It started with a cough - the common cold and babies

I guess it was only going to be a matter of time until our little man got his first cold. He's just got over it and I thought it would be useful to summarise my experiences. It did indeed start with a cough. As coughing is not unusual for our baby I didn't even notice ... later that night it became obvious that he's got a cold as he clearly struggled with a blocked nose and also seemed very quiet.

The nights were quite tough because he just couldn't breathe easily or had to cough / sneeze constantly. So he woke up very frequently and was also quite difficult to settle. Amazingly during the day he was almost his usual self though a bit less energetic than usual. So we checked with friends, midwives, doctors and a pharmacist how we could make life easier for him. Here is what we got:

Movie Alert: "Babies"

A new film about babies adequately named "Babies" is about to hit the screens. It was directed by Thomas Balmès and follows four babies around the world (in Tokyo, Mongolia, San Francisco and Namibia) – from birth to first steps. I saw a short interview with the director and he made a few interesting comments about what he found out when they made the movie. One of the essential observations he made was that babies don't need constant entertainment to be content and that parents have a tendency to over-stimulate. Check out the trailer:

Dad tip - going to the cinema with a baby

You've recently had a baby, you've managed to get through the first few months and have got the hang of it ... now you are wondering where to find some "us" time and when your nightlife is going to return? Here's a great tip for new parents who can't or don't want to leave someone else in charge of bubs while they're out for a well needed break from the routine. Go to the drive-in cinema and take bubs with you!

Hey don't knock it till you've tried - there are some obvious advantages:

1) If your baby is crying chances are he'll fall asleep on the way to the drive-in
2) Your baby stays with you at all times - if he wakes up just go round the drive-in a couple of times
3) You can eat in the car, snuggle up, snog ... watch the film while bubs sleeps in the back seat
4) It's a change of scenery - so you're practically out (beats just getting a DVD or watching something on telly)

Housework

It's never too early to start introducing your children to a bit of housework!

-Stefan

Sugar, honey honey - not for babies

Did you know that honey is potentially lethal for babies of up to 12 months? This week there was a story on the German news wire (DPA) about the various problems of giving honey to babies. "Babies up to 12 months should not eat honey as it could contain certain bacteria that release "Botulinumtoxin", a neurotoxin which can lead to severe food poisoning", according to Antje Gahl who works for the German Nutrition Society.

Gahl was keen to stress that there is no need to panic but that parents should check baby food that may contain honey. To be on the safe said she suggested to avoid honey as a food for babies altogether. Gahl said that honey was safe to eat for toddlers from about 1 year onwards as their digestive system is fully developed and can neutralise the toxins.