The whole ‘weaning debate’ has made press headlines of late following the results of research conducted at Nottingham University.

Which is best? ‘Baby led’ or ‘spoon-fed’?

Firstly, what’s the difference between spoon-feeding and baby-led weaning?

Spoon-fed weaning is largely under control of the parent in terms of when and how much to feed baby.

Baby led weaning places the control (as such) in baby’s hands; by giving your baby a choice of finger foods.

The aforementioned research proclaimed that babies weaned on pureed food tend to end up fatter than infants whose first tastes are finger foods. So, indirectly, according to this research, baby-led weaning is better.

BUT (and it’s a BIG BUT) the research was conducted with only 155 babies -  a significant shortcoming. The study compared information gathered on the diet and BMI of 92 child weaned on finger foods (baby-led weaning) and 63 children weaned using spoon-feeding.

In total, 10 spoon-fed children were above a healthy weight compared to nine in the baby-led weaning group – not a very significant difference!

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A crying baby has got to be one of the most difficult things to deal with as a new parent. The sound is simultaneously heart-wrenching and frustrating – and when you’re sleep deprived, you’ll do almost anything to help your baby stop crying and drift off into sweet sleep.

And there is a really cool iPhone app that just might do that, the new baby sleep iPhone app from Baby Sleeping Wonder.

The strangest things have been thought to help babies sleep. I have read about mums who place their babies next to the washing machine or a fan to help them drift off.

It sounds crazy but when you remember that your baby has been snuggles in a noisy uterus for 9 months, listening to mum’s heartbeat, the circulation of her blood, voices, music etc. then it’s no wonder that a consistent hum calms baby – ie. not so crazy.

The Sleeping Wonder Lite app by Baby Sleeping Wonder is a quick and simple recording with soothing sounds to help your baby to sleep.

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It’s called a 360° Feeding Bowl and it could be the solution to messy eating with your tot.

How it works: the angle of the bowl can be adjusted to suit your baby’s eating habits – and a wide, suction base prevents the bowl from tipping over while eating.

The bowls have been developed from research pertaining to a baby’s eating action. The spherical design allows food to collect at the lowest position so the baby can easily scoop food, whilst also avoiding splashing the surroundings.

I do somehow feel that a bit of messy eating and fuss is all part of the ‘learning to eat’ process; in other words… making a mess is part of the fun!

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I am constantly imparting words / pearls of wisdom to my two-and-a-half year old daughter, such as “sharing is caring”, “pushing is bad”, “don’t run in the road”, “leopard print is awesome” and “rock rules” – and I hope that if I say things enough times she will take my little life lessons to heart (especially the one about leopard print).

A new survey by Clinton Cards suggests that children do in fact remember what their mums teach them; the average mother will pass on 41 ‘pearls of wisdom’ to her children. That’s a pretty decent number – and I’ll bet that many of those luscious pearls have been passed down from generation to generation.

Here are the top 41 pearls of wisdom on mum’s necklace:

1. Always try your best.
2. If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.
3. Get an education – no-one can take that away from you.
4. Eat with your mouth closed.
5. If you don’t ask you don’t get.
6. Never spend money you don’t have.
7. Never take sweets from strangers.
8. Smile.
9. Never swim on a full stomach.

10. Treat people with respect.
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Every year since 2009 has been a ‘baby boom’ year. And I just read that 2012 is yet another baby boom year – Practical Parenting & Pregnancy (May 2012 p11) says that a baby boom among older mums has seen pregnancies surpass the post-war period for the first time.

So… to set the record straight: there has been a baby boom in the past decade! There are so many more children that more than 450,000 places in schools in England are needed by 2015, government figures show.

The Guardian reports that the problem of no space is most acute in London where, in some areas, children are being taught in shifts.

Hollywood is also in the midst of a baby boom. Expectant parents this year include Reese Witherspoon, Chris Hemsworth, Sarah Michelle Gellar & Freddie Prinze Jr., Anna Paquin & Stephen Moyer, Melissa Joan Hart, Tori Spelling, Neve Campbell, Uma Thurman, Jackson Rathbone, Sienna Miller, Molly Sims, Kourtney Kardashian, Alyson Hannigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kristen Cavallari.

Drew Barrymore and Megan Fox are rumoured to be preggers, and closer to home; Mark Owen and Robbie Williams are going to be dads.

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