian Countries – Even When It’s Below Freezing appeared first on UberFacts.

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Here Are the 100 Most Popular Baby Names of the Decade

Baby names come and go, and it’s always interesting to see what sticks and what’s ultimately a flash in the pan. Have you wondered what the most popular names for kids have been the past ten years or so?

The numbers have been crunched from information from the Social Security Administration from 2010 to 2018 to give us the most popular baby names of the past decade.

Did you have any new kiddos in the past ten years? If so, did any of these names make the cut for you?

Tell us all about it in the comments!

1. Emma

Photo Credit: Pixabay

2. Sophia
3. Olivia
4. Noah
5. Isabella

Photo Credit: Pixabay

6. Liam
7. Jacob
8. Mason
9. William
10. Ava

Photo Credit: Pixabay

11. Ethan
12. Michael
13. Alexander
14. James
15. Elijah

Photo Credit: Pixabay

16. Daniel
17. Benjamin
18. Aiden
19. Jayden
20. Mia

Photo Credit: Pixabay

21. Logan
22. Matthew
23. Abigail
24. Emily
25. David

Photo Credit: Pixabay

26. Joseph
27. Lucas
28. Jackson
29. Anthony
30. Joshua

Photo Credit: Pixabay

31. Samuel
32. Andrew
33. Gabriel
34. Christopher
35. John

Photo Credit: Pixabay

36. Madison
37. Charlotte
38. Dylan
39. Carter
40. Isaac

Photo Credit: Pixabay

41. Elizabeth
42. Ryan
43. Luke
44. Oliver
45. Nathan

Photo Credit: Pixabay

46. Henry
47. Owen
48. Amelia
49. Caleb
50. Wyatt
51. Chloe

Photo Credit: Pixabay

52. Christian
53. Ella
54. Sebastian
55. Evelyn
56. Jack

Photo Credit: Pixabay

57. Avery
58. Sofia
59. Harper
60. Jonathan
61. Landon

Photo Credit: Pixabay

62. Julian
63. Isaiah
64. Hunter
65. Levi
66. Grace

Photo Credit: Pixabay

67. Addison
68. Aaron
69. Victoria
70. Eli
71. Charles
72. Natalie

Photo Credit: Pixabay

73. Thomas
74. Connor
75. Lily
76. Brayden
77. Nicholas

Photo Credit: Pixabay

78. Jaxon
79. Jeremiah
80. Aubrey
81. Cameron
82. Evan
83. Adrian
84. Jordan

Photo Credit: Pixabay

85. Lillian
86. Gavin
87. Zoey
88. Hannah
89. Grayson
90. Angel
91. Robert

Photo Credit: Pixabay

92. Layla
93. Tyler
94. Josiah
95. Brooklyn
96. Austin
97. Samantha

Photo Credit: Pixabay

98. Zoe
99. Colton
100. Brandon

The post Here Are the 100 Most Popular Baby Names of the Decade appeared first on UberFacts.