WellPoint’s affiliated Life and Disability Companies are pleased to announce Newborn and Parenting Resources - a new service designed to help new mothers adjust to their newborn baby child care and return to work after maternity leave. Newborn and Parenting Resources are available to all new and in-force short term disability plans offered by the affiliates effective 1/1/2010.
New moms have access to Newborn and Parenting Resources once their baby arrives and their short term disability claim has been approved. Then, they will receive eight weeks of Newborn and Parenting Resources services at no cost to them. The eight weeks start on the date the new mother enrolls in the program.
Once enrolled, the new mothers are paired with highly trained and licensed professional coaches who have advanced degrees in counseling and/or child development. The coaches provide support and help mothers set goals, address concerns and identify resolutions on topics including: returning to work, adjusting to a new baby, work/life balance, issues with older siblings, health and nutrition, child development and parent well-being. The coaches are available via e-mail, instant message chat, online journal and telephone. In addition, new mothers can receive a 12-month subscription to American Baby magazine and get discounts on products to make their house safe for their newborn.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the first baby or the fifth, we know making the transition from maternity leave to working outside the house can be challenging,” said Nick Brecker, president of Life and Disability, WellPoint, Inc. “We want new mothers to know we provide more than a benefits check. We provide new mothers with resources to help ease the transition back to work after their maternity leave and help them be successful working mothers.”
The transition from bottle to cup feeding or weaning is a gradual decision to make. Breast or bottle feeding is usually the best and sure way to soothe or comfort a child and weaning the child from these sources of comfort can distress parents as much as the child. However, even doctors recommend that bottles should be eliminated as a feeding tool by the time babies are one year old to prevent tooth decay and improper alignment of teeth. Here are some gentle weaning strategies, ways and child care tips that can help the child to drink with cups more cheerfully and happily and without much stress:
* Be very supportive to your child during the transition period and giver her extra support including hugging, playing with her to comfort her or help her soothe herself with her favorite toy or blanket.
* Children who can already handle sippy cups well may love to drink from a cup, just like ‘big people’.
* Early morning and late night nursing sessions are special for baby and mom and means ‘bonding time’. So, keep them until last and start eliminating one feeding at a time from sometime in between. You can gradually start from eliminating one feeding a week and then move on gradually by dropping one more feeding per week.
* Get your baby used to changes in routines first and learn how to break habits. You can change rooms, reschedule bath times or exchange the chores with your spouse.
* Make sure that your baby doesn’t get too hungry or she will become irritable and will refuse to accept any changes. Give her about six ounces of water or juice daily using a sippy cup and favorite snacks to soothe her.
* Postpone a feeding by just 15 minutes a day and shorten the duration of the feedings and you will soon find that the number of feedings will soon dwindle down.
* Whenever a child insists on being nursed or feeding on a bottle, you may want to distract her with errands and excursions by first taking her for a walk or reading her favorite storybook to her and she may forget her request and take to the cup easily.
* You can also consider making bottles less tasty for the baby by watering down the milk or just give them water in bottles and milk only in sippy cups.
