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How to Choose the Best Babysitter for Your Child

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How to Choose the Best Babysitter for Your Child

As a first-time parent, or even a seasoned one, leaving your baby alone for the first time can be very frightening. Will your baby be safe? Will she be happy? You may be wondering how to choose the best babysitter for your child.

TIP! Consider the message that your child is receiving from you. Let your children know they can count on you and trust you.

When it’s time to choose the best babysitter for your child, it’s critical that you do your homework and research all avenues. One of the first steps is to decide exactly what you need from a sitter. Are you looking for someone to work on a regular schedule? Or are you in search of someone who can watch the kids for a couple of hours while you go out for a date night?

When you’re beginning your search for a babysitter, don’t overlook the obvious. Sometimes you can choose the best babysitter for your child by looking at the people you know and love the most. Parents, sisters, brothers, and friends can often be a great resource. Even if they can’t do the babysitting, they may be able to give you valuable references.

TIP! It is difficult for young children to embrace change. When they must quickly change tasks, they can become stressed.

If you’ve exhausted the resources of your closest friends and relatives, there are still other outlets to help you choose the best babysitter for your child. You may want to look within your faith community, workplace, and any other type of organization to which you belong for resources.

Finally, if you simply can locate anyone by activating the grapevine, you may want to use your local media to help you. Placing an ad in a newsletter or newspaper in your area may help you choose the best babysitter for your child. However, these resources may come with a cost and won’t be as reliable as word of mouth referrals.

TIP! Infants and toddlers should not consume soda, diet or otherwise. Only give your child drinks that offer nutrients and vitamins.

Once you find some potential candidates, you’ll need to make sure to interview each one and check references. A thorough background check will help you choose the best babysitter for your child. You may want to use a criminal history service to help you make sure that your child is not in the hands of someone who has a previous problem with childcare, domestic abuse, or other criminal activity.

When you’ve narrowed your candidates down, you should introduce your child to the babysitter and watch them in action together. This will be an additional help as you choose the best babysitter for your child.

Once you think you have the perfect person for the job, make your first few outings short and sweet so that your child will feel secure. Even though you’ve done everything possible to choose the best babysitter for your child, you want to make a gradual transition. And if you like your sitter – treat him or her well! You don’t want to lose someone it took so much effort to find.

Baby proofing basics for your home

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Baby Proofing Basics

One of the first things that go through a new parent’s head is the need for safety.  Baby proofing your home is a major concern – and rightfully so.  Many accidents that happen in the home can be prevented with a few safety precautions.

TIP! If you prefer an inexpensive type of flooring, you will prefer vinyl over stone or ceramic tile. Vinyl is durable, strong, and water-resistant, and comes with an adhesive backing that makes installation a breeze.

Before you spend a penny on baby proofing accessories, take an inventory throughout your home to look for trouble spots.  Some examples of baby dangers are chemicals, open toilets, bathtub faucets, sharp edges on tables and other furniture, staircases, unprotected electrical outlets, heavy furniture such as bookcases and entertainment centers that could fall on baby, window blind cords, electrical appliances, sharp utensils, doors that lock on the inside, and choking hazards.

As you’re going through your home making a baby-proofing inventory, make sure that you don’t stay on your feet.  Don’t forget to get on your hands and knees and get a baby’s eye-level view of your home.

TIP! If a designer is out of your price range, it is time to do your own research. Look at magazines, books or magazines to get some ideas.

When you look at the above list, you may begin to feel overwhelmed – but don’t panic!  Baby proofing doesn’t have to be done all in one day – especially if you start early in your pregnancy and baby’s life.

You should begin thinking about baby proofing as soon as you decide to become a parent.  However, even after your baby is born you have a little time to get the job done.  At first, your baby won’t be able to move around the house at will and this gives you time to get your baby proofing done if you haven’t already completed it.  Certainly, before your baby is crawling, you should have your baby proofing completed.

TIP! When doing home improvement work, one of the most important tools to have is a drill. You can make holes and drive screws of any size.

Many parents work hard at baby-proofing their home, but don’t take care of the hidden choking hazards that are lurking.  An easy test to determine whether or not an object is a choking hazard is to see if it will fit through the hole in a toilet paper roll.

If an object can easily slide through, it can easily be picked up by small hands and put in the mouth.  Make sure that you don’t make a baby-proofing mistake by overlooking common objects in your home that could spell big danger.

Once you know what areas of your home need baby proofing, you can make some simple modifications to improve safety.  Childproof latches, socket covers, and simply picking up dangerous objects can help make your home safer for your baby and improve your peace of mind.

To see more visit Amazon.com to check for new ideas and product click here

Baby and Toddler Christmas Picture Ideas

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Baby and Toddler Christmas Picture Ideas

There’s nothing as cute as a baby with rosy cheeks or the way a toddler views the world with wide-eyed wonder. Except perhaps when you catch those images on film. You may have a baby or a toddler in your life right now but they don’t small for long.

In the blink of an eye, they’re heading to college, then graduating to begin the rest of their life. You can’t hold on to their younger years. But you can preserve special moments with them such as the Christmas holidays.

TIP! Always highlight your very best images for showcases and displays. You do not want to show every picture or too many with the same subject.

One of the ways you can preserve your baby or toddler’s special moments is through portraits. You can have professional portraits made through a photography studio when you set an appointment session.

For this session at some photography studios, you can expect to pay two hundred dollars or more per half hour. It’s true that the portraits are stunning and very skillfully done but you do not have to take your baby or toddler into a studio to end up with exquisite portraits. With a few tips and some practice, you can take good quality photos at home.

TIP! If you are starting off on your travels, take your first shots as soon as you depart. While location shots will be in abundance once you arrive at your destination, the journey itself is also worthy of being recorded.

How many crying, nearly hysterical babies and toddlers have you heard at studios? The reason they act that way is because they’re in a strange place, being situated by a strange person and told to ‘pay attention, look at the camera.’ When it comes to saying cheese, kids don’t like the unknown.

Put a Child at Ease When Taking a Picture

TIP! You should always enjoy taking pictures. A picture is a way of recalling a certain situation or emotion.

Taking photographs at home is easier on both the subject and the photographer because when kids are in familiar surroundings like their home, they feel at ease and will behave in a more natural manner. You’ll be able to get that spontaneous exuberance on camera without it being a forced posed.

It’s okay to have their attention otherwise engaged. Another family member can wave a toy over the photo taker’s head. Often, antics going on behind the photographer will elicit bursts of laughter from babies and toddlers alike.

TIP! One of the key ways to take great photographs is to take lots and lots of them, so buy a large memory card that can hold them all. When you increase the memory on your camera with a larger memory card, you will better be able to avoid running out of memory when you are shooting a lot of pictures.

Also, remember that a baby or toddler does not have to look directly at the camera in order for it to be a good shot. The key to getting a good photo is to gently engage the baby or toddler and make the experience as stress-free for the little one as you can. You never want picture taking to be something he or she learns to associate with anxiety or they’ll dread it every time they see the camera out.

Instead of saying to a toddler, “Sit down here and I’m going to take your picture” say, “Here’s a little stool (or chair or whatever) I’ll bet I can sit down on that. Can you? How would you sit?”

TIP! If you like the look of old photographs, pick up a vintage camera. These will give your pictures an old-fashioned look and a historical vibe.

Kids like to show off what they can do and will happily oblige but not if they think they have to do it. Once they become toddlers, they hit that independent stage and they want to be able to have a choice when it comes to their actions. So give them a choice when you take photos.

Don’t attempt to take photographs when a child is overly tired. Right around bedtime is never a good time. When the holidays roll around, kids’ schedules are often out of whack and that can make them cranky due to all the additional stimuli.

TIP! A great way to warm up before photographing a wedding is to take detailed shots of small objects. You might be able to capture some very special moments in the meantime.

New clothes chosen just for a Christmas shoot tend to be stiff and scratchy so make sure that’s not going to be a problem. Give new clothes a wash first. If you plan to spend a few minutes taking photos (with as little interruption as possible), make sure your toddler or baby has been fed, changed or taken to the potty first.

Some fidgeting is okay because, with fast shutter speed, you can still get good pictures even when they move.

How to Dress Babies and Toddlers for Christmas Pictures

How to dress babies for Christmas pictures depends on what you’re looking for from the photo. It also depends on the age of the baby. Newborns to about three months aren’t able to support themselves in a sitting position. So if you want a formal Christmas picture with your baby in that age range and you want one of the babysittings, here’s how to do it.

TIP! When photographing, utilize a white balance that isn’t automatic. Doing so will alter the way the picture “feels” and also puts control into your hands.

For baby girls in a more formal picture, dress her in a fluffy dress with plenty of billowing material. Position the baby in front of the backdrop-a sheet or muslin fabric-whatever you use. Reach through a slit in the backdrop and have someone hold the baby up. The person’s hands holding the baby will be hidden beneath the layers of dress material.

You can hold an infant boy up the same way as long as you keep your fingers tucked from the camera view. What specifically can you dress a baby in? Any age can wear cute candy cane striped pajamas or the footed suits.

TIP! If you want to shoot good photos, make sure your subject is in focus at all times. There’s plenty of room for creativity and personal expression in photographs, but you need to keep your subject in clear focus so that viewers know what they’re looking at.

For taking pictures that include both a baby and a toddler in the same shot, you can dress the older child in a blue sweater with a red shirt peeking out from the color. Then dress the baby in a red sleeper.

Or you can dress the toddler in a red sweater with a white shirt peeking out of the collar and dress the baby in a white sleeper or dress. You can use any two colors that you like that way and the colors don’t necessarily have to be Christmas colors.

TIP! When you are ready to take a photo, you should first figure out if you need/want to expose the shadows or highlight your subject. You could possibly take two pictures of the same subject, and expose one of each type by using a program, such as Photoshop, to blend both of them into a high-quality shot.

If you’re a large family and have a group of children for the photo and you’d like to coordinate their clothing to blend and reflect the season, here’s how to do that. Sit the smallest child in the center on a slightly elevated black velvet throw. Group the other children around the youngest in a circle formation. Have the girls dress in green, red, silver or gold clothing. Have the boys wear complementing cummerbunds.

Small babies can wear stocking caps in solid colors and can also wear extra long Santa caps and little Santa suits. You can dress a baby or toddler in Christmas costumes as well such as a snowflake or angel. For added cuteness, dress the wee one like a little elf complete with little green tights. You can buy or make a Christmas costume for your baby or toddler.

Christmas suspenders over a white shirt always look cute on infants or toddlers.

When dressing either a baby or a toddler for a Christmas picture keep this rule of thumb in mind. The busier the background, the simpler the clothes. If you have a background that features the tree, the fireplace, presents, etc. that’s a pretty busy background.

TIP! When you find a brand that you like, that gives you great results, stick with it. You need a quality brand if photography is going to be a hobby that you pursue for a lifetime.

You don’t want to dress your child in an equally busy outfit-lots of designs or multi-colors. You can do that, however, if the background is simple or if you deliberately place the background out of focus.

Some Ideas for Cute Christmas Pictures

TIP! You need to understand where sharpness appears in your photographs, and how it works. As a rule, this sharply focused part of the photographic image will be in its center.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when taking photos of babies or toddlers is to place or make the child always face forward. A lot of great picture ideas come from stepping away from the ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ routine.

For example, if you want to get a Christmas shot where your baby or toddler is in front of the Christmas tree, place the child in a direct line beside the tree and have them face it. They’ll be fascinated by the tree itself-the decorations, the sparkling lights.

TIP! Take the extra time to make sure you get the right shot if you’re taking a picture in nature. Be appreciative of the beauty of nature and do not litter, smoke or otherwise sully it.

You’ll catch the rapture on their faces and if you zoom in, you’ll be able to see their total absorption in what they’re seeing. Another idea is to set the picture up the same way but give the toddler a large Christmas toy to hold. Have the toddler sit on the floor so that he or she is even with the item.

Many of the best Christmas photos are also the ones with the most simple props. For this one, you’ll need a chef’s hat in a Christmas color and a holiday theme apron. On a low table, set out the ingredients to make cookies.

TIP! It’s a good idea to take landscape shots using a tripod. You will take better pictures, especially those that involve landscapes, with a steady base such as a tripod.

Also have some goodies already made like a Christmas cake, decorated Christmas cookies and a gingerbread Christmas house. Have a cookie sheet out half-filled with cookies ready to pop in the oven.

Put some cookie dough already flattened on the table. Give toddler a rolling pin and show her or him how to roll out the flour. You’ll get a wonderful photo of your child ‘baking’ for the holidays.

TIP! Shooting from below your subject can often have the result of making them appear stronger and more powerful. However, if your goal is to lessen the impact of the subject, get high and point the camera downwards.

Another cute Christmas idea is a Christmas tea party shot. Set a small child’s table with Christmas saucers and child-sized teacups. This idea works for either a toddler or an infant six to nine months old.

Dress the toddler or the baby in Christmas finery, complete with pearls and elaborate hats for the girls and little fedoras for the boys. At the center of the table, set a small pile of wrapped gifts. You’ll want to situate the baby’s chair in front of a backdrop where an adult’s hands can be hidden as he or she holds the baby securely in place.

TIP! Take some great photographs after posing the subjects properly. You have noticed but many family photos you look at do not turn out the way people want them to because of quick surprise pictures and candid photos.

If your baby is still an infant, you can place the baby in a woven basket filled with white tulle material. Have a small pillow beneath the upper half of the tulle to support the baby. Lay the infant in the middle.

The tulle can be any color as long as it doesn’t clash with your infant’s outfit. You can also use white tulle and scatter the large-sized Christmas balls in the basket. If you dress the infant in a cream-colored outfit, choose the burgundy or brown Christmas balls.

TIP! For taking shots in low-light environments, try upping your shutter speed. This will prevent the occurrence of blurriness.

This idea also works well as long as your infant is too young to reach and grab things if you use a plain white material in the basket, dress the infant in a color that matches the tree décor and place the basket slightly under the tree.

If you happen to have a little red wagon handy, you can make a cute Christmas photo with that if you have toddlers. Have the child sit in the back end of the wagon and fill the front with yards of Christmas ribbon.

TIP! Understand that smiling photographs aren’t the only kind of pictures. Stories based in reality are best told when folks are allowed to be themselves.

For infants that can sit up on their own, set them on the floor in front of a white backdrop. Dress the infant in red pants and a white shirt. Beside him or her, place a set of stacked Christmas gifts wrapped in a variety of colors that are the same height as the child. Tie all three ‘gifts’ together with a wide red ribbon. For a toddler, wrap a large wooden box and have toddlers lean toward the camera with his elbows on the box.

If you have boy toddlers, build a fort out of presents (cardboard boxes wrapped in Christmas paper) and have the toddlers peaking out of it. To the boys, this will seem more like play than having to sit for a picture.

TIP! You need to concentrate on exposure by paying special attention to aperture, shutter speed, and film speed. When you learn about exposure, you improve your photography skills.

A beautiful Christmas shot is one of your toddler sitting in front of the Christmas tree or in front of the fireplace (for safety use an electric fire) ‘reading’ a Christmas classic. This will also work well if you have both a toddler and a baby as the toddler can ‘read’ the story to the infant.

For a different kind of background for your Christmas photos, take it outside. If you’re going to take your Christmas photo outside, you can sit toddlers in a porch swing that’s decorated in Christmas lights and silk poinsettias.

TIP! While only a small fraction of your pictures will be perfect, you want to hold onto and review all of them. Seeing your personal scrapbook of all of your work can help you see what you can better and what you have accomplished with your photography.

If you have a lighted outdoor display and a fairly decent camera, you can get great pictures using the outdoor decorations as a backdrop. Think your camera can’t get good shots at night? Wrong. You can get decent photos simply by adjusting your shutter speed.

This idea will take a little work ahead of time, but you can buy wooden letters that spell out Christmas sayings like ‘Joy,’ ‘Noel’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ and set them out in the yard. Have your toddler or toddlers sit behind the letters.

TIP! One of the best ways to improve your skills as a photographer is to learn to use the manual settings on your camera. Digital photography has made taking photos less stressful and costly.

One of the still widely popular outdoor shots is to decorate a tree outside like you would an indoor tree. Use lights and strings of cranberry and popcorn. Use the decorated tree as the background but again, zoom in to get a better shot.

Using Lights in Christmas Photos

An adorable way to film a child is by using Christmas lights as a prop or in the setting. With toddlers, you can give them a strand of the fat bulb multi-colored Christmas lights (don’t plug the lights in!) and as they sit in a child-sized rocker and delight over the bulbs, you can take a series of photos.

It’s a little trickier to photograph small infants with Christmas lights but it can be done. Around the top of an infant’s crib railing, decorate it with plain green garland and Christmas lights. You can set a bouncy seat in the crib. Cover the bouncy seat with Christmas fabric and set the infant in it. The crib becomes the background setting.

TIP! When you are shooting natural features or large structures, have people in the picture to scale the shot. Without something to compare it to, people may find it difficult to appreciate the majesty of the items in your photos.

For babies that are able to sit and hold objects, give them a lighted (lightweight) basket filled with Christmas decorations. You fill the basket with things like pinecones, small wrapped boxes, Christmas ribbons, etc. The lights are on the outside of the basket. This really catches a baby’s attention and the light on the basket will cast a nice glow on the baby’s face.

If you decide that you want to use lighted bulbs in a Christmas photo with a baby, never do it for long periods as the lights do heat up and never leave a child unattended with the lights.

Using Snow in your Christmas Portrait Ideas for Infants

A Christmas picture simply isn’t complete without a little snow. If you get a professional portrait done, many photographers already have fake snow and know how to take photos of your children with a snow setting.

But you can do that yourself too. If you don’t get snow, that won’t present a problem. Make your own snow the same way the professional photographer did. You buy fake snow. It’s also referred to as artificial snow and you can buy it by the pound. Buy a few pounds of it and you’ll be all set. You can use artificial snow inside but you might have a mess to clean up, so just be forewarned.

TIP! If you are a novice photographer, invest some time in learning about the fundamental elements that create a quality photograph and the basic features of your camera, particularly if it is an SLR. Some of the skills you’ll want to read up on are ISO, exposure, composition, lighting, and aperture.

Once you’ve got your snow, you can mound it up outside (use Styrofoam balls for snowballs-you can find those at a craft store) and in the middle of the snow, you can set an infant in a basket and pile the snow up to cover the basket.

Of course, if the weather is chilly outside, you’ll want to dress your infant warmly and you won’t want to spend more than a few seconds at a time taking the photographs.

If you do this with toddlers, with an air pump, you can gently blow or swirl the snow to make it appear as if it’s actively snowing. You can also use fake snow and have your toddler create ‘snow’ angels.

Remember too that when you use a digital camera, there are some photo software programs available that will allow you to enhance the photo and add elements like soft, muted light and Christmas detail.

Baby sleep solution and problems

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Two Typical Day And Night

Bringing home a new baby brings with it an exhausting array of new responsibilities and challenges. Is there such a thing as a typical day and night for new parents? Probably not! Remember, the baby has just gone through an enormous change too, so part of the process when you first bring him home is his transition from the womb to the outside world. Keep the baby close to you, keep him wrapped and warm. If you’re breastfeeding, this will take some time for both of you to adjust to as well.

If your new baby is formula-fed, he’ll need to feed every 3 to 5 hours. If you’re breastfeeding, he’ll need to feed more frequently. Sometimes you will feel that all you do all day and night is breastfeed. You will probably feel much more empathy with cows! And there will be a lot of diapers to change, especially until you get familiar with his schedule. His diaper will probably need to be changed shortly after feeding, about once an hour in the very beginning. Be sure to check frequently.

Until the umbilical cord has fallen off, you’ll want to keep sponge baths every few days, but you will want to wash the baby’s bottom every day. You can wipe the baby’s hands, face, neck, and bottom every day with a soft washcloth with warm water. When the baby’s ready for full baths, in a few weeks, every day is a good idea to prevent diaper rashes. But keep in mind that too much bathing can dry out his sensitive skin. To see what works for your baby.

That little finger and toenails will grow quickly, and they’ll need to be trimmed regularly so the baby doesn’t scratch himself. The baby’s nails can be long, even at birth and attached high on the nail bed. You’ll need to gently press the fingerpad away from the nail and clip it with a baby nail clipper. You might want to do this when the baby’s sleeping to ensure that he doesn’t jerk those little fingers and toes away!

Get used to being busy 24/7 during the first month, at least. You will be feeding and changing diapers around the clock so get as much help as you can so you can have some peace too.

Naptime

A new baby needs a lot of sleep and when they’re not sleeping, they can be hungry or need a diaper change. It’s a little hard to know in the beginning what’s making your baby cry or if he’s tired. But as you both begin to settle into your routines, you’ll begin to notice the cues that your baby needs to nap. You want to make sure he gets in good naps during the day and at appropriate times so that you won’t have as much trouble getting him to sleep at night.

Even a very small baby will rub his eyes when he gets tired. He’ll yawn; perhaps he’ll get fussy. As children get a little older, their activity levels may pick up as they get tired and try to avoid sleep.

Try to keep to regular nap times during the day. If your baby is napping 3 times a day, then a mid-morning, early afternoon and the late-afternoon nap are appropriate for a baby with a 7:30 or 8 PM bedtime.

Often babies get tired towards dinner time, and then parents are faced with a dilemma. Do you let the baby sleep and risk not getting to sleep at bedtime? Or you do you try to keep him awake through dinner and perhaps put him to bed a little bit earlier?

Most parents will opt for trying to keep the baby awake a little longer in favor of keeping to a regular bedtime. But if it’s been a busy day for the little guy, let him have a very short nap and then wake him up gently for dinner or feeding and some light play before putting him to bed for the night.

Remember to make rituals for naps as well as bedtime so your baby gets used to sleeping at regular times.

Nighttime Help

There’s only so much one person (or two) can do to get a baby to go to sleep. There are things you can use other than your own shoulder to help lull your baby to sleep.

A baby swing can be a good idea and leave your hands free. Set the swing at a slow and gentle rock; you don’t want this to be an exciting or stimulating experience. You want to make it relaxing so your baby can fall asleep.

A glider or rocker is restful for both of you. And good pillow support, like a Boppy(r) pillow is good for late-night breastfeeding. It’s a nice U-shaped pillow that provides good support for your baby, as well as for your back.

If you’re on a budget, some parents swear by putting their baby in a baby seat and putting it on top of a dryer. If you do this, be sure to put the dryer on air only – you don’t want to overheat him.

A motorized cradle or bassinette can also be soothing for a baby. As a last resort, you can always bundle the baby into his car seat and drive around the neighborhood until he falls asleep. Many experts don’t recommend artificial aids like this however, as it’s impossible to sustain it and you won’t get the baby used to sleep on his own.

There are also many ambient noise machines on the market that can also help mask household noises and provide a soothing environment for the baby (and for many adults). You can usually set them for a variety of noises, like rainfall, windchimes or ocean sounds. You can also leave the TV on quietly in another room so the baby doesn’t feel completely isolated in his room.

 Daylight Exposure

Remember your baby is used to a dark, quiet environment in the womb. She’s not used to the usual cues of nighttime sleeping. Nighttime, at first, is what she’s used to asleep or awake.

One method of getting your baby used to sleep at night, or in the dark, is to be sure she’s exposed to lots of sunlight during the day. When it’s time to nap or time to go to sleep at night, part of your ritual can be dimming the lights, simulating dusk and nighttime, even if it’s an afternoon nap. This way, she’ll get used to day and night cycles and learn that nighttime and darkness are for sleeping.

There are clocks called dawn simulators that will gradually dim into total darkness over a period of about half an hour. This can be a way to gradually dim the light in the baby’s room. You can start while you’re still rocking her to sleep. When you start putting her in her crib when she’s still awake, you can set the clock to start to dim when you leave the room, or leave partway through the cycle. This way you’re not just flipping out the light and leaving her alone in the dark.

You can do this for nap times too. The clocks will cycle on slowly in the morning as well; you want to be sure that you mute the actual alarm sound, though, so you don’t wake the baby up with a shock.

If you combine any of these devices with your usual routines, you’ll help teach your babies the cues for going to sleep at nap time and at night. These are gentle methods that many parents prefer to just let the baby cry it out.

 Avoid Stimulating Your Baby During Night-time Feedings

As your newborn baby grows, it is slowly acclimating to sleeping at night and being awake during the day. Also, as the baby’s stomach is growing and holding more breast milk or formula, it will be able to go for longer periods between feedings at night. At approximately three months of age, your baby will likely sleep about 15 hours out of each 24-hour period, and two-thirds of that sleep will take place during the night. Most babies will have settled into a daily sleep routine of two or three sleep periods during the day, followed by ‘sleeping through the night” for 6 to 7 hours after a late-night feeding. You can help adjust your baby’s body clock toward sleeping at night by avoiding stimulation during nighttime feedings and diaper changes. The act of breastfeeding itself provides frequent eye and voice contact, so try to keep the lights low and resist the urge to play or talk with your baby. This will reinforce the message that nighttime is for sleeping. Keeping the door closed to keep out well-meaning but vocal older children, spouses, and the pet will also keep reduce stimulating your infant. Avoid the use of musical mobiles or toys as a way to lull your infant back to sleep after night-time feedings. This will also help to reinforce that nighttime is for sleeping. And, as with adults, overly tired infants often have more trouble sleeping than those who’ve had an appropriate amount of sleep during the day. So, keeping your baby up thinking that he or she will sleep better at night may not work. You may find that when your infant sleeps at regular intervals during the day, it will be easier to put them back down to sleep after night-time feedings.

Background Noise For Bedtime

A fussy or crying baby can make for a fussy and often frustrated parent. There are many reasons a baby could be fussy or unable to sleep, including illness, colic, or something as simple as either too much noise or too little noise. Before altering your baby’s sleeping environment, take a moment to evaluate just why your baby has been fussy or upset at bedtime. Things like changes in the weather, a neighbor’s new puppy continually barking, a loud car stereo blaring, or bright street light can all contribute to changing a baby’s otherwise familiar and comfortable sleeping environment. If after evaluating, you discover that there has been an environmental change that has occurred but is out of your control, you might consider creating some ‘white noise’ in your baby’s environment to help drown out these unpleasant and loud sleep disruptors.

Noises that are repetitive and almost monotonous sounding are known as ‘white noise’ – noise that is occurring constantly, and, as a result, we’ve ‘tuned it out.’ There are many items in our house that create white noise that we might not even realize – our air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, clothes dryers, or fans all create white noise as they operate. Other things such as running water, an analog clock with a ticking second hand, or a fish aquarium also create white noise. These noises might actually help ‘drown out’ the disruptive external noises that are keeping your baby, and thereby you, from a good night’s sleep.

Another option might be to run a favorite lullaby on continuous play in your baby’s room. There are many options out there for newborns and toddlers alike in the music department of your favorite store. You could even put together a special mix just from mommy and daddy on your personal computer. Better yet, put together a recording of mommy and daddy’s soft, soothing and gentle voices, and baby will be back in dreamland before you know it – and so will you!

The No-Cry Sleep Solution For Babies And Their Parents

Parenting educator Elizabeth Pantley is president of Better Beginnings, Inc., a family resource and education company. Elizabeth frequently speaks to parents in schools, hospitals, and parent groups, and her presentations are received with enthusiasm and praise. Her newest book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night offers a variety of sleep-inducing tips parents can use to develop an individual sleep program for their baby. Pantley’s methods are a gentler and more welcome option for those sleep-deprived parents who just can’t bear to let their child cry it out on their own, and find that approach too unfeeling or uncaring for their baby.

Probably the most important step to the overall success of developing a working solution is documenting the child’s sleeping and waking patterns each night on a ‘sleep chart.” This can be a difficult task for a sleep-deprived parent in the middle of the night, but is a crucial step and must be completed diligently. Pantley herself states her ‘solution” is certainly no overnight cure, or a one-size-fits-all method, but a gradual progression for educating your child to fall and stay asleep without constant intervention and assistance from the parent.

The successful program requires dedication and consistency from the parent. It could take a month or longer for your child to make the full transition to sleeping through the night, but one that will save a parent many sleepless nights in the long run. After the month is over, everyone who’s participated in the process will benefit from a more restful night, and the baby will learn how to sleep independently without the need for continual, repetitive comforting.

Consistent Naptimes Are Key To Quality Nighttime Sleep, Too

Research has shown that the quality and length of your baby’s naps affect his nighttime sleep. If he naps too late in the day, it will most certainly affect his nighttime sleeping. It’s important to tune into your baby’s biological clock and learn when his natural naptime is so his nighttime sleeping schedule is on the right track as well. It’s also imperative to get your baby down for a nap as soon as you see his ‘sleepy signals.” He will become overtired if you wait too long and unable to go to sleep as a result. Consistency is the key. Know when to get him down for a nap, and then get him down for a nap each and every time you see the signals. Those signals might include quieting down, losing interest in people and toys, rubbing eyes, fussing, yawning, or decreasing activity. Waiting too long might find your baby getting his ‘second wind’ and making it difficult if not impossible for him to lay down for his nap. When you respond to the signals right away, you not only eliminate the later possibility of having an increasingly crabby child later in the day or evening, but you eliminate the frustration for yourself of having to deal with such a fussy child. Once you’ve studied your child’s biological clock and watched for the signals carefully and consistently for a week or so, it should be a breeze to develop a solid napping schedule that will be easy for you both to follow. Developing a consistent nap routine is equally important. Just as you have a routine prior to bedtime, you should also have one for naptime. This routine should be different from your nighttime routine though, although it can have similar elements, such as quiet music. Follow the routine faithfully every day, unless your child has been especially active such as a family outing or another activity outside the daily routine. And once your baby learns the nap routine, he’ll learn the cues that tell him when naptime is nearing, making naptime easier on you as well.

Baby sleep problems

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Baby sleep problems – Sleep Requirements

As a new mother, you probably will wonder whether your baby is sleeping enough, or sleeping too much. There are guidelines of what to expect, but of course, these can vary from baby to baby. Even if you’ve had children before, each baby will be different.

Newborn babies usually sleep about 16-17 hours in a 24-hour period. Most babies will not sleep through the night until they’re at least 3 months old. There are several reasons why. First of all, their stomachs are very small and they’ll get hungry faster, especially if you’re breastfeeding your baby. Breast milk is much more easily digested than formula, and your baby will need to feed more often, especially in the beginning.

Babies also have shorter sleep cycles than adults do and have shorter dream cycles. In general, though, a newborn baby should sleep about 8 or nine hours during the day and 8 hours or so at night. These won’t be in 8-hour cycles, of course. In the beginning, those sleep times will be very short.

As the baby gets older, up to about 2 years of age, she’ll still be sleeping 13-14 hours, but the amount of daytime sleep will diminish month-by-month. By age 2, your baby should be sleeping through the night with a 2-hour nap during the day. Again, this will vary by child. Your baby might need a slightly longer nap or two short naps. At this age though, try to discourage naps too late in the afternoon, as this can make it harder to get them to sleep a few hours later at bedtime.

Once a baby begins to regularly sleep through the night, parents are often dismayed when he/she begins to awaken in the night again. This typically happens at about 6 months of age and is often a normal part of a development called separation anxiety, when a baby does not understand that separations are temporary.

Sleep Issues 4-7 Months

Your baby should start sleeping through the night at about 3 months. But babies are learning and observing all the time, and your baby could soon start to associate sleep time with time that mommy isn’t there. It’s called separation anxiety and it’s a normal part of development for many babies. But it can be especially trying for parents, as babies can be particularly strong-willed, especially about bedtime!

You may be introducing some baby foods at this time, and this can help your baby feel sleepy. Remember to introduce new patterns gently and slowly. If the baby isn’t going to sleep or keeps waking up and crying for you, then she needs to learn to self-comfort, but not all at once. Ease her into the habit of sleeping alone.

Don’t change your rituals at bedtime. You can still start out with a warm bath and feeding. Rocking and snuggling, singing or reading – these are all bonding times for mother and baby. If the baby doesn’t fall asleep right away, try putting her in her crib with the rocker or glider right next to the crib, singing or reading to her. You can stand at the crib and rub or pat her back.

In a week or two, move the chair a short distance away from the crib, so the baby can see you. You can talk or read or sing. If she cries for more than 10 or 15 minutes, then get up and comfort her, but put her back down in the crib and go back to your chair.

In another week or two, move them farther away, towards the door. Even these minor changes could be hard for your baby, but be patient. This is a time when you can fold her laundry and put it away, talking to her, so she’s aware of your presence, but your attention isn’t focused entirely on her. This way she can get used to the idea of separation gradually.

Sleep Issues 8-12 Months

At the ages of 8-12 months, your baby will begin to need less sleep during the day and should be regularly sleeping through the night. But there’s also much more activity and stimulation during the day – babies are eating up the world at this stage, they’re learning so much.

If you’re feeding him baby food during the day, and decreasing bottles, make the last bottle feeding at nighttime. You can also have a bottle in the night to soothe him if he wakes up. Babies are teething at this time as well, and that can cause them to wake up in discomfort. You may be weaning the baby from breastfeeding, and that can be a difficult transition as well.

There are different schools of thought on handling babies who are a challenge to get to sleep. Some recommend letting the baby cry it out, but this is hard on the parents, especially on a mom who may have been comforting and bonding with the baby all day long. It can seem cruel to just let the baby cry himself to sleep. He’s just a little guy, after all.

Take extra care at this time to make sure the nursery is conducive to sleeping. Make sure his diaper is clean and his sheets are clean and soft. If he’s teething, use a topical pain treatment that’s safe for the baby. You can also invest in some homeopathic tablets that ease teething naturally. Make sure his nose is clear and not stuffy. If you use a foam wedge to keep the baby from sleeping on his stomach, sleep with a spare one night and then put that in his bed so that your scent is close to him at night.

Make sure the room isn’t too cold or too hot; keep a humidifier in the room to maintain a good moisture balance, especially in the winter when rooms can dry out. Your baby just might be stubborn about sleeping, but try to figure out if there are physical problems that you can alleviate first.

Sleep Issues 1-2 Years Old

As your baby gets older and turns into a toddler, they’ll start to need less sleep during the day, but about 11 hours or so at night. You’ll be transitioning to fewer naps and even a cranky tired baby can have difficulty getting to sleep.

If your child will go to bed only if you’re around, he’s forming bad habits that will be hard to break later. The best lesson you can teach him is how to soothe himself to sleep. Follow a nightly bedtime ritual (bath, books, and bed, for example) so he knows what’s expected of him and what to expect at night. You can tell him that if he stays in bed you’ll come back in five minutes to check on him. Let him know that he’s safe and that you’ll be nearby.

Toddlers are great negotiators, and they’re no different when it comes to bedtime. And because they so enjoy the time they spend with you, they’ll do what they can to prolong the time they have with you. Your child may take his time doing his usual nightly routine, ask repeatedly for a glass of water, or keep requesting that you come to his room because he needs something. If you suspect he’s stalling, don’t let him. Tell him it’s time for bed and that he can finish working on his art project the next day or find the stuffed bunny the following morning. Make the nighttime routine more “business-like” when you kiss your baby and tuck him/her in. Don’t wait around for your baby to fuss. Just leave and close the door and wait about ten minutes before you go back into the room.

Sometimes it’s just a battle for control. Your toddler wants to control his environment as much as possible. You can’t force him to fall asleep. Try reverse psychology and tell him he doesn’t have to go to sleep, but can play in his crib. Eventually, he’ll fall asleep on his own.

Sleep Methods

There are many different methods from the “experts” on dealing with sleep problems in your developing baby and child. Again, do what works best for you and what you feel comfortable with.

The Ferber method involves letting the baby cry herself to sleep, on the theory that if you’re firm about bedtime, she’ll learn to comfort herself to sleep. This doesn’t mean just plunking the baby down in her crib and walking away. It differs from what you may already be doing in that it encourages you to put the baby in her crib while she’s still awake, so she gets used to falling asleep without you. But this might also mean letting her cry it out for a few weeks. This can be stressful for everyone in the household.

Another method is the controlled crying method. Again, this involves your usual bedtime rituals of a bath, perhaps a snack and a story, rocking, and cuddling. Put your baby in her crib and kiss her goodnight. If she starts to cry, wait 10 to 15 minutes before going in to comfort her. Try to resist picking her up, just shush her quietly and pat her on the back. Some experts suggest not talking, as this can reinforce the waking and crying behavior. You want to reassure your baby that you’re there, but you still want to encourage sleeping.

After the first half-hour of crying, increase the intervals before you check on the baby by a few minutes each time, up to about 15 to 20 minutes between checking. This can take some time and can be trying on your nerves, but in time, your baby will learn that you’re not going away and that you’re nearby. This teaches your baby self-comforting but also gives her the confidence and security that you’re there for her.

Baby nursery decor and Setup

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Moving To The Nursery

When you bring your new baby home, you probably will have the urge to keep him near you at all times, especially when you (try to!) go to sleep for the night. It makes sense to have a crib or cradle in your bedroom at first since it will minimize the distance you have to walk to handle nighttime feedings.

TIP! If you want to have better sleep when you’re pregnant, you should drink less fluids because you have a smaller bladder capacity. Drink plenty of water during daylight hours, but watch how much you take in prior to going to sleep.

You can try moving the baby into his nursery for naps right from the beginning, to try to minimize any trauma or anxiety by moving him into a strange room with new smells and sights when he’s a little older. Sit with him in a rocker or glider and rock him to sleep at first, then move him into his crib.

Later, you can put him in his crib and if he’s fussy or can’t get to sleep, try sitting near the crib for a few nights until he falls asleep. Then move the chair further away for another week or so. Finally, position the chair near the door, so the baby gets used to falling asleep without being right next to you.

TIP! Eat a healthy diet. If you eat fast food constantly before pregnancy, you have drastic changes to make.

It will be hard in the beginning, but if you’re consistent, eventually, you’ll get your baby to the point where he can fall asleep in his own room. Start to establish a nighttime routine, so your baby knows what to expect. A nice, warm bath, followed by changing into soft clean pajamas is a good start. Even a very young baby can be read to at bedtime. You can also sing to him and just talk to him. The sound of your voice is what matters so he feels safe and secure enough to fall asleep. By starting these simple routines early, hopefully, you’ll avoid trouble later on trying to move the baby into his nursery and getting him to sleep at a normal time.

Nursery Setup

TIP! Be proactive about asking for help when confronted with tasks that require heavy lifting. Lifting heavy things can cause miscarriages or stress on your baby, not to mention that it can cause back strains.

The most important part of any nursery is the crib. You want to make it safe and cozy. No matter what type of crib you get, make sure it conforms to all safety guidelines and standards. Make sure the crib mattress fits snugly against the rails, so the baby can’t get wedged between them. You also want to be sure the crib sheet fits snug and tight, nothing loose or bunched up.

Until the baby is at least a year old, you don’t want to use sheets or blankets. A comforter or quilt should be for decoration only in that first year. Make sure the baby’s sleepwear is clean and soft and appropriate for her age and for the weather. You don’t want them too warm or too light, as babies can’t regulate their own body temperatures at first.

TIP! Pregnant women who are in their final trimester should attempt to sleep on the left side. Sleeping in this position will provide your fetus with a good blood supply, and enable blood to flow easily to your uterus and kidneys.

The only crib accessory that you want inside the crib when the baby’s sleeping is perhaps a small, foam wedge that you can use to keep the baby from rolling on her stomach. Sleeping on her back or on her side is the position many experts recommend at first.

The sheets should always be fresh and clean; use unscented detergent in case your baby’s sensitive to fragrances.

TIP! When you are pregnant, it’s recommended that you be checked for any sexually transmitted diseases. If you leave these diseases untreated, your baby may be prone to some serious issues because of them.

Keep the room dust-free and the space underneath the crib clutter-free, so it won’t accumulate dust. If your baby’s sensitive to dust, you don’t want to trigger a bout of sneezing and a runny nose at bedtime or naptime.

Make the room and bed sheeting colors soft and restful. Too much color and contrast will stimulate the baby’s vision and keep her alert, just when you want her to wind down for bedtime or a nap. The baby’s room and the crib should be soft and inviting places to be. She has busy days – there’s so much to learn and do! The crib needs to be a place that’s calm and restful for her.

Nursery Decor

There’s nothing more wonderful than planning the nursery for your new baby. If you’ve decided to find out the gender of your baby, you can have the room all ready for him or her when you come home from the hospital.

TIP! Get your things together for your trip to the hospital when you’re into your third trimester. If you wait a long time to do this then you’ll find yourself arriving at the hospital without your supplies.

What kinds of things do you need to create a safe haven and an optimal sleep environment? The trend for a while was to have bright, stimulating colors in the nursery or mobiles in black and white to help the baby’s eyes develop. This faded from popularity pretty quickly as parents found out all that trendy stuff wasn’t conducive to sleep!

Make sure your crib conforms to all the guidelines for safety and that you have a good, firm mattress. Keep to softer pastel colors – blues, greens, pinks, and yellows. Any color you like is good, although some, like blues and greens, are more restful.

TIP! Take plenty of pictures and write down your experience so you can show your baby as they get older. Kids like seeing their very earliest photos.

Make sure the bedding and the entire room is clean and fresh. Until your baby is at least a year old, a quilt or comforter should be for decoration only. You can buy specially made quilt clips to hang it on a wall. Your baby’s bed needs to be unobstructed by blankets, pillows or sheets so that her face is clear at all times and there’s no danger of obstructing her breathing. You might want to have a small foam wedge that’s positioned to keep the baby from rolling on her stomach. You should also keep stuffed animals or other toys out of the crib until the baby’s older. In addition, you may want to purchase a baby monitor to hear your baby throughout the night. These days, some monitors actually show your baby on a screen or video, amazing!

Make the room a pleasant one. If you use a scent, like lavender, keep it light. Nothing overpowering. Keep it as dust-free as possible to avoid sneezing and stuffy noses. The nursery should feel like a safe and cozy place that your baby associates with restfulness and security.

Nursery Feng Shui

You’ve probably heard of feng shui, the Chinese system for arrangement and placement of the furniture in a room. It’s often used in businesses and homes as a way to create positive energy in your environment. Even if you’ve never used feng shui in your own space, why not consider it for your baby’s room? Feng shui is now making its way into the nursery, and for good reason, too. Feng Shui proposes that by arranging and aligning the room correctly, energy will flow better in the room. Positive energy flow will create an environment to thrive for people of any age, especially a baby. To maximize the energy in the baby’s room, there are several important factors to consider, such as room location, safety, colors, and furniture arrangement. Using feng shui in the nursery will help to make babies less fussy, who will feel more comfortable in their surroundings, and who will be healthy and flourish. What does it take to accomplish this? Following some basic considerations will help both baby and parents create a room that makes them both happy. First of all, put the baby’s room in a good location. A new baby should have a bedroom that is not over a garage or has an empty space below. The bedroom also shouldn’t be located where there is excessive noise that might keep the baby from sleeping, such as close to a living room where the TV is on, or close to a noisy street or neighbor. The bed should not be against a window or be directly in line with the door. Make sure the baby does not sleep or is placed against a slanted wall. Avoid placing the baby against a wall that is shared with a bathroom, toilet, storage, or utility-type room. Create good, but soft energy and movement, with mobiles, hung close to a window to move gently in the breeze and keep soft music playing in the room. The baby’s nursery should always be clutter-free. Nothing at all should be underneath the crib. Few things should line the walls, keep it minimal. Each night, the dirty diapers should be taken out so a clean, fresh smell circulates. A small air filter can be placed to ensure clean crisp air 24/7.