Yes, this is expected. I talk a lot about children being sponges, part of their social learning is through modeling. This is when a baby/toddler/child sees you doing something and tries to copy it. This can be a great thing, or a bad thing. If you are polite and kind to others, good chances that your child will see you doing this and copy you. If you are hitting or verbally abusive to others this will also be something that your child picks up on. Try to life a healthy life style and you will pass this down to your child as well.

You are not the only one that your child is going to be modeling, other people that you surround yourself with will be part of this as well. Consider all of the people that watch your child and make sure they are positive role models.

Just know that children see most everything we do and hear most everything we say. In time it will be repeated. I am not saying to walk on eggshells around your children, but just aware that if your children are around they are probably paying attention.

If you are keeping your baby in the same routine all of the time you will probably have a less fussy baby.  For an infant you can’t really keep their napping to a schedual because they sleep so much, but you can with their eating.  Try to feed them every 3 hours or so.

If you are working with a toddler you can have a daily routine of meals at 7:00, 12:00, and 5:00 with snack time between them and a long nap after lunch or two shorter naps.  It really doesn’t matter what routine that you have your baby on, but it is nice when the child knows what to expect.  If your child knows that nap follows lunch maybe they will not fight it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Toy Wrestler Figures

Units: 5,400

Manufacturer: A.A. of America Inc., of East Brunswick, N.J.

Hazard: The surface paint contains high levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled toy is a package of four action figures. Each figure is about 5 3/4 inches high. The UPC number 604111230003 is printed on the product’s packaging.

Sold at: Dollar stores and discount stores nationwide from January 2007 through December 2007 for about $1.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take the toy away from children immediately and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact A.A. of America toll-free at (888) 822-8697 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, e-mail the firm at recalls@aatoys.com, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.aatoys.com

Note: CPSC was alerted to this hazard by New York State’s Consumer Protection Board.

This is similar to a birth plan, just at home. Many new mom’s and dad’s would love to spend the first couple of days at home alone bonding with their newborn instead of passing them around. If you have a coming home plan you can let all of your family and friends know in advance that they will be more than welcome to see the new baby after a few days to adjust to being at home with the parents.

When doing a coming home plan it is also a great time to stock your house for the things that you will need when you get home for the hospital to save yourself unwanted trips to the store.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: “BabyTown” Pacifiers

Units: About 45,000

Importer/Distributor: Shims Bargain Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.

Hazard: These pacifiers fail to meet federal safety standards for pacifiers. The pacifier shield is too small and could easily enter the mouth of an infant. Also, ventilation holes are too small and not placed to allow for the insertion of a tool to remove the pacifier when lodged in the mouth of a child. Finally, the package fails to display the required warning instructing consumers not to tie a pacifier around a child’s neck, which would present a strangulation hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled pacifiers were sold in a 4-pack of assorted colors. “BabyTown” and model #39864 are written on the product’s packaging.

Sold at: Dollar stores nationwide from March 2004 through December 2007 for $1.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take these pacifiers away from children immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Shims Bargain toll-free at (866) 540–3334 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

No, you don’t have to invite every child just because you went to their parties. You really don’t want to overwhelm your baby especially on the first party. Invite kids that your child plays with and has fun with, I also invite their parents. Alex is still pretty young and I couldn’t handle a party and a lot of kids with just me and Lucas, other parents are great because it is another set of eyes. I still stick to close family and friends when it comes to birthday parties.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Fish Coin Banks

Units: About 1,300

Distributor: TJ Promotions, of South El Monte, Calif.

Hazard: Surface paint on the coin banks contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves coin banks made of plaster that are shaped as a fish. The coin banks are orange with white stripes.

Distribution: The coin banks were provided as a free gift to Coastal Federal Credit Union members in North Carolina from February 2006 through September 2007.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take the recalled coin bank away from children immediately and return it to where it was received for a free replacement as soon as one is available.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact T J Promotions toll-free at (866) 742-2493 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.tjpromo.com

This is something that is mandatory at certain check ups, but you can go in and have it done any time. If they see a rise in the level they will ask to repeat the blood work with another sample of the blood. Really anything above a zero is not great, but they don’t worry too much about levels 0-9. From the research that I have done anything above a 44 is considered pretty dangerous. Anything for 20 to 40 will require some medicine treatment for a couple of weeks and then having the level checked again to make sure that the medicine has worked.

If you do see a rise in the level the biggest thing that you can do is to find the source. First go through all of your child’s toys, if it is not coming from them another option is to have your home checked by a professional for any lead in the paint or in the soil surrounding your home. Another cause could be lead in the water or in the piping under the house. A professional should be able to locate the cause.

Lead doesn’t have any dramatic outward affects, so you may not notice if your child has been exposed, so just make sure that you are getting your baby checked regularly.

The common symptoms that I have found for children are:  loss of sleep, decreased appetite, trouble learning, lowered I.Q., anemia, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach ache, and feeling tired.

If this is what you want to try, then there is no harm in it.  The thing is that the big potty can be a little bit scary to a toddler, and with some, the sound of the flush is a little scary.  This is the method I was going to use but I then got some really good advice about how to potty train.  If you get a little potty and put it close to the big potty and help your toddler learn to use it by doing it with them it will help them get the hang of it.  Even if you aren’t really, just sit with them and show them how it is done.  Also if you know you close to training time start taking your toddler with you when you potty and tell him/her what you are doing so that they will have a better idea when they are learning.

This book titled Deceptively Delicious By Jessica Seinfeld is a great cook book because it teaches you how to cook foods that the children will enjoy without letting them know that they are eating healthy! She even takes it one step further by not just giving you the recipes but telling you what is in the different fruits and veggies and why they are good for us and our children. Then the author tells you how to stock your pantry and what cooking equipment to use! It really is a great cook book and with these ideas you will never have to ask twice your your child to eat their veggies!!