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It used to be that a parent had to be in the room at all times in order to see and hear their baby. Those days are gone for good now that technology has stepped in. Babies can now be monitored for every movement and cry. But which monitor is best for your family? Audio? Video?  When choosing, you should consult consumer reports but also consider these specifics. If you're debating giving the monitor as part of a baby gift basket, then you're in the right place. It's great to first learn the difference between the two.

Audio baby monitors are still a good option for the parent who just wants to listen in for baby’s waking cries or to hear if baby has fallen asleep. They are portable, so you can take the receiver downstairs or out on the porch while the monitor end stays in baby’s room. These are good for basic sound monitoring. The clarity is good, but there can often be static and they do not allow you to go very far away from the monitor. You may, with some units, be able to go to the mailbox or to the garden depending on how far they are from the house.

But also consider the video baby monitor. Technology has finally caught up with moms’ and dads’ concerns. Not only is it possible to hear your baby in his room, but now you can see him as well. Many companies sell them and they offer varying levels of capabilities.

Geeks.com (www.geeks.com) is one company that sells a very high-end video and audio baby monitoring system. It’s called the "2.4GHz Wireless Baby Monitor Color Camera Kit w/Pan & Tilt Infrared Night Vision Camera & Handheld Monitor/Controller". This is intelligent electronic surveillance at its best. Parents now can watch their baby on a 2.4” LCD color receiver. Every move baby makes can be seen even in the daylight or the dark. Several small LED lights make it possible for baby to be viewed even in a dark room. It will record baby from up to 32 feet away. You can take the receiver end with you and transmission is clear without static. You can even use the included ear buds so no one else is disturbed by baby’s cries. One drawback is that it is only for indoor use. But most parents tend to stay in the house while baby is sleeping anyway. It does feature a two-way speaker so you can coo and talk to baby from downstairs and let your voice reassure him. If you know a parent who worries, this would make a nice baby shower gift. And it’s under $100.

There are all sorts of baby monitoring products that go from simple audio to in-shower receivers so a parent can take a shower while listening for baby. There are also monitors that pick up on baby’s sleep movements. The transmitter can be placed under baby’s mattress and if no movement is detected for 20 seconds, the monitor tone goes off. That may be too much information for some parents, but for parents of high-risk babies or preemies, this may be just the thing to reassure them baby’s ok. Another type of monitor is the window/motion sensor. For parents who worry about baby’s safety, this monitor is perfect. It will go off if any movement is detected in the room or at the window.

It’s up to you to decide how much monitoring you want to do. If your house is small and baby will be on the same floor as you for easy check-ins, maybe an audio monitor is all you need. If you have a large house or have a caregiver monitoring baby, you might want to go high-tech with a video monitor. Today’s monitors have drastically improved from the olden days. And they have actually come down to a decent price that will allow any concerned parent to own one. They make excellent new mom gifts and come in adorable shapes, colors, and styles to fit every nursery décor.

More Helpful Parenting Articles:

• What to Bring For An Overnight Trip with Baby or Toddler
• How To Babyproof Your Home
• Choosing the Right Babysitter
• Baby Teething Timetable

When your child is very young, each new skill, look, or mood is a treasure: the first time she really looks at you; when she starts to coo; when she meets her family for the first time; and when she smiles.  She has to develop her smile muscles before she can reward you with her brilliant grin, but when she's just about ready, is there any way to help her along?  How do you make a baby smile?

The easy answer is that you do not make a baby smile!  Babies are completely oblivious to your needs and desires.  They don't care if you are so tired that all you crave is a pillow and blanket, and they don't care if all they give you is dirty diapers.  So it is completely according to their own schedules that they grow and develop – as it should be.  If you've ever marveled at your child's innocent smile only to be told it was gas, well, be assured that your child was smiling.  From the day they are born, infants frequently smile while they're asleep; it may be a “reflex” smile, but it is an important step nonetheless.

She didn't smile when she got all the baby gift baskets, or balloons, or even the new baby cookies, no she was oblivious then. But at around two to three months of age, your baby will look at you and give you your first “smile.”  She will smile at the sound of your voice, a soothing melody, or a funny sound before she will smile at something she sees, so noises play an important role if you're trying to coax a smile.  Touch is another important factor, which is why gently blowing raspberries on a baby's tummy or foot is a surefire smile inducer.  They love the sensation, the sound, and the closeness.

Making animal sounds and singing silly, rhyming, fun songs are also great ways to get a smile out of your baby.  They love silly noises; if you are making a sound that would cause you to turn red and want to hide if you were out in public, then you're on the right track.  This will also help produce the precious first giggles too!

Babies love faces.  When a baby is born, do you know how far she can see?  She can see your face when you are holding her in your arms.  There is a reason for this: not only do her eyes need to develop, but she needs to look at you for reassurance and security.  She loves your face, and she loves it even more when you do silly, exaggerated things with your mouth and eyes.  Wide surprised looks are great.  And babies love the big, dramatic fake sneeze.  It's a crowd pleaser.

Other things to try includes nibbling her toes and fingers softly; again, they love the close proximity, the texture, and you're probably making a silly face while you're doing all of this.  Tickling lightly works; even just lightly stroking your finger along a baby's belly can be enough to get a great, big smile.  Let family and friends make silly faces – babies like variety too!  Silly is great.  Perhaps the babies are smiling or laughing at us, not with us.  In any case, they love for you to loosen up and be silly.  You'll try a hundred different things to make your baby smile, and she'll let you know when you've succeeded.

More Parenting Tips:

• What to Bring For An Overnight Trip with Baby or Toddler
• How To Babyproof Your Home
• Tips on Photographing Babies
• 50 Best Toddler & Baby Toys

Is there a new mother on earth who hasn’t worried about giving her newborn his first bath? What do you do once the nurses are gone and you’re left there alone to bathe this delicate little person? First, you relax. Know that you are just like every first time mom. No one is born knowing how to bathe a newborn. But after about five minutes, you’ll feel like an old pro. If possible, get used to bathing baby along with another family member there to help you.

Here are some baby bathing tips to keep in mind for newborns and young infants:

• The most important rule is Never Walk Away. Don’t walk away from an infant in a tub or sink for any reason whatsoever. Your Aunt Margaret can call back. The UPS guy can leave the package at the door. You are chained to the tub or sink until baby’s bath is over. Infants can drown in less than one inch of water in less than a few seconds. So, don’t be scared, but don’t be careless.
• Use warm water only. Babies have such tender skin that they can be sensitive to temperatures adults would consider fine. Use a baby bath thermometer. These come in cute shapes and you probably got one at your shower. Test the water first before putting baby in and never run the faucet directly on baby.
• It’s best to bathe baby in a sink fitted with a plastic baby bath tub. You won’t have to bend over a tub and besides, baby is too small for a full tub bath. Just clear out the dishes and place the bath tub right in the sink.
• Fill the bath water before baby gets in. Ensure that it is the right temperature (your thermometer will have markings to tell you when it’s safe) and then gently place baby into the baby bath tub.
• You only need a dime sized dot of baby bath. The less the better. It’s hard to rinse a wiggling infant, so just use a little on a washcloth. Never pour baby bath directly on a newborn’s head as it may get in their eyes and will be hard to rinse out.
• You’re there to hold the baby at all times. You may want another pair of hands there for your first few baby baths. Don’t move from baby to grab lotion or a towel. Your hands stay on baby at all times.
• Support his head and talk to baby during the bath. Most babies love their bath, but the first few times he may be cold or sense your nervousness. Don’t worry. It gets better and soon he’ll be cooing right back at you.
• You don’t need to run the faucet water over baby to rinse him. Gently clean between baby’s toes and fingers where formula or breast milk can hide and then use a plastic cup to gently run some of the tub water over baby to rinse.
• Because tiny infants get cold quickly, make bath time a fast in and out. Save the toys from the baby bath gift baskets til later. As baby gets older you can spend more time playing and splashing. But tiny infants need to be dried off and swaddled in a blanket or hooded towel before they have time to catch a chill.
• Arrange to have help getting baby dressed after the bath at least for the first few times. You’ll wrap baby in a dry towel and carry him to his changing area. Have pjs or a new outfit ready to go. You’ll need diapers, socks, t-shirt and pants along with any other layers. Be sure that you send someone to get them for you and never walk away from a baby on a changing table. Not even for one short second while you reach for a diaper. If you find you are missing something at the changing table, carry baby with you to get the item. Even the smallest of infants can fall off a changing table in a fraction of a second. Better safe than terribly sorry.

More Newborn Tips:

• What to Bring For An Overnight Trip with Baby or Toddler
• How To Babyproof Your Home
• Tips for Introducing the New Baby to Your Pet
• Eco-Friendly Baby Tips

So you’ve just had a little bundle of joy and now want to host a baptism? Great! Why not make your own invitations? If you can carve out a little time while baby is napping, you’ll have enough time to make cute invites yourself.

Start with a theme. It may be white since baptism garments are white. But you can also do pink for a girl or blue for a boy. Yellow works well too. Think about the type of party you are going to have. Is it very big or is it just the immediate family? That will help you decide on what sort of invitations you make. Do you have baptism favors in mind? Match your theme to those.

A smaller party can mean just a handful of invitations. You might just want to take an adorable photo of baby, glue it to card stock, and then write around the edges the date and time of the baptism. In this case, you probably won’t need to include directions and there’s not much you’ll have to write. You’ll have these made in no time. Copy baby’s photo on a color printer if you don’t have time or don’t want to go out and get prints made.

The second option is one where you’re inviting lots of people. Try to automate as much as you can so that you’re not up until midnight gluing and writing. One very sweet idea is to make a christening gown template and cut it out of lace. This can work for a baby girl, but remember, in the olden days, boys wore christening gowns, too. So having a piece of lace won’t look odd even if you did have a boy.

You can pick up a curtain panel cheaply at a discount store that is made out of white cut work or lace. Just place a template in the shape of a t-shirt on it and cut out. It will look like a christening gown when it’s pasted onto a piece of white card stock. Use any other color card stock for a contrasting color. Don’t glue the whole piece of lace down. Just glue it down at the neck and sleeves. This will allow the body of the dress to puff out a little when it’s pulled out of the envelope. It will look more realistic if it’s flowing and not flat on the paper.

Print your invitation specifics on your computer printer so you don’t have to write everything. Glue the printout to the back of the card with a few small dots of glue. Don’t soak the whole card with glue or the paper will crinkle and buckle.

That’s all you need to do! Stick in directions or give the exact street address of the church and you’ll be all set. You won’t even lose a wink of sleep and it couldn’t be cheaper or easier to make these one-of-a-kind invitations.

If you have a boy and don’t want to go with lace, get white satin fabric and cut out a t-shirt and little shorts out of a template and glue those down. Many little boy baptism outfits come with short pants and a shirt, so it will mimic what he’s going to wear. You might also add a blue or pink ribbon to accent the outfit on the card.

More on Baptism:

• What to Give Your Godchild as a Baptism Gift
• How to Choose Your Baby's Godparents
• How Much Money Should You Give for a Baptism Gift?
• Baptism Gift Ideas for Baby

A first birthday party should be an event to remember; not only are you celebrating your baby’s first birthday, you are celebrating your first year of parenthood!  Both are more than worthy of a party.  You’ve thought about the theme, the colors, the decorations, the cake – now what about the favors?  These can add a personal touch to your party, and they can help you thank the guests who have made this party so memorable.  Put your party hats on and take a look at these great ideas.

Animal Crackers. Whether you are one, five, or fifty, Animal Crackers are a crowd pleaser.  They make excellent, affordable first birthday party favors that your guests can enjoy after the party.  A health snack, these crackers are also easy on the budget, especially if you buy in bulk from a vendor like Amazon or Costco.  You can also make your own and use cookie cutters to cut them into animal shapes – or any shape that suits your theme.  You can find recipes at AllRecipes.com, Epicurious.com, and other recipe sites.  You can then package them in cute party favor bags.

Balls. You can hand out beach balls, squishy balls, bouncy balls, playground balls, punch balls or balloons, koosh balls, and other fun choices. These old favorites are great for your developing one year old as well as older children who may be in attendance.  You could also hand them out as prizes for games you play during the party (for older children).

Bath Squirters.  These are perfect for kids, and if you want to include the adults, try the variety of fun, bright rubber ducks available today.  For kids, branch out from ducks with other animals, boats, sea animals, dinosaurs, Dora, Yo Gabba Gabba, and other favorites.

Board books. Depending on the number of children in attendance, board books make excellent favors.  Toddlers are curious about the world, and books are one of the ways they explore it.  You can find great books by top children’s authors like Sandra Boynton for about $5.  This can be pricey for a big party, but just right for your little one and a few close friends and family members.  Coloring or activity books are a good alternative for older children or a smaller budget.

Fun Sippy Cups or Reusable Water Bottles. Hydrate your guests with cute theme-related cups or water bottles. Base Brand, for instance, offers a pack of 5 10-ounce water bottles with fun, kid-friendly designs and colors.  This is a practical favor and one that will, hopefully, get a lot of use.

Favors for Adult Guests. A one year old’s birthday party is likely to be attended by mostly adults, and it is easy to incorporate your baby theme with an adult-appropriate favor.  One idea is to get a package of baby socks and fill them with candies, like Hershey Kisses.  You could also put those empty baby food jars to good use.  Wash them out thoroughly and fill with candies.  Tie with a ribbon, and you have an easy, inexpensive favor. Same goes with cookie favors, decorate them accordingly and package them in colored cling wrap or baggies.

A child’s first birthday party is indeed a momentous occasion, but it should also be a fun, simple one.  Keep favors easy-going and stress-free.  You have plenty of birthdays to worry about themes, favors, games, and other party staples; for now, just enjoy your baby’s smiles as she plays with balloons, sample their first bite of cake, and open their very first birthday gifts.

More of Baby's Firsts:

• First Easter Baby Gifts
• Baby's First Christmas Gift Ideas
• Baby's First Birthday Gift Ideas
• First Birthday Party Decoration Ideas