THE CELEBRITY BABY OF OCTOBER

Comedian Julius Agwu and his wife, Ibiere welcomed a Baby Boy on the 7th of October. The New cute baby has been named ZADOK CHIBUIKE JULIUS AGWU, he was given birth to in the United States of America. Julius and Ibiere already have a 4 year old daughter, Zahra Agwu. Congrats to them, he's a little bundle of joy.

HEALTHY EATING HABITS FOR BABIES (Part 2)

TIPS FOR INTRODUCING SOLIDS

• Be calm and relaxed when you start to feed your baby.
• Make sure your child is sitting comfortably and is not too hungry.
• Be patient. Your baby may only take a spoonful at first, but this will increase with time and practice.
• Be prepared – all babies will make a mess as they learn to eat.
• Stay with your child while eating to avoid accidents such as choking.
• Try again in a day or so if your baby refuses the first time.
• Wait several days before introducing a new food
• Offer foods on a small, infant-sized spoon.

Suggested First Foods

First foods can be prepared easily and cheaply at home without salt, seasonings and sweeteners. The foods should at first be mashed and smooth, but you can quickly move on to coarsely mashed foods and coarser textures. General suggestions include:

• Start with a single food rather than a mixture.
• Offer infant cereal first as it is fortified with iron and makes an ideal first food. Mix with expressed breast milk or formula to a smooth texture.

Otherwise, there is no particular order for foods:

• Give vegetables and fruits, introduce meats, or chicken, and ‘finger foods’ such as toast..
• Always sit with your baby while they are eating.
• Encourage drinking water from a cup.

Later feeding skills – from 8 to 9 months

While a baby's first solids should be mashed and smooth, they soon need variety in the texture as well as the type of food. Other suggestions include:

• Give finger foods, such as pieces of cooked vegetables and crusts, to encourage chewing and self-feeding.
• Give baby a small spoon to encourage self-feeding, even while you continue to give most of the food.
• Progress from food that is pureed to food that is mashed then chopped into small pieces.
• By the end of 12 months, your baby should be ready to eat a wide variety of family food.
• Offer more variety of fruit, vegetables, meats, chicken and well-cooked fish
• Introduce pasta, rice and bread
• Small amounts of cows milk on cereals, as custard, cheese and yoghurt. The main milk for babies less than 12 months should be breast milk or infant formula. However, it’s okay to introduce and use cows milk as part of custard, yoghurt and on cereal from seven to eight months of age.
• Stay with your baby when they are eating. Let them sit with the family to watch and learn.

At around nine months your baby will develop other feeding skills. These include:

• Showing an interest in self-feeding
• Ability to chew lumps in food
• Independent eating with some assistance.
• Always avoid small hard foods, such as nuts and hard uncooked vegetables, because babies might choke. Fruit juice is not suitable for babies.

Introducing CowsMilk

Suggestions include:

• Cows milk is a poor source of iron and is never a substitute for breast milk or formula for babies under 12 months. Continue breastfeeding or using infant formula until your baby is at least one year old.
• Cows milk contains higher levels of protein, salt, potassium and calcium than breast milk or formula. This can increase the load on the kidneys.
• Cows milk may be included from about eight months in small amounts as custard or yoghurt or on cereal.
• Milk should not be the main drink until after one year of age or until a range of food is eaten each day, including meat or meat alternatives.

Allergy and Vegetarianism

There are issues to consider when you introduce solids to your baby, especially if your baby has shown signs of allergies or your family eats a vegetarian diet.

• Allergy – if there is a strong history of allergy in your family, seek advice from your doctor or maternal and child health nurse.
• Vegetarians – your baby may need extra nutrients if fed on a vegetarian diet. Seek advice from your doctor or maternal and child health nurse.

Unsuitable Foods

Some foods are not suitable for babies under 12 months. These include:

• Honey – there is a potential risk of bacterial infection from honey.
• Tea – contains tannins that can restrict vitamin uptake.
• Whole nuts – should be avoided due to the risk of choking.
• Fruit juice – contains no nutritional benefit and can reduce the amount of milk consumed.
• Reduced fat milk – is not suitable for children under two.

Things To Remember

• Start to introduce solids at around six months of age.
• First solids should be finely mashed and smooth, then graded to coarsely mashed quickly. Your baby may only take a spoonful at first, but this will increase with time and practice

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DAYCARE (Part 2)

*A QUALIFIED CARING STAFF

A trained, qualified staff is one advantage centers may have over nannies and home daycare providers, who don't always have specialized education. Daycare center employees should be educated, with at least two years of college, a background in early childhood development (though many states don't require this), and CPR and other emergency training. (In some states and counties home daycare providers can obtain a license as well, if they're trained in CPR, pediatric first aid, and early childhood education.)

Note how the staff interacts with the children. Caregivers should be responsible, enthusiastic, and well prepared. Look for a staff that shares your philosophies on sleep, discipline, feeding, and other care issues. Good caregivers will ask detailed questions about your child's health and care to help determine whether their center is right for you.

Make sure the center has plenty of staff so your child gets the attention and care she needs. The ratio of caregivers to children can vary, depending on group size.

For babies, the ratio is one caregiver for every three children if a group has six infants, one for every four if a group has eight babies.

For toddlers (12 to 28 months), the ratio is 1:3 for six children and 1:4 for eight or more children.

For children between 21 and 36 months, the ratio should be 1:4 for a group of eight children, 1:5 for a group of ten, and 1:6 for a group of 12.

For children 30 to 48 months, the ratio should be 1:6 for a group of 12 children, 1:7 for a group of 14, 1:8 for a group of 16, and 1:9 for a group of 18.

For 4- and 5-year-olds, the ratio should be 1:8 for a group of 16 children, 1:9 for a group of 18 children, and 1:10 for a group of 20 children.

A good center will keep groups of children small no matter how many employees they have, to encourage interaction and development.

Look for a center with good staff benefits. Centers that pay their employees well and offer them vacation time, health insurance, and an education allowance, for example, are more likely to have caregivers who stick around. Low turnover is key to ensuring consistent, stable care for your child.

Bottom line: If staff training isn't up to snuff, and they seem overworked or don't stick around very long, the center isn't for you.

*HEALTHY FOOD

If you have to bring your child's food, find out the center's guidelines. Some may require you to pack only nutritious foods and that's okay. Centers that don't restrict candy or other sweets may not have your child's best interests at heart.

If the center does have a food plan, find out what it serves at meal and snack times (and make sure the staff is aware of your child's food allergies, if any). Does it encourage healthy eating habits and cover all the food groups?

Bottom line: Healthy food habits start early. If the center doesn't offer a variety of nutritious food choices for your child, look elsewhere.

*CLEAN, SAFE FACILITIES

A good center is clean and sanitary. Floors, walks, walls, and the kitchen area should be clean, food preparation areas should be far from toilets and diaper changing stations, trash shouldn't be left sitting unemptied, and the building should be adequately heated, lit, and ventilated. Staff should wash their hands regularly, and after every diaper change.

Look for plenty of space, too. Centers should have at least 35 square feet of indoor space per child and 75 square feet per child outside.

Make sure the center follows the basic rules of safety. Toys and play equipment should be in good repair, upstairs windows (if any) should have screens or bars, all medicines and other hazardous substances should be out of reach, bedding should be fresh and firm (to reduce the risk of SIDS for babies), and the outdoor play area should be level and secure.

Smoke detectors should be in place and working, radiators and heaters should be covered or otherwise protected, a first aid kit and fire extinguisher should be close at hand, and all standard childproofing techniques should be used (covered outlets, safety gates, door latches, etc.). The center should be secure, as well, so strangers can't just walk in off the street.

Look for a facility with an outdoor play area. Children should have the chance to play outside every day — running, jumping, and skipping are good for them physically, mentally, and socially. If you live in a city, where even the best centers may not have enough space for a safe outdoor play yard, make sure the center has a spacious indoor area (the next best thing).

Bottom line: Spot a safety hazard? A missed hand wash? Keep looking.

*A CURRENT LICENSE

Ask to see a center's license and credentials, then double-check with a call to your local social services department. If possible, look for a facility that has also passed the stringent accreditation process, a benchmark of quality.

Centers must also meet state licensing regulations for health and safety. Of course, a current license isn't a guarantee of quality care — that's why you have to evaluate the caregivers themselves, especially in states that don't require licenses.

Bottom line: A license isn't everything, but if a center doesn't have one, it's not for you.

Kim Kardashian's Baby- NORTH WEST

Popular TV-Reality Star KIM KARDASHIAN shares a second picture of her baby- North West .....isnt she adorable........We Love You....Norri

Choosing the Right Daycare (part 1)

• A good reputation

A good daycare center should have a welcoming, friendly atmosphere and be known for its nurturing environment. Ask the center for names and numbers of current clients and call them for references, or stop by during afternoon pickup time and approach some other parents then. Also, be mindful of your first impression: In this case it counts a lot.

Bottom line: Unless parents you like and respect rave about it, the center's probably not one you'll like either.

• Established ground rules

It's important for a center to be flexible — letting you pick up and drop off your child at different times, for instance — but it should also have clearly established regulations for everything from operating hours to how to handle emergencies. The center should be able to supply you with a written copy of its policies. That way you know it takes its responsibility — your baby — seriously.

Along the same lines, look for a center with a strict sick-child policy. Find out which illnesses will keep your child home, and for how long. A tough policy may inconvenience you if your child is ill, but keeping sick children (and staff) away from the center makes sense. Good centers help cut down on illness by requiring all children and employees to have current immunizations and regular checkups.

If the center neither has an open-door policy nor encourages parents to stop by unannounced, chances are it has something to hide. Keep looking. A great daycare center will go beyond merely letting you in and invite you to become part of the center's community by helping with activities, accompanying the children on field trips, and so on.

Bottom line: If a center is poorly organized or has lax or nonexistent rules, it's not likely to be right for you. (To be Contd.)

Guess who's Rocking a Baby Bump.....& a NewBorn

Guess who is rocking a Baby Bump....Mrs Tuface Idibia-Annie Macaulay....isnt she lovely. The Sex of the child is yet unknown but this celebrity baby would be the talk of the season as Tuface's First Child within Wedlock.......Yoooohooooo Annie....You Rock!!!!!!!!

Talking about Celebrity Babies.... A Newborn Celebrity Daughter has emerged. Popular Comedian, Bovi Ugboma and Wife Christabel welcomed a daughter on September 25th at 8:47pm.  This is the couple's second child. View photos after the cut.