I have received many questions on how to give your baby's first bath.  This is very important as you do not want to submerge your baby into the water just yet.  I will give you some key steps to guide through this.

First you will want to have access for everything that you will need:

• sponge
• a little bathtub
• shampoo *try to avoid perfumes it can lead to allergies*
• soap *again avoid perfumes*
• cotton towels
• diapers
• clean clothes

Use the sponge to wash your baby, make sure that the water is not too hot.

Use a wet cotton ball and a very small amount of soap for your baby's face and then continue with the sponge with the rest of the body.  As soon as you do that, wash off the soap using a towel.  You can then dry them off (make sure you get him/her all dry, neck and diaper area) and get dressed!

You want to check the belly button to see if it looks too red or has an odor if it does you need to contact your pediatrician.

Please if you have any worries about this contact your pediatrician first as I am not a Dr. I am just a mother!

Please NEVER leave your baby alone in ANY amount of water!

When you are a parent there is nothing more rewarding than your sweet baby looking up at you and smiling!  I have some ways to keep your baby happy and hopefully keeping that smile on their face!

One of your baby's favorite things is mostly you!  One of the easiest things that you can do is just to give your baby a silly grin, or even just open your eyes up really wide with a smile on your face!  Show your baby that you are happy!  Playing peek-a-boo is also tons of fun!

We can't forget about the famous  "raspberries" this is what I call them anyway.  Where you are blowing on your baby's belly!  I know that Alex absolutely loved this!  He laughed every time!  Alex got to where if you were pretending like you were going to give him a raspberry he would grin.

There are so many ways to make your baby smile, but the key is that they all involve you.  Just showing your baby how special they are and that you love them can do the trick.  Look at them and smile!  It is the little things that mean the most!

I want to start this by telling anyone that wants to try this to please consult with your doctor and make sure you both agree that this will be safe for you and the baby.

Now, yes it is possible. It is safest if you have had only one c-section delivery and there is only one scar that is low and goes from side to side.  To be on the safe side you may want to tell the hospital to have things ready in case you will need to go in for a quick c-section.

This really depends on the reasons you had the first c-section, so I can't stress enough how important it is to talk about this with your doctor.  Just know that yes, it is possible!

I told you all that I would let you let you the out come of the camera situation that we had with the kid tough digital camera made by Fisher Price.  The company did stick to their word and send a new battery box, however it did not work.

I just thought you all would want to know what happened.  It seems that this kid tough camera is not so tough.

This is more of a buyer beware!  Alex got one of these for Christmas, because he LOVES to take and be in pictures!  It sounded great, and looked pretty easy to use!  Well after we took it back to the store because we could not get it to even turn on we came home to try out the new one.  Guess what?!  It didn't work either!

At this point I figured that it probable wasn't the stores fault so I called Fisher Price and they told me that they have had many complaints about this and that a lot of the battery holders are faulty.  He continued on to tell me that I should recieve a new one in 7 to 10 days and that should fix the problem.

I hope it does because Alex is very eager to use this camera.  Just a tip though if your child wants to use this camera right away I may not try a different one.  As a positive note about Fisher Price, they were very nice and very helpful and I don't hold this against them at all I just wrote thisto help out fellow parents.

I am sure you have all heard about many toxins that we have in our environment, but I bet you didn't realize just how many we have in our home.  Think about all the things we have in our homes, from cleaning supplies, paints, carpets, and even our curtains and couches.

A really great way to clean out our air is to simply just open a window or a door and allow some fresh air to "clean" out our homes!  Seems like when people used to they needed to air out the house, they were really on to something!  Of course this is a cold time of year for many of us, so it can be a little more challenging, but should still be done every once in a while.

I first and foremost want to wish everyone a very happy new year!!  Take some time today to think about what your goal for this year is going to be.  As I have started to be a back to work mom, one of my goals is to get as much time with Alex as I can.  Time that I know will make a difference.  I don't think that I ever took advantage of being a stay at home mom, but now that I don't have the option to see every milestone that he is crossing I feel like I take more time to really enjoy him when we do spend time together.  So this year I am just going to try to be the best working mom that I can be.  What about you?

If at all possible I would get some type of food processor, the bullet is a good example.  This way your baby can eat the same foods you are and they are also getting more of the nutrition.  Not only is it better for your baby but it is also cheaper.

You will be making food anyway, and if you making food for your baby chances are that you will start to eat healthier.  In most of the processors you can put meat in them as well.  Give it a try, and if you like it save those jars of food for other times!

Today is a very special day. It is a day to really think about what it is we are thankful for. Of course there is the common ones: health, family, and food. What about things like forgiveness and other little things in life? Really think about and talk to your kids of all ages about what you are all thankful for!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Fort Washington, PA (November 7, 2008) – Johnson & Johnson • Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Company (JJMCP) is voluntarily recalling approximately 12,000 units of Infants' MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops (simethicone-antigas) non-staining sold in 1 oz. plastic bottles that were distributed after October 5, 2008 nationwide. The company is taking this action in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although the potential for serious medical events is low, the company is implementing this recall to the consumer level as a precaution after determining that some bottles could include metal fragments that were generated during the manufacturing process. If any medical events were to occur, most are expected to be temporary and resolve without medical treatment. Parents who have given the product to their infant and are concerned should contact their health care provider immediately.

The two lots of Infants' MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops non-staining 1 oz. bottles included in the recall are:

Consumers can find the lot numbers on the bottom of the box containing the product and also on the lower left side of the sticker on the product bottle.

Consumers who purchased Infants' MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops non-staining included in this recall should immediately stop using the product and contact the company at 1-800-222-9435 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST) or via the internet at www.mylicon.com for instructions regarding how to dispose of the product and request a replacement or refund.

Infants' MYLICON® drops are sold over-the counter, in retail stores and pharmacies, as an anti-gas medicine to relieve the discomfort of infant gas frequently caused by air swallowing or by certain formulas or foods.

The recall does not affect any Original Infants' MYLICON® GAS RELIEF products (1/2 oz. or 1 oz. size) or Infants' MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops non-staining (1/2 oz. size).

The manufacturer has instructed retailers and wholesalers to return their inventories.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.