Valerie is such a blessed lady.  She already has two beautiful children and due to have another one in just a few weeks.  She wanted to do a maternity shoot with her third baby because she hadn’t done one before.  Lucky me!  It was very different from any shoot I have done so far, it is also my first maternity shoot ever.  I was able to use a lot of different techniques, which was super fun for me.  Good luck with the new baby, may he be a great blessing to your whole family!

Again, just like my first wedding, I posted a lot of the pictures but I just can’t help myself.

Age: Older baby

What you will need: A straw to blow through

What to do:

• After bath time, tell your baby it’s “blowing kisses” time
• Take a straw and blow little breaths through it, all over your little one’s body

Why?

• To stimulate his tactile sense
• To improve body awareness
• To have fun with your baby!

Age: Younger Baby

What you will need: Your baby and a soft surface to roll him on

What to do: Lie your baby on his back. Gently rock him from side to side. Roll him over onto his tummy and back onto his back. Repeat in the other direction and continue for as long as he enjoys the activity. From about 10 weeks, if yo put your baby on his side he may be able to roll himself onto his back.

Why? Rocking and rolling stimulates your baby’s balance receptors, telling him where he is in space. Rolling also strengthens important muscle groups.

– Liz Senior of The Clamber Club

“Get Dad involved from the start… make bath time his responsibility. Get everything ready, close the bathroom door and leave them to it. Dad will enjoy the responsibility and you will enjoy the short break.”

–Deborah A.

“Keep a scarf or shawl in your baby bag. It’s lightweight and can be used to cover up when breastfeeding or to over the pram when baby is sleeping.”

–Susan H.

“If your tiny baby has got a bit of a cold and is battling to fall asleep because his nose is so congested, try rocking him to sleep in his car seat. he’ll be more upright than in his bed.”

– Anonymous

“Edge of Darkness” – Mel Gibson is a cop whose daughter’s death is cover-up by the government. He teams with a hit man (Ray Winstone) and sets out to avenge her death. Opens January 29, 2010

“Dear John” – Channing Tatum is a young soldier who, one summer, falls for Amanda Seyfried. The write each other over the next seven years as he takes increasingly dangerous missions. Opens February 5, 2010

“Remember Me” – “Twilight” brooder Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin in a story about two people who fall in love amidst their family tragedies. Also stars Pierce Brosnan and Chris Cooper. Opens March 12, 2010

“Clash of the Titans” – Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson star in this remake of the 80’s tribute to Ray Harryhausen and Greek mythology. Opens March 26, 2010

“How to Train Your Dragon” – Based on the Cressida Cowell children’s book about a Viking kid who adopts a scrawny, toothless dragon. Opens March 26, 2010

“Babies” – The babies are coming! Documentary tracking four babies from different spots around the world from birth to their first steps. Opens April 16, 2010

“Kick-Ass” – Based on the Marvel Comic about a high school dweeb who decides to become a superhero despite the fact that he has no special powers or abilities. Trouble arises when he meets real bad guys with real bullets. Opens April 16, 2010

“Date Night” – Steve Carell and Tina Fey are the Fosters, a married couple with little private time. They schedule a “date night” and upon taking someone else’s dinner reservations find themselves mixed-up with the wrong people. Also stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Mark Wahlberg. Opens April 9, 2010

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” – Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title character in a movie based on the popular video game. Also stars Gemma Arterton, Alfred Molina, and Ben Kingsley. Opens May 28, 2010

“Grown Ups” – Adam Sandler, David Spade, Kevin James, Chris Rock, and Rob Schneider in a comedy about a group of friends coming together years later. Opens June 25, 2010

“Despicable Me” – Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is the World’s #2 Supervillain with dreams of world domination and stealing the moon. His plans are interrupted when he meets three orphaned girls who look up to him to be a potential dad. Also starring the voices of Jason Segel, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Danny McBride. Opens July 9, 2010

“The Expendables” – Sly Stallone and Company are mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator. Also stars Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Brittany Murphy, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, and Bruce Willis. I’ve also heard that Ah-nuld is in it… Opens August 20, 2010

“Not enough space to walk with baby when settling him down to sleep? Or just tired of pacing up and down? Buy an excercise ball (no more than R100 at sports shops). Cradle baby in your arms, sit on the ball and bounce him to sleep while you sing a lullaby.”

– Meghan D.

“When I feed my 6-month-old baby I always put a toy in front of him (preferably a bright one that makes noise). This keeps him occupied and I can get on with feeding him without him even noticing that he’s opening is mouth as soon as I bring a spoon closer to it. It makes feeding a pleasure, instead of a mission.”

– Carolyn L.

“Once the wound on your baby’s arm from her TB vaccination has healed (+/- 7 months), start rubbing tissue oil or vitamin E oil on to minimize the scar. She will be most greatful when she is older.”

– Cheryl F.

South Korea

Story from LifeSiteNews. (H/T Andrew)

Excerpt:

The Republic of Korea has signaled its willingness to work to reverse a heavily pro-abortion culture through various measures, including beginning to enforce an abortion ban that has technically existed in the country for decades, in order to address the severe demographic implosion that threatens the country’s economic stability, Korean sources report.

[...]Official data from the Ministry of Health indicates that doctors perform 350,000 abortions per year, while they deliver on average just 450,000 babies, meaning 43.7 percent of pregnancies end in abortion.

However, the actual number of abortions may be at least five times the official estimate. According to the Korea Times, Rep. Chang Yoon-seok of the ruling Grand National Party said that a National Assembly inspection in October found that the number of illegal abortions in Korea exceeds 1.5 million a year or roughly 4,000 babies aborted per day.

If the National Assembly’s estimate is correct, the nation of 48 million commits approximately the same number of abortions as the United States, which has 300 million residents. Presuming the numbers of births recorded by the Health Ministry remains the same, that would mean approximately three out of four pregnancies in South Korea end in abortion.

Perhaps we need to undo anti-family policies like legalized abortion, unilateral divorce, high tax rates and a massive social programs. These policies discourage marrying and child-bearing, which prevent the creation of the next generation of taxpayers who must pay for these expensive welfare-state programs.

Canada

New research paper from the center-right C.D. Howe Institute. (H/T Andrew)

Excerpt:

The twin demographic challenges of an aging population and slow workforce growth will affect Canada’s Atlantic provinces more acutely than other regions of the country, according to a study released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Stress Test: Demographic Pressures and Policy Options in Atlantic Canada,” authors Colin Busby, William B.P. Robson and Pierre-Marcel Desjardins warn that many years of low birthrates and youth outmigration mean that the Atlantic region faces diminished workforce growth and a fiscal squeeze as fewer taxpayers support a growing bill for public programs.

Massive numbers of elderly people retiring and very few young workers available to pay the taxes for their health care and retirement entitlements. Something has to give.

This is a bit of a touchy subject but it’s something I’ve always been somewhat intrigued about. When it happens it is always a horrible thing and it really takes it toll on the person that has had the miscarriage. It can lead them into such a huge depression because they had something inside of them, it was growing to be a person, and before it can even be a part of our world it dies. I don’t blame the women this happens to for slipping into a depression because of it. This is something really hard to go through, especially if it’s few times in a row when they’re trying to have children. They have to realize at some point that they have to stop or else the woman is at risk of possible death. But there are women that go through this and come out strong. When my aunt first started trying for having children she became pregnant and ended up having a miscarriage. She was strong though and didn’t let it bring her down and some months later became pregnant again with who is now my oldest cousin Shane.

But there is more things on miscarriages that trouble me, it’s something I found out recently. Many miscarriages happen before women even know they’re pregnant. This mostly happens because they become pregnant and the miscarriage happens around the time they would have their period, or sometimes a week later, so they think nothing of it. This really scares me because what if you have this “thing” growing inside you and you don’t even know it, and then it dies and you don’t even know. This has happened to so many women and it’s just so sad that they don’t even have a clue. This really breaks my heart.

He was there for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, so of course I took a few pictures of him.

My mom is quite in love with his squishy chubbiness, as are the rest of us.

Sigh. I could just eat him up.

Caring for children is a cinch, right? Meet Mila, the super sweet owner of the Kindergarten daycare. Help her begin with one adorable baby then grow her business to an ultra baby boom. Keep the little ones happy by fulfilling their needs in the form of hunger, sleep, diaper changing, playtime, and vomit-free zones. The social rating shows your popularity with the parents in this bubbly time-management game. Are you the next daycare owner in high demand?

Charming time-management game.

Pick your employees.

Care for cute babies!

System Requirements:

OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista

CPU: 1.6 GHz

RAM: 512 MB

DirectX: 6.0

Hard Drive: 16 MB

It Takes Just A second To Say Thanks,

It Takes Longer To The Work On This.

Kindergarten

GSI Media

Monkey see, monkey do!

With dad Cash Warren doing the heavy lifting, Jessica Alba and daughter Honor Marie, 17 months, took turns making silly faces at each other while out and about Beverly Hills, Calif. on Sunday.

See more photos of the family in their photo album!

Honor wears Ugg Erin’s in Baby Pink ($50).

]]> http://livingintherainbow.com/2009/11/27/my-story-14/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:35:13 +0000 livingintherainbow http://livingintherainbow.com/2009/11/27/my-story-14/

Well November is nearly past and it is time for another reflection on what was going on a year ago.  I think this will be the last of these “a year ago reflections.”  After this there were not too many events of note.  Just the long and slow grieving process which is still continuing of course…

…In the months following Abigail’s death we were pretty much in a daze to be honest.  A week after the funeral and I was back to work in a very public way heading the annual conference for the charity I work for.  The work was easy enough.  But having frequent head tilt “how are you” conversations with people was challenging.  Some people really wanted to know and could cope with the truth but others just wanted to go through the motions and hear that you were getting there (wherever there is) and that you could quote some vague religious platitude.

It wasn’t long before I found myself referred for more infertility tests picking up from when we had pulled out when we found out we were pregnant.  Both my wife and I wanted to get as much of this behind us before we cared again.  We had had two and a half years of disappointment leading up to Abigail being conceived and we were not looking forward to the monthly rollercoaster of trying to conceive again.  So yes in the months that followed I had numerous opportunities to have intimate relations with a cup, go for physical examinations, blood tests, an ultrasound (on me this time!) and the rest.  I remember the first time I went to see the urologist consultant, I had to walk through the maternity unit and see lots of pregnant women waiting for their ultrasounds.  It was so unfair that here I was going to see if anything could be done to see if we could get pregnant when here were all these women who were already there.  If only we could reset and reboot – go back to when we were pregnant and play it again and see if we got a different outcome.

In the weeks following the funeral we knew that the first week of December was going to be especially jarring.  We had Abigail’s post-mortem results on 1 December and her due date was 6 December.  I booked the week off work and before long, these dates were upon us.

My wife and I discussed the PM results before the day and we both felt that anything less than a 1 in 4 chance of recurrence would not be enough to stop us trying for another baby.  1 in 4 might be enough.  We had a strong suspicion that Abigail had died from a genetic condition.  Some of her fingers and toes had been fused together and that seemed a strong indicator of a chromosomal cause.  Even as I write this now, I hate the idea that some readers might think “ah well in that case she was left than perfect/not normal so perhaps her dying was probably for the best.”  Someone said basically that in a card to us once!  Let me be as clear as I can.  Abigail may not have been perfect – nor are any of us! – but we loved her as if she was.  If she had lived we would have loved her with all our hearts no matter what challenges she would have faced.

The day of the post-mortem results came and we dropped our son off with friends and walked in to the hospital.  We had done this so many times for scans and now we repeated that well-known routine.  We parked the car and had five minutes to spare so we walked along the street outside.  We then went into the waiting area and this was the one time I felt the hospital let us down.  We were in a maternity waiting area surrounded by posters of babies, mothers with babies, mother’s breastfeeding their babies to “give them the best start in life”.  This was also the room where we had had anti-natal classes when we were pregnant with our son.

There was one mother-to-be and grandmother-to-be waiting.  They were very chirpy and talking excitedly about their pregnancy.  We were not chirpy but very sober.  At one point the grandmother-to-be even made a comment about how we seemed very serious.  I nearly told them we were there for our daughter’s PM results but restrained myself.  Altogether we waited about 25 minutes past our appointment time and that was hard in that room.

Finally we were taken into the consultant’s office.  Our daughter, Paul had been great during the pregnancy but by now we were quite on edge.  He had a student doctor with him.  A girl who seemed about 17 (probably 23).  I doubt she had done one of these before.  Paul came straight to the point and said that he was sorry for the delay but the formal PM report had not come back to him so he had been getting the results over the phone.  Abigail had had triploidy.  This was a condition that resulted in a lot of miscarriages but not many babies made it as far as birth.  All in all it accounted for about 1 in 50,000 live births.  It occurred when a baby had 69 instead of 46 chromosomes.  It was always fatal and no baby had lived beyond 10 months with triploidy.

The good news (!) was that it was a fairly random event and was not likely to recur for us.  Say 1 in 100.  There was no reason we couldn’t try for another baby – other than ongoing infertility problems that is.  Ironically the majority of triploidy cases occurred when 2 sperm fertilised one egg.  Madness – none of my sperm were good enough to get to the egg but when one finally did a second one did too!  Stupid sperm.  Grrrrrr.

Here is a final email I sent to all our friends and family who had been receiving updates during Abigail’s short life.

There are two ways to tell you about the PM, the first is medical – what we know and think.  We now know that Abigail had a genetic condition called triploidy.  This results in quite a lot of early miscarriages but it is very rare to last as long as we did.  It only affects about 1 in 50,000 births.  It is lethal with most triploidy babies being still born or with an average life expectancy of 10 hours after birth.  It is not hereditary – as the doctor puts it we were struck by lightning.  This is a relief as otherwise there would have been a chance that [our son] could have faced similar problems in his future.  That said we do face an increased risk of this or similar happening to us again of about 1 in 100.  This is a lot lot lot better than 1 in 4, but not as good as nothing!  Stating the obvious there.  So overall not as bad as we feared but not as good as we could have hoped.

The second way to talk about these results is not what we think or know, but how we feel.  Abigail was conceived into a fallen broken world as we all were.  But, we do not love her one tiny bit less for this.  We do not think of her as imperfect in any way more than everyone else alive today including you and me.  We certainly don’t want people telling us it was a mercy she died when she did, or that we have been saved from more heartache.  If we had had 10 hours with her we would have treasured those 10 hours.  We do treasure the limited time and limited contact we had with Abigail – we always will, it has tremendous value to us as her parents.  Even though we know now that she was never going to survive we still grieve the life and the potential that she had in our hearts and dreams.  We will remember the milestones that never occur even if they could never have been.  I share this side of it with you because as our friends and family we want you to understand and be comfortable with the simple fact that at this simple level Abigail remains part of our lives and part of our family.  We hope you can be part of this too and feel comfortable talking about this side of things with us.  We do not expect or want this to be a morbid thing but a way of valuing the person Abigail was and is.

One final thing, this verse has been helpful to us from Lamentations 3 v32-33

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

^For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to the children of men.

We do not expect to understand why this happened to us, but we will accept it.  And we know that God is good and faithful.

We had ended up arranging to visit friends for the weekend of Abigail’s due date.  This was probably a mistake.  We were struggling to function and it was all fairly chaotic at our friend’s house.  They had other people staying and four children so the house was quite crowded and we didn’t really have an opportunity to talk meaningfully.  In the middle of bedtime routines the Dad of the home said something to the effect that it felt like he had 18 children to put to bed.  I came close to saying “lucky you” but again restrained myself.  These people were (and are) good friends but we were not in a good place.

At one level Abigail’s due date didn’t have the meaning it might have had.  If Abigail had lives she would have been delivered by C-section much earlier than this date.  But looking back further to finding out we were pregnant, this was the date we had been told was her due date.  Over the entire length of Abigail’s pregnancy this was the date we had expected to be filled with joy.  Instead we were just getting stuck into the grieving process and wondering whether we would ever get pregnant again.  Not a very acceptable exchange really!

In the run up to Christmas we felt increasingly lonely in our grief.  The support that had been so tangible in the first few weeks now faded into normality for others and raging grief for us.  People moved on but we did not.  There was nothing new for people to say to show their support and we increasingly found it unsatisfying being around people.

We had a few days away with some friends in a holiday park and I remember getting into an argument about gender specific appropriate activities.  It got quite heated until I eventually explained that I was arguing from the point of view that Abigail had been a girl and therefore I wanted to imagine her in pink and doing ballet dancing not football lessons.  Stupid really.

We then stayed for a weekend with some friends who had driven 800 mile roundtrip for the funeral and given a massive donation to Abigail’s fund.  We had hoped to catch up with them and share where we were at with Abigail.  But basically they couldn’t hack any conversation about Abigail.  Whenever she was mentioned they would immediately change the subject.  We hated that weekend more than anything.

But that was compensated by the fact that we then spent an evening with some friends who had suffered three miscarriages and ongoing infertility problems.  They were so understanding and happy to talk about Abigail.

For Christmas we have always had a tradition of buying a new decoration for the tree each year.  This year we bought a bauble with Abigail’s name on it.  This was on the tree this first year and will continue to be part of our Christmas tree for years to come.  It was good to be able to recognise her in our family Christmas.

Tips on Buying the Best Baby Toys

When anybody is buying baby toys it can be overwhelming, this is because there are so many to choose from. Baby toys should keep your baby amused and also provide some educational factors. Babies learn from the toys that they play with, so the more that your baby has to play with the more that the baby will learn.

Sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch are the five senses and this is how babies learn. You should keep these senses in mind when you are buying baby toys, the baby toy you are considering should have at least one thing that will stimulate one of the senses.

We now live in an electronic age where digital toys with flashing lights are all the rage. These baby toys are not that great for your baby as they do not offer anything to stimulate the five senses. Pick your Favorite Baby Store and Get a Free $250 Gift Card

It is good to ask yourself a few questions before you buy any baby toys: Will the toy hold the baby’s attention? Will this toy live through the baby’s torture? Will the baby be able to figure out how to use this toy? Will the baby get bored easily while they are playing with it? Can the baby toy be played with in more then one way?

Be certain that the baby toys you are planing on buying are going to be safe, not too large or too small, any basic colors are a good choice, and be sure that they will clean easily. Now it might seem that buying baby toys is overwhelming, but now you know what the best to choose from is. The next time you are looking to buy a baby toy it will be a lot easier. Keep in mind to have fun while you do this because buying baby toys needs to be a fun experience.

Choose a Gift Card to your Favorite store and get a Free $250 Gift Card

by Danielle Koprowski

When children are not delightful to be with, their behavior is telling us they have a need that requires our help. Those needs are Physical, Emotional or Sensitivity/ Temperament Issues. Let’s take a look at Sensitivity/ Temperament Issues.

Have you ever noticed how different one sibling can be from another? How is that? They have the same genetics, the same or similar environment, but they are so different.

Children come into this world with their own unique temperament and sensitivities. As the brain develops we each create our own unique way of processing information. The are some general patters, but each of us is unique. For some children their brain develops in a way that causes them to have a different way of processing the stimulus around them. A child like this might be said to have Sensory Integration issues, Hyper Activity, Explosive Temperament or they might be called High Spirited.

These types of issues can show up in many ways. A child might avoid stimulus or they might seek stimulus. So you could have a child that is very sensitive to loud noises and avoids them or on the other end a child who yells and screams to stimulate that sense.

There are exercises, games and interactions that can help children with these issues.

If you have the feeling that your child might have some of these issues, below is a list of websites and books that will be very helpful in giving you the information and tools you need to help your child.

Out of Sync (Sensory Integration Issues)-
http://www.out-of-sync-child.com/
http://school.familyeducation.com/sensory-integration/parenting/36660.html
High Energy/ Hyperactive-
http://www.amazon.com/Stopping-Hyperactivity-Solution-Nancy-ODell/dp/0895297892
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Moves-Learning-Your-Head/dp/0915556375/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
http://www.braingym.org/

Explosive (Easily Frustrated)-
http://www.explosivechild.com/

Spirited (Intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent)
http://www.parentchildhelp.com/SpiritedChild/tabid/59/Default.aspx

Danielle Koprowski
Free To Be Parenting Support
ACPI Certified Coach for Parents
www.freetobeparenting.com

Me: You know, it was a real mistake to have these baby boys last. We’re spoiling them terribly. We are probably creating nightmares for some poor women in the future. Those women will hate us.

Feminist Mother Best Friend Forever: That’s true. We have to hope they are gay and grow up to fall in love with one another. Then they could only cause trouble for each other.

Me: Perfect.

Feminist Mother BFF: Wouldn’t it be lovely if some of our children ended up with one another?

Me: We’d be family.

Feminist Mother BFF: And wouldn’t they be a cute couple? They are such good looking boys.

Me: Oh these two are gorgeous.

(P.S. Rally for same sex marriage rights is on this weekend in Australia – 28 November).

Taking your new born back home from the hospital is a wonderful, exciting time for both mother and father.

However your life is about to become a lot more hectic and tiring! These five tips will help make the transition to your new life a lot easier.

Get Enough Sleep

Never will you have felt as tired as you will in the upcoming weeks and months. It can be quite a shock and very draining both emotionally and physically. The more sleep you get, the easier things will be.

The best advice is to sleep when your baby sleeps. At first you’ll find this hard to do what with all the excitement and whatnot. You have to though, or you’ll simply collapse from exhaustion. Even just grabbing five minutes here and there will make a huge difference and you’ll soon get into the habit of it.

Ask For Help

Don’t be afraid to do this. It doesn’t mean you are a poor mum or dad, it just means you are a normal one! If someone can look after your precious little one for even 30 mins now and then, it will give you a chance to catch up on chores or have a coffee. Or most likely, grab some much needed sleep!

Make Your Nursery As Comfy And As Cosy As Possible

If your baby sleeps well, then your life becomes so much easier and less stressful. And they will sleep better somewhere they feel happy and secure.

Consider a baby bedding set to give your nursery a comfortable look and feel. These generally have lots of pieces to them and can really extend the feel into the nursery.

One good value-for-money collection, that kids of either sex are guaranteed to love, is Zanzibar baby bedding by kidsline. It’s bright, colourful, covered with fun exotic looking animals and made from high quality materials.

Eat Well

This is important for both you and your baby but is often overlooked by new mothers simply because there isn’t enough time! Well start planning now. Make a list of easy-to-prepare nutritious meals that you can whip up in a few minutes. Also make some hearty meals like stews or curries or whatever you like, that can be frozen and then reheated later.

The time you spend doing this now will prove invaluable later.

Get Organized

A new-born can turn your house into a disorganized tip quicker than anything else I know and the accompanying stress is something you really need to avoid.

Get organized now so this doesn’t happen. Some things you need to think about now are where you are going to change the baby, where you are putting his dirty diapers, when you are sterilizing his bottles, when you are going to eat, who does the clothes washing and when, who does the dishes and when, and so on and so on.

Your life is about to change. Overwhelmingly in a good way, but this change will be made a lot easier and less stressful if you have some systems in place.

In conclusion….

Start planning today for how you will go about your life when you get home with the baby.

Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine of course, after all you aren’t the first person or people with a baby. But there is a lot more to do than you may think.

So maybe now is the time to set some systems in place, start looking through cookery books and to have a quick look at Zanzibar baby bedding.

Até eu que não penso em filho/a fico com vontade de ter uma quando vejo as fotos da suri.

Mas so se for igualzinha a ela. ownnnn

]]> http://prem2pram.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/how-music-helps-newborn-babies-brain-and-emotional-development/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:52:10 +0000 prem2pram http://prem2pram.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/how-music-helps-newborn-babies-brain-and-emotional-development/

During foetal development the auditory system forms extremely early, the ear is actually the first sensory organ to develop brain connections.

During the first weeks in the womb a baby’s ability to process sound and music grows stronger.

When a baby is born he or she is already able to recognise familiar tunes and distinguish between the voice of his parents and other peoples voices.

It’s been proven that babies prefer songs sung by their parents to radio or CD music, I would therefore recommend parents record themselves singing a soothing lullaby.

Babies show a preference for soothing classical music over heavy rock and studies done in Neonatal Intensive Care Units with premature infants show that soothing music from the Baroque period can lower the blood pressure and stress hormones of these young babies.

How Babies Respond to Music

Birth to Six Months: By this age most babies respond to music playing, they will move their body in time to the music. They will turn their heads towards sounds that catch their attentions and cry in response to unpleasant noises.

Six Months to One Year: As an infant’s eye hand coordination develops they become more mobile; babies will grasp and manipulate objects. This means that a baby can shake a rattle and understands that the shaking causes the noise to occur. Babies begin to clap their hands in response to music and parents should this behviour.

Songs to Sing with Babies

It doesn’t matter if you have a wonderful voice or not or even if you sing out of tune. Try singing a lullaby such as “Hush, Little Baby” before putting your baby down for a nap.

Hush Little Baby

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word.
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat

And if that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover

And if that dog named Rover won’t bark
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and cart

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

One, Two ,Three

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.

Lavender’s Blue

Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender’s green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen

Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?
‘Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so

Call up your friends, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork

Some to the hay, dilly dilly,
Some to thresh corn
Whilst you and I, dilly dilly,
Keep ourselves warm

Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender’s green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen

Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?
‘Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so.

Der erste große Erfolg für den exzentrischen Jarvis Cocker und seine Jungs. Danach ging es steil bergauf mit der Karriere und zahlreiche Hits folgten. Für viele (auch für mich) sind sie die Wegbereiter des BritPop, lange vor Blur und ganz lange vor den völlig überschätzten Oasis.

Oh my goodness, could this little guy get any cuter?? I couldn’t have asked for a better session with baby Brady. He was so sleepy and floppy, mom and dad were beautiful (Can you believe she just had a baby??), and Brady was happy even when he was awake! I am convinced he is the world’s best baby! This session was extra special for me too because Brady’s mom and I go way back! =) With the holidays approaching I just couldn’t resist putting him in a Santa hat =). Thanks for letting me come spend that day with your little boy. I know y’all will be great parents and I can’t wait for Tristan and Brady to play together!