Bonding with Baby:10 Heartwarming Activities for New Parents .

Have you ever thought of becoming A new Parent and how you should bond with your Baby? Becoming a parent is a development process or stage filled with love ,joy and responsibility. One of the greatest beautiful journey is the opportunity to bond with your new baby. Bonding not only plays the role of togetherness and closeness ,but also strengthens the emotional and cognitive development.

Most of the New Parents have worries on how to create those heartwarming moments. I have prepared for you 10 Heartwarming activities that can help you strengthen the bond with your baby.

1. Skin-to-skin contact 

From the time your baby is born, you should practice skin to skin contact or kangaroo. Make sure everytime you hold your baby against you bare skin either on the chest which promotes physical closeness and warmth.It also helps in offering comfort and security.

2 .Bath time

Bath time can be fun and bonding experience. Gently wash your baby with soap,even allowing them to touch the soft cotton which  you are using to wash her. Sometimes the kid tend to wash herself,just let her wash even if it means rubbing herself with the cotton. Splash water and allow them to tap the water to produce the sound ,which helps them to enjoy.

3. Baby Massage

 After the baby has taken the bath,take the chance to gently massage your baby. While you're holding your baby close, gradually start stroking their legs and back. Then move on to other areas such as arms. Your baby should be calm,alert when giving massage.

Benefits of Baby Massage

• Promotes social, emotional and cognitive development.
• Helps a baby to relax and release tensions of daily stimuli.
• Decreases irritability and excessive crying.
• Reduces gas,colic and intestinal difficulties.

It's not best time for a massage ,when your baby turns their head away from you or stiffens their arms(according to Mayo Clinic).You should not do massage immediately after the child has eaten, because it will make the baby to vomit.

4. Eye Contact and Smiles

Baby are naturally drawn to faces that smile and eye contact. You can make various facial expressions,smile and gaze into your baby's eyes which makes the baby to learn non-verbal communication and develop relationship skills. For example when you smile and make eye contact, you show your child how to relate warmly with others.

Also you can try to imitate what your child is saying thus developing listening skills to the child.

5. Tummy Time

Tummy Time refers to placing baby on their stomach, while they are awake and someone is watching them. You can start a tummy time a day or two days after they are born. As your child gets older,you can have longer,more regular sessions throughout the day. You can start by:

1. Spreading the blanket or a mat on a clear area of the floor.
2. Place the a rolled up towel under baby's arms to help prop them up slightly.
3. Put a toy within baby's reach to help baby interact with the surrounding and learn to play.
4. Then sit infront of the baby to encourage interaction and bonding.

Benefits of tummy Time

     a)Strengthens baby's neck, shoulder and           arms for easier sit up,crawl and walk.    

      b)Prevents flat spots on back of the                   baby's  head.

       c) Helps in motor skills 

6. Baby Sign Language

Try to use simple baby sign language that are easily understood by your baby. You can use various signs to mean various activities. For example ,when the baby wants to breastfeed ,you can use your mouth by holding your both lips together and start mimicking

When feeling hungry  and she wants to eat you can you use both your fingers and hold them together as you continue rubbing them close to your mouth or you can make a yarn or make a C shape with hands as if you are holding the cup then move it  to your mouth.

When saying "Yes"you can use 👍,when saying "No " you can use your index ☝️ finger and shake it .

Baby Sign Language reduces frustrations and strengthens your understanding of each other.

7. Explore Nature Together

Taking your child around your backyard,either in the garden,flower gardens and tear some flowers 🌻 🌹 🌺 or walking around the forest,makes the child to enjoy the natural nature of creation. You can also try to lie down and watch the sky ,or even at night you can take him and watch the stars and moon. The cool and fresh air, sights and sounds of the birds,provides a stimulating experience for both of you.

8. Singing and lullabies

Singing your favourite baby songs to him/her makes your baby to enjoy the melody and sounds of your voice,and provide comfort and familiarity.It also helps in good brain development and makes the baby to a fall asleep easily.

9. Reading A loud

You can choose age appropriate story books and start reading aloud to your baby. Even if the baby doesn't understand the flow of the story,but the baby can hear the soothing sounds of your voice . Reading helps in the language development and bonding.

10. Baby wearing

Baby wearing is the practice of carrying a baby in a sling or baby carrier. Baby wearing promotes attachment and bonding.

It also makes parents to be more responsive to their baby's needs and mother's are more likely to breastfeed easily.

Conclusion 

Bonding with your new baby is an incredible and heartwarming journey. Taking bath time,baby Massage, singing lullabies, reading aloud creates beautiful moments. Each child has got her own uniqueness and the most important thing is to be present, patient and responsive to your babies cues. Cherish these early moments and they are the foundations for a strong,loving bond that will last a lifetime. 

Do you have any other tips on creating bonding with your baby? You can help me in the comment section and help me to share the content to New Parents in the city.

The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep for Kids: Tips and Tricks to Help Your Children Get the Rest They Need.

 The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep for Kids: Tips and Tricks to Help Your Children Get the Rest They Need.

Are you tired of fighting the bedtime battle with your little ones?Do they keep on tossing and resist going to bed and keep on turning all night long? I understand how difficult and frustrating it can be,but what if I tell you that a good night sleep is not just important for your sanity but also for your child's overall health and well being.

The following are tips for and tricks to help your child  get the rest they need:

1. Set an individualized bedtime

Most kids have patterns that  don't change much,no matter what you do.Those who have the routine of waking up earlier even if they sleep late,they will still wake up earlier. They stay awake for some hours until their bodies are ready.

2.Set a wake up time

Setting a wake up time based on how long your kid needs time to go to bed and sleep. Create awake up time routine as early as preschool years to prevent stress in future and be consistent with the schedule. 

Even if it's  a weekend or a holiday , don't try to change the schedule because the kid will adjust to the current situation and when school time reaches ,they will be horrible to handle.

3.Create a consistent bedtime routine 

Before dinner if the kid has come from school,they should have a light playtime,bath,do homework, bedtime story and then sleep. The routine should be accommodative and comforting.

4.Put off screens

Too much of screens affects the baby's emotional development including sleep disturbance, obesity, depression and anxiety. It promotes aggressive behaviours and hinder social and emotional competence.

Some of the parents have the tendency of giving their kids androids even at earlier age ,not knowing that they are destroying the emotional development of the kids. 

Also the kids can mean to watch their favourite cartoons or movies ,until even if they are pressed for short and long call ,they ignore and they soil for themselves.

You are supposed to switch off  or keep away your child from screens ,to create more time for sleeping.

5.Create a sleep-conducive environment

Make sure that the bedroom should be clean  meaning you should ensure that all distractive things that make your kid not to sleep well are well organized.

Ensure that beddings are soft,the lights should be switched off to help the kid to distinguish  between day and night. Also any kid of noise should be avoided to enable the kid to fall a sleep easily.

6.Keep it cool

The sleeping room should not be too cold or too hot. The temperature should be moderate and accommodating to the child. You should address the kid in a breathable cotton pyjamas and keep the room temperature at 65 to 70' F at night according to Whitney Roban,PhD, Clinical psychologist and sleep specialist.

7.Be on the look out for sleep disorders

Always try to find out what makes the kid to have sleep disorders. It could be nightmares that makes the child to be scared,maybe she could be snoring or disturbed by snores from others or breath through the mouth. Just consult your pediatrician Incase of any concerns .

8.Get exercise

Make sure your kid always plays a physical activity for 1 hour,because it makes the kid to relax her mind and accelerate the sleep. The kid falls a sleep faster inorder to recover the energy lost during the day. Alternatively, kids should avoid vigorously activities with 2 hours of bedtime.

Importance of good Night's sleep to kids

A good Night's sleep is paramount importance for children as it plays crucial role in overall development and well being.

It's a period which various physiological and psychological processes occur.

• It helps children replenish their energy level,promote optimal physical growth and development.
• Critical brain functions are enhanced, facilitating memory consolidation and learning retention while promoting concentration and effectiveness throughout the day.
• Furthermore,deep slumber aids emotional and regulation by mitigating stress levels in children and facilitating better control over their emotions.
• Promotes mood stability and reduces irritability or  issues that can arise due to inadequate sleep patterns among kids.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, a good night's sleep is crucial for the overall health and well-being of children. It not only helps them physically by aiding in their growth and development, but it also has a significant impact on their mental and emotional states. As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children get enough quality sleep each night. By following the tips mentioned above and creating a consistent bedtime routine, we can help our kids reap the numerous benefits of a good night's rest. So let us prioritize our child's sleep and watch them thrive in all aspects of their lives.

How to make money as a stay at home mom

Being a stay at home without any job can be tiresome. It can also make you not to cater for your family basic needs. Sometimes it makes mom's who don't have a permanent job,to be isolated,being despised either by their husbands,their relatives,friends because they feel that they don't contribute anything to the family. Forgetting that parenting also is a great job.

If you don't have any job and you feel like you're pressed with difficulties,just have hope. I have best ways to make money while you are at home. Even most of the mom's see were working from 8/5 or 9/5 have decided to work from home because they have found the jobs to be done at their own pace,without any pressure from their bosses.

At home you can do many jobs,and even if you have small kids, it will give you easier time to take care of them. You will work at you own pleasure and manage your family easily.

The following are the ways you can make money while stay at home mom.

Blogging

Blogging is the the idea of writing content, photography,videos and publish it online in a website. It entails in writing in various niche on certain topics that would be on parenthood, lifestyle,education, entertainment,news,sports and other topics. 

As a stay home mom you can you opportunity of parenting and write on parenthood and you can write out your skills on parenting. Most of the parents especially the new parents they need or are seeking advise on how they are supposed to bring up their children. They needs your tips that would help them. 

You can also write on various topics that you have a passion in it,you monetize it and you start earning from your come home office.

Online tutor

You can offer online teaching classes to students. There are various platforms that are employing online tutors to teach various subject of their specialization. These platforms give students and they give take a certain percentage of commission and the rest remains to you. 

You can apply on Preply, Amazingtalker,italki, teacherOn, Apprentus, Chegg, TutorMe, Cambly and others . You teach online either by using zoom,Skype google meets,webinars and other available online Internet.

You can also teach a langauge to non native speakers. For example you teach English, Swahili,French, Chinese, Spanish, Mandarin and other foreign langauges.

Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is providing administrative services remotely. You work from a remote office especially from home. Virtual Assistant performs the following functions.

• Responds to emails and make phone calls 
• Arrangements of travel events and accommodation 
• Make a contact list
• Prepare customer spreadsheet and make online records.
• Does the market research.
• Create presentations.
• Organize managers' calendar. 

 The goodness of Virtual Assistant you work at your own flexible times. There's no pressure . You need to have some skills on bookkeeping,email listing,have a PC and stable internet. Moreso you should be committed to your work ,so that you finish the project and submit it earlier.

Data Entry Clerk

Data entry is the process of transferring of paperwork documents into computerized  or database. You must be familiar or have the skills in typing, knowledge on Microsoft word, spreadsheet excel inorder to complete your work. 

The following are the duties of a data entry clerk.

1. Transfer data from paper formats into computer files or database systems.
2. Typing in data provided directly from customers.
3. Creating spreadsheets with large numbers of figures .

You should make sure that you don't make any mistake when entering the data. If you make a slight mistake ,the whole process will be in a mess.

Make sure you meet the deadline and don't be lazy ,because you will loose more customers.

Social Media Manager

Social media managers are in charge of planning,creating, publishing content through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, twitter and others.

They create marketing campaigns and build a bigger brand.

You should possess the following skills.

*Graphic design

*Analytics who studies metrics like reach(impressions,views) engagement (comments,likes,shares)

*Customer service

*Community management (replying to sms, engage with loyal customers especially engaged followers and turn them into brand advocates.

*Digital marketing and creativity

*Strategy and planning (copywriting, design, publishing schedule and timing,as well as running paid ads.

Social media doesn't require you to be in an office,you can work comfortably from your remote area.

 

Travel Agent

As a stay home mom you can work comfortably from you home.Travel agent is the most lucrative job ,because you can do it online. Sometimes it may require you to do a previst to the place,so that you will full information for your client .

The travel agent makes booking and payment using online computer systems.

Sell transportation, lodging and admission to entertainment activities to individual and groups planning trips.

Offer advice on destination

Plan trip itinerary and make travel arrangement for client.

Translator

Are  you a stay home mom and you know how to speak two languages or more?. Then here's the opportunity for you. You can translate from a different language to your native language. For example,from English to Spanish,French,Chinese, Germany, Mandarin, Swahili and others. 

You are being given a document either that it's written in a langauge then you translate it,or you can translate a speech.

You can register yourself in many platforms that employ translators. For example Fiverr, Upwork, Flex jobs, ZipRecruiter and other platforms.

Proofreader

As a proofreader you make sure that there's no spelling mistakes,the punctuation is done properly,the sentence are written without any errors. 

The clients sends you a document which is written and assigns you to proofread. You should ensure that you have the high proficiency in either English or whatever the language the client wants the document to be proofread.

Graphic designer

Graphic designer creates the visual concepts by use of computer systems or manually by hand,to transmit specific messages to social groups with specific objectives.

Your work is to market,make brands and advertise . You use the visual elements such as colour, topography and imagery.

Company brand identity (logos, typography, and color palettes)

The graphic designer does the following responsibilities.

• User interfaces on apps and websites.
• Books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications.
• Product packaging.
• Advertisements and commercials.
• Signage for stores, transportation, stadiums, and event spaces.
• Video games

 Conclusion 

You need to equip yourself with necessary skills,and make sure you have PC and stable internet. Always remember to present your work on time,and avoid unnecessarily mistakes that would drain away all your potential clients. 

As stay mom, you have all the time to work at your own pace ,with any pressure. Therefore it's you to maintain discipline,respect, always communicate early when you can't complete the project,so that the client can understand.