[blparent] making baby clothes

[Tay Laurie]

Very true. Wow, they know more than we give them credit for. I'm such a 
heavy sleeper that the baby would probably have to be in our room for me to 
hear anything. Same for hubby.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:21 AM
Subject: Re: [blparent] making baby clothes


>        We used a pail and trash bags. Cheaper and easier.
> As for how long the baby stays in your room, I wish ours had stayed about 
> five minutes. Babies are very loud, at least ours was, moving around, 
> making sounds, just noise.
> We kept her in our room as a matter of policy because we thought we had 
> to. Then myhusband told me point blank I was waking up too much (when 
> there wasn't a need the baby actually needed fixed) and we put her in her 
> own room.  He also got me a white noise machine. It totally helped.
>
> As for if it's okay to have a baby sleep in aswing, if that's where they 
> want to sleep, it's fine. Our peditritian told us that if ours didn't want 
> to lie flat after I think nine months, there was a problem.
>
> We also had the bad luck to get a crib that was recalled in front page 
> news.  Our daughter refused to sleep in that crib. I'd put her in and 
> she'd scream.  When we saw the news about the recall, I remember saying 
> "She knew something was wrong with that crib".
>
> Interestingly enough, the baby that had the crib before we got it had 
> similar issues.
>
> Very erie when you think about it.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 11:55 AM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] making baby clothes
>
> Hi.  A portable crib or a basinet beside your bed will do just fine for 
> the
> first several months.  I think Sarah was well over six months old before 
> she
> grew out of the basinet by length, but she was a fairly small baby. 
> Bigger
> babes would of course outgrow the basinet faster.  Sarah's Nanna had a
> wooden portable crib at her house that was very low to the ground, and
> smaller than a traditional crib, but it had a good thick mattress, unlike
> the Pack and Play ones which are just thin pads.  You might ask around for 
> a
> portable crib, or search online for one because I'm thinking one like the
> kind Nanna had would be perfect.  Sarah slept in that portable crib for 
> over
> two years.
>
> Picnic baskets for storage are a great idea.  I still have a basket on the
> bar between the kitchen and dining room that holds lotion, a hairbrush, 
> bibs
> for those messy days, extra shoes and socks, etc.  There are also stacking
> bins that might work because they fit together and make sort of like open
> drawers or shelves.  Look in the storage and organization aisle at 
> Wal-Mart,
> or whatever store you have out there.  Not with the baby stuff, but with 
> the
> storage containers and the like.
>
> You can change the baby on your bed, if that would work, by using a 
> plastic
> pad with a cloth covering.  I think they're called all-purpose pads in the
> baby stores, if I remember correctly.  You'll also want a diaper pail. 
> You
> can just get a pail with a tight-fitting lid to contain the smell, and use
> trash bags, or you can get one of the special ones that are sold to keep 
> the
> smell inside.  I'd personally just go with a pail and trash bags, as long 
> as
> the lid makes a tight seal.  I bought one of the specialty pails, and it
> worked for a while, but by the second year we had to put it out on the 
> porch
> because the smell was leaking out even when it was closed, and then I got
> tired of using it and just wrapped the diapers in bags from Wal-Mart 
> anyway
> so I didn't have to buy the special liners anymore.
>
> If you get your baby used to napping in the swing, he or she will probably
> take to it right away.  My baby was in a brace to fix a congenitally
> dislocated hip, so she slept sitting up in her swing for the first few
> months.  Then it was murder to try and get her to sleep lying flat, so if
> you do the swing, be prepared to stick with it and then ease the 
> transition
> into a crib or a low bed.  Also, there are things called co-sleepers that
> have three sides on them.  The fourth side goes right against your bed and
> mattress, so that the baby is sort of in a crib, but on the edge of your 
> own
> bed.  That might work well for you because you can pick up the baby and 
> feed
> him or her, possibly even change a diaper, without getting out of bed at
> all.  I wouldn't get rid of your bed with posts if the posts help you get
> out by yourself, because you'll want your independence when the baby 
> comes.
>
> Keep on asking questions.  I've heard that seizures sometimes get better
> during pregnancy because of the hormones.  Depression also often tends to
> ease off during pregnancy as well.
>
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant 
> of
> the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all 
> of
> these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Tay Laurie" <j.t.laurie at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 1:05 AM
> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] making baby clothes
>
>> Thank you so much for the information! My whelechair's seat is roughly 17
>> inches off the ground or so, and I can raise my arms another say, eight
>> inches. I can raise them level with my shoulders, any higher and they go
>> numb, so I can't really lift over my head. Is it ok for little one to
>> sleep in a swing? I've seen it done, but then again, the baby in question
>> was severely disabled, had a gastric feeding tube and everything. I
>> actually got to see my old basinette, and I must say, at the time, i was
>> jealous I couldn't fit into it anymore! It looked so comfy and cozy. We
>> have some room on one side of the bed where a small crib or basinette can
>> fit, but my husband is thinking of selling the bedstead we have and just
>> using a metal frame. My problem is, then I can't pull on the posts to get
>> out independently.
>> Also, would using picnic or other types of baskets for organisation be a
>> good idea? For example, blankets in one, diapers in another, baby butt
>> powder, cream, etc in another? I figure if they can be closed and neatly
>> stacked sidways, they can make a compact type cabinet until we can get
>> into a bigger place and find room for actual furniture. We're also going
>> to see if one of my friends wants to move down here and in with us, which
>> is a great idea, since he can study at the local college. He even offered
>> to be an extra set of hands if we needed it. My cousin had a rule that if
>> I held her son, I had to be sitting or lying down, since right now my
>> seizures aren't terribly well-controlled. I'm talking to both doctors
>> involved to see what can be done, but I've noticed they've decreased 
>> quite
>> a bit in the past week or two, even if I forget my meds, so maybe the
>> hormones are helping. Since I can sew simple jumpers, dresses, etc, I
>> figure I could make clothing for if it's a baby girl, especially a little
>> white dress/robe for if we do get her blessed/baptised.
>> I guess you're right,I haven't seen the rocker type cradles in quite a
>> while, either. The last time I saw them was in my grandmother's closet,
>> and she said they're very dangerous because they could flip over. Since
>> the crib can be raised and lowered, that might be a good idea for when
>> hubby is caring for her, or our friend, since he can stand and walk just
>> fine.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
>> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 11:48 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] making baby clothes
>>
>>
>>> Hi.  First of all, there's no reason you can't make baby clothes if you
>>> have the time and the expertise to do it.  Dresses are fine for baby
>>> girls, especially in the summer months or in warm climates, and they 
>>> make
>>> diapering convenient.  The dresses usually come with pretty shorts or
>>> panties to go underneath them and cover the diaper.  I would strongly
>>> recommend looking for fabrics that are flame retardant.  Most
>>> commercially approved pajamas for kids have to be flame retardant to be
>>> sold in the United States.
>>>
>>> If space is a limitation and you want a swing that's low to the ground,
>>> try checking out the cradle swings.  They're lighter, lower, and more
>>> portable than the bigger swings.  In my experience, I couldn't use the
>>> cradle swing for as long with my baby as I used the bigger model because
>>> she started to try and get out of the seat once she was mobile.  But the
>>> choice might be perfect to you since it's built so that the cradle or
>>> seat part is only a few inches off the floor, and the top of the frame 
>>> is
>>> maybe two feet high or so.  I think the model I had was a Fisher Price,
>>> and it had a rainforest theme with sounds and toys for the baby to bat
>>> at.
>>>
>>> There is a special laundry soap called Dreff that's made for washing 
>>> baby
>>> clothes, but it's expensive and, in my opinion, doesn't work so well.
>>> What I did was to get a name brand detergent--All, to be precise--in the
>>> type that is free of dyes and perfumes.  My child never had a problem
>>> with it, and I'm sensitive to the fumes anyway, so it worked out well 
>>> for
>>> everyone.
>>>
>>> You know, I haven't seen any of the old-fashioned rocking type cradles
>>> around for a long time.  I'm wondering if maybe they weren't safe.  My
>>> sister was in one thirty-some years ago, but none of the parents I've
>>> come in contact with now use them.  The crib I used could be raised and
>>> lowered, or there are play yards (Pack and Plays, I think they're 
>>> called)
>>> with cradle attachments for when the baby is small.
>>>
>>> The question of when to move a baby into a separate room will spark a 
>>> big
>>> debate anywhere.  There are some who have the baby in its own room from
>>> the get-go, and some who choose to co-sleep with the baby in their room,
>>> or in their bed, for months or years.  It's really a personal decision.
>>> At first, you'll want to make it as easy as possible for getting up at
>>> night, so with your limitations, having a basinet or a play yard in your
>>> room might be a good option.  It really won't become inappropriate, as
>>> you say, till you or your husband or the child decides it's a problem,
>>> which could be years down the line, or weeks.  But this idea that every
>>> person in a family has to have his or her own room was really only
>>> advocated in the last generation or so.
>>>
>>> Sorry so long, I don't claim to know everything, but I had a zillion
>>> questions before my baby came, too, and it's good to ask.  Don't worry,
>>> some things get easier with time, and then there are other complications
>>> to figure out.
>>>
>>> Jo Elizabeth
>>>
>>> "How far you go in
>>> life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the
>>> aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the
>>> strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of
>>> these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> From: "Tay Laurie" <j.t.laurie at gmail.com>
>>> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 12:26 AM
>>> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>> Subject: [blparent] making baby clothes
>>>
>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>
>>>> considering that I know a good portion about sewing, knitting, etc, I
>>>> was wondering if it would be ok to make my own baby clothes, at least
>>>> for a few outfits? I think that doing so might be cheaper, and would
>>>> give me something to do until baby arrives. I'm not looking to make
>>>> things out of silk, satin, etc, but sturdy, soft fabrics and things 
>>>> that
>>>> are easily washable. Also, are dresses for a little girl appropriate
>>>> even at such a small age?
>>>>
>>>> I also wondered about baby swings. The few I've seen are fairly large.
>>>> Right now we only have a one bedroom apt, but will be moving into a
>>>> larger one, or possibly a rented house, as soon as possible. I don't
>>>> think one of the ones that suspends from the doorway would be my cup of
>>>> tea, as knowing me I'd forget and run into it. Can anyone suggest 
>>>> brands
>>>> or styles of swings, cribs, etc? Anything lower to the ground or that
>>>> can be raised and lowered, since hubby can stand and I can stand for
>>>> only a few minutes at a time might be a good idea.
>>>> Also, what about laundry soap? Do we simply use less of the normal 
>>>> stuff
>>>> we use, or is there a specific baby detergent? I appologise if these 
>>>> are
>>>> silly questions, but I'd rather have them answered than make a mistake
>>>> and hurt the young one.
>>>> And, another stupid question. I've seen a basinette. But I haven't
>>>> really seen a cradle, except for the doll cradle I had in 2nd grade,
>>>> that was directly on the ground. The two boards that made up the head
>>>> and foot were curved at the bottom to provide the rocking action. Is
>>>> this how real cradles are? Or are they slightly higher? my grandmother
>>>> said they're not on a stand since the baby could flip them over.
>>>> I'm just trying to decide what kind of furniture to get, i.e crib,
>>>> cradle, etc. Also, at what age should we consider little one sleeping 
>>>> in
>>>> his or her own room? Since it would take a few minutes for me to get
>>>> into my chair and roll into the nursery, (five minutes on average) I
>>>> don't want to neglect little one because it's hard to get out of bed. 
>>>> So
>>>> we figured for at least a litlte while having him or her sleeping in 
>>>> our
>>>> room, so one of us can quickly tend to their needs. But at what age 
>>>> does
>>>> that become inappropriate?
>>>> Again, thank you guys for all your help!
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>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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