Teeth malformations:
According to the American Dental Association, prolonged thumb-sucking can cause a child to develop dental problems. Thumb-sucking can cause a child’s teeth to become improperly aligned (malocclusion) or push the teeth outward, sometimes malforming the roof (upper palate) of the mouth. Malocclusion usually corrects itself when the child stops thumb-sucking. But the longer thumb-sucking continues, the more likely it is that orthodontic treatment will be needed to correct any resulting dental problems.

Although thumb sucking is a normal habit in infants, it causes serious teeth problems if it continues long after the eruption of permanent teeth. The problem gets more serious if it continues after the age of four or five.

Speech problems and other problems:
A child may also develop speech problems, including mispronouncing Ts and Ds, lisping, and thrusting out the tongue when talking.

Other undesirable effects can include problems with jaw movements, narrowing of the cheek bones due to the contractions of the cheek muscles, ulcerations beneath the tongue, and root resorption. More commonly, the thumb may develop calluses or an irritant eczema, and the digit itself may become deformed.

Germs spreading:
Another reason you want your child to break the thumb sucking habit sooner than later is that is easy to spread germs on a wet thumb or finger. With the onset of flu season and other bacteria living in our world, it is good to keep hands washed and dry. Thumb sucking can easily spread germs from counters and floors or any surface the child has touched with their thumb/finger and then put to their mouth.

Try and keep your child’s thumb as dry as possible so as to lessen the chances of infections or other bad bacteria. Talk to your child how germs are spread and how thumb sucking can spread germs. With the flu season approaching and swine flu getting lots of attention, stopping thumb sucking can be a good thing and may lessen the spread of germs through stopping the thumb sucking habit.

Social challenges:
According to Steven Parker, Barry S. Zuckerman, and Marilyn Augustyn who wrote Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: A Handbook for Primary Care, “thumb sucking can contribute to impaired parental and peer relationships. It is often viewed as immature and socially undesirable. Parents and peers may criticize, tease, or punish a child for engaging in thumb sucking. These reactions may in turn, adversely affect a child’s self esteem.”

Treatment:
Usually, treatment can be done at home and includes parents setting rules and providing distractions. It may be helpful to limit the times and places that your child is allowed to suck his or her thumb and to put away blankets or other item your child associates with thumb-sucking. Offering praise and rewards for not thumb-sucking may also help your child break the habit.

Parents usually start to worry too early, about how to stop thumb sucking habit of their children. It is advised that you do not try to make a child to stop thumb sucking before the age of three (unless you notice a problem to teeth due to vigorous thumb sucking) because it might have the opposite results. Here are some tips:

• Keep the child’s hands occupied with a toy, puzzle or other activity.
• Carefully remove your child’s thumb from his or her mouth during sleep.  
• Give the example of his friends that have managed to stop thumb sucking.  
• Don’t put the child in a state of anxiety or fear. If the child has any emotional problems, or is under stress and needs comforting, you may need to resolve those issues first before your child can successfully stop thumb-sucking.  
• Talk about the ‘bad’ germs that are on our hands and how the child puts them in his or her mouth while thumb sucking.  
• Avoid punishing or shaming the child.  
• Reward the child for not thumb sucking for a progressively increasing time period.  
• Ask the advice of a pediatric dentist. He will explain to your kid what will happen to the teeth if the child does not stop sucking its thumb.
• Introduce Thumbuddy To Love® to your child

Thumbuddy To Love^® addresses all of the above issues:

1. Thumbuddy To Love keeps a child occupied.
2. Thumbuddy can be worn to bed so it encourages them not to suck.
3. Thumbuddy To Love teaches the importance of stopping thumb sucking and growing up to be a big girl or boy.
4. Thumbuddy To Love is a positive teaching tool for parents, teachers and children.
5. Thumbuddy To Love lessons the anxiety by making it fun to stop.
6. Thumbuddy To Love books give the example of friends and heroes who have stopped.
7. Thumbuddy To Love avoids shaming or punishing a child by not using thumb guards or thumb polish which has chemicals in it.
8. Thumbuddy To Love rewards a child with a success calendar in the back of the book and keeps them motivated and positive so that they can quit.
9. Thumbuddy To Love is recommended by Dentists and Pediatricians.
10. Thumbuddy To Love received the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award. You can order Thumbuddy To Love at thumbuddytolove.com or on Amazon.

Andrea Van Ness

Andrea Wulfing Van Ness founded Thumbuddy To Love™ in Boulder, Colorado because she noticed the lack of positive teaching tools to help stop thumb sucking without the use of thumb guards or awful tasting nail polish (Malava Stop) which is full of chemicals. She wanted to help kids with their thumb sucking problem before they have to get braces to save their teeth.

We have a Thumbuddy set to give away to one lucky reader. Your choice of Fireman Fred, Ballerina Sue or The Binky Fairy (for pacifier suckers) thumb puppet and illustrated story book with a success chart to help stop thumb sucking. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us your thoughts on the Thumbuddies.

For bonus entries:

• Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
• Like Thumbuddy to Love on facebook
• Follow ThumbuddyToLove on Twitter
• Retweet this giveaway : ‘ Help your child give up thumb sucking the positive way with @ThumbuddyToLove #giveaway via @RookieMommy http://wp.me/pC8a1-2Kq ‘

Please be sure to leave a separate comment below for each of your bonus entries.

• Giveaway is open to US and Canada
• Winner will be drawn at random
• Winner can choose one of the Thumbuddy crew: Fireman Fred, Ballerina Sue or The Binky Fairy
• Giveaway closes February 10th, 2012

This latest story is told from the perspective of the Buddies’ newest friend, a mischievous Egyptian monkey named Babi. In a race against a devious cat, the Buddies and their new friends, Babi and a baby camel called Cammy, must avoid booby traps, solve puzzles and explore a mysterious tomb – all in search of the greatest treasure known to animalkind: the lost necklace of Cleocatra.

We’ve got 3 Treasure Buddies Combo Packs (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)RRP $32.99 to give away courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Canada.

To enter, simply tell us in a comment below the name of one of the Buddies crew.

For bonus entries:

• Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
• Like Walt Disney Studios Canada on facebook
• Retweet this giveaway ‘ The Buddies are back in a new adventure. Win a Treasure Buddies DVD Combo pack via @RookieMommy http://wp.me/pC8a1-2JE ’

Please be sure to leave a separate comment below for each of your bonus entries.

• Giveaway is open to Canadian residents only (excluding Quebec)
• 3 winners will be drawn at random
• Giveaway closes Friday February 3rd, 2012

You could bury it. Some families choose to commemorate the birth and celebrate the placenta by burying it beside an existing tree or under a new tree or plant. It fertilizes the tree making a symbol of life. Quite tasteful and as a plus point once it’s buried you can’t see the placenta.
This is a popular custom in many African cultures. Navajo Indians bury the placenta within the sacred four corners of the tribe’s reservation as a binder to ancestral land and people. The Navajos also bury objects with it to signify the profession they hope the child will pursue.

You could burn it. After I was born at home it took my dad by surprise when the midwife presented him with a package and said “you’ll need to burn this in the garden”. The midwife didn’t want it – by the end of a busy day she’d be ferrying around a carful of placentas and trailing a string of excited dogs in her wake. Not being prepared, it took my dad quite some time searching out enough wood to make a reasonable bonfire. After my brother was born 5 years later knowing ‘What to Expect’ he had his fire all prepared ahead of time.
In some countries, South America and Korea for example the placenta is burned after birth to neutralize it. The ashes can be kept and used as medicine for the child when it is ill.

Before you bury/burn it you could embark upon a few placenta art projects. Try a placenta print (prettier than you might think for a picture drawn in blood) or make a charm out of the plaited cord in the shape of a heart and put it in your window – should scare away the door-to-door salesmen, and anyone else for that matter.
In many cultures it is a popular custom to keep the umbilical cord as a kind of good luck charm to protect the child. In India and Mexico, the cord is placed around the child’s neck, while in Turkey it is kept in the house. Among Plains Indians, an infant’s dried umbilical cord is placed in a small beaded pouch and when hung from the headboard of the cradle becomes the baby’s first toy.

You could eat it. Eating the placenta is known as placentophagy. Many animals eat their placenta to get nutrition – but when people are already well-nourished, there is no benefit say medical experts. However, many believe that because the organ is rich in minerals and vitamins, particularly B6, it has various health benefits to the postpartum mom including reduced risk of post-natal depression and reduced haemorrhaging.
There are many ways to prepare it. Basically, treat it like beef or kidney and the choice is yours: roast placenta, placenta lasagne and placenta bolognaise, placenta meatloaf, placenta Wellington, placenta jerky and (gag) placenta tartare, which preserves the greatest amount of the placenta’s nutritional content. However you cook it, be sure to remove the membranes and umbilical cord first! Famous placenta aficionado Tom Cruise says placenta “reminds him of veal, but with a springier texture like heart” and even knew which wines to serve with a placenta meal. For example with his favourite placenta meatloaf he suggests you serve smoky wines such as Barolo or Barbaresco. One wonders just how many placentas Tom has tucked into given that he only has one child.

You could have it made it into placenta capsules – it lasts longer. One placenta makes 90-140 capsules if you steam and dehydrate it then grind into a powder and encapsulate it. For thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has recognized the placenta as a life-giving force. The powder is sprinkled on meals as it is believed it will increase a person’s energy and vitality, increase milk supply, settle hormones after birth and avoid postpartum depression.

You could even drink it. Whizz placenta chunks, a few berries and a banana in the food processer and you have a delicious placenta smoothie. Oh yes, that does sound appetising!

You could have a placenta party. Now here’s where it gets complicated. While you, or your husband, may not have a problem eating your own meat, it takes a special group of friends to want to indulge – you might find some have recently turned vegetarian after you send out the invites. It’s something I only associate with Hannibal Lecter and the plane crash survivors in ‘Alive’.
Anyway, if you’re going for it…decorate your room with your placenta prints and hang your umbilical cord charm on the door to welcome your guests. For the best wine to accompany your placenta pâté starter and main course of placenta hotpot consult Mr. Cruise. Follow up the meal with a placenta smoothie dessert and send your guests on their way with a strand of dried umbilical cord as a keepsake.

So what did you do with your placenta? Would love to hear any interesting stories. Do share (just the story – keep your placenta jerky to yourselves).

Say you and your baby mutually understand each other – you decide to stop breastfeeding. But the question remains … how do you stop breastfeeding? And how do you introduce weaning to your child?

The pace you need to wean from breastfeeding depends on how fast or how slow your child wants it. The ways to stop it however, will completely come from you. Then you will wait for the child to either accept it or reject it.

But before anything else, here are ways you shouldn’t do it, as this will possibly affect you physically and your child emotionally (contrary to what other people may say):

Medication. Some well-meaning friends may advise you to take “milk drying-up” medication to abruptly eliminate your milk production. These drugs may have possible adverse effects, inhibiting you from producing milk ever again. These may also lead to mastitis (inflammation of the breasts) as the milk ducts will be blocked, giving the remaining milk in the duct to calcify and may give you pain ranging from moderate to severe.

Weaning by separation. This has been recommended by our elders, saying that this will be good for the child and when mommy returns after a week, the child will completely forget about breastfeeding. This is definitely not good for the child as it will cause a negative emotional impact and may see that his/her mother has abandoned him/her. Plus, the child will not forget about breastfeeding; it will only complicate things. If the mom comes back, the child will possibly become clingy, believing that mommy may just up and go again.

“Sabotaging” breast milk. The most common way for this would be to put something on the nipple (either an herb, something bitter, something sour, or chili pepper). The notion is for the baby to dislike what he/she tastes, thereby making weaning much easier. Again, this would have an emotional effect on the baby. Not only that, it might cause the baby to suffer from serious abdominal harm (since we really shouldn’t be introducing strong substances to a baby just yet).

Bind the breasts. Binding the breasts was said to help stop milk production. But it also puts you at risk again, for mastitis and clogged milk ducts. When the trapped milk calcifies, it would most likely cause you pain.

What you should do is…

• Gradually move baby from breast to bottle. Cut one feeding at a time. If you’re doing 5 feedings a day, cut it down to 4. If done slowly, your milk production slowly decreases as well, giving your body ample time to respond to the lessening milk need.
• If the baby is having trouble accepting formula milk, try expressing your milk and combine it with the formula milk. Slowly but surely, your baby will begin to accept the milk as you also lessen the expressed milk over time.
• If you are having engorged breasts and feeling a little pain, try to take a hot shower. In this way, the breasts will leak out the excess milk. If a shower is not possible, try to express a little of the milk via pump or hand. Taking out just a little milk will cause milk production to decrease little by little, gradually making your body adjust.
• If you’re still smarting from the pain, try putting cold compress on your breasts. Chilled cabbage leaves are said to bring comfort to the breasts at the same time releasing an enzyme that helps in stopping lactation.

Stopping breastfeeding is not an overnight process. It takes time for you and your little one to get used to.

Wendi Blaire

Being a mom and seeing first-hand how the weaning question should be seriously addressed, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I decided to write about it. Using what I had learned from my own experience, the extensive research I had made on the subject, countless interviews with doctors, doulas and lactation consultants and with moms who have weaned their babies at different ages, I am pleased to present to you the product of my work. For more information, please refer to my website: http://www.byebyebreastfeeding.com/

Giveaway!!!

If you are looking for more tips like this on how to gently wean your baby from breastfeeding, check out Wendi Blaire’s Hello Milk, Bye-Bye Milk: An Expert Mom’s Ultimate Guide to Breastfeeding and Weaning. Her ebook answers all of your questions on weaning such as how to express milk, how to spot signs of readiness for solid foods, and how to address your own problems associated with weaning such as engorgement and breast pain.

You can win a copy of Wendi’s ebook here. To enter simply leave a comment below.

For bonus entries:

• Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
• RT this giveaway: ‘ Tips on how to gently wean your baby from breastfeeding, #Win Wendi Blaire’s “Hello Milk:Bye Bye Milk” via @RookieMommy http://wp.me/pC8a1-2IT ’

Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each bonus entry.

• Giveaway is open worldwide
• Winner will be drawn at random
• Giveaway closes February 3rd, 2012

My kids are 4 and 7 years old. Overall they are generally helpful children. As with all young kids they are more focused on playing games and doing crafts rather than helping mommy clear the table after dinner. I have recently been trying to teach them to contribute to our family meals by removing their plates from the dinner table and taking them to the sink. Normally this activity is followed by the crashing of a fork on the floor and left over pieces of dinner falling off the plates. While cute and a learning for them, this actually makes my clean up job way more extensive….but, it’s the thought that counts….right

Sometimes the unexpected delight does occur. This past Saturday I was hosting a dinner party for my family.  All of the adults had finished their dinner and we were all sitting around the table chatting.  All of a sudden my daughter started to clear the dinner table (and NOT just her own plate….but everyone’s plates). Both my husband and I gave my daughter approving words for taking the initiative, which prompted my son to join in and help my daughter. Between the two of them, they cleared the entire dinner table, placemats, serving platters, wine glasses and all. I was very happy but also wondered what type of awful mess would be left for me in the kitchen. So, I poured myself another glass of wine and decided to tackle that job later on.

Now, up to this point I was very impressed with both my daughter and my son. They could have stopped at this point and went to their rooms to play. However, the true surprise was when I finally got up the courage to walk into the kitchen and found that my daughter had rinsed all the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, had put saran wrap on all the left-over food and put it in the fridge and she had wiped down the counters.

I have to say, I almost fainted.  I admit that I didn’t think my daughter had it in her to tackle such a large job. I didn’t know she even knew where the saran wrap was let alone what it’s used for. When I turned to one of my dinner guests to profess my amazement she said something that will stick with me forever. She said “obviously your daughter watches you very closely and she knew exactly what to do”.  It was at that moment that I realized how closely my daughter must watch me when I am not paying attention.

So, for all you veteran moms out there…what I learned is that it is the smallest acts that can surprise you the most when it comes to your children. And for all you Rookie Moms out there….be aware of how you act as your child will mimic you when you least expect it, for the good or the worse.

Kids learn 80% through their vision. And it’s not suprising that nothing stimulates a toddler’s vision better than a toy. 

Parents often wonder what type of toys are best to buy for their babies and young children. Here are some suggestions from www.allaboutvision.com

Birth to 12 months
Brightly colored mobiles (make sure the colors and detail on the mobile pieces face down to the child, not up to the parent), rattles, balls, stuffed animals, activity gyms, blocks, stacking/nesting toys, pouring toys (such as measuring cups).

1-year-olds
Finger paints, modeling clay, board books, balls, stuffed animals, blocks, stacking/nesting toys, pouring toys (such as measuring cups), riding toys, puzzles, shape sorters, musical toys.

2-year-olds
Finger paints, modeling clay, chalkboard and chalk, felt board and felt pieces, board books as well as standard books, balls, stuffed animals, stacking/nesting toys, pouring toys (such as measuring cups), riding toys, puzzles, shape sorters, musical toys, swings, dress-up clothes, child-sized household toys and items (broom, vacuum, rake, lawn mower), toy typewriter or cash register, child-sized kitchen area (refrigerator, stove, sink, cupboard, table and chairs), sandbox, kiddie pool, toddler tape player, stringing beads, sewing toys, magnetic letters, climbing toys (such as backyard gyms or playscapes).

3- to 6-year-olds
Large crayons, large markers, finger paints, modeling clay, chalkboard and chalk, felt board and felt pieces, doctor/nurse kit, books, balls, stuffed animals, tricycle or bicycle, puzzles, musical toys, swings, dress-up clothes, child-sized household toys and items (broom, vacuum, rake, lawn mower), toy typewriter or cash register, child-sized kitchen area (refrigerator, stove, sink, cupboard, table and chairs), sandbox, kiddie pool, child tape player, stringing beads, sewing toys, magnetic letters, climbing toys (such as backyard gyms or playscapes), toy computer or computer games, toy camera with film, basketball set, board games, roller skates.

Toys to Avoid
Toys to avoid at any age would be those that shoot objects in the air such as slingshots, dart guns or arrows. World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) has published its ‘2011 10 worst toys‘ list. The two that we recommend to avoid are “Gigan” Godzilla from Bandai and Jack Sparrow action figure from Jakks Pacific. “Gigan” has pointed fins, wings and knife like attachements that may poke a child’s eye with these sharp protrusions. The Jack Sparrow also has a 4.5 inche pointy sword of rigid plastic and may also be a concern for parents.

Dr. Jessica Chang

Dr. Jessica Chang was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Biology, at the University of British Columbia. She then continued her studies at Pacific University to complete her Doctorate of Optometry degree. Her areas of special interest include pediatrics, contact lens fittings, and ocular disease. Jessica also has a passion for international eyecare and has volunteered in Ghana and Guatemala. See her at her day job at Avenue Eyecare, W41st in Vancouver

mimijumi

The mimijumi’s “Very Hungry” baby bottle is breast-like in appearance and texture, so that when mothers start with the “Very Hungry” bottle, babies are less likely to have a problem transitioning between breast and bottle.  Ideal for bottle picky babies, newborns also gravitate to this form of feeding, as it is an aid to prolonging breastfeeding, a natural way to enhance immunity and prevent obesity and diabetes later in life.  The unique nipple feature is more like a breast, so the baby latches onto the nipple as they would latch onto the breast. This is key when making an easy transition from the breast to the bottle. 

Created with input from designers, mothers, nurses, physicians, and lactation experts, mimijumi’s first product, the “Very Hungry” bottle, was conceived as a natural, modern and stylish complement to breastfeeding. The “Very Hungry” is the first of an upcoming line of products that is mindful of the ways infants bond with their mother. Through sight and touch, mimijumi products allow an enhanced experience to be created for the infant and parent alike.

• Free of BPA and phthalates, the nylon bottle is easy to clean and has a wide mouth for easy filling, a screw on one piece nipple, and a non skid base
• Soft silicon nipple is textured and colored to resemble skin, and includes an integrated ventilation system to aid in the baby’s digestion

The “Very Hungry” baby bottle (8 oz) and nipples retail for $14.99 ($21.99 CAD) and the “Not So Hungry baby bottle” (4 oz) is available for $13.99 ($20 CAD), across the USA and Canada and also online at thenewmomshop.com (US) and babybot.com (Canada)

Sounds good, eh? We have 2 mimijumi “Very Hungry” baby bottles for our readers to try (one for Canada, one for USA). To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us why you would like to try a mimijumi baby bottle and be sure to tell us if you are from the USA or Canada.

For bonus entries:

• Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
• Like mimijumi LLC on facebook
• follow @mimijumi on Twitter
• Retweet this giveaway: ‘ Babies are less likely to have a problem transitioning between breast & bottle with @mimijumi Try one via @RookieMommy http://wp.me/pC8a1-2Gv ’

Please be sure to leave a separate comment below for each of your bonus entries.

• Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only
• Winners will be drawn at random – one from U.S. and one from Canada
• Giveaway closes January 25, 2011

About mimijumi:
Based in Nashville, TN, mimijumi, LLC is the brainchild of a physician father and psychiatrist who struggled with the poorly designed baby products available. The two spent years analyzing family focus groups and their experience with baby bottles. With the goal of creating new products to revolutionize the parenting process, mimijumi was born and is feeding babies nationwide.

When you enter a community and join in some local mommy groups you’re soon chatting, laughing and sharing vital tips and tricks with other new moms. However, there’s nothing guaranteed to turn the conversation than daring to ask ‘Who’s your babysitter?’ Moms will not give up their babysitter. And rightly so – offer their name around and you’ll regret it when the next event comes up and yours is booked. Even your best friend is going to keep her babysitter’s details to herself.

As a teenager I had quite a few regular babysitting gigs. My mum is a lovely lady who worked as a childminder and helped out at the school, so people obviously thought I would be equally good with children. Not true, but it kept me in fags and booze magazines and tapes (that’s CDs to the youngsters out there), so I was happy winging it.

My least favourite family to sit for lived on a fairly remote farm. The kid was no problem – she was always asleep, but I’m not sure what scared me most: the serious darkness outside; the strange noises in the house; the semi-wild farm cats that would launch themselves over the back of the sofa onto my shoulder as I sat watching TV; the ancient, wheezing dog that I was always afraid would expire on my watch; or the slightly creepy husband who used to give me a lift home.

My most lucrative but most taxing job was babysitting 3 kids, ages 9, 7 and 4 for an hour or so after school when their parents’ job shifts overlapped. I was 14 or 15 and had no clue whatsoever about childcare. I was just a non-related older kid in the room to stop them demolishing the house, eating all the biscuits and tearing sheds out of each other. It didn’t always work. The only qualification I had was that they knew me and when it comes to entrusting your kids to someone else this quality goes a long way.

Of course, the best babysitters are family (not least because you don’t have to pay them – the price of a babysitter can double the price of a night out). Sadly I’m not lucky enough to have my parents in the vicinity – of course they would always be the #1 choice as babysitters. Hub’s old Mum can barely look after herself. My brother is local and tries his best, but will be the first to describe himself as a ‘chocolate teapot’ babysitter – fine as long as the sitting duties don’t go beyond a story and bed; forget any diaper activity.

My friend and I have a mutually beneficial arrangement where we babysit each other’s kids once a month so the other couple can go out. But occasionally it would be nice to go out all together.

To be honest we were no better off in Vancouver and we had the added obstacle that we needed an actual baby sitter, not someone to just sit with older kids. This really does require know-how. The best place to find someone to take care of your child is through recommendations, but where do you find a babysitter if your friends are keeping theirs under wraps? After finding and losing a few babysitters in desperation I even considered Craigslist…but come on, I’m sure these people are reliable and honest, but at the end of the day you’re entrusting your child and the contents of your home to a complete stranger; in the end I couldn’t go through with it.

So now I have a plan: I’m thinking of paying the young girl next door a retainer. Currently she’s a little too young at 12, but if I snap her up now, in a few years I’ll be set.

It’s 1998 and the Schneider family is packing up for a long-awaited vacation – three-month-old Baby and all. They smile and laugh and play all day and have a wonderful time – the kind of vacation every young family dreams of. But the dream turns into a nightmare later that evening when Baby Schneider fusses and cries and wakes all night long.

Mommy and Daddy Schneider discover a way to get Baby to go to sleep: with a hospital pacifier planted firmly in his mouth. But when Baby drifts off, the pacifier drops out and the fussing starts all over again. To their dismay, Mommy and Daddy realize the only way the pacifier will stay put is if one of them holds it – all night long. No sleep for Mommy or Daddy!

The hours crawl by and become days. And still Baby fusses. It’s two days into their “dream” vacation and Mommy and Daddy – and Baby, too – are tired, cranky, and at their wit’s end. It’s 3:00 a.m. “How are we ever going to get that pacifier to stay put so we can all get some sleep?” whispers Daddy.

Suddenly, a smile crosses Mommy’s lips. Handing Baby to Daddy, she reaches for Baby’s pacifier…one of his plush toys…and a sewing kit…and sews the pacifier and the toy together – the WubbaNub™  is born! Baby takes the pacifier in his mouth and grasps the toy. Lo and behold, Baby drifts off and the pacifier stays put. 3:05 a.m.: all the Schneiders are sleeping soundly and they all lived happily ever after!

But a good night’s sleep is just the beginning of the WubbaNub™ story. When they return home, well-rested and happy, their friends – who are sleep-deprived with fussy babies of their own – cry out for WubbaNubs™. Mommy and Daddy sense they’re onto something here.

Since the year 1999 the WubbaNub™ has been produced in great numbers and in lots of colors and many friendly animal shapes. It’s on the market internationally in finer baby and childrens’ specialty stores, specialty toy stores, and internet web sites.

Carla Schneider

• Durable one piece construction – no cracks to harbor germs!
• Easy to clean: place in washing machine with baby’s laundry, gentle cycle in mesh laundry bag. Allow to air dry.
• Plush animal makes it easy for baby to grasp and manipulate the pacifier
• Carefully calculated weight and size of plush animal keeps the WubbaNub™ near baby’s mouth, whether lying on side or back, the car seat, sling, or stroller
• Patented design prevents pacifier from being lost, dropped, or forgotten
• Pacifier is made of silicone. Also, it is medical grade and given out by many hospitals nationwide in their nurseries.

Giveaway CLOSED: Congrats to kathy pease (comment #85) – winner of the WubbaNub

So now you’re enlightened as to what a WubbaNub™ is…why not try and win one? We have a WubbaNub™ to give away courtesy of Coppins Gifts.

WubbaNub is just one of the cute range of plush toys sold by Coppins Hallmark, as well as great gift ideas for the whole family. To enter this giveaway, simply pop to the Coppins Gifts site and let us know your favourite from their Plush range.

For bonus entries:

• Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
• Like Coppins Gifts on facebook
• Follow Coppins Gifts on Twitter
• Retweet this giveaway ‘ #Win a cute WubbaNub pacifier/plush (and a good night’s sleep) via @RookieMommy & @CoppinsHallmark http://wp.me/pC8a1-2F2 ’

Please leave a separate comment below for each of your bonus entries.

• Giveaway is open to US residents only
• Winner will be drawn at random
• Giveaway closes January 20th, 2012