Lucky Baby Safety Gate

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 at 8:47 pm  
Comments (11)
Lucky Baby Safety Gate

Teach Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

Author: julie gardner

As a Mum, it’s pretty fair to say that your life will never be the same!

But night time doesn’t have to be a big upheaval. Once your baby can sleep through the night, and you can get uninterrupted sleep. You will be amazed at how much easier everything becomes.

If you are one of the lucky one’s whose partner takes it in turns with the night feeds… Well you should count your blessings now. My partner is a professional driver, and I didn’t want him tired while at work, dangerous driving wouldn’t keep his job!

Firstly you have to remember that all babies are different. If your neighbour is boasting that her baby slept through from the third week, unfortunately it doesn’t mean that your baby will be the same! My son slept through from 6 weeks, my daughter from 11 weeks. While you are getting up in the night to feed your baby, it may seem like an eternity that will never end, it will though!

Teach your baby the difference between day & night

It’s a good idea to get your baby into a routine as soon as possible. At first he doesn’t know the difference between day and night, so you need to teach him.

Establish a bedtime routine. Maybe a bath, put on pyjama’s, followed by a story and a last feed. Try putting your baby into his cot awake, and let him fall asleep by himself. This will help to stop problems in the future when baby wakes up in the night. He will then be able to settle himself instead of needing poor old tired mum to help him get back to sleep.

Baby’s night feed tips

Some babies will still need their night time feeds for longer than others. The idea is, that if your baby doesn’t need his nightly feed, to encourage him to sleep through instead.

  • Keep the lighting as low as possible when feeding your baby in the night. If you turn the light on full, to your baby this will look just like daylight.

  • Keep the night feed as un-stimulating as possible for baby. If you spend time cooing over him, he will think it’s a great playtime. Make the feed quiet and as quick as possible.
  • Try to avoid direct eye contact with your baby (I know, I know, easier said than done) All you want to do is look into his eyes and smile lovingly at him, even if it is 3am! Try not too, your baby loves nothing more than gazing at Mum, but he needs to know that now isn’t the time. If he doesn’t get stimulation he wants he will be more willing to go back to sleep.
  • Only change your baby’s nappy if he really needs it doing. There’s no better way of fully waking your baby than changing his nappy.

By the time your baby is 6 to 9 months he will be a lot less dependant on these night feeds. It could be more of a habit than hunger at this age. To determine if your baby does still need this night time feed, try offering some cooled boiled water instead. You may find that he loses interest and goes back to sleep.

If you’re baby is waking in the night and doesn’t want a feed, but needs your help to get back to sleep. Or if your baby won’t go to sleep on his own without being rocked or falling asleep on mum, then visit me – Julie at: http://www.new-baby-and-beyond.com/baby-sleep-problems.html

Or to see lots more info on baby sleep, http://www.new-baby-and-beyond.com/babysleep.html

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/babies-articles/teach-your-baby-to-sleep-through-the-night-398737.html

About the Author

I’m Julie, mum of two beautiful but very demanding kids!

After trying for 3 years to get pregnant with my first child, and then knowing nothing about babies when he did come along. I picked up loads of great advice along the way.

I have created my web site to help ease women naturally into motherhood. So grab a cuppa and take a look around my site, dedicated to all the mothers of the world, new and not so new! Motherhood is a joyous occasion, make it the best time in your life!

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. QUESTION:
    Fisher Price recalls 7 million trikes & tough trikes toddler because 10 children hurt.Is this excessive ?
    In the article I read, it stated that 10 children had been hurt, 6 of whom required hospital treatment.Apparently , there is a protruding ignition key that could cause injury if a child sat on it or were to somehow fall on it.I have raised 2 children and have grandchildren so I am aware kids may not always use a toy as it is intended.I also know that it was also up to me to diligently supervise them while at play to try ensure they didn’t get hurt.

    I just wondered why the toy companies do not have someone from the Consumer Product Safety Commission on staff to see if they could come up with a product design that is 100% child safe.I just think that 10 reports is not a very significant amount .Before anyone thinks I’m a child hater or something let me state that when my children were babies and toddlers the accepted walker at the time was a tubular steel folding frame with a plastic seat with snap in wheels , the high chair was raised on 4 legs with no supporting base braces and a small tray intended for eating in (not all day play area) and I regularly checked on my babies because we didn’t have baby monitors. We had an expanding door gate.My point is my children were never hurt by the lack of the current safety standards because I watched my kids. I’m not saying kids never got hurt in the past, maybe I was just lucky.I just don’t know if a product can be made that is 100% safe and nothing ,not even the Consumer Product Safety Commission can replace parental supervision. Anyone have any thoughts on this
    Sorry for the thumbs down,I just don’t feel the need to.

    • ANSWER:
      With the amount of products that have been recalled, between poor design, and lead paint, it seems like the trikes got thrown in with the rest of it. It is a bit excessive, but lead poisoning concerns me most, since I have several of the items on the list(still waiting for the e-mail detailing how to tell if they’re toxic or not), and my kids did use them to teeth. I recall a hot news story a year or 2 back in time where a toddler actually died because she had eaten some lead paint chips while playing on her front porch, after tricking her immigrant(legal) parents into signing forms that they couldn’t even read about lead toxicity.
      I agree that no product can be 100% safe, but in the world we live today, with everyone so lawsuit happy, that Fisher Price is taking a better safe than sorry approach. Those 10 sets of parents probably raised hue and cry and threatened them with lawsuits and bad press had they not recalled them. It’s the same reason that every single plastic bag you come across in the US has a “do not allow babies or infants to play with this, or use it in their cribs” warning printed on it(because, ya know how some bags are safer than others…./end sarcasm). Common sense is a thing of the past, unfortunately, and I know I sound like an anti feminism type person(I’m a woman myself) when I say it, but with so many woman leaving their child(ren) in other’s care so they can work, a lot of good parenting skills have gone out the window.

  2. QUESTION:
    Long story, Crazy neighbors. Please help!!?
    Last year their daughter would give us dirty looks because I was pregnant and play her music very loud at all hours of the day, she was doing drugs. I would call the cops and it would stop. Then their dogs kept getting in our yard and running away through the hole in my fence. They expected us to fix both holes in the fence. I wouldn’t as it was not my problem, they then would put things in front of my gate so the dogs would stay in my backyard and not run away. I would move them and they’d yell and get pissy. One day their dog ran into my house and I told them to keep the dog off my property or I would call animal control. She then starts yelling at me and tells me my unborn baby is going to run away and that the state was going to take him. As a pregnant woman I naturally got really pissed, I knew her daughter had been pregnant so I told her that I was glad the state took the baby away from a drug user and I hoped they would never see it again. She was using in plain site before hand. She yells to me that her kid has a “mental illness”. When her dog finally runs away and doesn’t come back she leaves a note on my door blaming me that it ran away and that “Carma a bitch”. (She can’t spell) She called the cops saying it was in my backyard. Of course it wasn’t. Since then they have been harassing us non stop. She asked my husband If his dad was gone as in dead. He has cancer and she knew this. She keeps parking in front of my house which I can’t do anything about, but when my guests park in front of her house she comes over and bangs on my door till I answer and tells me to move it. If I don’t then she keeps banging on my door. I have not been nice in any of these circumstances, I honestly don’t help the situation but the things she says..she’s lucky I don’t do worse. I do not start things when I see her, I ignore her until she starts threatening me or saying things that would make you want to jump her. I never go on to her property and verbally abuse or threaten her in any way, she has done this numerous times. Plus I think the daughter and her male friend are dealing drugs and I am scared for my sons safety. The HOA will not deal with them, they said they are getting a break because they are going through “hard times”. They are breaking so many of the rules that are enforced on everyone but them. What the hell can I do? The HOA president won’t do anything and I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough evidence for the police. Please help…
    I have already and my son and I think it’s way to late to try and make peace. They want a war.

    • ANSWER:
      call the ops for each problem… everytime


5 Tips To Help Your Baby Go To Sleep

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 3:15 am  
Comments (27)

New parents often find that one of the greatest challenges they face is when their baby won’t sleep. Teaching a baby to fall asleep and stay asleep should be a top priority for new parents as sleep deprivation can lead to childhood obesity, depression, behavioral problems, illness and learning difficulties.

There are proven baby sleep techniques that can really help babies and parents find a better night’s sleep.  Here are 5 tips to help your baby go to sleep easier:

1. Develop a Baby Sleep Routine – Children thrive on routine and predictability. With proper nap and bedtime routines, a child will know what to expect and begin to welcome sleep as part of the daily schedule. A typical bedtime routine might last 20-30 minutes (possibly longer for spirited children) and include diaper and pajamas, a quiet game, breastfeeding/bottle/cup (for babies under 2), teeth brushing, potty (if applicable), reading, cuddling, and then lights out. A nap routine is similar to the bedtime routine, but usually shorter, about 10 minutes.

Your baby’s sleep routine does not necessarily need to include bath time. Parents simply may not have time or energy to bathe their child every day, and, until they are older and getting very dirty, there is no need. Second, if a child is spirited, a bath may actually do more to energize the child than calm him.

2. Schedule an Early Bedtime – An early bedtime is crucial to a good night’s sleep for baby. When babies and young children are overtired, they may have more difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep and will often wake too early in the morning. While many parents think that keeping a child up later at night will help with baby sleep problems, it is actually the early bedtime that will lead to a more restful sleep for a baby and lead to later waking in the morning.

3. Ensure Baby Takes Naps – The better a baby naps during the day, the better she will sleep at night because she is less likely to be overtired at bedtime. A good nap lasts at least one hour and is in a quiet, sedentary location, versus in a stroller, swing or car, which is not nearly as restorative. Shorter, more frequent naps are common during baby’s first 6 months. If your baby is in daycare, parents may need to work with their daycare providers to establish a baby sleep routine  and techniques to enable the baby or toddler to nap longer.

4. Avoid Sleep Associations – Babies, like all humans, have natural sleep cycles, which are periodic awakenings throughout the night. Often baby sleep techniques for new parents will involve a soothing device or action, like a pacifier, bottle, nursing, or rocking, which baby cannot replicate on his own when he awakens between sleep cycles. When baby cannot go back to sleep, he will likely cry out for Mom or Dad to help him. Baby sleep associations are often at the root of so many baby sleep problems. This is why it’s important for parents to put the baby into his bed awake, so that he falls asleep on his own and will be able to put himself back to sleep during the night.

5. Manage Baby Night Feedings – Through the first nine months, it is considered normal for babies to eat one or two times overnight. Some stop much sooner on their own accord or with just a little nudge from mom. If a baby is eating more frequently than that or she is older than nine months, Mom may want to consider cutting back (or cutting out) night feedings. All babies are different and experts disagree as to when feeding baby at night should stop. A mom knows her baby best and will be best able to determine whether she still needs to eat at night, but any more than two feedings after three months old and she probably has a sleep association with nursing or the bottle.

Everyone’s situation is unique and that what works for one family may not work for another. It takes courage and dedication to work through your baby’s sleep issues, but the time spent on teaching your baby healthy sleep habits will be worth it.

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About the Author:
Nicole Johnson is a baby sleep coach and the owner of The Baby Sleep Site specializing in baby sleep products and consulting services. She also works with Babble Soft, a premier baby software company, in order to further help new parents. Nicole is a wife and the mother of two boys. With a B.A. degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Ohio State University, Nicole has also received an honorary degree in “Surviving Sleep Deprivation,” thanks to her son’s “no sleep” curriculum. She has become an expert on infant and toddler sleep and has made it her mission to help other parents solve their child’s sleep problems, too.
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Babies like to sleep

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 11:32 pm  
Comments (4)

One of the first things you’ll notice when bringing your newborn home is that they love to sleep. During your first week with your newborn you’ll notice that baby will sleep up to around 14 to 18 hours a day. Upon reaching their first month it typically goes down to about 12 to 16 hours a day. Now for some of you thinking you’ll be able to get tons and tons of sleep that’s just not gonna happen. While your baby may be sleeping somewhere between 12 to 18 HRS and they will not be sleeping for more than 2 to 4 hours at a time, day or night, for at least the first few weeks. So by now I’m sure you’re guessing your baby will be nice and rested and you will be completely and utterly exhaust.

These first few weeks are going to seem like an eternity. You will be sleep deprived wondering when you’re going to be able to get to sleep next. Your baby needs these short bursts of sleep which allows them to go into REM or rapid eye movement sleep. This is thought to be essential to their early development of the brain. It may seem to last forever but you just have to make it through the first couple of weeks.

Now you’re hovering somewhere around a 3 to 6 month mark and you notice your baby starts to sleep quite a bit more somewhere around 5 to 6 hours at night. This is a much needed break from sleeping almost zero at night. While you will be giving the regular sleep that your normally used to 5 to 6 hours will seem like a dream come true. A great thing that you can start with your baby as soon as possible is to get them into a bedtime routine this way they do not get their days and nights confused.

Begin by laying them in their cribs getting them ready for bed and may be singing a lullaby and giving a kiss goodnight. Babies have a tendency to learn quickly when taught by routine, so the quicker you start a routine the better it will be for you and baby. This is a good example to follow for other things as well everything from feeding to cleaning up. Babies learn quick and as long as you stay on top of it they will learn what you are teaching them very very quickly.

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About the Author:
Your baby will grow up fast and you will need things like highchair toys and more. Come visit highchairtoys.com for a great selection of highchair toys.
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