A New Mother's Top 3 Tips To Help Get Your Baby Into A Sleeping Routine

As a first time mom you may feel overwhelmed as having a newborn changes everything. It can be very emotionally exhausting. But the sleep deprivation is what makes it physically exhausting. As a new mom you will be hoping for even one full night of sleep. It can be really draining.

Based upon a few simple things I discovered, I was able to have my son sleeping through the night as early as 6 weeks. According to most doctors babies shouldn't be sleeping all the way through the night until they are 2 weeks old, even though many moms might brag to you that their newborn was sleeping through the night the day the baby was born. Remember that they should be fed and changed regularly. So here are 3 things that you can try on your own to help get your child on a much needed regular sleeping schedule. While this may not work for all babies, it should work for most.

Try your best to keep your baby busy throughout the day. What does this mean exactly? Make sure you're constantly interacting with your baby. Play with him/her as well as talk to them. Babies crave your attention and this is the best thing a new mother can do!

Every night make sure to give your baby a warm bath before putting him down. This should cause him to get sleepy. You can choose to use baby soaps but it isn't necessary. Shortly after taking him out of the bath, start getting him ready for bed. You can sing a song to your baby or you can try playing some soft music such as a lullaby. This isn't the time for loud music or loud television, make sure to keep it quiet. During the day its OK to make noise, that way they don't get woken up by any little thing.

When your baby does wake up during the night, try to keep it as dim as possible. This will help your baby get used to the difference between night and day. This night and day cycle is critical to setting up a routine. Be careful if you choose to rock your baby to sleep as you don't want them getting dependent on it.

Remember that what works for one baby may not work for another baby. But these tips helped me get my newborn into a regular sleeping schedule that allowed me to have some of my life back.

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How To Get Babies To Sleep Through The Night

Some of the questions that are pretty common amongst the newborn mothers are how well does your baby sleep, why does not my baby sleep properly, what should I do to ensure that my baby gets sufficient rest at night etc. All these questions lead to a single problem of their babies not getting sufficient sleep at night or getting mid way through it. This is a problem that can scare any mother as a baby that does not sleep well at night has very high chances of having some health issues or the other. So if you are looking for the different ways or strategies in which you can help your babies sleep through the night, the following are some of them.

It is always a good decision to let the babies fall asleep on their own rather than helping them in the same. When you find the babies to be sleepy it is better to lay them down on their back and let them sleep on their own especially during the time period of six to eight months. The reason is that if you feed them or take the help of rocking, they might get used to the same. Another technique that mothers can use is to make a difference in the feeding methods. A lively feed during the day time and a calm one at night helps the kids to differentiate between the two and thus they can get their bodies adjusted accordingly.

A short bedtime routine can also work wonders when it comes to the sleeping techniques of kids. One can plan a bath followed by change of nappy and a story or song. The same must be carried out in the room of the baby so as to enhance the effectiveness. The only thing that one must keep in mind is that the procedure must not be more than 45 minutes. Babies have a strong sense of smell and the same can be used for putting them to sleep. Mothers can use a security object such as stuffed toy or blanket to induce the sense of security amongst the kids. It the object is kept with mothers for some time then the kids would recognize the mom scent and cuddle up with the same and go to sleep. Mothers are the best judges of their kids, thus they know it better which method would be more effective on their kids.

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How to Bathe My Baby

Parents of their first child may think that they should bathe their newborn every day. This comes from the misconception that what's good for me is good for my child. Even though most adults bathe every day, this doesn't mean that you should bathe your child every day. Bathing your child daily can cause their new skin to dry out. You should use your judgment when determining when to bathe your child. We usually bathe my daughter every two or three days depending on the day and what she gets into. For the first few weeks your child is home, you will not want to bathe your child in a "bath." It is recommended that you give your newborn sponge baths or towel baths.

You should get some good baby shampoo and baby body wash. I would also recommend buying some baby oil. I do see countless parents buy baby oil just to have it sit there without being used. Baby oil can be used after bath time to moisturize your baby's skin. You do not have to use it all the time. However, if you notice that your child is having drying issues you can apply a little on the skin. It should not be used like a body lotion. It is not meant to be used as a moisturizer. Rather, it is used to trap the natural oils your baby's skin produces. You can also use baby lotion to help moisturize your baby's skin. Do not use normal lotions as these are not designed to be used on babies. They may contain perfumes or chemicals that are not healthy for young children.

There are many options out there when it comes to bathtubs. For the first months we used a small plastic shell tub that fits inside your homes bathtub. I recommend you use this type of tub until your child is able to sit up and hold themselves up. At the point my daughter was able to hold herself up, we transitioned into an inflatable bath. This bath provided the space for her to move around and play in, without the danger of a regular bathtub. Eventually we transitioned her into the real tub. We waited until she was able to master the art of walking. She started walking at about 10 months. Every child is different and these milestones will happen at different times.

Bath time can be learning time. We bought our daughter floating hippos and ducks. We eventually taught her to identify the difference between the hippos and ducks. We also bought a set of letters and numbers that stick to the sides of the tub. The letters are made of foam and become sticky whenever they are wet. We take every moment we can to teach her new things.

Safety is paramount during bath time. Never leave your baby alone in the tub for any amount of time, period! This short time is when accidents happen. You must also make sure not to place your child in water that is too hot or cold. There is an old but proven method to test the temperature of the water. You can dip your forearm into the water to test the temperature. There are also great tools that can accurately tell you whether the temperature is right. My sister actually bought me a floating turtle that has a digital temperature display. It also has a blinking light that blinks whenever it is too hot or cold. The inflatable duck tub we bought also had a blue dot that turned white with the word "HOT" in red, when the water was too hot. Make sure to slosh the water around before taking the temperature, as there can be pockets of hot and cold water.

Bath time should be a fun time for both you and the child. My baths I give my daughter can easily take half an hour because of all the fun playtime we have. Making bath time fun can help make it easier to get them to get into the tub.

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