TradingCradles.com Blog

Parenting a beautiful little baby can be a challenge because they can’t talk yet and explain to us what they need or what they are experiencing. Over the years I’ve taken notes on  ‘baby’s body language’ that seemed to follow a pattern or that was common in each of my children, and in other baby’s that I cared for, these little things may help you understand what your baby might need. These notes are mostly for 0-6 months old.

 

Making a fist with thumbs tucked in: If your baby is crying a lot or acting like he/she is uncomfortable, and is also holdin his thumbs in while making a fist, this can mean that he or she has a tummy ache of some kind and needs relief. Patting his back while holding him over our shoulder or rubbing his tummy can work wonders.

 

Crying: There are different reasons of course for a baby’s cry, and as long as he/she doesn’t seem sick or in pain, though we stress over crying a lot, we need to realize that it is simply the way they communicate. There may not be something terribly wrong. Sometimes the answer is simple, a lot of times baby could simply be thirsty, and need a bit of water, other times I’ve notice they just need a change of scenery, and they will be happy in another room, or another setting. Singing a pretty little song, or talking to them, changing their diaper, showing them the pictures in colourful book, or taking them for a walk outside can also do the trick.

 

When nursing: When your baby sounds like he/she can’t catch his/her breath or like he/she is gulping really fast, allow him/her a little break to catch his/her breath and take a moment to pause, and let him/her latch on again when he/she wants to.

 

Rubbing  or covering eyes: Some baby’s will rub their eyes just cause they are itchy, and sometimes they do that because they are tired, but there is not need to worry that there is something wrong with their eyes. I had one child who would always cover his eyes, and I wondered if there was something wrong, but that was just a way of expression for him, and for some baby’s it just their way of saying something. More often then not, baby’s will rub there eyes when they are getting a little tired.

 

Arching their back: This is one way a baby says something is wrong. Either they don’t like the position they are in,  or they are board, or sometimes they have gas in their tummy. It’s very common for baby’s to arch their back when they have uncomfortableness in their tummy, but sometimes it is because they do not agree with something that is being done to them or with them. Changing the activity or situation may help. If it is gas you can do simple exercises to relieve the tension. Lifting their legs up to their chest, or lay them on their tummy and allowing their bottom to elevate up to the air also helps. Simply rubbing their tummy can also help them feel better.

 

Grunting: Some baby’s grunt because they feel uncomfortable, and some because they need comfort or reassurance. If it’s the latter one, besides hugging, kissing and cuddling, a lot of baby’s love to grasp or grip your finger, especially when baby’s are new born they love to know you are there by holding on to your little finger.

 

It’s very beneficial for your baby if you talk to them at every opportunity, they love the sound of your voice, they have been hearing it from since they were in your tummy, and they love to hear you talk to them, its very comforting for them.

 

If your baby is showing body language or behaviors  that you’re unsure about you should consult with your doctor. Most likely everything is fine but its better to be safe than sorry.

 

With love and excellence for our children!
Crystal (Cryssy)

We had a company outing over the past weekend and we took our families to Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena, CA. The day was amazing and filled with smiles, laughter, learning and so much more. If you live in the greater Los Angeles area we highly recommend you take your children to Kidspace for a day of fun.

 

 

 

Regular admission is $10 per person and children under 12 months are free… We purchased group packs for 10 people which only cost $69, so we ended up saving $31.00 per 10 people. You know how we love to save and at this price it’s a steal.

 

Kidspace Children’s Museum is located at 480 N Arroyo Blvd Pasadena, CA  91103 its right next to the Rose Bowl and there’s a big park area out-front that is great for picnicking before you go in.

 

To see their hours of operation and holiday schedule check here

 

The adventure begins with a really cool large kaleidoscope style entrance. This fun kaleidoscope entrance really sets the tone for the excitement that waits ahead. The kids actually loved the entrance so much it took 10 minutes just to get into Kidspace. Did I also mention we went on a Saturday at 1pm and there was no line at all?

 

Buying tickets was a snap and again no lines at all. After we got everyone’s tickets we headed down the path, well it was more like we skipped down the path very excited. Before entering the indoor exhibits building there is a large outdoor area with plenty of tables, chairs and umbrellas to keep out of the sun. There are a couple fun, little interactive water features that squirt water out of the ground when you walk over the sensors, the kids liked this. They also had a large blow up tent feature that had oversized building blocks and legos for the kids to play with. We actually didn’t waste much time out here as the kids where all very excited to see what was waiting inside.

 

There’s plenty of stroller parking available outside the exhibit building but you can’t bring your strollers inside.

 

When we opened the doors and walked in to the exhibit building it was every parent for themselves because the kids all headed in different directions at the same time. There are so many fun, educational exhibits it’s amazing that they don’t charge more to spend the day here. If your kids don’t like bugs they are in for a treat because there are some big spiders for them to see.

 

Tyler & Dylan the Trading Cradles twins love bees and they have a bee hive inside that the bees can come and go as they please. Of course the bee hive is incased in plexi glass, so don’t worry. We spent around 15 minutes looking and learning about these bees and their larva.

We got to see some big hairy tarantulas, scorpions, beetles and other amazing little creatures. One thing that really caught my attention was a video they had playing which showed people eating tarantulas and other bugs (Yuck). Apparently with a little salt they are quite yummy but I would never eat one.

 

We spent time painting on a large plastic leaf that had water spray down and wash the paint off every so often. We played with a massive oversized radio tuner and climbed all over a life size safari jeep. We climbed in and out of the tunnels of a human ant hill and climbed up a couple different 40 foot tall towers which had a nice view above.

 

Just about everything in this place has an educational component to it but we have two and half year old twins and they where more excited about the hands on elements rather than learning. Some of the other parents said their children got to learn a great deal about bugs, fossils and more.

 

One thing we really liked is how safe and well designed everything is. A funny tidbit I have to share; they have a sink to wash your hands next to the flower painting exhibit and of course it’s low for little kids to use. The sink had hot and cold water knobs? So as I looked across from the cute little mushroom table I noticed Tyler turning the hot water up really high, what happens next is hilarious. I scream Tyler’s name at the top of my lungs and say “too hot” as I leap over the table to grab him before he burns his hands. I think about 50 parents stopped and starred at my amazing athleticism and wondered what the heck I was doing. The funny thing is, though there’s a hot knob it doesn’t actually turn on hot water. It was quite funny and embarrassing at the same time. The moral of the tidbit is Kidspace thought of everything and made it a safe place for children.

 

To read more about the Kidspace indoor exhibits click here

 

After about an hour or more of bouncing from one thing to another we made our way to the back outdoor area of Kidspace. In my opinion this was the best part of the experience but that’s probably just because I love the outdoors.

 

We did the trike track and learned how important it is to wear a helmet when riding your bicycle. They actually provide helmets for all the kids to ride the trikes. Our sons had a little hard time staying on the road and avoiding other trike traffic but overall they had a blast riding around. We are so thankful they won’t be driving for a long time…

 

This weekend it was bubble weekend and they had quite a few buckets of bubble soap and things to blow different sizes of bubbles. They even had a kiddie pool your child could stand in the middle of and then they would blow a massive bubble around him/her. I picked up one of the bubble rope things and started making bubbles that where massive. I quickly became the bubble entertainment for everyone and was being cheered on by the kids and even some of the staff. It was quite fun watching all the kids pop the 3 to 5 foot long bubbles.

 

Note to Mom: if your children like water and you plan on going during a hot summer day be sure to bring sunscreen, towels and extra clothes because your kids are going to get soaked.

 

Next we found the first water exhibit (the water symphony). This exhibit had a bunch of water sprayers that your kids can spray onto a set of drums. When the water hits the drums it makes different tones on the drum heads. It only took about 30 seconds before the twins realized they could aim the water spray at each other and from then on it was a full on water battle. Our boys love water and so we ended up playing the water drums for quite awhile.

 

We explored all over the huge gardens in the back of Kidspace and around every bend there was another fun activity to do. It’s really serene and beautiful back there and they maintain everything so well. We learned about plants and how to water them with cute little elephant watering cans. We climbed their outdoor climbing wall, we saw fish, turtles, birds and more.

 

Then came what I now call the Kidspace water park (kids basin). Here, you will encounter a rain shower, just like the Arroyo Seco habitat! As rain falls periodically, the basin fills with a few inches of water causing a surge towards the water play areas below. And guess what you can run under the water as it comes down. Tyler and Dylan loved this and they had a blast running under the water and splashing about.

 

Second note to MOM: bring a plastic bag to put the wet clothes in once you change your kids.

 

After spending the rest of the afternoon exploring the Basin we called it a day and headed out front for some well needed relaxation in the shade. We had some snacks and food that we purchased from the Kidspace cafeteria and then headed home for an early bedtime because everyone was wiped out.

 

In summary Kidspace in Pasadena, CA is a true educational adventure that Trading Cradles highly recommends. I think we got through about 50% of what they have to offer and we spent a majority of the day there. We plan to go back a couple more times before the summer is over. Kidspace has a lot more to offer from educational events, to an outdoor amphitheater and they have different events focused on different educational adventure topics.

 

To learn more about Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena, CA visit their website at http://www.kidspacemuseum.org

 

Thanks Kidspace for making our company outing an amazing day our kids couldn’t have had a more rewarding day…