Of all the things a new parent has to cope with, I think diaper rash has to be one of the worst and most frustrating.  You hate hearing your baby scream, and cry because they are wet again and can’t help it. It’s not hard to imagine how urine must scald a bottom that is not only red, but in many children, can be cracked and open like a cut.

The worst culprit is being wet for too long, with the material of the diaper contributing, and chemicals doing their part as well.  Children that have been on antibiotics can develop yeast infections, and that’s no picnic, either.

If you really have to use disposable diapers, it might be time to change brands, and look for one that has reduced chemicals in the filler fiber.  But even cloth diapers aren’t immune.  The irritant may be your soap, or the detergent used by a diaper service.

It helps to prevent sore bottoms if you can wash and dry little behinds and leave them out in the open to “air” for a few minutes.  But for the child who is really sore and needs help, a petroleum jelly or cream will help protect and heal tender skin.

It’s a major problem when it strikes, but just remember, there is help for it!

You know what I love about shopping over the Internet? I mean, besides not having to fight off crowds, or find time to go out to a mall, or the gas I save.  It’s the way so many merchants, the good ones at least, encourage you to come back on a regular basis by providing perks like discounts, buyer’s clubs, and emailed letters or updates if you want them.  But they don’t force any of it on you. It’s check a box or not when you sign up on their site, and that’s it.

Me, I like knowing when there are one day specials  on things.  That could be once a week, or a couple of times a month.  But you just know it will happen when you’re not thinking of shopping, or don’t have the time to surf.

So I join lists where they have them, and then bookmark my favorites and try to pop in once a week at least.  With the way babies grow, getting the jump on bargains can really save you money.

If you have more than one child, you’re no doubt familiar with some of the little jealousies that pretty much rear their head even before the second baby is born.  But let’s face it, accepting a new baby  is likely the first real major change in their lives.

One thing I found that helped with my family and friends’ new additions, was to make sure the older child felt like part of the event.  If they were old enough to sense the impending changes and understand what they meant, I always looked for a little something for them when it came to shower gifts, so they would get a new baby present, too.

There are some absolutely adorable big sister dresses  out there.  And what little girl isn’t going to feel special when they go off to Granma’s and everyone admires not only the dress, but how it tells them she is now a big sister?  Boys aren’t immune to jealousy either. Far from it!  So I always get a Big Brother T-shirt  for the ones that are not too sure about the new arrival.  Even children a little bit older and gladly accepting a new baby will appreciate being remembered with a book or other gift.

Take my word for this, by the time you get to #2, you are less enamored of the “cute” factor in baby things and much more practical in what you choose for stuff that you didn’t have before, or need to replace.

For example, the diaper bag.  Yes, I had the fashionable print with all the pockets, and I adored it.  But then I had a second baby and a toddler, and I was less interested in fashion than I was in things that did what I needed while handling two children.  Even if I only had the baby with me, having everything at my fingertips was really great.

I replaced my well-worn diaper bag with the Dex Products 3-in-1 Diaper bag.  Talk about convenience.  It’s your bag, a change table, and a portable bed.  Take the baby out for the afternoon to a friend’s where you have coffee and they can nap in comfort.  There are lots of pockets for your essentials, plus insulated bottle and food sleeves. Wipes off easy too in case you spill baby food. Then it folds up, the compartments close over, and you just put the strap over you shoulder and we’re off and running.

Oh, how I remember the days of burping my kids.  It seemed like they had endless gas.  I breast fed, which didn’t seem to be as bad, but with my third I had to bottle feed, and that really was a nightmare. I couldn’t understand why she spewed up what she’d just eaten. Even with her being a third child, I still wondered what I was doing wrong.  Experience goes out the window when you’re tired and worried.

I knew all the techniques – sitting them up, supporting the head in your hand, head against the shoulder, and laying her on my lap, with head elevated.  Thanks to a patient pediatrician, I survived that stage and eventually accepted that it wasn’t me.  She was just a hungry baby, and adjusting to feeding her in a way that avoided the guzzling, sure helped.

So did a little practicality. I took an old flannel sheet and cut it up into squares to use as burp cloths. I had some beautiful receiving blankets and after grabbing them a couple of times from necessity, I learned pretty quick that it’s less frustrating to toss stained flannel in the washer than hand wash protein-based stuff off good material.

When I think about having babies even ten years ago and today, it makes me so jealous.  We never had a lot of the conveniences there are now. Mom of course, always puts in her two cents worth about cloth diapers and no disposables, not to mention wringer washing machines.  But really, the choices today are so much better.

For one, if I were having a baby today (knock on wood that I’m not) the first thing I’d head for after a good crib is the complete travel systems.  Those have got to be the best thing since, well...disposable diapers.

And you don’t have to buy the whole system if you don’t want to, but I sure would.  Starting with the infant car seat. They’re made with the same high impact material and padding as bicycle helmets and come with LATCH systems that prevent movement sideways in that kind of accident.

Besides the safety features which would be my top priority, it’s the convenience of having a seat that you can let the baby sleep in while you’re visiting, then just pick them up and go without disturbing them.  You can even get a compatible stroller that means the baby goes from home to car to shopping without every having to be picked up, taken out, strapped in again, etc.  How much easier can it get? Almost makes me want to have another baby.  Almost.

The other day some of us were sitting over lunch at work and talking about how we coped with that in between stages for our kids. You know, the too big for crib, not big enough for a single bed stage.

We’re all working mothers and even with two incomes, it doesn’t mean you can afford everything you’d like to have for your kids, like a crib, and a toddler bed and a single bed.  That stuff gets expensive.  But if you’re only planning on having one child, buying the kind of crib that breaks down into different beds can be incredibly handy.  My sister had bought one of the convertible cribs and said it was the best investment she ever made.  It’s a gorgeous piece of furniture that not only changes from crib to toddler size bed, but does them for years beyond that.

Theresa said she wished she had thought of that before she bought an Oeuf crib.  But like a lot of parents, they hadn’t thought ahead. Unlike other parents though, she got lucky. Because she was able to save herself a second purchase, because the Oeuf conversion kit allowed her to turn the crib into a toddler bed, complete with rails on the same base.

Of course, there’s always one smarty pants who had the sense to look ahead.  Jean had started out with a hand-me-down crib, which was okay but when son #2 came along within two years, she was faced with the necessity of moving the toddler to have room for the baby.  So they invested in the Newport Cottages country bunkbed.  They used one for when the toddler was small, then as they got older, the two boys shared side by side beds, and eventually they stacked them and had more room for toys.

When my sister-in-law was expecting, she nearly drove me crazy with her plans for the nursery.  I mean, nesting is fine, but she could have built nests for a dozen other mothers and still had time left over to write an encyclopedia on decorating.

One of her biggest gripes was not being able to finish the room in the pattern she wanted.  I, being too dumb for words, asked her which pattern.  Upon which she dragged me to the computer and showed me the bedding she had chosen.

Now, why the room had to match the bedding, instead of vice-versa, I’ll never know. And it’s the last thing you ask a pregnant woman.  So I let her prattle on about this gorgeous set of California Kids Sweetheart baby bedding.  It was cute, I admit it.  But she was into the whole room look and fretting about where she would get matching pieces. So I reached over her shoulder and tapped the mouse to move it down.  “Did you read the rest of the page?”

She was so enamored of the beautiful pink and lavender pattern (okay, so it was really nice), that she hadn’t read any further. Turns out they not only had all the pieces she could ever want for the crib, but a matching valance, and fabric by the yard so she could make herself anything she desired. 

While she rhapsodized over what that might include, I wondered if I should mail her my consultant’s bill or just hand it to her.

Looking for a way to occupy yourself before the new baby arrives?  Assuming of course you aren’t working now, and don’t have any other children. In those cases, you likely don’t have a lot of time left over for craft projects, but if you do, here’s a great idea that a friend of mine really enjoyed.  She made her own baby birth announcements.

Mind you, she came up with the idea ages before the baby was due, but that was the right time to have it. There was lots of time left to tinker with the design, and not only print out all the cards, but address and stamp envelopes, too.

There are tons of computer graphic programs that have layouts for greeting cards that make it so simple to do, you won’t believe it.  All you have to do is add images and text, then send the file to your printer.  Of course, if you want to go the old fashioned route, and make them out of folded paper on your own, it’s really easy to fold the sheet into a card, note where the cover and inside panel are, and then put your design and text on these areas.  Once the card is completed, you can have it photocopied in color, on the quality of paper you would like.

Geri’s husband is a pilot.  So she took an image of one of the airline’s planes, and pasted it in the cover position for a card.  Then she set up the inside page for all the important information like date, weight, etc. and it was ready for the great event.  Her husband took their little boy’s photo, re-sized it and put it on the card in the sling she had placed under the plane.  The information was filled in and the cards printed off in no time.

Buying things that are safe, stylish, and a good value for your baby, is sometimes pretty difficult when it comes to important items like a crib  or bed. It wasn’t until my third child that we found the answer – a convertible crib/toddler bed.

Why did we need a new one? Well, after a girl who thought cribs were the Mount Everest of babyhood, and a boy who followed in her teethmarks, we needed a new one, especially since we had started out with a hand-me-down from my brother.

Like all parents, safety was our first concern, but so was the future cost of a toddler bed.  Our solution was the Beadboard baby crib. It had everything we knew we’d need after two active babies.  The mattress has three positions, and the front two casters even have brakes.  No more climbing out at nine months of age, or moving the crib across the room when our backs were turned.

It had a plain cottage styling, just what I wanted, but we prettied it up by ordering the Pink Elephant finish.  The nursery was already done in a nice mix of pink and blue accents with off white walls, so buying one large pink item really made it the home of our new baby girl.

Baby showers are usually a time of great fun.  You get to share all the horror stories, the jokes, the silly games, and abandoning the diet – some tasty treats that are whipped up by someone other than you!

The un-fun part can be shopping for gifts.  It is frustrating to try and find something that will get more than a few uses, and that the parents don’t already have, especially if this is #2 or more.  Although when it is a second or subsequent child, an inventive option is to give the baby a little something, and the older sibling a gift as well.  Older brother/sister gifts  make them feel special, too and a part of the general celebrations.

Me, I favor gift baskets because it’s like an empty canvas for painters. You can put in just about anything you can think of, after choosing a basket of the size and shape that could double as a soap or facecloth holder, or fruit dish after it’s empty.  I like to toss in little things that a lot of parents don’t think of, like corner protectors for furniture, electrical outlet cover/plugs for when the baby starts toddling, laundry bags for washing tiny socks and not losing them, and other items that come in handy at different ages.

Don’t forget the grandparents, either! If you work with someone who has just welcomed a new little one into the family, the gift of a picture frame is one that will be treasured for many years.

Okay, so we’re all agreed that we’re modern women these days.  We have more open minds, we’re more likely to give “the other side” some consideration when it comes to issues that affect both sexes.  But we still haven’t quite gotten past the stranglehold that woman have on giving birth.

It would be lovely if men could share in that experience.  In fact, I favor men having to carry the baby for 4 ½ months to make it truly equal.  But since that isn’t likely in the near future, we have to settle for coaxing them along to Lamaze classes and then assuring them (with fingers crossed), that no, the baby is not going to woof up the formula all over them like the last time.

So if that is all in store for them, maybe we should soften the blow a little, by giving some thought to their joy in the coming event, as much as the mother’s.  After all, we have showers for our female friends.  Why not give some consideration to Dad, too?

You don’t have to invite him to the party, but wouldn’t it be nice if a little something was sent home for him, too?  While they may not show it, men have questions and concerns too.  More and more of them are opening up and sharing both their thoughts and experiences on parenthood. 

Making them part of the celebration brings them closer to their partners and the baby to come.  Not to mention that you can have more than little fun!   How about a gift basket with a mug and coffee for those long, sleepless nights?  A humorous book on parenting is always good, and the ones about raising a teenager are particularly scary.  Don’t forget the announcement gifts, either.  A Tie proclaiming the arrival of a son or daughter or perfect for the office.

How in the world do you satisfy the requirements for convenience, reliability and value for your money when it comes to baby essentials like a changing table?  Thank heavens we’re beyond the days when the only choices the changing pad on a kitchen table or couch.

I love some of the convenience features they have now, because those have increased the value of many pieces of baby furniture, and I say hurray for the manufacturers.  Maybe you’ve invested in a good quality crib with an eye to the future, but don’t have room in your budget or the nursery for a table.  A changing station that fits right on top of the crib may be your answer!  It’s quick to put up, and stores away underneath or behind the crib, and against a closet wall when the diaper days are over.

My favorite though, is the kind of pieces that are more than just changing tables. These fabulous dressers with a table on top (some removable), or tables that can serve as toy trolleys after are an absolute treasure.  You get two things you need at the price of one, and some pretty spiffy baby furniture at the same time.

Here are links to your favorite Cradle 'n Crib categories in their new home at One of a Kind Kid:

Baby Bedding

Baby Cribs

Children's Bedding

Children's Furniture

Room Decor

Arwork for Kids 

 Baby Gifts

We’re out shopping and she’s falling madly in love with the designer baby bedding  that seems to greet you at every turn.  Only when you are pregnant does this stuff come leaping out of the woodwork at you. After the little one arrives, you never see it.  Or maybe  you’re too tired to notice!

She fastened on one after another wonderful pattern, and then would agonize over what to do when everything else didn’t match it.  So I dragged her off to a paint store that stocked wallpaper too.  Sometimes it seems to help when you have things right in front of you instead of just thinking about what would look good.

I showed her how painting the nursery a neutral, non-gender specific color could actually make the most of all those gorgeous sets she was eyeing.  And the staff explained to her how to choose paints that were good for a baby’s room, and how she could go about preparing it.

I’m afraid we unleashed her inner creativity.  She’s now deep into color chips and wondering who she can get to help with the redecorating!