10 genius baby hacks that will make your life easier

As your babe become more mobile, getting her to stay in one spot for diaper duty can become a frustrating challenge for even the most seasoned parent. Here's an easy solution: Use that inquiring mind to your advantage. Try tucking a toy (keep a stash near the change table) inside her undershirt. While she's busy trying to retrieve it, you can get the dirty deed done.

To give the bottle, sit baby up in your arms and keep the bottle horizontal to the floor. Touch the bottle nipple to his lips or his chin, and wait for him to open up. When the bottle nipple is in his mouth, let him suck for about 30 or 60 seconds (which is usually how long it takes for a mother’s breasts to letdown) before tipping some milk into the nipple. Watch your baby closely for signs he’s struggling–he’s splaying his fingers or toes, turning his head away, pushing the bottle away or milk is spilling out of his mouth. If this happens, tip the bottle so milk is no longer flowing and wait until he’s ready to start sucking again.



Get more information here: How to get your baby to take a bottle

Baby poo can cause irritation—and not just for the diaper changer. The most common and obvious cause of diaper rash is contact between stool and skin, but there may be other culprits: sensitivity or allergy to soaps or wipes, the type of formula, new solid food, or antibiotics.  The best piece of rash advice: “Don’t let it get out of hand. Act quickly,” Issenman says. Click here for four different ways you can treat it.

Heading out with baby? The colder it is outside, the faster that warm bottle will cool down. Try this simple DIY solution: Place your 5-oz. bottle inside a 16 oz. travel mug. Fill the mug halfway with hot water and seal it.

Want to keep your baby car seat looking spotless? Here's how: How to clean a baby car seat

Next time your travlling solo with your baby, these three steps will make airport security a breeze:

1. Put your purse, diaper bad and carry-on on the conveyor belt, followed by outerwear and shoes. You should just be left with your baby in a stroller and boarding passes.

2. Hold the boarding passes in one hand and cradle your tot with that arm. Fold the stroller or take off the carrier with the other hand and put it on the conveyor belt.

3. Pass through the scanner holding your little one, and then do everything in reverse on the other side. Have a great trip!

Baby wipes and warm cloths tend to just smear the tar-like first newborn poop around. Instead, try using olive oil on a clean cloth. It gently removes the mess and acts as a protective barrier that makes the next cleanup that much easier.

Need a way to help the medicine go down? Cut off the tip of an open-ended soother (like a Philips Avent pacifier) with a pair of scissors to create a small opening. Stick the medication dropper through the soother channel to administer medicine.

Physical contact is key. Soothe her by breastfeeding before, during and after the needle, if possible. Or you can give your babe some sugar water, which releases natural pain-reducing chemicals in the brain, just before the shot. To make your own sugar water, boil water for two minutes and then mix two teaspoons of the water with one teaspoon of sugar. Let cool before offering to your baby.

You want to keep your little one safe, but where do you even start? Follow these 10 steps for a baby-safe home.

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