New Jersey has a Baby Box Initiative

New Jersey has become the first state to adopt what has been called the Baby Box initiative. The idea comes from Finland and is also used in Canada. The main purpose of the program is to reduce the chances of sudden infant death syndrome. The New Jersey Baby Box Initiative was inspired by the Finnish Baby Box intervention, which has led to Finland having the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. New Jersey’s Child Fatality & Near Fatality Review Board (CFNFRB) now offers free Baby Boxes to every new or expecting family in New Jersey. The Baby Box itself … Continue reading

Canadian Moms to Receive Finland Baby Boxes

Mothers in Canada are about to start receiving the popular maternity package that mothers in Finland have been receiving for 75 years. It is a maternity package from the government that is designed to be a starter kit of baby supplies. In Finland, an expectant mother will be given a box full of baby supplies by the state. This tradition dates back to the 1930’s, and is given to all infants in Finland, from all social backgrounds. The Finland Baby Boxes includes the following items: * Mattress, mattress cover, under sheet, duvet cover, blanket, sleeping bag/quilt * Snowsuit, hat, insulated … Continue reading

Ways to Prevent Your Baby Monitor from Being Hacked

We are entering the very beginning of “the internet of things”. The simplest explanation of what that means is that there are now several appliances and electronics that are constantly connected to the internet through Wi-Fi. The purpose is to make life more convenient. Unfortunately, sometimes this interconnectedness can cause security issues. A family discovered this in a very unpleasant way when their nanny noticed that someone had hacked their baby monitor. A stranger was able to talk to, and see, the room the baby was in, the baby, and the nanny who was caring for the infant. How did … Continue reading

Cthulhu AllSpark is not a Good Baby Name

How did you decide upon the perfect name for you son or daughter? Many parents choose names that have been handed down in their families from one generation to the next. Others pick names that are popular in the year the baby was born. One couple decided to break with tradition and ask “the internet” to select a name for their baby girl. Poor thing almost got named Cthulhu All-Spark! How did this very unique name get suggested? It didn’t come from either of her parents! Stephen McLaughlin, a software developer, decided to ask the Reddit community to suggest some … Continue reading

Baby Advice Can Become Outdated

New parents are often overwhelmed with pieces of baby advice. Sometimes, the advice comes from family members who really do mean well by giving you a piece of baby advice that they used on their children. Other times, some random person at the grocery store feels the need to toss unwanted baby advice at you. It can become difficult to tell the good advice from the bad. One way to sort things out is to see if the advice you were given is in this list of outdated baby advice. All of the baby advice in this list started out … Continue reading

Baby Born with Heart Outside Her Body Goes Home

Audrina Cardenas was born with ectopia cordis. Her heart was located outside of her body. She survived the surgery to put her heart back where it should be. Now, she is able to go home from the hospital and be with her family. Ectopia cordis is a congenital condition. This means it is “present from birth”. It means that the baby’s heart was not in the right place. Instead, it was located outside of the chest wall (and outside of the body). It is a very rare condition. Only 8 babies out of every million are born with it. The … Continue reading

The Bedroom TV

My father just offered to purchase a television for my daughter’s bedroom. I’m still waiting for John Quiñones to pop out of my hall closet because there’s no way my dad’s proposition can be legit. He’s testing me right? Like Quiñones does to all those unsuspecting individuals on “What Would You Do?” A new flat screen TV for my 8-year-old’s bedroom… riiiiight. From a guy who refused to allow me to touch our family’s TV, which didn’t move from its spot in the living room.  The same dad who mandated that an egg timer be set each time me and … Continue reading

Baby Loves

I am a very lovey dovey kind of Mom. I hug and kiss on my kids (especially when they’re babies) all the time! So, one of my favorite things is when they start to “give loves” back to you. It is the best. Well, I first noticed my baby giving loves to a stuffed animal the other day when my niece was visiting. She gave him a stuffed animal, and he put it up next to his face and snuggled it between his head and his shoulder. It was adorable. One of the best feelings is when they can wrap … Continue reading

The Most Popular Baby Names of 2012

Parents spend a great deal of time and a lot of effort when considering a name for their child. It could be a family name. Or, the choice of name might be influenced by popular culture. Baby Center has revealed the list of the most popular baby names in 2012. Every year, BabyCenter.com puts together an interesting list of the top 100 names for baby girls, and for baby boys, in a given year. They just released their Top 100 list for 2012. There are some differences between the list of 2012 and the previous list of the most popular … Continue reading

Life Goes On With Toddler And Baby

I am not sure what I expected life with a baby and a toddler would be like. In fact, I am pretty sure that I did not have any expectations. For some reason, I simply did not think about what it would be like until Blake came along. In hindsight it is probably best that I did not have any preexisting expectations because they may have been completely different than what has actually transpired during the past seven months. The first couple of months were a blur, as things normally are after the arrival of a new baby. Time passed, … Continue reading