My Own How to Book....

Stay away from all refined sugar like cakes, cookies, etc. when you are sick or have a cold.

Fresh hot homemade soups with plenty of good vegies and some fresh ginger for a cold and runny nose.

Warm milk at bedtime on an empty stomach will help you sleep more soundly.

I have a friend who is starting her own business as a literary agent and if you'd like information then I would gladly put you guys together. She just got a grant for women starting their own businesses and she has several authors she is working with already.

Send me a message and I'll get you the info. It may take me a few days but I eventually get to read them.

Not really home remedies but more like "Important things I've learned along the way":

*Gowns are awesome for infants because they are easy to open up and change those diapers. Same goes for sleepers with zippers - love those and didn't have to use a bunch of snaps!

*If you are formula feeding, get a large mouthed bottle because otherwise in the middle of the night when preparing formula, a lot ends up on the counter when you are trying to get that small scoop into a small mouth bottle.

*Babies do not mind room temperature baby food. They have no preference.

*Making baby food can be easy if you purchase an Immersion blender!

*Hyland Teething Tablets are a godsend for teething!

*Use cloth diapers instead of fancy burp cloths - cheaper and larger!

*Get down to your child's height when trying to talk to them. Whisper instead of yelling. Leave the room if they are throwing a fit. Make a big deal about them listening and not such a big deal about them not listening.

*Model Please and Thank you early on - they do really catch on!

*In the bath, use a plastic collander to hold toys. Not only does it drain easily, is cheap, is fun to watch the water go through, but you have a backup collander if you ever need one!

*Even if you do not have a baby mirror so you can see your rear facing baby, point your rearview mirror to the carseat when you put baby in the car on the way to daycare/sitter. Once you get back into the car, move the mirror up so you can use it. This will make sure you have double checked that your baby is not in there (and avoid leaving him/her in the car while you go to work!)

*I've heard Johnson & Johnson is horrible on baby's skin. I never knew that! But apparently a lot of people say it's not good for them. Don't feel pressured to use the organic or name brand soaps/lotions. Sometimes the cheaper ones smell better!

*Buy wipes every time you are at the store. It's amazing how fast you go through them.

*Keep a few diapers in your trunk and your glove box. Some day you will need them!

*If you don't find a diaper bag you like, look at backpacks. That is what I use and love it!

In the "Ask Amy" column of our paper I read a way of dealing with tantrums...

When the child is having a tantrum, tell them to go look for their "composure." Start leading the child around the house, looking under beds, in closets, behind doors, etc, until they calm down. I tried it with my 3 year old the other day, but thought that the word was a bit too complex for him, so I said "Let's go find your happiness" and what do you know? After looking for it for about 2 minutes he was laughing again ;-)

I have many... to start with:
1) All you have to do is pat your baby on his left side of his back to allow the burp to come up.
2) Once the baby starts walking and climbing, and they start to fall and bruise themselves, put a dab of vasiline on bump/bruise and it will stop it from bruising any further (not sure why it works, but it does).
3) Sign up to Similac, Enfamil and Goodstart and once you figure out what brand (if she chooses to go with formula) she is going to use, she can go to craigslist and swap the ones she doesn't use for the ones she does.
4) Sign up to www.freecycle.com too - she can get lots and lots of used baby stuff for free.
5) Sign up with www.babycentre.com and join the baby club for the month she is due or her baby is born - that way, she can talk to other moms via the web whose babies are at the same exact age.
6) If she is nursing, have her check out www.kellymom.com (great website for moms who want to nurse).
7) sign up with www.mamapedia.com
8) join local moms groups via yahoo
9) take pictures of the baby every day, but especially on the day the baby was born (weekly)
10) never assume her husband knows what she's thinking. When he walks in from work, ask him to take care of the baby so she can take a shower and have some "me" time.
11) expect 75% help from her husband and hope to get 25% of help
12) Try to go on a date with hubby once a month without the baby
13) Don't be too h*** o* the daddy when he makes a mistake because sooner or later she will make an equally bad mistake and it will come back and bite her in the dupa.
14) Try to take turns putting the baby to sleep, giving the baby baths and feeding the baby (if not nursing)
15) Go out with your girlfriends at least once every 2 months (especially if he goes out with the guys)
16) Try to enjoy every day with the baby, time goes buy much faster that she will ever realize and before she knows it, the baby will be crawling, talking, walking and then off to school.
17) when hubby makes a mistake, don't run behind him and fix it. I feel most guys make mistakes on purpose so that we can just do it outselfs and they are off the hook. Don't fall for it, allow them to make mistakes and clean up their mistakes and allow him to try again and again until he gets it right.
18) use Eucerin's Aquaphor healing ointment with a little bit of triple anti-biotic to cure and avoid future diaper rashes
19) go to the library and rent a vido called "1, 2, 3 Magic" before the baby turns 2.
20) if she has a baby girl, never give her a bubble bath, just use clean water and wash her privates with soap and water and quickly rinse (otherwise, she can get a yeast infection)

Leaky diaper at night-time? Eiher buy a diaper one size larger, or add a women's sanitary pad in the regular diaper. Added absorbency - viola!

To bring down a really really high fever -- take a cool shower with baby. Switch back and forth between Motrin/Tylenol. If you can give it every 6 hours, then give Motrin, then 3 hours later give Tylenol, then 3 hours after that give Motrin again, then 3 hours latr give Tylenol again. (It gives you 6 hours between Motrns and 6 hours between Tylenols).

Constipation -- light karo syrup in the milk bottle. OR feed baby fruits with Pectin (pears, prunes, plums - the Ps!)

Behavior -- give the child TWO choices and hold up your fingers. Get to their eye level. The child is happy because they feel like they're in charge of their own choices. Mom is happy because both choices she gives are suggested by her. "Either hold my hand or I am going to carry you." is one I use all the time.

Breastfeeding -- try it for 3 months. If you can't handle it, at least you can say that you tried!

Sleeping through the night -- don't let your baby fall asleep in your arms (if you can help it). Put them to bed drowsy so they can teach themselves to fall asleep on their own. Let them cry for a little bit too. It won't hurt them to let them cry for 5 minutes.

I wanted to do the same thing for my friend who is having her first baby! I'll keep my eye on your post for some good ideas!
I wish my grandma was still alive, she was the home remedy expert! Unfortunately she died before I could soak up all of her knowledge. (or to even realize how valuable it was)

I read "What to Expect when You're Expecting" and "What to Expect the 1st Year" cover to cover and referred back to them often. Now, I give them as a set to every pregnant woman I know. You'd be surprised how many women have come to me later and said it was the best baby gift they had gotten. Maybe you could give her those books and make a humorous, montage style, scrapbook filled with the wisdom of moms, with places for her to write her own experiences and add a few of her own pictures.

I also visit the website Babycenter quite a bit. When you register due date it gives you timely advice for your stage of pregnancy. Register babys birthdate and they email you age appropriate advice as they grow.

1. A squirt of breastmilk can cure many things, including ear infections.

2. If you follow all the safetly guidelines, cosleeping can get you much more sleep, particularly if you are nursing.

3. There is so much parenting advice out there, and usually there is no one correct way to do things -- the most important thing is if it feels wrong for you and your baby, don't do it!

4. Read The Happiest Baby on the Block

5. Sleep when the baby sleeps.

6. Make sure to take care of yourself too.

7. Make sure to get some time with your partner to just be the two of you... and don't talk about the baby. Don't lose yourself in parenthood.

8. Ask for help when you need it.

9. If you are planning on nursing, find a good lactation consultant now and post her phone number where you can find it easily -- if you're having some sort of nursing crisis, that is not the time to have to start looking for names.

10. If you possibly can, hire a doula for the birth.

11. You don't have to be a perfect mom -- you just have to do the best you can for your child and yourself.

A great thing we figured out was how to keep our child from tripping while wearing "feet pajamas" - especially the heavy blanket type sleepers which we used instead of blankets. There is always elastic at the ankles, but it's not very strong and the pjs kept slipping down or twisting. We used wrist bands (the kind runners or other athletes use - usually made of terry cloth) around the ankles and just pulled the extra fabric up higher - if the legs ballooned out a little like harem pants, so what? It worked GREAT. It also meant we could buy the garments in a larger size and get more use out of them while he grew.

A few of the greatest tips I've learned:
breast milk works wonders on diaper rash
cold night air quickly calms croupy coughs
co-sleeping equals sleep when your breastfeeding
pick your battles
there will always be something you wish you did differently

My two boys are 20 (yes 2-0) years apart. When I found I was pregnant with my second I asked all my friends for the one most useful thing - so much stuff out there is not useful. I heard:
Boppy - not just for nursing, but all feeding, and tummy time, etc
Soothies - for sore nipples
room temperature baby food (not cold, not hot)
Suppository tylenol (for when too ill to take by mouth).
Disposable diapers
Than one dad asked me - What do you mean? Besides love? Best answer,

I learned not to have expectations for my birth experience - not to load my wishes on the child. Good thing too - he was 3 months premature and nothing was what I had dreamed of (I didn't give birth to my 1st son and had to work hard not to laden this experience with my own expectations). Great lesson for raising your children - they are NOT an extension of you.

Hyland teething tabs were a godsend

Talking quietly works best - but is so much harder than you realize

If child is misbehaving, don't stay home - get out to a park or some place to run around.

Baths are a blessing. When little, get in with your child - the two of you can play and relax. When they can be in by themselves, it is calming (eps. for sensory kids). When my son is really having temper tantrums and nothing else works - a bath with a colander full of toys.

Time with your partner - my marriage has suffered with both children because we focused on the child and not enough on the marriage.

Trust me - time will only speed up as they get older - enjoy these moments now. And on a really bad day remember that 10, 20, 30 years from now this event will make a great story (we still laugh at over a story involving a full cloth diaper, the back of a hot radiator and a brother wearing nothing but his coonskin cap singing "Davey Crockett" and that story is 56 years old).

Rashes - corn starch is great for just about everything and costs much less.

Bordeaux Butt Paste - amazing!

If necessary - declare your house an advice free zone - explain you and your partner need to find your own way. My sister did this - and it was hard not to offer advice, but it really was the best way.

Enjoy your child's baby time - but get help if it is a struggle (and I mean medical help too - don't suffer with postpartum depression).

Love your child, love your life - and make changes if you need to

It's funny how everyone has such different "tips" huh? This does sound like a great book to publish if you are gettign it together anyway.

Here are some things that worked for me:

1) Never use baby wipes. They can cause diaper rash (even the sensitive ones have STUFF on them) - I learned this from our pediatrician and the children's hospital nurses in the first two weeks. Instead, buy one pack of cheap cloth dipes (gerber are super flimsy). Cut them into 1/4 size so you get four rags from each one. Wash them up, fold them and keep them in two stacks - one in the bathroom and one on the changing table. When you are going in to change baby, simply run one of the rags under warm water (or two if you thin it' s going to be a mess!) and go to the changing table with that. Dry with a dry cloth.

2) don't bother with Dreft. Doesn't even get clothes clean! Use Tide FREE or any of the other brands that have a FREE option instead.

3) totally agree to serve food room temp - no hassle with heating.

4) you can use a regular food processor to make your own baby food and freeze in ice cube trays. So easy, and you know exactly what's int he baby food.

5) use A & D cream regularly (pro-actively) and you will get very few diaper rashes. If you do get one, use Balmex and it will clear up that day.

6) when your baby is sleeping through the night (or at least a couple of hours) you will want to use some Overnight diapers to prevent leaks. Huggies work well (even if you don't like the regular huggies).

7) get a video monitor - BEST peace of mind you can buy.

Hey maybe you can let us all know when you have the book published : )

When the child gets older, do not ground him/her from things that will cause you stress if they don't have it, because you will end up being the one punished!

This was a great one for me for diaper rash: mix cornstarch, bacitracin ointment and maalox together to make a paste. I also used Maalox straight on a cotton ball many times when I couldn't be bothered making the paste - redness goes away so fast!

A home remedy I got from my SIL that works for me is when trying to put your baby in the bath tub with a sore bottom pour on lots of baby powder all over the rash before they get in. It seems to ease the shock and then they can get a good soak in to help heal the rash.
Fun idea.
H.