http://www.minti.com/members/claycook/advice/ Most Recent Advice on Minti by ClayCook Copyright 2009 Minti en-uk ClayCook Swaddling is a great way for your baby to feel safe and secure, and yes they do sleep swaddled.We swaddled our first child for a few months after birth (from memory), and I plan to swaddle our second (due in 2-3 weeks).Here is a video on how to swaddle....  Why swaddle your infant baby? helps your baby sleep if ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/8393/Swaddling-your-baby/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/8393/Swaddling-your-baby/ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:59:00 -0800 ClayCook Note: This article is a "work in progress". I decided to get it out fast to help clear any confusion over this topic.This is the official view on "voting sprees".What is a voting spree? The most obvious form of a voting spree is when someone votes on a particular member's articles in quick succession. Do we allow voting sprees? No ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7815/Minti-Voting-Sprees/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7815/Minti-Voting-Sprees/ Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:39:40 -0700 ClayCook As our son has grown up I have really tried to make sure we have bonded as much as possible.He absolutely adores his mother who is his primary care giver, and naturally there was a period where he did not want to be held by me if his mom was available. If I remember correctly this was when he was ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/58/How-dads-can-bond-with-their-baby-andor-toddler/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/58/How-dads-can-bond-with-their-baby-andor-toddler/ Tue, 07 Mar 2006 03:23:10 -0800 ClayCook Our baby (Codi) had to have eye surgery when he was only 10 months old due to Strabismus (Esotropia).Please consult your doctor if you think your child may have Strabismus (Esotropia).Other people may refer to it as... Lazy eye Cross eyed Eyes look in different directions One eye looks in a different directionWhen Codi was only ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/31/Cross-Eyed-Baby-Strabismus--Esotropia/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/31/Cross-Eyed-Baby-Strabismus--Esotropia/ Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:09:04 -0700 ClayCook We recently travelled to the US for 5 weeks. We flew from Australia and landed in LA after over 24 hours in transit. Codi was just about to turn 11 months at the start of the trip and had his first birthday the day we flew back to Australia.I am glad that we did this trip when we did, as ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/22/Good-age-to-travel/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/22/Good-age-to-travel/ Thu, 23 Feb 2006 06:31:16 -0800 ClayCook I hope this article sheds some light on when to transfer your baby from a baby bath to a big bath. We transferred our baby from his baby bath to a big (adult sized) bath when he started to hit his head on the top of the baby bath. He would do this by pushing against the end of the ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/19/Transferring-from-baby-bath-to-big-bath/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/19/Transferring-from-baby-bath-to-big-bath/ Tue, 07 Feb 2006 19:53:17 -0800 ClayCook Most parents worry about if they should use a pacifier (dummy) or not.My experience is that using a pacifier with Codi (our son) has been very useful, and I am glad we chose to.We introduced Codi to a pacifier very early on, and it is a great tool to use if he is getting a bit upset. He quietens down ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/14/To-use-a-Pacifier-Dummy-or-not/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/14/To-use-a-Pacifier-Dummy-or-not/ Tue, 19 Dec 2006 03:48:28 -0800 ClayCook The best advice I can give from personal experience with babies and sleeping is to follow a routine. From day one we implemented a routine and Codi has been an amazing sleeper.Critical to the routine is a few key items... Full stomach. We make sure he has a full dinner so he is content and will not get hungry ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/10/Getting-babies-and-toddlers-to-sleep/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/10/Getting-babies-and-toddlers-to-sleep/ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:45:22 -0800 ClayCook Codi (our son) loves routine. If you are looking to examine someone elses routine feel free to use ours, we have found that he runs like clockwork on it. He sleeps close to 12.5 hours at night and 2 hours during the day. Note: Codi is a 17 month old toddler boy. 7.30am wakes (sometimes wakes at 8am) 7.45am milk ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/9/Our-Toddlers-daily-routine/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/9/Our-Toddlers-daily-routine/ Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:23:32 -0800 ClayCook Parenting is an amazing experience, but it is sometimes also exhausting. In our experience being tired can lead to stress, arguments and not the best experience for our child.My wife especially has a busy day taking care of our little boy. To combat tiredness we started to listen to what some books were saying... sleep!!! We have found that the ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/8/Happy-parenting-through-sleeping/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/8/Happy-parenting-through-sleeping/ Sun, 12 Mar 2006 23:03:19 -0800 ClayCook Our little son loves water and the bath, however he doesn't particularly like shampoo running into his eyes.To keep him entertained whilst bathing I make sure he has toys in the bath (toys like floating rubber duckies, and water proof books etc). I also make sure a bathing mat is in the bath... this way if he gets a little ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7/Washing-babys-hair/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/7/Washing-babys-hair/ Tue, 30 May 2006 21:20:22 -0700 ClayCook Our toddler loves the water, and has become very confident. If he sees a pool he wants to run and jump straight in! He creates quite a scene, crying and struggling as we try get him into his swimming gear... with him using as much energy as he can muster to get out of our grip.Now when we plan to ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3/Taking-your-toddler-to-the-pools/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3/Taking-your-toddler-to-the-pools/ Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:19:35 -0700