Useful Tips for Parents.
Procedures
Sling
1. Take a strong cotton cloth, 210 x 90 cm (80 x 36 in). Fold the cloth over one shoulder (if you are right handed over the left shoulder, if you are left handed over the right shoulder), and knot it with a strong knot on the opposite hip.
2. Move the knot onto your back until it is two thirds of the way up the back (in the hollow of your back).
3. Take the baby on the arm on the side where you have knotted the cloth.
4. Place the baby in the cloth with its stomach facing you. Place the baby’s head on the edge of the cloth. Hold your arm under the baby until the baby is lying in the right place. Then move your arm from under the baby and support it with your other arm. Check that the knot oil your back is still in the right place.
5. Raise the baby slightly with the carrying arm, and hold the side of the cloth that is next to the baby’s neck.
6. Fold over the cloth by the neck back over your shoulder. This means that the baby’s weight is distributed over the shoulder, so that carrying it does not put too much pressure on the neck. In addition, it means that the baby’s head is in a slightly higher position.
The first reaction of many parents is that the child is lying on the wrong side of the cloth, and can almost fall out of it. We have opted for this method because it is easier for the baby to get fresh air than with other methods. The danger that the baby will fall out is prevented by folding the cloth back over the shoulder. With this method it is a good idea to give the baby some support with the arm.
When you carry the baby, also look at your own position. Carrying a baby, even a light baby, with a hollow back will soon lead to problems. If the child moves down after being carried for a little, this can be corrected by pulling the cross over part of the cloth down slightly at the front, so that the head is automatically higher up.
Of course there are many other ways of tying a sling. There are baby slings on the market which give clear instructions.
Swaddling
Use a large, non-stretch cotton cloth
1. Fold one point in and place the baby on it, so that the fold in the piece of cloth falls just above the shoulders.
2. Move one arm down, slightly bent along the body, and fold the point of the cloth fairly tightly over the arm to the other side under the baby, so that the cloth is secured. 1
3. Now take the bottom point and place it diagonally across the baby up to the shoulder that has already been swaddled so that the cloth is also secured here. Make sure there is some room for the legs and hips.
4. Finally take hold of the last point and fold it firmly over the bent arm (so that the baby can find its thumb), or over the arm which has been bent down (see point 2) to the opposite side. Secure the cloth with one or more safety pins.
5. Experience has shown that very restless children who are swaddled with one arm pointing up will manage to undo the cloth. In that case it is better to swaddle both arms down.
Never place a swaddled child on his side, but always on his back. Make sure that the baby is not too warm, because a swaddled child will retain his own heat better. In principle, one layer of clothes under the swaddling clothes provide sufficient warmth. Then place the baby, firmly tucked in with a blanket, in a cot or bed.
Camomile cloth for stomach cramps
Sprinkle some camomile oil on a cotton cloth the size of a postcard. Heat the cloth in a plastic bag between two hot water bottles. Also heat up a non-itchy woollen or flannel cloth.
Remove the warm compress from the plastic bag and place it on the stomach, wrapping the cloth around it and wrap the child up warmly. It can be left
wrapping
until the next time the baby is changed.
Walking round with a hot water bottle between yourself and the child, wrapped up in a warm cloth with a compress on her stomach, can also be very helpful.
Lemon wrap for a high fever
Squeeze half a lemon into a bowl of hot water with the palm of your hand. Soak the bandage in the lemon water. Ring out the bandage thoroughly and wrap around the child’s feet and lower legs. The wrap must feel pleasantly warm to the child. Then put some woollen socks on the child.
Make sure that the child’s feet are warm – if necessary, first place a warm hot water bottle at the bottom of the bed, but make sure that it is not overheated.
Product Information
The ingredients used in this book in the recipes for bottle-feeding and porridge are explained below in greater detail for each age.
Bottle-feeding 0-3 months
Full fat cow’s milk
Try to use unhomogenized milk if possible, where the cream rises in the bottle so that there is a creamy layer at the top. Shake the bottle thoroughly or stir it before use.
Water
Do not use water from the boiler or hot water heater, but water from the cold water tap.
White almond paste and lactose
Both lactose and almond paste are available in most health shops.
Bottle-feeding 4-6 months
Types of flour
The types of flour that can be added to the bottle feed at this age are: Rice flour
Organic baby flour from 4 months
Whole rice baby flour
Sweeteners
From five months it is possible to use a different sweetener instead of lactose; unprocessed sugar, baby malt, rice malt syrup or maple syrup.
Bottle-feeding and porridge 6-9 months
Types of flour
The choice depends on the baby’s potential for digestion and pattern of excretion. At this age it is possible to use:
Organic baby flour from 6 months
3 cereals with spelt
wholewheat baby food
Sweetener
Unprocessed sugar, baby malt, rice or barley malt syrup or maple syrup
Oil
Cold-pressed sunflower oil
Porridge made of cereal flakes 6-9 months
Cereal flakes
Buy the flakes in small quantities at a time to make sure that they are fresh. Flakes which are suitable include rice, buckwheat, millet, oats and barley flakes. Oats and barley are the most difficult to digest.
Porridge 9-12 months
Types of flour Wholewheat infant flour