Brenda's Blog

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The clamp and the remainder of baby’s umbilical cord falls off an average of 8/9 days after birth, but it can vary from one baby to another. The baby’s tummy button can leave an unpleasant smell and occasionally not all of the umbilical cord falls away. Wash your baby’s tummy button regularly with a mild soap. I am a great believer in the elements before rushing to medical intervention. Just washing and exposing the tummy button area to air will help.

A good tip is to fold the top of the nappy down so the germs do not harbour in a moist warm environment. If symptoms persist seek the advice of the doctor.

I am often asked by parents, 'how can they adjust their child's routine to fit into the new time change.' When BST ends and the clocks go BACK an hour, your child will be super tired at the end of the day because they have had an extra hour to fill. Keep them going to reach the new time change. This is easier than when the clocks go forward as then your child's day is one hour shorter. When the clocks go FORWARD in the Spring, your child looses an hour in the day so they will have to go to bed an hour later to compensate for the loss of the hour in the day. As long as the next day starts at the usual consistent time before you made the clock change it will reset your child's body clock. The following 48 hours after the change maybe a struggle if your child is tired, but if you make the effort they will gradually move into a consistent routine in their day on the new time.

.....within only a few days we have all adjusted to the timings and the clock change is usually forgotten.

Dubai now looks like the New York skyline! Changed days from when I worked in the Special Care baby Unit in Abu Dhabi back in 1991. It has become a very cosmopolitan place and if it is the same now as when it was in 1991 only 10% of the population is made up of people born in the Emirates. The other 90% are from all over the world.

I had arranged some group meetings and consultations which included meeting people from Lebanon, South Africa, India, Kuwait and the UK to name but a few. English is spoken as their second language so communication was not an issue. I did however have to consider their cultural needs and take into consideration living in a very hot climate. All of the families followed a similar routine to the UK and did not take long siesta’s in the afternoon.  As they all had growing families they had the same stumbling blocks regarding sleep, routine, food, potty training and behaviour. 

My lovely host Danielle Wilson who did all my public relations work made me feel very comfortable in her villa and I was able to meet her children including the twins who I had sleep trained via Skype at 1 year of age.

I am hoping to make further visits to Dubai and reach out to more families. As they say in the Middle East “Inshallah!”(God be willing)