Last Chance The personal blog of Kiara Gilbert

Guide for the Young Single Mother – Excerpt

This is an excerpt from my book, Guide for the Young Single Mother. It's only the first draft; I'll be adding to it and re-writing parts of it when I get to editing after I've finished the book's first draft. This is copyright Kiara Joy Gilbert, 2009.

Baby blankets are an important part of your baby items. I like having as many blankets as possible; depending on the number of children you have, it may not be possible for you to do laundry every day, or even every other day. Some days babies will go through three or four blankets; other days, only one is needed. When both my children were sleeping in bassinets of a Graco Pack'n'Play, I would tuck a blanket under the sheet for a little bit more padding. With my second daughter, this was a most; after two years with my oldest daughter, the mat wasn't very comfortable to lay on.

There all kinds of uses for blankets. There is, of course, the traditional - a covering for them while they sleep. You can also put them on the ground to make a pallet for baby to lay on during TummyTime, or just when the baby is staring at the ceiling. As baby gets older, you can put one or two blankets in the bottom of a playpen for extra padding. What if you find out after giving baby a bath that there aren't any clean towels? In a pinch, use a baby blanket; receiving blankets are good for this. Bigger blankets are good to have as well; they can cover yourself and baby while you feed or cuddle with baby. One of my favorite things to do is sit on the couch with my daughters, and one of their blankets covering all three of us during a rainy afternoon.

If your newborn enjoys being swaddled, purchase some swaddling blankets. These are blankets that usually have a velcro closure and wraps around baby. These are safer then swaddling with a receiving blanket, because a baby can sometimes pull the blanket up over their faces. There have been cases where the babies died because the blanket got tugged over their faces, so the Consumer Product Safety Commission reccomends that instead of a blanket, babies sleep in blanket sacks or sleep sacks. This reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Footed sleepers or gowns with socks worked well for my daughters when they were newborns and infants.

Take into consideration the temperature climate of your area and the temperature inside your home when buying blankets. Babies get cold easier then adults, and they also get hot easier. If you generally keep your house warm or hot, use natural fibers like cotton; these breathe better, allowing air to circulate close to baby's skin. If it's usually chilly or cold, consider flannel or fleece; these hold in body heat better. There are also fire-retardant blankets on the market; these will help protect baby if flames get too close, because they don't burn as easily. Don't use fabric softener on fire-retardant blankets; the chemicals in fabric softener break down the additive that makes it fire-retardant.

Be careful when you buy or are gifted baby blankets, though - some fabrics contain polyester or aryclic, which can give off gases when baby's body heat escalates. These gases can irritate a baby's eyes and skin. Go for natural materials as much as you can; you'll be keeping gases away from your baby and helping the environment.