My Experiences

Having the baby was over all a good experience. My family liked the baby and he wasn't a very big hassle.
Though it did get a bit annoying remembering to bring him and take him every where. The baby was awake and asleep off and on all the time during the day. When he would be awake he would become very social with everybody and would not stop crying until he had constant attention. I was the only one who could get him to stop crying. : )

The baby was fun and I enjoyed talking about it with people who asked questions. I didn't get any bad responses and it really wasn't too hard. Everybody was supportive and encouraging. My mom was really into the baby and constantly wanted to help. I didn't find it difficult to take him with me everywhere.

I am glad the project is pretty much over but it wouldn't bother me to continue it for another week. I found it fun and it did help me realize how much work a baby would be. With how easy the baby is to take care of when it DOESN'T cry, eat and poop makes me realize how hard it would be if it DID. If I had a real baby right now it would be MUCH harder and I would need a lot more help with things. I think having the fake babies that really cry and must be held would be fun but I would have disliked this project a lot more. It would have given a more realistic approach to the project. Over all this project was really fun. I enjoyed dressing the baby and letting people "play" with him and talk to him. It was fun watching people treat him like a real child.

Teething babies

Babies have lots of "phases" in there lives. One of them is teething. Teething is when a baby is beginning to grow teeth. This starts at around six months of age but can be different for every baby. Babies gums become very sore and irritated and makes them very fussy. There are multiple ways you can help your baby find relief from this. There are things you can buy and things you can use that are at home. Some things can become frozen and others have medicine. There are lots of signs that will warn you that your baby is teething. Some have teething symptoms, such as excessive drooling and crankiness weeks before a tooth actually emerges, while others show no signs at all.

Some things you can buy are toys with water in them that can be frozen. The baby can chew on these and the cold helps numb their gums and lessen the pain. These toys are sold at almost any store. Some of them are soft and "gummy" feeling and others are more hard. It is nice to make these toys cold, but not too cold because it is bad for the babies teeth to be exposed to extreme cold. You could also use a frozen carrot or banana. Cheese is also a good item to give your baby while teething. Brushing your baby's teeth can be painful while teething so cheese can save you a little of that trouble. Cheese will help clean the baby's teeth while soothing the pain. This saves money from buying a toy.

There are some medicines you could buy for your baby. You rub this medicine ( http://www.vitacost.com/Pureline-Oralcare-Gumeze-Baby-Teething-Gel ) on their gums and it helps numb the pain. You can buy this medicine at almost any store. This is not the only brand of this medicine and this method can be dangerous to the baby because this medicine can be washed away with saliva from the baby. (The baby will be drooling more than usual during this teething period.) This is dangerous because the baby can swallow too much of the medicine and the throat can become numb and interfere with the gag reflex.

There are other things that you can do but you should not give him/her any painkillers containing aspirin until he/she is over 16 years of age because of a rare but potentially fatal illness called Reye's syndrome ( http://www.reyessyndrome.org/what.html ) which can occur in children given aspirin. Even baby asprin is bad. Just because it is called "Baby Asprin" doesnt mean it is for babies. ( http://benfuturepharmd.blogspot.com/2009/01/is-baby-aspirin-safe-for-babies.html ). If your baby is especially cranky, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) may help. You could also give your baby Hylands Teething Tablets ( http://hylands.com/products/teething.php ). 

The first teeth to appear at around six months of age are usually the two lower central incisors - or ‘cutting teeth’. These are followed by the two upper central incisors. Once the teeth start to come through, they appear at the rate of around one a month. So by his/her first birthday, your baby may have six teeth.( http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/baby/teeth/order_appearance_teeth.asp ) Teeth break through one at a time over a period of months, and often, but not always, in this order: First the bottom two middle teeth, then the top two middle ones, then the ones along the sides and back. They may not all come in straight, but don't worry, they usually straighten out over time.

If you are dealing with this and it is your first child, don't worry. If you see anything that you think is unusual take your baby to his/her dentist. All babies are different and some grow and mature faster than others. Every baby is special and every baby is unique. Teething is a very positive and memorable experience that you can capture and remember for ever.

James' second play date :D

James had a play date with Morgan's baby, Carter :)

Baby James

Kimberly and James

My first day as a teen parent

The response I got from my mom about me becoming a teen parent did not surprise me because I knew that she would support me. She would not kick me out and she would help me with the costs of raising a baby.

The reaction I got from strangers about this project were positive. They all agreed that teens should have to go through this. My mom is also very involved in this project and is constantly asking if I need help with anything. Many people at school also seem surprised that i am carrying a bag of sugar that is supposed to be a baby. i have gotten compliments on how cute my baby is and i have also gotten comments about how creepy my baby is.

If I could start this project over I would have fixed the size of my baby's face so it fit the bag of sugar better. I also think that an actual baby doll would be more enjoyable because it would already have a face, arms and legs. I would not want the baby dolls that cry and make noise and stuff because that would make me really irritated and i don't think we need to go through that much stress.

I think the most surprising thing about the "Baby Costs"  was the cost of the doctor bills.