Parenting for Beginners

Author: Lynda Harding

At first your new little one will probably do nothing but sleep, waking for only short periods of time, up to two hours max and sleeping for longer periods of 3 – 4 hours. It is essential that your newborn does NOT sleep through the entire night while they are just as few weeks old, as they need frequent feeding to grow and thrive.

That being said, there is a wealth of advice out there explaining all sorts of different methods that can help you to get your newborn to sleep at night.

As sleep is so very dear to our hearts I just wanted to share with you all my 5 newborn sleep tips. Please feel free to adopt as many as you wish or maybe combine them with other techniques that you have tested… I do hope it results in happy sleeping babies with equally happy well rested parents.

Step 1 Create the mood!
A great way, nearly always guaranteed to help ‘bring on’ those sleepy feelings is to give your little one a lovely warm bath, preferably with suitable baby night time aroma bubble bath! Follow this with a clean nappy, and then a little baby massage. Any gentle caressing of the baby’s arms, legs, body and forehead will really help bring on those sleepy feelings… but hey DON’T OVER DO IT…. You need to make sure you slip in the next step first!

Step 2 Full Tummy
Always make sure that your baby has a really satisfying feed at both the early evening and late night feeding times. Whether this is breast or bottle, it is essential that you really try to make sure that they take a full feed before they drop off to sleep. Of course, it is a ‘must’ that your baby is fully winded, so as to avoid griping tummy pains, which are certain to cause discomfort and a restless baby. A full feed almost always guarantees a longer, more settled sleep.

Step 3 Swaddling + Pacifier
A great way to help newborns feel safe and secure is to swaddle them tightly. This offers them reassurance by reminding them of life in the womb and also helps with limiting waking caused by the startle reflex (Moro reflex – when a baby suddenly startles with their limbs outstretched). Swaddling is a fantastic technique to use for around the first 3-4 months or so.
A pacifier is also great way to help babies to settle. Pacifiers satisfy a baby’s natural sucking instinct and a lot of babies find them really soothing, as the sucking gives them a feeling of security. Pacifiers have also been proven to reduce the risk of a sudden infant death incident occurring.

Step 4 Give a little love!
Who can resist that night time cuddle with their newborn and normally it only takes a short while before your little one has peacefully and contentedly drifted off to the land of nod! If you prefer to put your baby down while drowsy but still awake, a great way to help them still feel secure is to give them a comforter that you have had next to your body (tucked down your top for around one hour) so they can still smell ‘mum’ on it. In fact, a comforter is great to use even if you put your little one down when they are already asleep; if they stir after a short while, the aroma of mum may be all that they need to help them drift back off to sleep. (Quick tip… make sure you have at least 2 comforters so that you can have one in the wash and one in use!)

Step 5 Make night feeds dull!!!
Always make night feeds subdued, with as little interaction as possible. Keep the room dimly lit and disturb your baby as little as possible. Don’t even change their nappy unless it’s a dirty one (No 2) or you really think it’s necessary. Just feed your baby, wind her and then place her back in her cot/crib with her comforter.

Last and by no means least be aware of safe sleep guidelines (check out the full guidelines at www.fsid.org.uk Always place your baby to sleep on their back with their feet to the foot of the cot, in a nursery that is not too warm.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1054231_40.html

About the Author: Lynda Harding is a mum of 6 and the inventor of easidream®, an award winning innovative baby sleep product, that has been proven to help babies settle safely and happily to sleep. As baby sleep specialists, Lynda’s company Easidream Ltd, thoughtfully design and develop safe innovative products that help to enhance quality sleep for both baby and parents. They also offer FREE sleep advice to parents via their online Sweet Dreamer blog.

http://www.easidream.com

As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. For all that we may fear the onset of diaper rash in our children, there is no certainty of absolute and total prevention – but there is a lot that can be done to prevent diaper rash and make it far less likely, and it revolves mostly around keeping your baby dry and clean as far as is possible.

Your baby will not be shy about letting you know when it is in any discomfort. This can prevent diaper rash from developing, but would obviously not be a way of preventing it before it begins.

New parents have a lot of cause to be concerned about their baby’s health. Visiting any page with even just the regular things that can – and do – happen to most babies is enough to drive someone to distraction. Even non-parents would be hard pressed not to shudder in sympathy.

Something as common as diaper rash, which affects most babies at some point in some measure, is still too much for any parent to bear with real composure. Knowing how to recognize diaper rash, and prevent it getting worse, is something that all parents will be well served by in the early life of their baby.

The diaper area of a baby will, unavoidably, come into contact with some bacteria on a regular basis. Even regular changes and cleaning can sometimes fail to pick it up. You will know when your baby has diaper rash, as it is characterized by skin in the diaper area appearing red and inflamed, and in some cases coming up in pimples. It will irritate the child and if left unchecked can develop into something worse, including a number of infections. As well as this, it will be obvious to any parent that the child is in quite some discomfort. They will cry more and louder, and show general displeasure. Keeping your baby clean will, however, keep diaper rash from occurring in a severe manner or too often, and swift corrective action including treatment with a gentle, pH neutral moisturizer will make a real difference, quickly.

The prevention of diaper rash is something that requires no small amount of diligence, as well as some luck. But there are some simple rules which can make the process a lot more straightforward.

Firstly, you must change your baby’s diaper as soon as it is obviously soiled. This will prevent the infection from having somewhere to live. In the same spirit, it is important to clean your baby in the affected area after it has become soiled. Allowing the area to dry before putting on a fresh nappy is essential. A thin layer of ointment on the affected area will kill off germs while preventing others from taking hold. And applying the fresh diaper loosely will give room for the skin to breathe.

Finally when your baby moves on to solid foods you should take a few days between introducing new items. This will help you determine if the infection is down to a food allergy.

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