Most women face labour with some anxiety and trepidation, particularly with their first child. It should help you feel more prepared and relaxed if you have a good idea of what happens and why, even though no-one will be able to tell you exactly when.   We can break down labour into three main stages: Effacement and dilation Passing through the birthing canal Delivering the placenta Effacement and dilation For the nine months of your pregnancy your baby has been kept safe in a sealed environment by the sac of amniotic fluid and the mucous plug in your cervix. Before your baby can pass out of your womb through the cervix, the cervix will have to change completely. Not only will the mucous plug be lost, and often seen by pregnant women as a 'show', but the cervix walls will have to thin, soften and open out to ten centimetres to allow the baby's head to pass through. The thinning and softening process is known as 'effacement' and the later opening as 'dilation'. Your thinned out cervix is pulled upwards by contractions in the walls of the uterus until the cervical canal disappears completely and leaves the way through into the birth canal, the vagina, free for your baby. When this happens you are said to be fully dilated. This first part of this stage, known as early or latent labour, usually happens gradually over a number of weeks. But don't worry, that won't mean you'll be having painful contractions for weeks: if you efface and begin to dilate gradually then you either won't notice the contractions at all or they won't cause much discomfot. For some women effacement doesn't occur until just before labour begins in earnest, in which case labour is usually longer. With subsequent babies women often start to dilate earlier, well before strong and regular contractions begin. Once you're in the hospital or your midwife is with you, the midwife will probably check numerous times to see how far dilated you are. You won't be considered in active labour until you're at least 3cm dilated. Once you are fully dilated (at 10cm) you move into the transition stage, at the end of which you'll feel the baby push down on your pelvic floor and feel the urge to push. The time between when you're aware of being in labour - when you feel stonger and more regular contractions - to being fully dilated is usually between two and twenty hours. Passing through the birthing canal This is where the pushing starts. In this second stage of labour you help your contracting uterus push your baby through and out of the birthing canal. You baby will be pushed head-first down the canal, as this is the largest part of his body. This takes on average around an hour, but for first babies it might well be as long as two hours and for later babies it could all be over in as little as fifteen minutes. Delivering the placenta Having sustained your baby for the last nine months the job of the placenta is now done and needs to be expelled so that your body can start getting back to normal. Your body usually rests for five to fifteen minutes after your baby is delivered before delivering the placenta and the third stage is triggered by oxytocin, the hormone that is produced when you touch and hold your baby for the first time or put him to your breast. In this third stage of labour the placenta first separates from the wall of the uterus, tearing through the blood vessels that join them. The uterus then begins contractions again - but relatively mild ones in comparison to the ones that just gave birth to your baby - and the placenta is eased out. Once the placenta is out your uterus contracts rapidly to its pre-pregnancy size, and closing off the open blood vessels of the placenta to prevent excessive bleeding.

Do you believe everything you hear about baby milestones and how to give your baby the best? Are you one of those parents who, beyond question, believe everything you hear about how to give your baby the best? And then rush off to buy the latest recommendation? For the best baby products...

If you're focusing on developing your baby's full potential, you will regularly hear the same myths. Here are 3 of the Most Frequent Milestone Myths

Myth #1: Skipping any of the major milestones is a clear cut sign of superior development.

Myth #2: My baby is very intelligent. She doesn't have to master the milestones.

Myth #3: I don't need to know what the baby milestones are... all babies automatically and spontaneously master all of them.

Bottles, teats etc. must be sterilized. You can purchase sterilizing units, but if these aren’t available as when you are visiting relatives, you can sterilize a bottle in any plastic tank with the appropriate chemicals.

Bottle feeding babies with formula will bring about some changes.

Their stools will change in color and be firmer, much more like an adult stool. There is an increased chance of constipation and of colic. Here's a resource you can consult if that happens.

Breast milk is complex – it changes during a feed from the thin fore milk which gives baby a refreshing drink, to the much richer hind milk, full of nutrition. This just isn’t possible with formula.

Eventually of course baby will want something more than either breast milk or formula though these should be continued alongside weaning food.

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Mothers in the trial will be encouraged to breastfeed, but those who decide to use formula before 4 months will be offered the new hypoallergenic milk or a placebo. Paediatricians said the international trial hopes to recruit about 1,200 pregnant women. "The PATCH study is trying to find the next best way to feed infants apart from breastfeeding and how to control allergies."

The average parent will tell their child almost 3,000 little white lies as they're growing up - just to get their own way, it emerged yesterday. Our study of 3,000 parents found that every day each mum or dad will tell at least one fib to get their offspring to comply with their wishes.

Among the classic fibs wheeled out in homes around the country are that Father Christmas only gives presents to good children, spinach gives you big muscles and sitting in front of the television for too long gives you square eyes. Others include eating crusts puts hair on your chest and that the jingle of an ice cream van signifies that it has sold out of lollies and cornets.

The study also found that a whopping 66 per cent of parents were prepared to turn to a white lie if all else had failed.

The funny thing is that most of the little white lies we tell our own children are ones that our parents told us and chances are, they came from our grandparents too. So the fables get passed automatically from each generation to the next.

The most common lie - told by 84 per cent of parents - is that Father Christmas only gives presents to good little children.

Second was that Father Christmas only visits children who go to sleep nicely on Christmas Eve - used by eight in 10.

A further 60 per cent of adults have told their children that sitting too close to the television will make their eyes go square.

And forty eight per cent of parents have convinced their offspring that eating spinach will make them strong.

Another 39 per cent said they frequently told their children not to cross their eyes - as the wind will change and they'll stay like it.

A quarter of parents have told their little ones that their private parts will drop off if they play with them too much.

20 per cent of kids have been warned that the police will arrest them if they swear.

Other little white lies include the fact that crocodiles live under the bed, and also that making silly faces will make God cross and he will freeze their faces.

Interestingly, the majority of parents polled agreed their children pretty much stopped believing everything they were told by their eighth birthday.

But the study found that until that point, youngsters absorb everything Mum and Dad say, repeating it to teachers, friends and even family members.

Eight in 10 parents said they often told little white lies to their kids to protect them from the truth, whilst 46 per cent made lies up if they didn't know the real answer to a question.

TOP TALES WE TELL OUR KIDS

1. Father Christmas only comes to good little children (84 per cent)
2. Father Christmas only visits children who go to sleep (81 per cent)
3. Sitting too close to the TV makes your eyes go square (60 per cent)
4. Spinach makes you strong (48 per cent)
5. If you cross your eyes the wind will change and they'll stay there (39 per cent)
6. An apple tree will grown in their tummies if they eat apple pips (27 per cent)
7. If children play with their privates too much, they will drop off (25 per cent)
8. The ice cream van only play music to let children know it has run out of ice cream (22 per cent)
9. Eating crusts will put hair on your chest (22 per cent)
10. The police arrest children who swear (20 per cent)

We were somewhat surprised by the fact that one of the biggest white lies of all slipped through the net – the fact that every year, some drunk fat bloke in a red suit and false beard manages to get down a chimney (or even a gas flue), complete with bicycles, wendy-houses and other large items, and completes a global distribution round, pulled by flying reindeer.

Andrew or Aaron? Kelly or Kimberly? Claudette or Clarisse? Identifying the right name for your child can be a harrowing experience, and the closer you get to the due date without agreement, the more stressful it can become. These nine tips will help you find the name that makes you nod in thrilled agreement, with time to spare.

1. Keep an open mind. This is the cardinal rule. Be open to each other's suggestions – to your own flights of fancy and free association, to names that come out of leftfield that you aren't even sure are names but somehow hit a nerve. The name conversation isn't the kind you've embarked on before, at least not seriously, and you'll probably discover quite quickly that it's a conversation loaded with emotion. The best thing you can do for each other is to open your mind to whatever possibilities arise. Use the funnel technique: Start broad, using lenient guidelines, and then narrow the discussion over time. This way you won't rule out any names prematurely, and you'll also allow for new, previously unconsidered names to pleasantly surprise you.

2. Don't tell anybody the ones you're considering. You might figure that bouncing your ideas off others will prove illuminating – at least until the fourth time you hear someone say, "Oh, I don't like the name Stuart. My friend's cousin's brother-in-law once sat behind a guy with that name in second grade, and he was a total jerk. Different spelling, but still." You might even want to devise fake names reasonable enough that people (like your parents) won't be suspicious or frustrated when you disclose them. Don't say, "We're considering Vartox or maybe Pinocchio," just to be coy. When you announce the name after the baby arrives, and they ask what happened to the earlier ones, tell them you don't remember those names ever being part of the discussion. Another reason to keep the lid on your favorite names is that you might have one you like but that you've decided to save for your next child. If you go telling everyone within earshot, you have only yourselves to blame if others decide it's a good name, too.

3. Give yourselves a deadline. The due date is fast approaching, and your short list still contains half a dozen names. Others have told you not to worry because, once the baby arrives, it will be perfectly obvious which name best suits him or her. Ignore these people.

4. Browse the books and Internet. You may feel it's not natural to use some anonymous person's suggestions for names, but one you haven't thought of, maybe the ideal one, may jump out at you from the pages of a book, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. As long as your baby gets the name that fits him or her best, does the source really matter?

5. Don't limit yourself. Names evolve over time, fluctuating in popularity, going in and out of fashion, and making their way through various regions and different ethnic groups. There is no rule dictating that a particular name can only fit certain contexts from one generation to the next. So don't relegate your searches only to "names for Jewish children," "Popular Asian names for the 21st century" or "Biblical baby names." You merely want to find a name that resonates with you and that you can imagine your baby carrying around with pride and confidence. So don't worry if the name seems out of context or unusual to your particular demographic. Think about this: It was probably thought outlandish the first time someone named their baby Madison, but in 2001, it was the most popular girls' name.

6. Don't get caught up in boundaries. Most parents start with precisely the same guidelines: a name that is a) distinctive, b) without being overly trendy and c) that doesn't lend itself to teasing or embarrassing nicknames. So what happens if a name suddenly strikes you as the one even if it doesn't fit neatly within these parameters? Go with it. First, names are only as distinctive as the people who own them. Second, "trendy" is a constantly changing concept. Third, it doesn't matter what a child's name is – friends (especially boys) will find funny monikers whether the name lends itself to one or not. The bottom line? Trust your instinct – it's always the best guide.

7. Don't be too quick to discard.You might find a name completely wrong the first time you hear it – six months later it may seem perfect. Consider how often your opinion on other topics changes over the course of nine months. As the pregnancy moves along, you'll come to feel closer and closer to your developing baby, and this may change the way you feel about certain names. So keep doors open as long as you can.

8. Honor thy father and thy mother – but honor thy baby first. Certain familial pressures will accompany the naming of your child. Consider yourselves lucky if you're not subject to plenty of this kind of thing: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if he were named after so and so? But we don't want to influence your decision." Though it would be nice if you could please everybody, you can't. There's only one baby, and he or she can only take on so many names. So concentrate first on finding a name that suits you, then on finding one that suits everyone else around you. In the end, everyone will just be happy that the little bundle arrives safe and sound.

9. For Pete's sake, have fun with it. Your partner may come up with names you find perfectly ridiculous. Don't get frustrated. Enjoy the process, and learn to laugh about the names you disagree on, just like you've learned to laugh about other disagreements. You're discussing what will be the most important, most enduring part of your emerging child's identity. It should be celebrated!

You may not agree with everything you hear, but at least you will have chance to discuss things with other parents whose babies are going through the same stages as yours. And don’t be put off if your baby doesn’t quite fit into the patterns you hear about.

There will always be babies that are quicker, have more teeth, cope with burger and chips and so on. But they aren’t your very individual baby with his own timetable and likes and dislikes. This so-called fourth trimester is over so quickly. baby food review >> home

Soon you will have other things to think about - choosing schools, trying on uniforms and all the rest. Enjoy your baby while you can. Before you know it they will be tall, independent and all grown up. For more baby food accessories please click the link for cheap baby accessories.

The nursery is furnished, the diapers stockpiled and the wait for the big day is on. So much time is spent preparing for the delivery and organizing the nursery for the new baby that parents tend to forget things like the weather and how it can affect not only the comfort of your infant once she arrives home, but also that time between – getting from hospital to home.

Whenever traveling with a newborn, it pays to be prepared for anything. In some areas, weather is unpredictable at various times of the year. By thinking ahead you can keep your new baby safe and comfortable on both his first trip out into the world and once you arrive home.

Spring

"When you bring a baby home in the spring there are fewer things to worry about than in other seasons, as the weather has less impact," says Barbara Dehn, a women's health nurse practitioner from Los Altos, Calif. "[However,] the weather can have some unexpected highs/lows and showers. That's why diaper bags need so many compartments for that extra hat, socks and a blanket to cover the baby with."

The last thing new parents need is to be caught unprepared. Taking home a baby who is too hot or, even worse, too cold, can be an unhappy experience for all.

"I delivered my first (and only) in mid-May," says April O'Herron of Brecksville, Ohio. "When I was admitted, it was warm. When I came out, I was totally unprepared. The weather was cold. [My baby] was screaming [and] we hadn't practiced the car seat latch, which was difficult to engage, and I could barely get my too-lightweight jacket on."

To be better prepared, Jennifer Walker, a registered nurse and co-author of The Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care