In child care, there are few issues more contentious than where a baby should sleep. It is the kind of thing that can arouse arguments between friends and drive wedges between spouses. Everyone seems to have strong feelings about it, and there are no sleeping conditions that all doctors categorically recommend for everyone. This makes it an extra thorny issue, but it does not have to be so complicated. Ultimately, the main goal is to sleep in a way that is most beneficial for both the baby and the parents. And while sleeping habits are a matter of personal choice, there are things that doctors do and do not recommend.
Read MoreCategory: Sleep
How to Put Your Baby to Bed Safely
It can be an emotional mix of relief and anxiety when you put your newborn to bed. Relief for the well earned break you are about to enjoy and anxiety as you listen to every breath and look for every movement your baby makes. You need to know you are putting your baby to bed in the safest possible way. Remember that cot death or sudden infant death syndrome is very rare and you can reduce the risk even further by following the sleeping advice from the experts detailed below.
Important ‘Tummy Time’ With Your Baby
Parents are now very aware of the importance of laying their babies on their backs to sleep as lying them on their tummies can increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). In fact, cot deaths have decreased by 40% since the recommendation was put into effect in 1994.
Soothing a Fussy Baby
If you are the parent of an infant, it is pretty much inevitable that you will have to deal with a fussy baby at least from time to time. For many parents, dealing with a fussy baby is a regular occurrence that quickly leads to frustration, loss of energy, and a lack of sleep.
Read MoreNewborn Sleep Patterns
If you are a new parent, you have probably already realized that your baby needs to sleep a lot. Parents of infants tend to complain quite a bit that they are sleep deprived because they are up all night long with their babies. While this is certainly a normal pattern for parents of newborns, there are some steps you can take to help your child sleep for longer periods of time without waking up constantly.
Read MoreIs Co-Sleeping With a Baby a Good Idea?
By Lisa Pecos
Co-sleeping is one of the most controversial issues in contemporary parenting, with some parents advocating it as a beneficial way to encourage parent-child bonding, and others arguing that it is not only unnecessary but dangerous. While there are no easy answers to this question, and both the benefits and the risks of co-sleeping are certainly real in many respects, most experts ultimately recommend moderation. Let us look more deeply at this issue and consider some of the main issues involved.
Read MoreWhat is Colic, and What Should You Do About It?
By Lisa Pecos
Babies are supposed to cry. Some do it more than others, and all babies cry a lot from time to time, but up to a certain point we usually do not think of babies’ crying as a big deal. Most of the time, it just means that the baby is feeling hungry or tired, and these problems are relatively easy to fix. But there is a certain percentage of babies-estimated to be between 15 and 25 percent-whose crying goes beyond normal. They cry seemingly all the time and are inconsolable, even when they are rested, well-fed, not too hot, and not too cold. Pediatricians refer to babies like this as “colic.”
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Helping Baby Sleep: Strategies and Safety
By Lisa Pecos
For new parents, getting the baby into a regular sleeping pattern can be a challenge. Newborns simply do not seem to be on the same schedule as the rest of us. They fall asleep whenever they get tired, which can be at unpredictable times, and they wake up at seemingly random intervals. This is part of what makes the first several months such a difficult stage for many parents; in accommodating the baby’s irregular patterns, it is hard to get enough sleep for yourself. When you combine this with all the other things new parents have to think about, these first few months can be exhausting.
Read MoreWhat Prevents Baby from Sleeping?
Many babies fall asleep and establish a good routine right from the start; others need a little help from their mother in establishing the correct sleeping patterns. Still others seem to cry at night for no rhyme or reason and the whole household is upset and disturbed for months – sometimes years. So what are the things that might prevent baby from sleeping well during the night? Read More
Use of a Night Light During Baby’s Sleep Time
A newborn baby does not need to have a night light to sleep well. Tiny babies can sleep well anywhere, at any time of the day or night. It is only as they get older that some toddlers develop a fear of the darkness and need a night light. But many nurseries are not completely dark anyway, there are frequently street lights close by that shine in through the curtains and traffic lights may also flash by.
However, using a night light rather than a bright light for the night feed can often help baby to settle down more easily afterwards. By remaining in a dim light full wakefulness will hopefully, be prevented. However, do what works best for you as the mother, and baby will soon adjust to it.
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