Proud Parenting

LGBTQ Parents - Lesbian Moms & Gay Dads

Smart Ways to Deal with a Dirty Diaper While Out Shopping

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It is a scenario dreaded by most new dads. You are out, maybe enjoying a nice afternoon’s shopping with your baby and your baby chooses just this time to poop. You’ve been lucky up until now and you’ve either avoided the task entirely or only had to make the change in the baby nursery with all the accoutrements around you.
When the baby goes, many a dad will pause for a minute and wonder whether you couldn’t’ just ignore it for a half an hour, or the time to get home. However, pooping a diaper and wetting a diaper are two very different things. If the baby is crying due to a dirty diaper, that screaming will only get louder and more insistent. You need to take action fast. Here are some tips if you’re never been caught with a diaper emergency outside of the house.

  • First of all, never leave the house for more than five minutes without carrying a spare diaper. Babies have an instinct about pooping at the worst times. If you are out and really can’t either buy diapers or get home quickly, you have no choice but to admit you’re a horrible, lousy excuse for a father and find a mom to ask for a spare. She’ll probably smile patronizingly at you and you’ll have to suck it up to get the goods. Dads also have been known to wipe the baby thoroughly with toilet paper and then wipe again with wetted tissue and stuff the baby back into her clothes minus a diaper. This is a recipe for another wet disaster, but can be used in a pinch. Better a wet baby than a dirty baby.
  • Keep an extra changing pad in the car or your bag. Believe me, you do not want to set your baby out on a dirty restroom floor or risk getting poop all over another surface, like your car upholstery or carpet. Baby poop smells and is hard to clean.
  • Locate a place where you can easily do what is required. Large stores often have changing stations equipped for you to do the job. Otherwise, locate a baby section or store where the staff and other shoppers are not likely to raise eyebrows if you settle yourself in their midst to change your baby’s diaper.
  • If you have a stroller, use it to lay your baby in to change the diaper.
  • You can also use the back seat in your car or the back of a station wagon to lay your baby down while you change the diaper.
  • Carry a zip lock bag to store the dirty diaper before you can discard it.

Know the Toddler Phase

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The toddler phase in a child’s life can be sharply marked by an increasing need to assert its independence. This will be a time fraught with challenges for you, as you try to support your toddlers’ impulses to explore his environment, while also safeguarding them from any harm.
If the battle to assert your authority may sometimes lead to frayed nerves or tempers on your part, be sure that you will also be rewarded by the development of a new and complex level of interaction between your child and yourself. The toddler phase can indeed be very demanding, especially at the initial stage of the phase.
Here are some ways in which you can encourage and extend your support during this difficult and yet essential and interesting phase in your child’s life:

  • Let your toddlers explore within a limit: It is the parent’s task to set acceptable limits and as long as your toddlers do not cross those limits, allow complete freedom to explore. Your toddlers will learn to appreciate this and broaden their horizons through the use of their newfound curiosities.
  • Honor and appreciate the choices made by your toddler as long as they do not harm anyone.
  • Be calm and composed: Do not get irritated by your toddler’s tendency to refuse or rebel. This is actually a good sign to tell you that your toddler is developing a mind of his or her own.
  • Do not neglect your toddler’s urge to play: Get your child various types of games appropriate for a toddler’s age. Your toddlers will learn important things in the process of enjoying the games such as eye-hand coordination, an understanding of logical sequences in events etc.

Also read this Useful article for single parents.

How Can You Be Tactful with Unwanted Advice?

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If you are a new dad, you may often receive unsolicited advice on how to bring up your baby. Close friends or family members may typically offer this. Casual acquaintances and even total strangers may add their bit.
While it may be well meaning, a torrent of unwanted advice can be highly annoying. Parents have the first prerogative of making choices and making decisions for their baby. Exasperated parents are not to blame if they see unwanted advice as interference in their freedom to bring up their child the way they want to.
However, it is also important that you respond to such counsel in a way that is not hurtful to the other person. These are different approaches you can adopt when faced with unsolicited advice:

  • Listen before you react: Listen to and consider a suggestion offered to you before rejecting it. Chances are you may actually value it.
  • Find something to agree upon: Even if the advice in its entirety is not acceptable to you, try to see if there is some part of it that you can agree upon, and acknowledge that.
  • Be polite: If you know that your rejecting it will not go down well with the person offering you advice, you could thank the person for the concern and let him know you will consider it. It will keep the peace and you are not bound to put it into practice.
  • Argue wisely: If you must counter unsolicited suggestions, do so logically, backing your arguments with facts.
  • Be frank: If you think it necessary, do not hesitate to let the person know that you do not agree with his or her opinions.

Useful Article: Parenting Advice

Dine Out with Your Baby

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Just because you are a parent now does not mean you can’t occasionally dine out without feeling guilty about leaving the baby at home. The problem is that your baby, who may not find the prospect highly exciting, could end up feeling bored or neglected.
A little forethought and planning however can ensure that eating out will be as much fun for you as for your child. Here are some valuable tips to make dining out with your baby a pleasant experience for you:

  • Keep your baby busy: Carry interesting toys or games to keep your baby engrossed in playing while you are at the eatery.
  • Ensure you baby is comfortable and safe: You may carry your baby’s favorite chair to the eatery so your baby feels at home. Alternately, take some time to choose a suitable place in the restaurant—far away from kitchen odors and noise.
  • Be ready for food-spills: Bring in your baby’s towels, diapers, and napkins to take care of those food-spills as soon as they may occur.
  • Order your baby’s favorite food: Your baby needs to be equally attracted by the food on its platter, as you would be with yours.

Dine in a quiet and un-crowded eatery: Crowded restaurants will tend to make your baby restless and cranky.

  • Reserve early and pre-order the food: Avoid long waits to be seated and consider ordering the baby’s food immediately after sitting down.  Most restaurants will have simple pasta and butter and steamed veggie options for babies.   Don’t hesitate to ask.

Teach by Setting Examples

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If you are looking for a great way to make sure your children are off to a healthy start, don’t overlook the importance of a nutritious breakfast.
According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), when children are consistent about eating breakfast each day, they tend to consume more calories than those that don’t, but they are less likely to be overweight. Furthermore, not eating breakfast may predispose them to diets that fall short of providing enough calcium and fiber.
Another key component for fathers is what behaviors they are modeling. Children are quick to learn by watching others, so it’s important that fathers consider what type of example they are setting through their own eating and activity level.
According to the ADA, research shows that when mothers pressure their young daughters to eat more healthy foods, the children tend to do the opposite. They report that the most effective way to get them to eat more fruits and vegetables is to lead by example.
Children who see their parents frequently eat healthy food are more likely to do so themselves. Being overweight can cause a host of problems, creating difficulties in every area, from finding clothing that fits well to avoiding the school playground.
For young children, it’s especially troubling because they don’t yet have the ability to prepare their own foods or be much of an active participant in deciding what they will eat and how active their family will be.
Parents shouldn’t make their child’s weight a constant worry, but they should take it into consideration and check up on it with their family doctor.

Read more about Fatherhood

What is the difference between “baby blues”, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis?

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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), the baby blues can happen in the days right after childbirth and normally go away within a few days to a week.
A new mother can sudden experience mood swings, sadness, crying spells, loss of appetite, sleeping problems, and feel irritable, restless, anxious, and lonely. Symptoms are not severe and treatment isn’t needed. But there are things you can do to help your spouse feel better. Make sure she naps when the baby does Postpartum depression can happen anytime within the first year after childbirth. A woman may have a number of symptoms such as sadness, lack of energy, trouble concentrating, anxiety, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
The difference between postpartum depression and the baby blues is that postpartum depression often affects a woman’s well-being and keeps her from functioning well for a longer period of time. Postpartum depression needs to be treated by a doctor. Counseling, support groups, and medicines are things that can help. Postpartum psychosis is known to be rare.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), it occurs in 1 or 2 out of every 1000 births and usually begins in the first 6 weeks postpartum. Women who have bipolar disorder or another psychiatric problem called schizoaffective disorder are known to have a higher risk for developing postpartum psychosis. Symptoms may include delusions, hallucinations, sleep disturbances, and obsessive thoughts about the baby. A woman may have rapid mood swings, from depression to irritability to euphoria.