Firstly, you should get into the habit of always keeping stair and safety gates closed, even if your child is asleep or not in the house. Once closing a gate behind you becomes second nature, you’re much less likely to forget to close it when it really needs to be closed.

Next, never climb over a gate when closed. Not only do you risk accident by tripping or otherwise falling, you also risk being seen doing this by your child, who will naturally attempt to copy you. You may also damage the locking mechanism by putting too much weight on it from above.

Always buy a good quality gate, and don’t be tempted to buy a second hand one. Old gates might have worn mechanisms that could fail under pressure, and they might not conform to current safety standards.

Finally, it’s not advisable to fit a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs. These gates don’t fit as securely as a screw-mounted gate and so could conceivably give way under weight, such as your child leaning against it. Pressure mounted gates are more suitable for closing access to rooms on the same level, especially given the ease with which they can be moved.

A Drop Side

A drop-sided cot has a hinged side that you can open when putting your child to bed or getting him up. This lets you carry your baby in a more natural posture than having to lean over a fixed side, reducing the strain on your back. Make sure that the locking mechanism is well made and in good condition (especially if buying second hand).

Adjustable Height

When your child is young, it makes sense to have the mattress raised up near the top of the frame to make picking your baby up easier. However, as your child grows and becomes more mobile, it’s safer to lower the mattress towards the ground - especially important once your child starts to stand. Having a cot with an adjustable mattress height makes this easy.

Teething Rails

Teething babies have an urge to bite down on solid objects, and the cot sides are common victims of this. To prevent injury to your baby and damage to the cot, some cotbeds come with teething rails attached which can be safely bitten down on. You can also buy these rails seperately.

Wheels

Some cots come with attached wheels so that you can move them from room to room easily. For most people, this won’t be necessary, but if you plan to start off with the cot in your own bedroom before moving it to the nursery, then this might be something to bear in mind.

Side Rails Gap Width

For safety reasons, the gaps between the side rails should be no wider than 7-8cm, to prevent your baby’s head getting trapped.

Cost

You can easily pay several hundred pounds for a top of the range, antique-style cot. Remember though that you’re probably only going to be using it for the first two years or so of your child’s life, and so paying this amount might not be really worth it. There are cheaper models available, but as always, you get what you pay for and the cheapest cots available might well be flimsy and of poor quality. Paying somewhere in the region of £70-100 should get you a high quality cotbed which will last, without paying over the odds

‘TENS’ is an abbreviation of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, which is the impressively technical way of saying that the unit passes electrical impulses through the skin and into the nerves beneath, affecting the transmission of pain signals to the brain. This in itself can greatly reduce labour pains in some women, while there is a beneficial side effect in that the impulses prompt the body to manufacture endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller.

Most TENS units have several strength levels, so you can begin to use the machine at a low level when the first signs of discomfort start gradually increasing the strength of the signals as the pain becomes worse. Many units will also have a special ‘boost’ mode which you can activate during a contraction for temporarily greater relief.

TENS machines have the advantage that they are non-invasive and don’t involve any drugs, so they are safe to use for both mother and baby. The downside is that the effectiveness varies greatly from mother to mother - some report good results in lessening pain during labour, others less so.

Nonetheless, for mothers-to-be wanting as natural a birth as possible, TENS machines are certainly worth a try, especially given their fairly low cost.
Browse our range of TENS Machines >>>

The main reason you’d buy a nursing chair is comfort. You’ll be spending a lot of time feeding your baby in the first few weeks and months, and it makes sense to have a comfortable place to sit while doing so. This is especially true when breastfeeding, as shorter but more frequent feeds are more usual.

Some people opt for being propped up in bed with plenty of cushions, but this might not be the best idea for your long term health. You need to make sure that your tired head and neck are properly supported if you’re to avoid neckache and headaches, while those prone to back problems need to have good lumbar support which is unlikely to be found in a pillow. Your back will be under enough strain as it is when you have a young child, no need to make things worse!

There’s also another important point in favour of a nursing chair. Most of them feature runners underneath so that you can rock backwards and forwards with a smooth gliding movement. This can be very soothing for fractious babies, and help them to get back to sleep after a nighttime feed.

So is worth buying a nursing chair? If money is tight then there are probably more essential items to buy first, but if you can afford one then you’ll probably be glad you bought one, and the quality of most means that your chair will stay in perfect condition for years and more than one baby!

Browse our range of nursing chairs >>>

Soothing

A mobile playing gentle lullaby which slowlw slows down to a stop can be a real help in soothing a fractious baby, and helping them get to sleep. At the very least, the mobile can be a distraction from teething or other discomfort and can break the cycle of endless screaming leading to greater distress.

Stimulating

On the other hand, a brightly coloured mobile with more jaunty music can be endlessly fasscinating for your baby, and will help him develop eye focus as he stares at the mobile characters, and also to develop predictive skills as the rotation pattern repeats and becomes expected.

Occupation

However much time you spend with your baby, there are always going to be moments when you need to be doing something else. Placing your baby in his cot with a mobile will keep him busy for a time while you get on with such pleasurable jobs as ironing or cleaning the bathroom!

Weaning is the process of moving your infant away from a diet consisting of only milk, by introducing a wider range of foods. Weaning is complete when your baby is able to cope with a full range of solid foods, and is gaining the majority of her nutrition from them.

When Should It Start?

Current medical advice is to feed your child solely on breast milk for the first six months, in order to get the full benefits of this natural source of nutrition and immune-system boosting ingredients. Unfortunately though, many parents find that their children show distinct signs of wanting to begin weaning well before this point. These signs can include showing interest in the foods you’re eating (maybe even trying to sample them), and a decreasing level in the ability of milk to fully satisfy appetite. If you think you need to start weaning before the 26 week point, speak to your health visitor who will advise on whether this is the right option or not.

What Foods Come First?

So as to minimise the digestive disruption involved, begin weaning with a food which largely consists of your baby’s normal milk. The most common starter food is baby rice, which is a fine powder which you mix with milk to form a puree. Once your baby is happy with this, then you can start introducing other purees such as mashed potato (again with milk), or other bland-flavoured vegetables.

Try to only introduce one new kind of food every few days, so that if there is any allergic reaction it’s easy to pinpoint the offending food.

Once your baby has spent a couple of months eating pureed fruit and vegetables, you can move on to meat and fish if you want to. Always remember though that new foods can have a dramatic effect on the developing digestive system, so slowly but surely is the key here.

Finger Foods

The next stage in weaning is the introduction of ‘finger foods’ which can be chewed and gnawed on. Examples include baby biscuits, rice cakes, bread sticks and the like - but be sure to only use products with little or no added salts and sugars.

Once finger foods are accepted, you can start making the usual purees a little coarser in texture, and begin added whole rice grains or small pieces of pasta, for example, into the food to help develop full chewing ability.

It’s important to remember that solid food is drier than puree, so gradually introduce more water and thinned-down fruit juices to the diet to compensate.

Foods to Avoid Before 12 Months

While it’s sensible to avoid overly spicy or strongly flavoured foods, it’s also vital to stay away from certain food types which can seriously harm a developing baby. Nuts should be avoided, as medical opinion is that eating them too early can lead to nut allergies, not to mention the choking risk.

Citrus fruits are likely to lead to indigestion before the digestive system is fully developed, so should be avoided. Shellfish carry a risk of food poisoning, which can be much more serious in babies than in older children or adults. Likewise, any undercooked foods or ones containing unpasturised raw egg presents risks too.

How Long Does Weaning Take?

This will vary from child to child, and there’s no need to rush things. let your child decide the pace of weaning, but if it seems to be going nowhere then ask your health visitor for advice - chances are there’s nothing at all to be worried about.

One final thing to consider is that it’s very likely that the tastes encountered during weaning will have a lasting impact on the kind of food your child will eat for the rest of childhood or even longer, and so a wide variety of good healthy food eaten at this stage will hopefully lead to a lifetime-long healthy diet and appreciation of food.

Simple Audio Monitors

The simplest and oldest models of baby monitor were simple audio devices, which sent a low quality radio signal from a transmitter in the nursery to a receiver in the parent’s room. These early examples are quite limiting in that both transmitter and receiver needed to be plugged into an electrical socket, so the parent could not move freely around the house. They also suffered from interference problems, and often provided a very poor signal which could easily disturb parents’ sleep.

Digital Baby Monitors

More modern audio baby monitors use digital technology to all but cut out interference, and have mobile rechargable parent units with ranges in the hundreds of metres, so the parent can still listen in on their child while in any room of the house or even the garden.

More Features

Extra features on these more advanced models include variable sensitivity which will let you hear every rustle and snore, or just louder noises such as crying - invaluable for letting the parents get a better night’s sleep while still being reliably alerted if needed.

Many models also feature a talkback facility where the parent can talk to the child to soothe them without the disruption of entering the room. Some monitors also allow you to trigger lullabies and nightlights, and will even report on the temperature in the nursery so you can judge if a baby is restless because of heat or cold.

Video Monitors

The next development in monitors was the video monitor, where you could fix a camera above the cot so that you could see your child as it slept. At first these offered only grainy black and white picures during daylight, but these days you can expect high quality colour images in the day, and full nightvision in darkness.

Breathing / Movement Monitors

Finally, you can also buy advanced monitors which combine all these features with breathing and movement monitors which will sound an alert if no breathing movement or sound can be detected - this is probably over the top for most of us, but parents of babies with health difficulties may find the extra reassurance offered of great comfort.

How Much Do They Cost?

Prices vary widely, with as you’d expect cheaper models offering less features. Simple models can be found for £20 or less, with top of the range monitors going for over £100. You might not want to go to the expense of buying a full video monitor with all the bells and whistles, but at the minimum most people will want good digital sound quality and signal range coupled with a mobile parent unit to allow greater freedom while baby is asleep.

It pays to buy the best quality baby monitor you can afford, as an unreliable monitor is probably worse than none at all, buying a cheap one may well turn out to be a false economy.

What Causes It?

Not every pregnant woman will experience it, although most do to some extent. The strength of the symptoms can range from a mild nausea to a debilitating sickness and inability to keep food or liquid down. The effects often seem to be worse in women who suffer from travel sickness or migraine, although this isn’t proven.

The exact reasons for morning sickness aren’t yet known. It’s commonly held that changes in hormone levels are behind it, but precisely how it occurs is still something of a mystery. Certainly, the digestive system of a pregnant woman will undergo changes as it gears up to feed the developing baby, and this is probably at the root of it. Also, it’s widely observed that the sense of smell and taste is heightened during pregnancy, and this increased sensitivity could also lead to nausea as the body reacts to increased stimuli.

In most cases, morning sickness will disappear at around the 12 to 14 weeks point, but as with all things during pregnancy this will vary from person to person. Some women barely experience it and it goes away after a week or two, while others less fortunate have medium to strong symptoms for the whole pregnancy.

Morning Sickness Cures

There is no real cure for morning sickness, as it is a reaction to hormonal changes and until hormone levels stabilise, there is always likely to be some symptoms. There are however ways to alleviate the discomfort, with home remedies handed down through the ages which may or may not help.

The most basic advice which seems to have the widest success is to ensure that your stomach is never empty. Snack on a wide range of healthy foods throughout the day, and have something at hand to eat if you wake up during the night. Avoid food with high sugar values though, as this can lead to a sugar rush followed by even worse symptoms. Foods high in carbohydrates and fibre are best - for example, ryvita biscuits or similar.

If you’re vomiting a lot, make sure you take on plenty of liquids too to stop you getting dehydrated, which is the only serious danger related to morning sickness.

Sucking on an ice cube can help reduce the nausea, and fresh ginger is also a widely recommended way of calming the stomach. Many find that the common cures for travel sickness can help, such as wrist bands, but don’t take any medications without first checking with your midwife.

The best cure of all though is to try and get plenty of rest, although for working women with nightly bouts of sickness, this is easier said than done.

Always be aware though that morning sickness is a natural part of a healthy pregnancy, and so long as you keep your fluid intake up and eat nutritious foods as much as you can, it will do neither you nor your baby any long term harm.

The modern trend is to use as little pain relief as possible so as to have more natural birth, and while this is a laudable ideal, there is no shame at all in asking for relief when the pain becomes too much. Here are the most common forms of relief, starting with the most natural (and maybe least effective), rising up the scale to strong medication which can have side effects for both mother and baby.

The Birthing Pool

Many women find that spending most of their labour immersed in water can have a powerful reducing effect on the discomfort involved, and birthing pools are becoming more and more common in delivery suites. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to guarantee that one will be available when you need it, so you’ll need to consider other options in case you need to use them.

TENS Machines

These are devices which send minor electric shocks to the nerves in the lower back, which is said to disrupt the pain signals without having any other side effects. These can be hired from most hospitals, but again one might not be available when you need one, so if you want to go down this route you’re better off to buy one yourself. They range in price but aren’t generally too expensive.

TENS machine effectiveness varies from woman to woman - some find they have no effect whatsoever, while others experience greatly reduced pain levels.

Gas and Air

This is the first ‘medical’ method of pain relief we’re looking at. Basically, you take breaths of a mixture of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oxygen when the pain of contractions arrives. The idea is to take the edge off the worst of the pain only when needed, without the drawbacks that other, stronger, drugs can have. Gas and air is also known as entonox.

Epidural

This is a common form of pain relief in childbirth. It is a procedure where a powerful painkilling drug is injected into the lower back, and can cut out pain completely for two to three hours. If necessary, it can be topped up when it starts to wear off, so pain can be relieved for the course of a long labour.

The disadvantage is that epidurals traditionally numb the whole of the lower body, so the mother-to-be needs to be lying down until birth is complete and the effects wear off. Newer drug mixtures are better in this regard, allowing some movement and even walking, which many women find helps to relieve discomfort too.

Pethidine

This is a very strong pain killing drug administered by injection. It is extremely effective at stopping birthing pain, but has two disadvantages: it can cause drowsiness, vomiting and confusion in the mother, and can easily cross the placenta and into the baby where it can cause breathing difficulties immediately after birth. The second danger can be easily averted by administering an antidote if problems arise, but it’s a possible danger to be aware of before deciding to take this drug.

How Can You Tell Teething Has Started

About a month before the first tooth appears, several clues will present themselves:

• Excessive drooling
• Reddened, swollen gums and cheeks
• Increased tendency for the baby to bite down on objects (and people!)
• Decreased appetite
• Lack of sleep (for everyone)
• Increased irritability and crying

Although most doctors and health professionals say that there’s no connection between teething and stomach or digestive upsets, most parents will attest that teething was accompanied by more ‘interesting’ and frequent nappy contents.

When Does It Start?

A small minority of babies are born already having a visible tooth or two, but most babies will take about 6 months to start teething. It can take up to a year to begin though, so don’t panic if your baby shows no signs of emerging teeth - rest assured, it WILL happen, so just enjoy the peace while you can!

What Can Parents Do?

Teething will follow its own schedule, and there’s nothing a parent can do to speed it up. You can, however, try to make the process as easy as possible by alleviating the discomfort in several ways.

Teething Rings

Teething babies will naturally try and bite down on solid objects, and to reduce the chances of these objects being damaged or damaging, teething rings or teethers are a good investment. They can also be kept in the fridge for further cooling comfort. A related item is a teething rail which attaches to the side of the cot, as teething toddlers often bite into their cot rail once they can stand - a teething rail will protect both the baby from injury, and the cot from damage.

Teething Powder

These are a sachet of crystals which you can pour into your baby’s mouth - many infants seem to find crunching on teething powder soothing.

Teething Gel

This is a gel or liquid which you spread directly on to the affected gums, which can provide almost instant relief to a distressed baby, helping them back off to sleep.

Medication

In bad cases of teething, a pain-killing medication such as Calpol or a baby formulation of Nurofen can be worth trying, especially at bed time when the whole household is seriously in need of some sleep! Be aware though that as with all medications, you should follow the dosage instructions carefully, and always err on the side of caution when deciding whether or not to medicate your baby.