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Things You Will Absolutely Need Before The Baby Comes Home

This list was created for the mother and father who simply can't afford to buy all the fancy things that are available in stores for babies. Their budget is limited and they are only concerned with the necessities. Since many new parent checklists are long and costly, consider the one following this article. It is short and inexpensive, then later when you have more money you can splurge on the luxuries.

When you are deciding exactly how much to buy, think in terms of days of the week and how often you think you might need to change the baby's t-shirts, diapers, blankets, etc. A baby when first brought home will sometimes be changed as much as 8-10 times a day, using about three to four wipes between changes, and feed every two hours. During those feedings he or she may vomit which will require changing burping blankets and possibly clothes. Also, you will have to determine how often you will be taking the baby outdoors and overnight stays with family, then approximate how many outfits you will need. Consider adding an extra outfit in the diaper bag in case of accidents. If you will be primarily at home with baby, then you will want to buy body suits, side snap shirts, pull over shirts and/or gowns first. You won't need every style of baby t-shirts that are in the store. The most popular are the baby body suits. Be sure to have at least one outfit for the baby in the hospital for photos and homecoming.

1. Car Seat with a Sun Shader & Stroller with a place to carry bags
2. Homecoming Outfit
3. Burping & Swaddle Blankets
4. Stage One bottles & Bottle Warmer (If breast feeding, pump, bottles and breast milk storage bags.)
5. Diapers & (large) Diaper Bag
6. Baby Wipes & Wipes Warmer
7. Baby Body Suits & Socks
8. Caps & Booties
9. Bassinet or Crib (you don't need to have both, some babies never connect with the bassinet.)
10. Bassinet or Crib Sheets
11. Netting for Bassinet or Crib (only if you have another child, pet or problems with insects or rodents.)
12. Changing table with vinyl pad (easy to wipe off messes)
13. A three or four drawer dresser
14. Diaper pail with refill bags
15. Baby Carrier
16. Body Wash
17. Shampoo
18. Lotion
19. Cotton Swabs and/or Cotton Balls
20. Petroleum Jelly
21. Baby Mittens (baby's nails grow quickly and at times he/she will scratch face.)
22. Nail Clippers
23. Brush & Comb
24. Digital Theromometer
25. Humidifier
26. Bath towels and washcloths
27. Swing
28. Bouncer/Rocker
29. Travel Mirror
30. Bottle Brush
31. Dishwasher Caddy
32. Pacifier
33. Camera
34. Thank You Notes
35. Rocking Chair

NOTE: Although not listed, an infant positioner is a good investment if you need peace of mind that the baby may roll over on to his or her stomach or roll off the bed or couch.

The list above is basic. As he or she grows older, then you can get the High Chair, Play Yard, Baby Gym, Jumper, books, dvds, cds, bath toys, etc. when their neck and back enable them to sit upright. Save the money for what you feel your baby and you will need as situations arise. There are plenty of things most parents don't need, but if someone wants to splurge on your behalf, by all means accept their gifts with gratitude, even if you don't need it. You can always sell the items later at a flea market or online auction. Hope this list helps you prioritize your baby's needs, save money for now and direct it to other things such as lots and lots of formula, diapers and wipes!!

Ways To Make Learning More Fun For Children

Traditional ways of learning required a teacher, a chalkboard, a desk, a ruler, pencil, and a textbook. A teacher with a stern, professional posture stood before the room with barely a smile on her face as she taught her class. This was the image seen in many movies and some adults actually had her in their class many years ago. She or he may have conducted a rather boring class, spending a lot of time talking over your head or talking to the chalkboard. The teacher restricted the class to textbook studies only and quizzes and tests every week. Every now and then it was a real treat for students to watch a movie in her class, even if it was boring and the film jumped around on the screen. As for field trips, forget about it, students were lucky if they got to have an additional recess from time to time. Then when test time came, the worksheets seemed to be as old as them. Oftentimes a student, with a raised arm, would say, “I can’t read number 15.” Then other students would nod or murmur in agreement. It would be a long school year in Mr. or Ms. XYZ’s class.

Years ago the Internet didn’t exist so we will just excuse Ms. XYZ for not having readily accessible information that could give her the ideas to stimulate her students. She may have been too busy grading papers or tending to her own family. Whatever her excuse, she has none nowadays. There are plenty of websites, articles, and other ways to make learning fun for children. The following suggestions may help you as a parent, who would like to assist your children or the teacher, stimulate her skills while making life more interesting for her class.

1. When beginning a new subject or topic to teach, why not decorate the class related to a theme. For instance, if you will be teaching about dinosaurs, why not have posters hanging in your classroom about dinosaurs?

2. Provide something fun related to your topic that children could take home to color, solve a puzzle or show off such as stickers or a colorful book that they can keep.

3. Always have an interesting DVD ready to “kick off” a new subject.

4. Set a time during the day, maybe Friday, where the students are required to work on a project together related to the topic. Students could try to piece a puzzle together, watch a video and write or draw what they really like from it, or play a game that will help them remember what you have taught them.

5. You may want a speaker to come in and talk about the subject other than you. Find out from parents if they know someone that would be willing to come to the classroom to speak on the topic you are teaching. Have the speaker bring something with them that will help the students remember his or her visit.

6. Talk with other teachers about what you are doing and maybe they would be willing to help you. They may be interested in getting their class to participate.

7. Research your local community on events that will aid you in your teaching. There may be a “free zoo day” and you just happened to be teaching on animals.

8. Watch out for sales. Sometimes products you may need to accompany your topic can be purchased at a reasonable price.

9. Tell parents both verbally and physically how you can use their input.

10. Visit online forums, blogs or create your own social networking profile to connect with other teachers to exchange ideas.

If your subject is on animals, you may want to encourage parents to get their child a subscription to the following link. There is also information at the site to aid you in your teaching: 3 FREE GIFTS with 12-month subscription at Zoobooks Magazine!

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Why Do We Want Children

Why do we want children? To answer this question from a deep spiritual level and not from some careless place of opinions influenced by the world around us, we want them, in fact some of us need them, because they are our legacy. Think about that for a moment.

Legacy is defined as something left to a person by will, inheritance or request. It is also defined as something that has come from an ancestor or predecessor or the past, according to the Webster’s New Ideal Dictionary. Now apply that definition to why we want children? We desire to have them because in everything we do to contribute to this world materially, it just isn’t enough for some people, to die and not leave a human life.

How awesome is this concept! It doesn’t matter to those who desire children to see them in the store crying out loud for a bottle, screaming to play with a toy in aisle four or running away from mom in a dangerous parking lot. People who truly love children and want to give back to a supernatural power that gave them life understand the significance. Of course, there are those individuals who want children for selfish reasons such as using them to accomplish dreams that they chose not to pursue, didn’t qualify for or simply failed at, a tax write-off, or to abuse or misuse because of some deep mental illness. Whatever the reason, children are meant to be here on planet earth to pick up where we left off. All are born and pre-programmed with a divine plan and it is up to parents to find out what their talents are and direct them on how to best utilize them to make the world a better place. However, when parents ignore their responsibilities by involving themselves with so much activity outside of raising their children, they fail them from the start. There are those exceptions; however, when children are given everything and still miss out on their divine calling. Once that has occurred, a parent can only focus on the fact that he or she did the best that they could. Parents should make themselves available to provide wisdom and support, when necessary, to get his or her adult child back on track.

As for those people who don’t and will never have children, there are so many ways that they can be a part of the legacy. They can assist another who has children by offering to care for them, provide for children whose parents can’t raise them, and support them by counseling or educating them. The sky is the limit! There is no commandment anywhere that states, “Thou must have children.” It doesn’t matter how one interprets the Bible or any other book, this is not a requirement and if it were, wouldn’t everyone be able to have children from their own bodies?

Children are our legacy -- an inheritance to this world. They are more powerful than money, real estate, businesses and cars. When children are carefully studied, anyone can see something within their self that is flawed and needs to be changed. Why do you think we get nervous around talkative children?

Children are a reminder of our innocence when we were young and provide us the answers on how to achieve that inner joy we once had. Why do you think we easily fall in love with a child’s laughter? They are our beginning and end, a glimpse of the history of our ancestors to arouse our own curiosity and a conclusion of what we could have been and seen if we would have been a little more adventurous.

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