Baby

When your baby is sleeping in another room, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is a valid concern. To ease parents' worries, a group of students from Winona State University have developed a high-tech baby monitor that can measure an infant's heartbeat, breathing, and movement, and even alert a doctor if something goes awry, reports Co.Exist.

The students, who call themselves the Miracle Workers, developed the blanket-looking device for Microsoft's annual student technology competition, Imagine Cup. A sensor-filled pad that is programmed with normal vital ranges according to different ages is placed on top of a baby's crib mattress. If the baby strays from the normal ranges while sleeping, then "the pad alerts the parents (and doctor if that option is selected) via a Windows Phone or tablet," according to the report.

The Miracle Workers say the device costs about $150 to manufacture, and they plan to sell it even if they don’t win the Imagine Cup. Would you pay that for peace of mind?

Many a mom puts off creating their child's baby book, as assembling an album of baby's first year often takes a backseat to parenting. But a start-up called Blinkbuggy aims to simplify the process, helping moms and dads put together the traditional piece of memorabilia online, TechCrunch reports.

Google ad sales manager Emma Weisberg says she recognized the need for a virtual baby book because so many baby photos are captured by mobile phones and shared by family and friends via email, Flickr, Facebook, and YouTube. Thus, she designed Blinkbuggy to allow parents to record all of their memories — photos, emails, notes, artwork, milestones, etc. — with one cloud-based service. Parents can categorize items for multiple children, as well as control privacy settings, depending on what content they want to make public and share with friends and family.

If all that sounds like a great way to organize and preserve memories of your child, then stay tuned. Weisberg says the ability to print albums and use a mobile app is in the works.

Having a baby is the most emotionally charged time of our lives. Within hours, minutes sometimes, we can swing from elation to despair and back again. The first days, weeks, and months after having a baby, our body (not to mention our life) goes through so many changes, it is no wonder we may experience massive highs and lows. 

So how can we tell what are normal, natural responses to an incredibly emotional time? And what are in fact warning signs of something more sinister? Postnatal depression is discussed a little more than it used to be, but the subject of postnatal anxiety is hardly ever spoken about.

Having suffered with anxiety myself, and running a 40,000-strong online community for mental health, I have come into contact with literally thousands of anxiety sufferers. So here I have put together a checklist of what are regular emotions for new parents, and what are likely warning signs you should contemplate seeking help.

Keep reading.

Of course you want to bond with your new baby and stimulate her rapidly developing brain, but how do you play with someone who can't talk yet, or even sit up? Reading stories and singing lullabies are classics for a reason, but after a few months, moms can get a bit bored — I know I did. Even the baby seemed bored.

The solution? I got creative, finding new ways to connect with and amuse my little one that were also fun for me. If you'd seen me in action, you might have thought I was nuts, but trust me, the baby loved every minute!

Keep reading for five fun ways to shake up the routine and keep baby entertained.

This video has to be seen to be believed. Even though 7-month-old Ryder Blair can't yet walk, he moves faster than any baby we've ever known. In the video below, we get a perfect view of the quiet glee that grows on his face as he takes off — on water skis!

The Huffington Post notes — and we want to repeat — that even though Ryder is accompanied by his mom and other adults and is not actually attached to a speed boat, this isn't something you should try at home!