I think he’s doing really well with the food I have tried so I think he is beginning to make that transition from strictly baby food to a a combination of baby food and table to eventually just table food. I finally found some of the toddler snacks that he can have, because once again those contain rice flour. I give him crackers and such but I wanted to be able to give him something he can learn to feed himself with. I don’t know if  a doctor would agree with giving him all this table food yet, but I think I am making a good decision for my son and this way he is able to experience a variety of food instead of having to eat the same old thing every day.

Crawling is one of those big milestones you think you can’t wait for your child to get to. All I can say, is just be prepared. Start baby proofing your house early. A real good way to tell if something is safe or not is to get on your hands and knees and look around. Basically, get on a baby’s level and see what they see. If it looks interesting from that view but you know is not safe for a baby move it, cover it up, whatever you need to do. Baby proofing is something that I didn’t do near soon enough. Even though my son hasn’t gotten hurt or anything I still find myself taking things out of his hand and moving him away from because I just didn’t move it.

Just a piece of advice – if you have a laptop and you keep it in the family room so you can just pick it up at any time. Please make sure it’s out of reach and your child can’t get to it. If your child gets to it and starts messing with the keys on the keyboard, they can come off. And if you think your child can’t get them off believe me they can. My son did and was able to get not one but two of the keys off before my husband realized it. Those keys are a choking hazard and we all know that baby’s love putting everything in there mouth. Luckily, my son did not and now the computer stays where he can not get to it.

Before I fed him I looked at the ingredients and it contained rice flour. I decided to go ahead and try it since it has been a couple of months since the whole rice cereal incidents. He did perfectly fine that evening. He played as usual and took a little nap. He didn’t show any signs of the baby food making him sick. I figured if I past the two hour mark after eating he would be fine and wouldn’t get sick. Well three or four hours had past and he was well. I gave him a bottle that night around 8:00 or so before I got ready to put him down for the night. I was thinking to myself, well maybe it was something in the rice cereal, like the soy, that was making him sick before and not the actual rice itself.

I began rocking him to sleep and he became very restless and a little fussy. He acted like maybe his stomach hurt a little but I wasn’t quite sure, because he does fight his sleep sometimes. So, I kept rocking him and singing to him and then all of a sudden every thing he had eaten from the bottle he just had to the baby food he had four to five hours previously came right up. He was vomiting the same way he had after having the rice cereal. I was a little surprised since it had been so long since he had eaten it, so I thought we were in the clear.  So my final conclusion is that he is definitely, without a shadow of a doubt now, allergic to rice and any form of rice.

Needless to say I felt horrible for giving it to him, but I needed to try the new food. After cleaning him up, as well as myself, me and my husband got him to sleep finally. We kept an eye on him all night just to make sure he didn’t get sick through the night. After he got that food up that one time he slept all night and was fine the next day.

I went through all the other baby food that I had and come to find out I had nine more jars that contained rice flour. I took them back to the store to swap it out for something he can eat, but do you know, most of the stage two foods that I looked at contain rice flour. If it is a meat and veggie combo it has rice flour in it. Most of the mixed vegetables also contain rice flour.

So for those parents who may be having this same problem, I just went ahead and bought a device to puree food. I pureed green beans and purple hull peas so far. He still is not fond of green beans but he kinda liked the peas. It’s just important to get the consistency right. I believe the green beans were a lot too soupy and the peas were a thick, but I added a little water to them and thinned them out. It’s a lot easier to thin something out than to thicken it up. I decided to do this because he is already tired of eating the same vegetables over and over and I would like to add meat to his diet. He shows interest in what we eat so I figure as long as we make it a consistency that he can he why not go ahead and give it to him.

I just wanted to continue to share my experience on this because it’s so important to recognize these kinds of things when they first appear because a food allery can cause much more harm than just vomitting it up. Children can die if the food allergy is severe enough and precautions are not taken to make sure they do not come in contact with those foods.

Once your baby hits a couple of months old they will interact with you by looking at you while you are holding them. They may begin to coo at you, especially when you talk to them. Continuing singing and reading to your baby. You can even make up songs as you go. I do this and my son seems to like the made up songs versus the traditional baby songs, but sing these too, they still need to hear them. Add soft toys by allowing your baby to touch them. They are learning how different things feel. Right now their means of learning is mainly through touch.

As your baby begins to grow and reaches that three to six month age they have come leaps and bounds with what they have already learned. By this time your baby with be playing with toys, should be having tummy time, working towards sitting up, laughing at your crazy songs, and trying to eat the pages of that book you are trying to read them. Along with all this, you can be taking your baby on walks, as long as weather permits, teaching them patty cake, sing to them “The Bus Song (Wheels on the Bus)” and use their hands to do the motions.

Don’t be afraid to get on the floor with your baby and be on their level for a change. One thing you can do is hide behind them and then jump out and say “Boo”. They more than likely will laugh at you versus cry. Another thing you can do is to get some soft blocks and set them up and let your baby knock them down. They like seeing them tumble. The main goal in all of this is your baby is learning through play and they are learning it with you. Taking part in your child’s learning has great rewards, so don’t be afraid to be silly and have a little fun.

After your baby begins to get use to tummy time and he/she doesn’t cry as quickly begin leaving them longer, say five to seven minutes. Still stick with the three times a day, if possible. As your baby begins to reach five and six months old they will begin to roll over themselves and begin pushing their knees up preparing to crawl. By giving your baby this tummy time they have strengthen their muscles to move themselves where they want to go. By this time also, your baby should be showing signs of sitting up by themselves. One thing that I did, and still do, with my son is put a boppy around and behind him so if he falls back he now has the strength to sit himself back up. This saves you from having to sit your child up every two minutes, especially when they really start reaching for their toys and moving.

If for some reason your child doesn’t like tummy time at all, after several attempts trying, you can lay them on your stomach while you lay on the floor or in a recliner if that’s more comfortable for you. To begin with this is just as good as putting them on the floor, because they are still strengthening their muscles if you allow them to pull their own head up and move around. Eventually getting them on the floor so they can learn to push up to their knees is important, but if your baby is only three or four months old I wouldn’t worry about this.

If your baby is already six months old, and they still don’t have any desire to do tummy time, still attempt it. It’s okay to let them get a little frustrated, but don’t leave them crying their eyes out. Just continue attempting tummy time and maybe get on the floor with them and play with them to get their mind off being on their stomach. Divert their attention to toys that light up and make music. This may allow them to be on their stomach longer and they may begin to enjoy it if they like the toys that are involved.

One last note to add. Don’t expect your baby to like tummy time if you have just finished feeding them. Their stomachs are full and it probably hurts if you leave them laying long enough. Not to mention they are more than likely going to spit-up everywhere. Give their food time to settle, say an hour or two. Your baby will thank you for it.

With my son, I have tried the teething tablets along with the baby orajel. The teething tablets didn’t seem to work as well as the baby orajel. It seemed like he was getting any relief with the teething tablets because he kept fussing. But when I put the orajel on his gums he acts like it’s instant relief. I know every baby is different, so you’ll just have to see what works best for your baby. Another thing you can give your baby if they are in a lot of pain is the baby Tylonol, just make sure you give them the correct dose for their age and size.

Using cool teething rings to rub their gums also helps. My son fought this one at first but now he likes it. Keep toys that are safe to chew on  and teething rings close by so your baby has something to chew on. Drool may get everywhere but it’s better than listening to them cry because their gums are hurting. I even rub his gums with my (clean) finger and that seems to feel good too.

http://www.babynews.com/index.php/2009/05/14/eddie-bauer-play-yards-with-rocking-bassinets-recalled-by-dorel-juvenile-group-due-to-suffocation-hazard/#more-285

Another positive to sign language is if you are considering, or have already done so, adopting a baby or older toddler/child from another country and they have already learned to speak in their native language you can teach them sign language to communicate with them as you teach them to speak in English. I know someone who did this after adopting. The little boy her and her husband were adopting was able to speak in his native language but didn’t understand her when she talked to him. They had language obstacles to overcome once they had him home and after being frustrated she decided to teach him sign language so they could begin to communicate easier, then as he grew older his English got better and he began understanding her. Life became so much easier and she was able to meet his needs because he could tell her what he wanted, such as “more” food.  By signing “more” he was able to tell her he wanted more food.

I think sign language can be very beneficial if done in the correct manner. Using it as a tool to help teach your child to communicate helps ease some frustration, not only for the parents but for the child, becasuse their needs are getting met a little quicker.

Signs of asthma in a baby or toddler include:

• Noisy breathing or breathing increased 50 percent above normal
• Normal respiration rates:
• newborns 30-60 breaths/minute
• 1st year 20-40 breaths/minute
• 2nd year 20-30 breaths/minute
• Wheezing or panting with normal activities
• Lethargy, disinterest in normal or favorite activities
• Difficulty sucking or eating
• Crying sounds softer, different

[...Quoted Source...]

I hope this helps others parents who may have the same questions I have. But, still remember that if you think your child may have asthma, and especially an asthma attack, consult your child’s physician.