Smart Ways to Deal with a Dirty Diaper While Out Shopping

It is a scenario dreaded by most new dads. You are out, maybe enjoying a nice afternoon’s shopping with your baby and your baby chooses just this time to poop. You’ve been lucky up until now and you’ve either avoided the task entirely or only had to make the change in the baby nursery with all the accoutrements around you.

When the baby goes, many a dad will pause for a minute and wonder whether you couldn’t’ just ignore it for a half an hour, or the time to get home. However, pooping a diaper and wetting a diaper are two very different things. If the baby is crying due to a dirty diaper, that screaming will only get louder and more insistent. You need to take action fast. Here are some tips if you’re never been caught with a diaper emergency outside of the house.

• First of all, never leave the house for more than five minutes without carrying a spare diaper. Babies have an instinct about pooping at the worst times. If you are out and really can’t either buy diapers or get home quickly, you have no choice but to admit you’re a horrible, lousy excuse for a father and find a mom to ask for a spare. She’ll probably smile patronizingly at you and you’ll have to suck it up to get the goods. Dads also have been known to wipe the baby thoroughly with toilet paper and then wipe again with wetted tissue and stuff the baby back into her clothes minus a diaper. This is a recipe for another wet disaster, but can be used in a pinch. Better a wet baby than a dirty baby.
• Keep an extra changing pad in the car or your bag. Believe me, you do not want to set your baby out on a dirty restroom floor or risk getting poop all over another surface, like your car upholstery or carpet. Baby poop smells and is hard to clean.
• Locate a place where you can easily do what is required. Large stores often have changing stations equipped for you to do the job. Otherwise, locate a baby section or store where the staff and other shoppers are not likely to raise eyebrows if you settle yourself in their midst to change your baby’s diaper.
• If you have a stroller, use it to lay your baby in to change the diaper.
• You can also use the back seat in your car or the back of a station wagon to lay your baby down while you change the diaper.
• Carry a zip lock bag to store the dirty diaper before you can discard it.

Baby Nursery Setup Tips

For most parents it can be an enjoyable experience to set up a baby nursery. A baby nursery will provide a safe corner for your baby to romp and play. For this reason, it is important that you put in adequate thought and care into setting up your baby’s nursery.

Here are some things you will require to furnish a baby nursery:

• To start with, the most essential thing your baby’s nursery will need is a crib. Ensure that the crib you invest in subscribes to safety standards. Ensure that the bars are not too wide apart—2 and 3/8 inches. The rails should be high enough to prevent your baby from crawling out. Also, buy a mattress and linen for the crib.
• A changing table will be another essential item for your baby nursery. Again, safety should be paramount—safety belts and a guardrail will prevent your baby from falling off. The changing table should always store clean diapers, powder, baby creams, and other accessories you require to change your baby’s diapers. Having the garbage can (or diaper genie) for dirty diapers and a laundry hamper nearby will be convenient for you.
• Have a soft night-lamp in your baby nursery. Lamps with adjustable brightness are best as they allow you to brighten the light if required.
• A mobile hung over the crib will not only keep your child engrossed, but also help to develop your baby’s senses.
• You can decorate the walls of your baby nursery with bright pictures, toys, or stuffed animals.
• A glider chair will be an added asset to your baby’s nursery. It can be used to rock the baby to sleep at night and is safer than a rocking chair.
• You can even buy special closets and baby coat hangars in the baby nursery to hang some of your child’s clothes.

Crib Safety for Babies

The safety of your baby, while left unattended in his crib, is always a concern. You can ensure your child’s safety by taking safeguards to avoid accidents. These are among the things you can do:

• Ensure that the crib rails are high enough to prevent your baby from climbing over them. Do not leave pillows or mattresses that can make it easy for him to climb over.

• Ensure that you place your child’s crib a safe distance from any windows. The curtain cords could pose a risk of strangling. If you do decide to have the crib within reach of the window, remove the cords, or use safety tassles or some other device so that your baby cannot reach for them.

• Always keep the side of the crib that drops pulled up and fastened to prevent your baby falling. This is, of course, especially crucial when the baby is alone and unattended.

• When your child starts using a bed, ensure that it has guardrails to prevent falls.

• Dress your baby in snugly fitting clothes. Clothes that fit loosely increase the risk of catching fire and burn more easily. Always buy flame resistant clothes. However, if you purchase clothes that are not flame resistant, (with yellow tag labels), ensure that they fit snugly.

• Install a smoke detector in your child’s room near the crib. Remember to put in new batteries about once every year.

Your baby’s crib needs to be a very safe place. Here are some tips to follow to make sure the crib will not harm your baby:

• If you buy a new mattress, be sure to remove and discard all plastic wrapping.

• The mattress should fit the crib snugly so your baby cannot slip between it and the side of the crib.

• Be sure the crib slats are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart so that your baby’s head can’t get caught between them.

• If you use a bumper pad, make sure that it goes all the way around the crib. Make sure the bumper pad is tied with at least six straps or ties. Ties should be no more than six inches long to prevent strangulation. Make sure your baby cannot get caught between the mattress and the bumper pad.

• Mobiles and other hanging toys should be high enough so that your baby cannot reach them.

• Do not put toys, stuffed animals, pillows or extra bedding in your baby’s crib. These things can block your baby’s breathing.

• Toys should not be tied to the crib because your baby can get caught in the cords.

• Cutouts in the headboard and footboard should be smaller than your baby’s head so she doesn’t get trapped in them.

• Place the crib away from windows. Cords attached to blinds or curtains can choke your baby if she gets caught in them.

Buy a Safe Playpen for Your Baby

A playpen can be a big help. You can have your baby in the same room where you are working so that he will not be alone while you do what you need to do.

You can also take the playpen outdoors with you. Make sure it is in a shady and safe spot. Stay with your baby. Outside he can watch all kinds of things that are going on, safely. You can talk to him about what he is seeing.

Babies should only be in playpens for very short periods of time. They need to spend time on the floor. They need time to explore while a parent watches.

If you leave your baby in the playpen too long, he will let you know. When he first gets tired of it, you can give him something new to play with. He may be content to remain there for a while longer.

Here are some playpen safety tips:

• Make sure the mesh on the sides of the playpen has openings that are smaller than 1/4 inch.
• Make sure there are no tears, holes or loose threads in the mesh.
• Make sure the top rail cover has no tears or holes.
• Playpens made of wood should have slats that are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, or even closer.
• Make sure screws and staples are firmly installed and that none are missing or loose.
• When you set up your baby’s playpen, make sure the sides of the playpen are locked in place. A partially set-up playpen can collapse on and harm your baby.

Selecting the Right Air Cleaner for Your Baby’s Nursery

Ideally, the air in your baby’s nursery should be as free of pollutants as possible. This is because babies are more sensitive than adults are, to breathing problems and respiratory infections. One way of ensuring that there is clean, fresh air in your baby’s nursery is to install an air cleaner.

An air cleaner is used to purify air in a room by removing allergens such as dust particles, dander, and mold spores. There are three types of air cleaners:

* Ionic air purifiers: These are the most popular air cleaners available. They work by negatively charging dust particles and other allergens floating in the air and causing them to drop to the ground.

* HEPA air purifiers: These remove pollutants by filtering them out from the air. While they are helpful in removing pollutants such as dust and mites, they are very effective with mold.

* Ultraviolet air purifiers: These use light energy to kill allergen causing organisms such as dust mites and dander spores.

Here are some points to consider while choosing an air cleaner for your baby’s nursery:

* Choose the type of air cleaner according to the pollutants you intend to eliminate. For instance, HEPA filters are ideal for filtering out dust particles, while Ultraviolet purifiers are more appropriate for killing germs.

* Opt for a single room air cleaner. This will be more effective for your baby’s nursery than a central filtration system, or “in-duct” unit, that is meant to work for an entire house.

* Ensure that the air cleaner you buy is adequate in terms of the coverage it offers. For instance, an air cleaner may be ineffective if the area it is designed to cover is smaller than the size of your baby’s nursery.

* Check to ensure that the model you have selected is not so noisy as to interfere with your baby’s sleep.

* The American Lung Association advises against the use of air cleaners that use ozone generators as air cleaners. Also, ensure that the air cleaner you select does not produce ozone levels higher than 0.05 ppm.

How to Choose the Right Humidifier for Your Baby

A humidifier may be an essential accessory for your baby’s nursery, especially in winter. This is because dry air often causes babies to develop breathing problems, swollen sinuses, and respiratory infections. Humidifiers also protect your baby from allergies and drying of the skin, both of which are common in winter.

Humidifiers are generally of two types: warm mist humidifiers and cool mist humidifiers. Warm mist humidifiers work by boiling water in a holding tank to add to the humidity level in the surrounding area. Cool mist humidifiers use a fan to evaporate the water, which is absorbed by a wick filter from a tank.

Here are some tips to help you choose a humidifier:

* Decide which type of humidifier to buy. Warm mist humidifiers are ideal for cooler climates as the moisture they release is warm. On the other hand, the moisture released by cool mist humidifiers is cooler and more appropriate for warmer climates.

* Ensure that the humidifier you buy is safe. Some pediatricians consider cool mist humidifiers to be safer as they do away with the heating element that is used by warm mist humidifiers, which could accidentally hurt the baby.

* If the cleanliness of the air is an issue, there are bacteria-free humidifiers that ensure that the moisture released is free from air borne bacteria. Warm mist humidifiers are better in this respect, as they work by boiling water into steam.

* A humidifier with an in-built humidistat will allow you to control the amount of humidity in the nursery. Between 30% and 40% is a comfortable level to set.

* Check that the humidifier you buy is not too noisy. This is especially a problem with cool mist humidifiers, which use a fan for their functioning. Some models allow you to select the fan speed, and thus, control the level of the sound emitted.

* Cool mist humidifiers are generally better at covering a larger area and so, more appropriate if you have a large nursery