Your baby has been sleeping well then you notice on the calendar the dreaded time change! If you live in any state besides Arizona then you have to deal with time either falling forward or back. As it is October we will be falling back which is a little harder for babies. We, as adults, gain an extra hour to sleep. Unfortunately babies on a good routine (and toddlers) are used to getting up at a certain time to eat and sleep. SO while the new 7 AM is will be great for those without young children to those with young children it will be 6Am.
So what can you do to help your baby adjust to the new time? You can do it all in one day and deal with a fussing child who is ready to get up a hour early or you can start moving their wake time later in the day the week before. I feel like doing things slowly works better with babies than the abrupt change. What I recommend to my families is that you move your child's wake,feed and sleep time forward by 10 minutes each day 5 days before the time change. In other words if you child is used to getting up at 7AM wait till 7:10 AM to wake and feed. Nap time also will be 10 minutes later and Bed time will be 10 min. later than normal. The next morning you wake your little one up at 7:20 AM nap time will be 20 minutes later than normal (and yes some kido's get a little cranky) and the whole day will be 20 minutes. Day 3 wake time would be 7:30 AM Day 4 would be 7:40 Am and day 5 would be 7:50 Am. And of course on the 6th day would be daylight savings day and baby will be waking at 7AM and back on routine! Hope this little bit of advice helps you do a smooth transaction. Also if this isn't how you get your child to adjust share with us how you do in the comment section!
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So your due date is coming up! What things do you need to do before coming home with baby?
You should prepare your hospital bag with the items you’ll need. As you get closer to your due date you might want to consider putting a waterproof pad over your mattress. Just in case your water breaks while you are sleeping. Map out the most direct route to the hospital or birth center. If you are parking a car there check out where to park, you need to remember that you’ll be leaving your car for at least 24 hours. Some things to buy if you haven’t already: Nursing bra and tops, nursing cloak, nursing pads, breast cream and ice pack and heating pad(or packs) for breast if you’re going to Breastfeed. Don’t forget postnatal sanitary pads(swipe what you can at the hospital if you did forget!) Wash baby’s sheets and clothes that will be used in the first couple of days. Including the going home outfit. Sterilize Bottles, nipples and Breast Pump Supplies. Get a package of milk freezer bags to use if pumping. Prepare freezer meals ( at least 7 days’ worth) and collect to go menus. When cooking before baby comes it is easy to make a extra meal and freeze. If you don’t have any ideas on what to make that is easy check out Pintrest Make sure you have a supply of simple snacks that you like to eat just in case you don’t have time (or are just too tired) to heat up a meal. A good place to keep these snacks is where you plan on feeding baby. Install the car seat! You don’t want to wait till the last minute to do this! If you are not sure how to correctly install the seat google a local Certified Passenger Safety Technician. Last but not least is get your help lined up. Family members, neighbors and friends that offer to help with the baby. Put down their name and number and don’t be too proud to call. Or call a Professional! Newborn Care Specialist can sometimes come in for one night up to several months depending on your needs! Now the question I have for you is what did you do before you went to the hospital and had YOUR baby? I had a Mother call me the other day wanting some help. Her baby was still getting up every 3 hours at night and she had a older child whom would wake the baby during the day. She said she really couldn't afford my services but could I please help her so I offered her 5 tips to get her baby to sleep longer at night. These are the questions I asked: Have you tried making sure the room is completely dark? Do you have a white noise machine on? is your baby under 3 months are they swaddled? What does your night time routine look like? Also look at your daytime routine and make sure they are getting enough sleep during the day! ( Sleep begets sleep!)
Mom's first 3 answers were no to all. So we discussed her options and this is what we came up with. Since baby was 2 months old and Mom wasn't sure she could swaddle her, Mom got a pod so baby could move her arms just not startle herself and wake herself up. Mom got temp black out shades made of paper that helped darken the room and used a app on a old cell phone for her white noise. Then we discussed the night time routine. Mom said that at night she watched TV with her older child before bed then put baby down. As for daytime routine Mom got the baby up when baby woke up but at no specific time! We discussed that screen time right before bed can sometimes be stimulating to a baby and that maybe Mom could let the oldest watch TV in the other room while Mom did a night time routine with her baby. We also discussed that baby needed to have a set wake up time so that the body could start working on knowing when to get up. Mom called me after 2 weeks and Baby was now sleeping 6 hours at night! Mom had doubled her sleep time with just 5 little tips! If you are having issues look at these tips and see if they can help you too! So you're having your baby and you are getting lots of advice from EVERYONE! One thing the older generation will sometimes try to talk you into is unsafe sleep habits!
Here are some notes to keep in mind when you receive the advice of "this is how we did it when you were young and you survived!" 1) Always place your baby to sleep on his BACK at naptime and night time. NEVER place your baby to sleep on any soft surface!! (adult bed, sofa, chair etc) Car seats and other sitting devices are not recommended for routine sleep. Keep your baby close but NOT in your bed! The only time your baby should be on his tummy is while he is awake and doing supervised Tummy time. 2)Use a crib with a firm mattress that fits snugly. Only have baby in crib! Bumper pads are no longer recommended by the AAP.Also NEVER use wedges or positioners to prop your baby up!! These are also not recommended by the AAP. 3) No extra/loose blankets or toys should be in the crib. If you are worried that your baby is going to be cold there are several swaddle blankets on the market that can be used. NEVER dress your baby too warmly for sleep: keep the room temp between 68-72 F 4)Have a fan in the room to help circulate the air. This helps keep good air flowing. Even though your babies feet and hands may seem cold this doesn't mean that they are cold. Their circulatory system is still developing. Hands and feet are one of the last place the blood flows to. The blood moves more often to vital organs where it is needed most so feel babies torso. If it is warm your baby is too! Overheating can leads to SIDS so it is best to avoid overheating your baby. 5) Breastfeed if possible. When you finish feeding(either by Breast of Bottle) place baby back in his or her separate bed or safe sleep area at night.Offer pacifier after feeding baby (if you are breastfeeding wait for 2-4 weeks before using a paci or after breastfeeding has been established) If you would like to co-sleep there are many beds out there that will work and still keep baby on a firm safe surface. 6) NEVER allow someone to smoke around your baby!!! or take your baby into a room or car where someone has been smoking! Don't forget about secondhand smoke as it can linger on a persons cloths and their hair and skin are filled with toxins from the cigarettes. If you follow these note's according to the AAP it can help protect your baby and reduce their chances of SID's Decide on what your routine is going to be for wake time and sleep time!
Start the day at the same time every day and put the bed at the same time every day! Expose baby to the sunlight by spending awake time playing, talking and doing tummy time! Between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours after awaking baby should show some signs of sleepiness. Now is the time we want to go into a calming routine. Go to the bedroom where it is nice and quiet. Dim the lights and/or draw the curtains. Start the sound machine. Change baby’s diaper if needed and swaddle baby. Start your nap/bedtime routine. Bed time!! Place baby in crib DROWSY not asleep! If you would like you can pat baby a few times or caress the forehead then walk away. Note: If baby falls asleep before you get to the bed gently wake so baby can see that they are in bed. VERY IMPORTANT: Baby should always be put in bed on their BACK! Baby’s room should be between 68-72 degrees, dark and have a white noise machine going during nap and night sleep. First decide when you want baby to wake and go to sleep.
Start the day at the same time every day and put the bed at the same time every day! Expose baby to the sunlight by spending the awake time playing, talking and doing tummy time! Most times between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours after awaking, baby will show some signs of sleepy cues. Now is the time we want to go into a calming routine. Go to the bedroom where it is nice and quiet. Dim the lights and/or draw the curtains. Start the sound machine. Change baby’s diaper if needed and swaddle baby. Start your nap/bedtime routine. Bed time!! Place baby in crib DROWSY not asleep! If you would like you can pat baby a few times or caress the forehead then walk away. If baby falls asleep before you get to the bed gently wake so baby can see that they are in bed. NOTE: Baby should always be put in bed on their BACK! Baby’s room should be between 68-72 degrees, dark and have a white noise machine going during nap and night sleep. REMEMBER! Routine is your friend! So baby is now growing up. You have been using the baby bath tub for several months and baby is getting a little too big for that tub but too small to put in a regular tup so what do you do? If baby is able to sit up on his own but not quite steady enough to sit in the tub by himself.... get a bath tub ring! (this even works well with bathing twins at the same time! Just use 2 rings)
These seats use a suction to stick to the bathtub floor. You place baby in the ring that is suctioned to the tub and has a couple of inches of warm water. Have a couple of toys handy and sit back while baby enjoys a little splashing!!! Now it's time for the 2(or 3) of you to play!!! I like to have some different repurposed containers (yogurt, butter and cheap measuring cups) for baby to use to dip in the water. If you pumped and still have your breast shield that makes a fun funnel to play with!!!! and after baby is finished splashing it is time to gently clean your baby! When you're finished rinse baby off (you can use one of the containers you and baby were playing with!) get a good grip on baby and pull him out. Remember baby can be a little slippery!!! place a towel on the floor next to you so you can wrap baby up quickly! Rememeber NEVER leave the baby by himself in the tub!!!! not even for a second! Now I am do NOT claim to be a professional Green Proofing company BUT I do know of some things that I have learned from friends, the internet and classes that you can do before baby comes home.
First and foremost most things off gas! (yes even Organic things can contain chemicals) Your best plan of action is to try to get the nursery ready 10 weeks before baby comes home.(hard I know!) If you painted the room make sure that the windows are open so they don't trap the chemicals inside. ( Even the No VOC paint can have toxins due to the color that is added to the paint!) If you have put down a new carpet it too will off gas. If possible let the carpet sit out for a couple of days in the sun. But if the carpet has already been put in and your running short on time turn on the heat and open up the windows to speed up the off gassing. Take everything out of their boxes. I am talking monitors, baby bed, mattress, and car seat! If it has any plastic it will need to off gas. Put it outside if the weather is nice. If not a empty garage or a spare room with the window open for the fumes to go out! OPEN those windows up!!! Do this as early as possible to help with the off gassing of all NEW things brought for the baby.( side note: Buying second had furniture (not mattress) means that a lot of the off gassing has already happened and also helps the environment!) Why you ask? Because most babies spend around 90% of their time indoors and most of the things we buy new for the baby have chemicals in some form or another that can create toxic off gassing and expose your family to dangerous levels of chemicals while they sleep. Opening the windows(weather permitting) and using fans to move and circulate the air helps get a better air quality in babies(and other family members) room and helps till everything has off gassed. If you have already brought baby home and you are panicking Please don't! Try opening the windows for 20 mins. a day with the fans on for the air in the room to become fresh again!(I recommend doing this anyway as it brings fresh air into a stale room!) You could also try using a little vinegar and water to do a quick wipe down of the nursery right before opening the windows. The smell dissipates after awhile and will not harm anything but germs My final words on this subject are if you can smell a plastic smell it is off gassing! Now your baby is a couple of months old and you are ready for some adult time. Who do you get to watch the baby?
If you are lucky enough to have family near who can help Great! your all set! IF not you need to look elsewhere for someone you trust to watch you sweet bundle of job. I hate to say it but many factors depend on how much you can afford to spend. If you are on a very tight budget I would suggest if you have a friend with kids that you do a "date night trade off". You offer to watch their child(ren) for a couple of hours while they get out and they can watch your baby while you go out! If you can afford a babysitter either a teen with some child care experence or a adult that you have found via a websight GO for it! You need a little adult time! Now the main reason for this blog is some suggestions for you to make you feel a little better and the person taking care of you baby feel better. First make a list of all emergency contacts and put by your phone! this is good for you and anyone taking care of you child. This list should have your peditritian, local contact and a family contact. As baby gets older you need to have poison control also listed.( I even have had clients whom I recomended putting their vet |
AuthorI have been a Professional Nanny since 1987 and Debra Gail has been a Professional Nanny since 1986. This is our blog of fun things we find or do with our charges. Archives
October 2016
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