baby - Traveling with a Baby-What Were You Thinking?

Once you start making preparations for traveling with a baby, you may begin to have second thoughts about the trip. But, do not despair! Parents have been traveling with a baby in tow for thousands of years, and that experience is available to help you now. Here are some of the simplest tips for traveling with a baby: 1. Get a passport. You may not know that if you are traveling with a baby out of the country you need a passport. The baby cannot travel on your passport. You will need documentation such as a certified birth certificate to get the baby a passport, but the baby will not need to be present in person at the passport office to apply. You will also need proper identification for yourself to get your baby a passport. Alternative identification methods are listed on the government's passport website. 2. Do not get caught without diapers when traveling with a baby. Whatever number of diapers you think you will need for your trip, add 3 per day more. It will not hurt and it can be a lifesaver. Bring several changes of clothing when you are traveling with a baby-both for the baby and for yourself-because accidents happen. You should also bring some plastic bags to put soiled clothing and diapers in until you can take care of them. Bring lots of wipes and hand sanitizer for diaper changes and other messes as well. 3. Bring plenty of food when traveling with a baby. You should bring formula, finger foods, etc. in individually packaged portions so that they are easy to use and accessible. Again, bring more than you think you will need. You should also bring any medication that your baby needs with a dosing spoon or dropper. 4. It is always a good idea to have some new toys or books to bring out at stressful or boring parts of the trip. 5. You can buy a seat for your infant on an airplane at up to a 50 percent discount. Although this is not required for children under two, it is highly recommended. Make sure the seat is rated safe for air travel. 6. There are many companies which will deliver diapers, strollers, wipes, etc. to wherever you are staying on your vacation if you don't feel like packing yourself. Eriani Doyel writes articles about Leisure and Travel. For more information about traveling with a baby visit ubetraveling.com. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eriani_Doyel baby - Make It Beautiful! Make It Fabulous! Decorating Ideas for Your Baby Shower Creating an atmosphere for the baby shower is another factor that makes a big difference between simply having people gather together and creating a fantastic celebration! Your decorations should of course stay consistent with your theme, including baby-related visuals, and at the very least include enhancements to your home that show your gathering is something special. This can be simple touches such as fresh flowers, nice table linens, and dishes and glassware that are not for everyday use. The following gives a list of ideas for enhancing any setting to make it creatively decorated for the special day of the baby shower. These ideas can be modified or enhanced to fit any budget. Home Based Baby Shower When you are able to hold a shower in someone's home, it naturally has a warm and inviting feeling. Try adding some of these decorative touches to transform a living room into a party room: 1. Add fresh flowers throughout the room. 2. Light votive candles for fragrance and soft lighting. 3. Set your buffet table with your best silver, china and crystal. 4. Set up a special "guest of honor" chair for the expectant mom to sit in while opening gifts. It can be enhanced by draping a baby quilt over the arms or back that can be given as a gift to the new baby. Showers Away From Home Unfortunately few people have homes with rooms large enough to gather more than a few dozen people. If your invitation list is larger than that, you'll need to consider another location. Sometimes church activity halls or other function rooms can be stark and unattractive, especially if they are usually used for other things like sports activities or dances. To make these types of rooms more festive and sophisticated try some of these tips: 1. Lower the ceiling with a false ceiling of white lights strung horizontally from one wall to the other about 9-12 feet from the floor. This can also be done with streamers or balloons. With the balloons, you would add just enough weight onto longs ribbons to have them float at that 9 foot ceiling level. Decorative baby items or those matching your theme can be added to the ends. 2. You want to ring the room into a cozy-room size for the number of guests you will have. Otherwise the enry of the party will not fill the room and it may have the celebration feel a little flat. By adding partitions (in addition to something to sort of lower the ceiling) that are decorated in your theme, you can turn a large activity hall into a large yet cozy room. 3. Use lamp light. Most large halls and function rooms have florescent lighting that is harsh and non-adjustable. Bring in lamps on end tables to create mood lighting that matches the activity. The end tables will also provide a place to put out appetizers around the room. 4. Use foliage. Potted green plants in varying heights can create a false wall to close in an extra large space. Intersperse them easels holding pictures for your games, or a poster with the fabric and paint swatches and theme of the baby's nursery for everyone to see. Some plants can be strung with white lights giving added lighting options. Decorating Ideas for Different Themes: Each theme beyond "baby" will lend itself to additional decorating ideas suited just for that theme. Location, time of day, and who is invited will also dictate what will work and what won't. I am just going to thorw out a few themes here, there are many others out there. 1. Mexican: Use sombreros to hang on the walls and as centerpieces for food tables. Lighting can be achieved with hot pepper shaped lights often found at stores during the summer months to use on a deck or patio. 2. Nursery Rhymes: Mother Goose can be the centerpiece for food tables, with favorite characters from the nursery rhymes, either in stuffed animal or picture form placed around the room. A book stand with a nice hard-cover edition of the nursery rhyme book can be placed on a table next to the seat of honor. The book then also becomes a gift for the new baby. 3. Ice Cream Sundae: An old fashioned ice-cream maker makes a nice centerpiece for a table with all the toppings laid out. With this theme, the baby items can be interspersed with the food theme of a sundae party. Tools for Creating Atmosphere We have already address how to create some atmosphere in a home or function hall, but there are several other products and tools in addition to plants, lighting and balloons that can help create a fun and inviting space for the baby shower. 1. Many computer software programs can create banners to decorate a wall in the room. You can also have them printed up at your local copy or quick print shop. They can handle larger sizes than a home computer, and will save you the cost of ink and paper that printing a banner can really eat up. 2. These same computer programs offer templates and clip art to create several baby-related printed products, including banners, invitations, thank you notes and gift tags. 3. Baskets are another great item for creating a decorative touch. They can have a sprig of silk flowers matching your color theme added to the handle, and they instantly become a place to hold gift cards, napkins and utensils, or anything else that needs to be gathered neatly. They also make decorative chip or bread bowls and filled with a green plant, a nice centerpiece for the gift table. Just relax, combine all the talents of the people around you, and be prepared. Don't wait until the last minute and everything should be fine.