Womb to Weebles

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

May 18th, 2009

When you bring home that newborn from the hospital, you soon realize that sleeping like a baby doesn’t mean what most people usually take it to mean.

Babies need a lot of sleep; however, it takes time before they can sleep through the night. The amount of sleep children need changes as they get older. While every child is different, there are some basic guidelines that can help you know if your child is getting enough sleep during that all-important first year.
The Bitty Baby Shop offers organic bath products made with lavender that are very soothing for baby and will induce sleep after a nice warm bath.

Newborn babies – When you first come home with that baby, you may feel like you are in a constant cycle of feeding and napping. This is completely normal. Newborns will sleep about sixteen hours a day, spread out in about two hour segments around the clock. When the stomach is still so small, babies need to eat frequently, especially if you are nursing. It is a good idea, especially when you first get home from the hospital, to nap during the day when the baby naps. You will be on their sleep schedule for a while. Some nursing mothers use a co-sleeping method so that they lose less sleep until the baby begins to sleep through the night. By keeping the baby close, the baby feels secure and not likely to wake up frightened during the night. If you are bottle-feeding, you might try taking turns with the feedings with your husband, so both of you get a little more sleep.

One month old – By the time the baby is about one month old, they are starting to be awake more, as they are learning about the world around them. They will usually sleep about fifteen hours a day, with around six hours of that time during the day. You will quickly pick up on the cues that the baby is ready for a nap; some will fall asleep shortly after a feed or even while they are feeding.

Three months old – Now is the time that every parent lives for: the baby normally begins to sleep through the night. By about three months, their stomach has grown and they can eat more, so they can sleep longer at a stretch during the night. They still sleep about fifteen hours, but their nap time decreases to about five hours. Not every child will start to sleep through the night right at three months. Some take a little longer. When you start to introduce some solid foods, that also usually helps the baby begin to sleep longer at night. Be sure to check with your pediatrician about the right time to introduce solids. Studies continue to show that human milk is the best milk for human babies.

Six months old – At six months, babies drop to needing about fourteen hours of sleep each day, with only about four hours at nap time. However, sometimes at about six months, infants will still wake up during the night. If they are sleeping in their own room, they will wake and realize that mom is not right there. Sometimes they will go back to sleep, but sometimes they just need to know you are there. Most babies will skip night feedings by this age which will allow for more uninterrupted sleep for you both.

Nine months old – Nine months is another milestone. By now, they should be sleeping through the night regularly. While they still need about fourteen hours of sleep, they begin to nap less. They may only nap about three hours during the day, but that time can still be divided into a morning nap and an afternoon nap.

One year old babies – By the time the baby is about a year old, they will normally be sleeping about thirteen hours a day. They will sleep about ten or eleven at night, with a two or three hour nap during the day. Some children may not want to even nap at all. They are too busy exploring their world, but it is still a good idea to try to encourage nap time. In fact, many moms will continue to put their children down for naps until they are five or six years old.

As with most growth milestones, no two children are exactly alike. Be flexible, but still try to ensure that your baby is getting enough rest. It will make life easier for all of you.

Tags: baby, baby clothes, parenting, preemie
Posted in General Parenting, Infants, Newborn Child | 1 Comment »

Natural, organic food for baby

May 13th, 2009

Fresh peaches

Have you looked at the price of baby food lately? You might be surprised at how expensive it has gotten along with everything else on the grocer’s shelf. In addition, if you want your food to be organic and not full of preservatives and salt, you have to pay even more for those tiny jars. But with a little time and effort, you can save money by making your own baby foods. It’s easy and simple to make delicious, nutritious meals for your baby.

What you’ll need:

A steamer. Don’t boil baby food; it takes away nutrients from your baby’s food. You can get an inexpensive steamer that cooks quickly and leaves all the vitamins and minerals your baby needs. However, you may easily bake some foods like sweet potatoes or white potatoes.

A food processor. While most people would think to use a blender to puree food for your baby, you’ll probably be sadly disappointed with the results. Blenders not only make a mess, they also make lumpy food your child may not be fond of.

Ice cube trays, freezer bags, and lots of space. Unless you want to cook up food for your child everyday, freezing is the way to go. Instead of having to make new, you can just pop it in the microwave and be ready to go in no time. Ice cube trays are a great way to store food and make convenient portion sizes.

The first step is to wash and skin fruits and vegetables then cut them up into small pieces. This will make them easier to use later. If skinning and peeling gets tedious, you can always use some prepared food from the grocery store, like baby carrots. This way you just have to wash them and skip to the next step.

The next step is to cook your food. For vegetables, use the steamer. Once you’re done steaming, keep the water. You can add it later to thin out your food to the right consistency. If you’re preparing meat, rice, or pasta, just cook it on the stove as normal, but don’t add any oil or spices.

After your food is done cooking, you’re ready to start processing. Put the foods separately into the food processor. For pureed foods, you don’t need to stand over the machine because it may take a while for the food to liquify. Later on when the food needs less processing, you will need to monitor it. This is also the point where you would start fruits like banana that don’t require cooking. You could also try throwing in some of last night’s leftovers.

After your food is prepared, pour it into the ice cube trays. If you don’t have enough room in your freezer, simply put sealed food into the refrigerator until you do have room. Once the cubes are frozen, put 4 of them into a Ziploc back and put them back into the freezer. At first, you should keep the same kinds of foods in the same bag, but eventually you can start mixing and matching. For example, put in two meat cubes and two pasta cubes for a mixed meal.

I would not recommend microwaving the food in the baggies because you don’t want chemicals transferred from the plastic during the heating process, but you could transfer the frozen food to a glass bowl or just heat on top of the stove in a small pot.

With just a little work, you can make great tasting, inexpensive meals for your baby to supplement bottle or breastfeeding.

Tags: baby, cooking, infant, newborn, parenting, toddler
Posted in Everything Else Under The Sun, General Parenting, Infants, Newborn Child, Toddlers | 1 Comment »

How to massage your baby to sleep

May 3rd, 2009

Baby

There are very few things more relaxing than a massage. One of the fondest memories of my childhood is of my mother rubbing my back until I feel asleep. Talk about being spoiled! Giving babies massages has been proven to not only help them relax, but has shown to improve their sleep habits. By relaxing them before bedtime, they can fall into a deeper sleep sooner regardless of the age of the child. Gentle massage can also help with colicky and preemie babies.

Studies have shown that massage has helped premature babies gain more weight quicker. According to one study, “preemies who were massaged three times daily for ten days gained almost 50 percent more weight, were more active and alert and were able to leave the hospital six days earlier than other premature infants” (Nelsson-Ryan). Physical contact is so important, especially in the first few weeks, before babies are even able to see well.

There are places that offer training in infant massage, as well as videos. However, a few simple techniques are all you need to get started. You can use baby lotion, or natural oils such as almond or vegetable oil with natural fragrances added. You shouldn’t use the oil on the head or face area. Try using a wonderfully smelling lavender balm offered at The Bitty Baby Shop.

First, be sure the baby is not too fussy and able to lay still, about an hour after a feeding. Some recommend removing everything, including the diaper. However, you may want to leave the diaper on to avoid any accidents until you massage the stomach.

Find a safe, soft place where the baby won’t roll off onto the floor. Be sure that the room is at a comfortable temperature. Lay the baby on the back, and smile and talk gently while you do the massage.

Start with the head and face, using only as much pressure as you would use if you were to press on your eyelid without causing discomfort. Work from the forehead to the top of the head, moving in gentle strokes. Move from the center toward the outside and back.

Carefully work your way down the neck and shoulders area, again using very light pressure. Work on each arm by making a ring from your thumb and finger, sliding down the arm. Roll the arm gently between your hands. Massage the hands and fingers as well.

Then, massage gently down the stomach area, in circles. If you’ve had the diaper on, remove it to expose the stomach and then replace it before you begin the legs. Work down each leg, similar to the way you did the arms. Gently bend the legs toward the stomach. This can help gas bubbles that may be trapped to move out. This also helps with the colicky babies.

Once you finish with the legs and feet, turn the baby over and start from the back of the head and work your way down to the feet again. Do not actually massage the spine area. You can make gentle circles with your fingertips on the back. Complete the massage down to the toes again. Dress baby in ultra-soft, organic bamboo pajamas for the finishing touch.

Keep in mind, some babies will only want a couple of minutes of massage to start with. Once the baby gets used to the massage, you can increase the time spent. It may soon become the favorite part of the day. This is something that both the mother and father can share in with the baby, creating a special bond.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »