The moment a person discovers that they are going to be a parent, immediately their lives change. Thankfully there are many communities available to support and validate a new parent and assist them with their decisions. One really easy way is to provide a shopping list with the essential items a new parent will need such as:
- Diapers
- Baby products
- Wipes
- Onesies and other bodysuits
- Bottles
Armed with a list and some direction, the future parent can finally begin their preparation for the new addition. The only thing to look out for here is what to do when life throws a curveball.
An Unexpected Hiccup
Thanks to huge developments in medicine, parents can know the baby’s size, weight and gender well before the child is born. This is all great news until you hear that your child will be born with a disability and may have special needs well into adulthood.
One major complaint of parents in these situations is that mass produced bodysuits are not adequate for their baby, toddler or child. There are children who will need specialty bodysuits until their early teenage years.
Adaptive clothing is for toddlers or children who live with medical equipment; so they may need spaces for feeding tubes or other ports. Children with mental disabilities are in a unique situation. Their bodies will grow and develop normally but their ability to control natural urges may be delayed or they may never develop natural control at all. Caretakers in these situations will need a bodysuit or onesie beyond the newborn months and well into teenage years.
Temperature Awareness
Babies are delicate bundles of joy that require a lot of special love and attention, but they do have ways of telling you something is wrong. That is usually done via a lot of crying, kicking, screaming and squealing! Not being able to identify the source of discomfort will cause a lot of complaining for the baby and very frustrated parents.
One simple yet usually overlooked fix is the temperature of the baby. Whenever a baby becomes too hot or cold sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) can quickly occur. Especially in warm to hot climates overdressing the infant can be common. This is typically due to parents who know of their child’s inability to regulate their own body temperatures and the assumption is that they are always cold.
A simple fix for this is to dress the baby in layers starting with a sleeveless onesie as the base layer for example. Starting with this garment, a parent can add layers in the early morning, remove them as the day heats up, and they can be added again as late evening rolls around.
Atopic Dermatitis (Childhood Eczema)
One very common issue with babies is the proper treatment of their skin. In general, all babies have sensitive skin but there are a few special cases who may have inherited a gene causing extra sensitive skin. Not knowing what materials, fibers, treatments, and chemicals are present in a bodysuit onesie can cause a flare up. A few symptoms to be mindful of are dry, itchy, red or scaly skin.
When purchasing clothes or if you are a DIY type of parent it is advised to avoid vinyl and fur due to harsh chemicals and a choking hazard. 100% Cotton or cotton- polyester blends are the best for sensitive babies due to them being soft yet hardy enough to be washed a few times. To a lesser extent silk can be used but it is not very practical due to how hard it is to wash.