Keeping your baby safe

The car
Motor vehicle collisions are the Number One cause of death and injury for young children, according to the Infant & Toddler Safety Association. The safest location for an infant car seat is in the middle of the back seat. However, there are times when parents prefer to put the baby in the passenger seat beside them. In this instance, the Infant & Toddler Safety Association recommends that the passenger seat be pushed back as far as possible away from the dashboard.

A baby should never be placed in the passenger seat if the car is equipped with a passenger-side air bag. In a collision, the impact of an air bag is potentially lethal to a baby or small child. Also some passenger-side seat belts are not designed to hold infant car seats. Check your manual.

Introducing your pet
Some dogs and cats may react jealously to a new baby and, therefore, may be a danger. There are ways to prepare your pets for the babys arrival, but even with preparation, never leave a pet alone unsupervised with your baby. In the first weeks after the baby arrives home, you need to assess whether the pets will behave appropriately or whether you will need to find them another home.

• Play a sound-effects tape of a crying infant to acquaint your dog with the noise. You may be able to borrow one from the library.
• Bring a blanket with the baby's scent on it home from the hospital before you bring home the baby.
• Encourage the dog to sniff the baby in your arms.
• Give your dog positive attention while the baby is with you: He'll learn that nice things happen when the baby is around.
• Keep dog biscuits in your pocket and give the dog one every time you leave the baby's room. He'll learn to follow you out.
• Teach your dog a new command: Gentle.
• Mothers who are breast-feeding should not change kitty litter because they may contract a mild infection from the litter that could pass on to the breastmilk.
• Keep cats out of the baby's sleep area and away from baby's equipment or toys.

Safety Rules to Remember
• Read the labels on all baby medication.
• Hold a baby while you feed her. Don't leave her with a propped up bottle.
• Keep one hand on the baby while changing her on a change table.
• Always keep the sides of the crib or playpen up and locked in place.
• Don't tie a pacifier or a necklace around a baby's neck.
• Be wary of clothes with hoods and drawstrings.
• Use only sleepwear that is flame-retardant.
• Use only cold-air vaporizers.
• Never put a baby on a waterbed. (The mattress has too much give, and an infant can't lift his head away for air.)
• Don't drink hot liquids when holding an infant.
• Don't use pillows in a crib.
• Always use restraint straps on infant seats and strollers and the like.
• Never leave a baby in an infant seat anywhere high, and especially not on a couch or bed. If the seat tips, the baby's face might be pushed into the bedding or mattress.
• Always supervise an older sibling around the baby.
• Never leave a baby alone in the bath or on the change table.
• Turn the hot water beater down to WC (120F) from the usual 57-WC (135-140F).
• Don't throw your baby up into the air or drop her onto a bed as a game.
• Don't give a baby a balloon to play with. The loud bang when it breaks can hurt her tiny eardrums, and the thin pieces of material that remain could suffocate or choke her.