Pregnancy Week by Week the First Trimester

Explore the first trimester of your pregnancy as we take you through your pregnancy week by week through the symptoms, body changes and funny things that can happen. An informative but humorous look at this exciting time in your life.

GreenPea Baby Welcomes SoftBums All in Two Cloth Diapers

An All in Two cloth diaper provides an easy, affordable option for cloth diapering. An All in Two diaper consists of a waterproof cover and an insert. Rather than stuffing the insert inside a pocket like you would do with a pocket diaper, the insert is simply laid inside the cover. When the baby is wet, the parent will remove the insert and replace it with a clean one. The same diaper cover can be used several times unless it gets soiled. So rather than having to wash the entire diaper every time, you are just washing the inserts. At GreenPea Baby store, we are known for being very picky about the products that we carry. They have to be proven products that are highly reviewed or recommended. When we were approached about SoftBums, we knew right away after looking at their innovative sizing system that we had found another great cloth diaper to offer our customers. Find out more about this amazing cloth diaper!

If Your Breastmilk Supply Was Low, Would You Give Your Baby Another's Breastmilk?

When your breastmilk supply is low, doctors typically will tell you to supplement with formula. But there is another option that you may not know of--using someone else's breastmilk. Cindi Freeman, a certified lactation consultant addresses this very topic in a wonderful article that she wrote for our GreenPea Baby Blog.

Swaddle newborns to reduce startle reflex, promote better sleep

After some gentle rocking and pacing across the floor, your newborn baby seems to be sleeping soundly in your arms, FINALLY. But as you make the move to put her in down in the crib or bassinet, her arms flail out to the side like she’s just been dropped and she startles herself awake.

You’ve just witnessed your baby demonstrating the Moro (or startle) reflex. Excessive information applied to any of the baby’s senses will set off the reflex, such as a bright light, loud noise, sudden touch, or unexpected stimulation of the balance mechanism such as tilting backwards. The reflex wears off by a few months of age, but what can you do to help your baby sleep more soundly in the meantime?

Swaddle her.

Proper swaddling helps babies calm down and go to sleep, and to sleep better, deeper and longer.

To swaddle properly, wrap your baby with her arms comfortably tucked inside to recreate the familiar womb-like sensation. Swaddle with lightweight, breathable fabrics to eliminate concerns of overheating. (Use blankets designed for the job, not any old thing within arms reach!) The swaddle blanket should not touch the baby’s face or chin. Doing so prompts the rooting response, baby’s natural inclination to search for a nipple, which can cause her to wake and cry in frustration.

A swaddled baby should only be laid down in a face-up (supine) position. Clinical research has shown that babies who were on their backs swaddled had a 30% lower risk of SIDS than babies on their backs not swaddled.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends swaddling for newborns to 14 weeks of age as a general rule of thumb. After 14 weeks babies will begin learning to roll over on their own from a supine to a prone (face-down) position. SIDS risk increases greatly with prone swaddling, which is why tight swaddling techniques should be discontinued at 14 weeks of age. However, this is the age babies begin gaining the muscle control needed to bring their hands to their mouths to self-sooth, adding to a natural transition away from the need for swaddling.

Babies should only be swaddled during sleep times. It’s tempting to use it more frequently for fussy babies, but your baby needs her hands free to learn about the world during her wakeful times. Instead of swaddling for an awake, unsettled baby, try other calming techniques such as baby-wearing (slings, wraps, etc). More on that another time…

By Pam Diamond, owner of First Daze & Nightzzz (http://firstdaze.com)

Mama Roo: A Mom's Best Friend

Have you ever felt like you could use an extra pair of hands to help out with your baby? There are nannies, babysitters and even family members who could help but sometimes, you just need a little bit more. Mama Roo by 4moms serves as an extra pair of “hands” whenever you need it. Ordinary baby swings or baby bouncy seats are limited in motion options and take up more space. Mama Roo is a unique baby swing bouncer that will move just like you do so your baby will not know whether it is you holding her or the swing!

Mama Roo moves in FIVE different unique motions and at five different speeds. This way, you can make your baby feel the most comfortable that he or she has ever been. Also, to keep your baby entertained and happy, Mama Roo has three different plush toy balls attached to it at hands reach that are safe to chew on and machine washable. Besides keeping your baby entertained, Mama Roo is also the perfect atmosphere for your baby to be lulled to sleep. There are different white noise nature sounds and if that’s not enough, you can attach any MP3 player and play your baby’s favorite lullaby songs. It can be rocked and reclined to any position on its axis.

You’ve heard it in words but now to see the Mama Roo in action, check out this video and you can see for yourself how wonderful this product truly is:

http://greenpeababystore.com/cart/mamaroo-green.html

What better way to believe all of this than hearing it from an actual parent? Well, Cindy Reichel from Sauk Rapids, MN said, “It is definitely the best soothing technique I have found! If you are looking for a product to make your and your baby’s life a little easier for a very reasonable price, please try the Mama Roo!! This is a must have product for all new…and repeat parents!”

With Mama Roo, it is play time, sleep time, anytime.

Medela Breast Pumps

This week, August 1-8th is World Breastfeeding Week. The perfect week to announce that we are now an authorized dealer of Medela Breast Pumps. After months and months of research, we have finally made a decision to bring in Medela Breast Pumps. We never make a quick decision about a product line. As a store, we have several criteria that a product must meet before we consider bringing it in. There is no doubt that Medela has a long, positive reputation but we wanted to make sure that we evaluated all the other breastfeeding products before we made a decision. As we met with representatives of the other competing breastfeeding lines, it became very clear that choosing a product line was not going to be that easy. There are so many options and choices. You have single-phase and 2-phase technology, there are double pumps, single pumps, hand held pumps, hospital-grade and more. For a new mom, the choices on the market are completely overwhelming and making the wrong decision can really impact breastfeeding success and your pocketbook. It is our goal and mission to provide you with the best products in each category. It is for this reason that we have decided to choose Medela and here are the reasons why:

• 2-Phase Expression Technology - Medela is the only breastpump manufacturer that utilizes this technology

"Through research, Medela learned that there are two distinct phases of how babies breastfeed. The Stimulation Phase is fast and light sucking to start milk flowing followed by the Expression Phase, slow and stronger sucking to deliver more milk faster. The Freestyle breastpump includes exclusive 2-Phase Expression technology that mimics a baby's natural nursing pattern."

• Medela products are consistently ranked 4 & 5 stars on customer reviews and recommended through other non-biased review sites.
• Lactation consultant recommended.
  
• Mom panel recommended.

At GreenPea Baby, we are happy to help match your breastfeeding needs with the right product. Call us today at 1-800-273-6489 or 919-387-9880.

BumGenius 4.0

We were so excited to hear about the release of the new BumGenius 4.0 yesterday. Overall we have been very pleased with our customer feedback on the 3.0 but were excited to see that BumGenius has addressed any issues that we did have in the new BumGenius 4.0. The most exciting change is that now you can choose between the hook and loop or snaps. Love variety! About half of our customers love velcro and the other snaps. Now they can have it either way. Even better, for those of you that are set on velcro, the new hook and loop is made from 100% polyester versus nylon. It is flexible, softer and stickier after washing and holds up better. Another feature of the new BumGenius 4.0 is easy elastic access. All elastic tack points are visible from the inside making replacing elastic a breeze. There are three new colors to choose from: bubble, noodle and sweet. These are soft colors, perfect for those new little babies and less visible through clothing. Finally, the new BumGenius 4.0 will accommodate even larger babies. It is available in eight colors: twilight, grasshopper, butternut, blossom, white, noodle, sweet and bubble. Our first shipment will be on its way to the store on July 14th. Don't miss out. We expect to sell out very quickly. Place your preorder now by calling 1-800-273-6489 or 919-387-9880. Visit us online at www.greenpeababy.com