You have booked the church, arranged the post christening celebrations and sent out the invites. Now you want to make sure your special one  looks as good as possible on the most important day of his or her life so far.

Choosing the right attire  for your  son or daughter   on their christening day is not as straightforward as it first seems. The choice will be dependent on the age and sex of the child.

So what are the  options   ?

Christening Gown.

The most popular  option   when getting a girl christened is a Christening gown. Christening gowns are traditionally white, pink or Ivory. Silk or cotton are both suitable and look great on babies or children alike . Gowns can be purchased at many high street retailers or online. For those with a larger budget some designers offer christening gowns, alternatively many high street retailers offer excellent christening gowns at good prices. Those looking to save some money should consider making the gown themselves or getting a friend or relative to do this for you, perhaps using your wedding dress. Bear in mind that the christening gown can become an heirloom itself.

Christening Dress.

For the older girl a beautiful dress is a great choice. Once again, silk or cotton are considered to be  the best options with white or Ivory being the most popular of colours. Available from high street retailers and online sellers.

Smart Suit.

Suitable for a boy of any age. But it does not need to be a suit, just smart trousers with a smart white shirt and perhaps a waistcoat. For the very young there are christening gowns available that are gender neutral.

Accessories

 Accessorising the outfit is also a good idea  . Baby or child will need shoes, often available to match the christening gown or dress. Many christening gowns will come with matching hats, there are also hats available to complete an outfit for boys. A shawl is a must for the younger child on a colder day. Jewellery can be suitable depending on the age of the child, a family heirloom if it fits is a good choice.

One thing that amazes many new mothers is the amount of washing generated by one small person. You kind of expect the nappies to add to the washing, but you never expect that small people sometimes need their clothes changed two or three or more times a day, thanks to leaky nappies and puking up. And this rate of mess continues for several years. The puking stops bit is replaced by mud, dirt and slime, while leaky nappies give way to trainer pants, wet beds and accidents when you’re stuck on the motorway with no way to stop and an urgent need for the toilet. The latter will require another cleaning job – cleaning the wee (or worse) off the car seat.

However, it should be no surprise that the ideal cleaners for baby clothes (and bedding and soft toys and changing mats and…) are natural products. We are at our most sensitive when we are small, and if the household toxins in commercial cleaning products are bad for us, they are worse for developing babies and toddlers. To make things worse, cleaning and laundry products that have been “specially formulated” for babies are often loaded with artificial scents – usually artificial musks that are really, really bad, especially for human hormone systems.

Nappies: For the sake of the environment, I hope you’re using cloth nappies. If you are signed up to one of those companies that offers a professional cleaning service for nappies, good for you, as they will take the dirties and give you a batch of clean ones. All you have to do is change the baby and pay. You don’t have any problems, although it might pay to do your homework a bit and ask what products these professionals use to clean the nappies. If they use dry cleaning methods and products, forget it and try somewhere else. If you’re washing your own nappies because you don’t have professional cleaning services nearby or you can’t afford it, the nappies will need a good soak in soapy water first to loosen the smelly stuff, followed by a thorough wash. To kill germs in nappies, use boiling water. To get the last traces of soap and other alkaline substances out of the nappy (and thus reduce the chances of nappy rash), add about a cup of vinegar to the final rinse instead of fabric softener – gets the nappies nice and soft, too.

Bibs and tops: These are prone to getting stained by bananas. This is a real beast to wash out. If you don’t want to cheat and dress your baby in dark or bright colours that hide banana stains (and there’s no real reason why you can’t – who says that all baby clothes have to be pastel?), then try rubbing the fresh stain with soap and leaving it to sit before washing. Eucalyptus oil can help shift the stain, as can glycerine rubbed into the spot.

Soft toys: Definitely don’t dry clean these. These can easily be washed by hand using ordinary soap, followed by a good rinse and a spin in the washing machine to remove excess water. “Washing teddy” can be a fun game to play in the bath with a toddler who doesn’t like having their hair washed. The toddler can get Teddy all foamy and lathery using soap while you wash the toddler’s hair. You will need to rinse the soap off Teddy somewhere other than the bath, though – try the basin. Teddy can then spin in the machine while toddler is getting dry and dressed. Teddy will still be slightly damp after spinning, but will be dry enough to cuddle and play with – the rest of the moisture will be removed by evaporation and a little light osmosis.

Article provided by: Nick Vassilev

You may be one of the many parents frustrated because your three and a half year old still isn’t potty trained. He may not seem to have any interest in getting rid of his diapers whatsoever. Don’t worry – I guarantee that he’ll be potty trained by his wedding! Seriously though, for most every toddler, potty training is a problem that seems insurmountable now, but in no time at all it will be resolved.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that there is really no specific age to begin toilet training. They believe that the right time depends on a specific child’s psychological and physical development. Many children between 18 and 24 months will start showing signs of being ready, while other kids might not be ready until 30 months or older. The American Academy of Pediatrics also suggests that if a child resists strongly, parents will be better off waiting for a while.

Don’t be discouraged if you have a head-strong 3 1/2 year old, because there are some things you can try. Take your child to the local store that sells underwear with characters on it. Visit the underwear aisle and explain that he is a big boy now, and big boys are very lucky because only they can wear big boy underwear. Tell your son that he is especially lucky because you brought him to Target, or whatever the store is that you chose, where they have lots of underwear to choose from. He can pick whatever he wants…. Batman, Power Rangers, Spiderman, Bob the Builder, etc.

As soon as you get home, he can try on his new undies. If he can go a whole hour and stay dry, he can wear them all day. He needs to use the potty first, to help him stay dry for a whole hour. At the end of that hour, you’ll remind him to use the toilet again, and try for another hour.

He can also help you create a sticker chart that you hang on the refrigerator. Each time he successfully uses the toilet, he can help you place a sticker on the chart. When he reaches ten stickers, he has earned a special treat, such as a trip to the movies, a small toy, lunch at a restaurant, etc.

If he isn’t successful at first, try to figure out what went wrong. Was he so involved in a TV show or other activity that he just forgot? Is he just really not ready, in spite of his new cool underwear? If it’s the former and he really wants to try again, encourage him to, and give him more reminders to use the bathroom. Shorten the time frame to a half hour. If you sense that he just isn’t ready, don’t push him. Tell him, as patiently as you can, that you’ll wash the underwear and put it in his drawer, and you’ll try again in a week.

It is likely that some of his friends are already trained. Encourage a play date where he’ll see a friend use the toilet. That alone might be enough to spark his interest in trying again. By 3 ½ years old, when he decides he’s finally ready, he will likely catch on quickly. He probably does not have a bladder control issue, it’s just that he needs the control to decide for himself when he’s ready.

If your climate is warm, take advantage of it as a great time to train, because you can be outdoors where it’s easier to clean up accidents. Potty training takes time and effort but you have to persevere.

Buying baby products and equipment may require a little bit more scrutiny from you compared to any other general merchandise. Price would usually not even matter when you buy something for your baby especially if it serves an important purpose or if the product is meant to be used for a long time.

A baby gate is an essential home accessory you need to install in your home if you have a toddler running about or a crawler that just gets too far. Although the market offers a lot of well known baby product brands that have proven themselves over the years with reliable safety standards, only a parent’s discerning eye and buying perspectives can find the best baby gate for his/her own child. Safety gates may seem just about all the same but not every home is. Choosing the right type of gate should involve a thorough evaluation of your home and the places where you intend to mount these gates.

There are many models of baby gates and some may only be mounted in certain specific areas of your home, taking into consideration the mounting surface for the gate itself. This is the reason why baby safety gates come with a specific installation kit to ensure it has everything you will need to securely mount the gates where you need them.

A safety gate actually serves as an enclosure device for a particular area of your home for the purpose of keeping your child from harms way such as a staircase or the kitchen. The product lines of brands can be a bit overwhelming to choose from but as long as you know what you want for your baby and that you know what works best for your home, then trust your buying instincts and go with what it tells you is the best investment.

Boys baby bedding is now available in such a wide range of themes and colors that it is easier than ever to decorate your nursery just the way you want.

When you have a newborn baby decorating and fitting out the nursery is one of the fun parts and with online shopping it has become much easier to browse and find inspiration and ideas for the nursery.

Boys baby bedding has developed over the years and there are so many brands that you are spoilt for choice. With this amount of healthy competition online you can now buy crib bedding from brands such as Lambs & Ivy or Soho Designs at very reasonable prices online.

If you enjoy themes then you will be pleasantly surprised at the range available. Everything from fish to trucks can be found amongst the 1000’s of nursery bedding products available for immediate shipping form the major companies.

A popular choice for many parents is the crib bedding sets. These sets include blankets, sheets and bumper pads. Many prefer the complete set as they really add to the crib’s finish.

What’s more you also have a range of materials to choose from and you can buy your boys baby bedding in materials ranging from flannel to polyester .

If you are not after a particular theme such as safari animals and other such themes you can have a choice of patterns. There is a whole range of patterns available and you can choose various patterns such as polka dot to striped.

For you, the consumer, this is all good news.

With so much competition and the ease with which you can buy nursery bedding online you can now pick up quality products at very low prices.

The major companies such as Amazon, eBay and Overstock  make your shopping online for boy crib bedding easy and safe. These companies have geared themselves to online buying which makes it an easy experience for you.

One of the main features is the customer comments. These comments have been left by real customers who describe their experience with the baby bedding you are considering buying.

What I find powerful about this feature is that the people who contribute their opinions have usually had either a very good or, more importantly, very bad experience. This results with you being able to review the strengths and weaknesses of the product you are considering purchasing.

This is not something you can do when shopping on the high street. Very powerful!

Therefore, when planning on buying you boys baby bedding, consider the advantages of buying online where you can select the theme, color, pattern and material of your choice from the comfort of your own home.

Baby mobiles provide soothing  music that can either entertain   your baby or lull him/them  to sleep.  Although babies can’t  see very clearly when they are first born, their sense of hearing is very good. Studies have shown that music could  boost a babies IQ.  

The other major benefit of mobiles for babies   is to provide baby with something attractive to look at and interact with.  Since babies cannot see beyond 10 inches when they are first born , having a mobile that hangs over their crib provides an intriguing object to study within their visual range.

Mobiles have the added bonus of actually stimulating and strengthening your baby’s muscles and aiding in coordination.  Your baby will follow the movement of the mobile, strengthening the muscles in his eyes.  Soon after, he will begin to understand that the mobile might be within his reach.  The mobile will encourage him to reach his arms to grab the moving objects, also helping his understanding of spatial awareness and strengthening his arm and neck muscles.

There are great quality mobiles available now, baby einstein crib mobiles    offer the Jungle Discoveries Mobile that coordinates with other nursery decor.  This mobile features 4 plush animals designed with different fabrics to catch your baby’s interest.

Or looking for a portable mobile?  Tiny love baby mobiles   make the Clip & Go Mobile. This mobile easily clips onto a variety of objects, like your baby’s car seat or swing, and is battery operated so that it will play continuous classical music.  Moving objects will disappear and reappear. The mobile was created in a black, white, and red palate. These high contrast colors are what baby’s can see in the earliest stages and will hold their interest longer than other colors.  

There is a great variety though.  Some just go round while others are comprised of objects that move back and forth as well as up and down.  As your baby waits to see what will happen next, she is actually slowly increasing her attention span.  And as objects disappear from her line of vision only to reappear shortly thereafter, she is learning about object permanence.  Understanding object permanence boosts her understanding of the world and promotes a sense of security.  

Mobiles are a wonderful toy for a newborn baby up to about five months.  When your baby starts pulling himself up, withdraw the mobile from the crib. When you baby can move around, he no longer needs to be entertained with a mobile. Then other developmental toys will certainly suffice.