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Bitty: How to Grow a Smart Baby Prenatal Tips
As many of you know, I am into my 2nd Trimester now! 5 Months so far and 4 months more to go before we meet our baby boy. Very very excited! I have been doing a ton of research on everything since I am a FTM on everything from Elimination Communication or the difference between a sleep sack and a swaddle! It is all very confusing and overwhelming but I am getting the hang of it. My cousin said there is so much new baby tech since he had his first kid 8 years ago, now that he is expecting his third. So as I grow and as the blog grows, I will be helping other FTM and FTD out there by using HEYDOYOU Bitty as a resource to explain a lot of the research I have found. I hope you find it useful!
Some of the most interesting things I found during my research is how much you can do for your baby prenatally. You don’t have to wait til the baby is of a certain age or actually be BORN before you implement these fun things below. On one hand, 9 months feels like forever but I must admit these 5 months have gone by pretty fast!
First things first.
Music is very important for your fetus, your baby and your toddler! As a mom, listen to a lot of music and singing is top of my priority list. This toy was invented by a 4 year old and his dad. Check it out: The Magical Musical Thingy-Majigger, a new toy that reintroduces traditional, hands-on sensory activities and creates an opportunity for children to be more imaginative and inventive during playtime. Select how many pieces and color combinations you’d like to use, and connect them together. Then, twist and turn the creations into all sorts of Magical Musical Thingy-Majiggers. All the pieces can rotate 360 degrees, allowing your imagination to run free with countless shapes and designs! You can also experiment and play with the different shapes you create and the sounds produced!
Reading: So many people have told me to read aloud. Everything and anything so the baby knows my voice and learns language. Since the baby can hear now at 20 weeks old, I have been looking for things to read everywhere I go. Last night, I read Alan C Fox’s new book to baby. BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE, is all about Focuses On Perseverence, Dreams, and Letting Go. Good life lessons for the baby right? This book tells the enchanting story of a young boy who learns that possessing something is not quite as meaningful as letting it go. Benji adores kites. All kinds of kites – big or small, plain or fancy, square or diamond- shaped. He loves flying them at the beach, watching them float high in the sky. One day Benji sees a giant orange kite at the toy store. He wants it more than anything else – ever. But his mom explains that he’ll need to earn the money to buy the kite. So Benji buckles down and weeds the garden for the next two weeks – the vegetables in the morning and the flowers in the afternoon. It seems like he’ll never be done. Finally the special day arrives, and Benji’s mom hands him the giant orange kite of his dreams. At the beach, Benji lets his kite soar higher and higher with every gust of wind. He watches it rise above the people, the hotdog stand, and even the houses beyond. Soon the kite becomes a distant speck in the sky. Benji is thrilled. But when it’s time to pull the kite down and head back home, Benji can’t bear to do it. He wants to set the kite free to fulfill its destiny among the clouds. Benji lets the twine go and the kite disappears into the sunset sky. The kite may still be up there yet.
Alan Fox explains that like all of his books, “BENJI AND THE GIANT KITE is based on a real-life incident. “This one happened when I was a child. I decided to tell the story, because I wanted to share the sense of achievement I felt by working hard to obtain something I really loved. But once I saw the kite flying at the beach, I wanted to let it go. My dream had been accomplished. It was time move on to another, new experience. You must always keep going to fulfill your dreams and aspirations.”
Eating: A lot of moms like myself are planning to breastfeed. But the first lesson of motherhood is that, nothing really goes according to plans! My friend who recently gave birth told me how hard it was and how she wasn’t producing enough milk. So after a few weeks of trying, she switched to formula. With bottle, sometimes there is a lot of air that the baby swallows that can result in gas, burping and discomfort. My sister said only 1 out of 3 of her kids ever took to the bottle and after trying multiple brands and nipples she gave up feeding with bottles. I found out about Minbie Nipples! These new bottle nipple alternative that solves a common problem with feeding. Generic nipples can often result in confusion and the bottle taking-over. Minbie solves this issue by encouraging babies to latch and feed with their instinctive breastfeeding technique.
Minbie is BPA-free, anti-colic & an anti-reflux bottle system: I have the newborn and 3 months ready now for when my baby comes. I plan to breastfeed but also pump milk so that my mom and my husband can also use the Minbie to feed baby. Since the baby’s stomach is only the size of a cherry, he will need to eat a bit at a time and frequently. I can’t wait to try out the Minbie system. Eating and nutrition is #1 factor in growing a happy, healthy and smart baby!
Stay tune for more Bitty posts!
