How Can I Help My Newborn Learn
As you care for your newborn, talk, smile, and interact with your baby. Pay attention and respond to your baby’s cues. For example, watch how your baby moves or starts to coo back when you speak. Take turns “talking” to each other. This is how your baby learns to communicate.
In the first few weeks, you may want to introduce some simple, age-appropriate toys that appeal to the senses of sight, hearing, and touch, such as:
- rattles
Does The Family Ever Get To See The Newborn On This Routine
In a word: no.
Not really anyway.
My family always jokes, When are you going to let the baby come out of its room? and I reply smiling, In a month or two! 🙂
Aside from the germs aspect, babies can be overstimulated very easily.
People who are far removed from the baby world think its normal to talk very very loudly and try to wake the baby up to see the color of its eyes.
Its like I mean just no.
Newborn Sleep Cycles: Why Newborns Are Light Sleepers
When adults first fall asleep, we pass through a couple of light sleep stages, and then plunge into a bout of deep sleep.
Afterwards, we switch into REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, a sleep stage famous for its association with dreaming, and the loss of muscle tone. We dont move much during REM.
When REM is over, we either awaken, or return to light sleep and begin the cycle again. For the average adult, a single sleep cycle lasts about 90-100 minutes. We may partially awaken many times during the night. But were more likely to wake up all the way during transitions between stages, during light sleep, and during REM.
Newborn sleep is also characterized by sleep stages and cycles, but there are crucial differences.
First, babies typically begin their sleep bouts in the newborn equivalent of REM .
Second, newborns in REM dont usually experience muscle atonia.
Unlike us, they may thrash around, stretch, twitch, and even vocalize. The results can fool parents into thinking their babies are waking up, when they are actually experiencing normal REM sleep.
Third, newborn sleep cycles are shorter around 50-55 minutes for the average infant and REM makes up a much bigger proportion of sleep.
Its not unusual for newborns to spend more than half their total sleep time in REM . Indeed, several studies suggest that, over the course of a 24 hour day, some newborns spent may spend as much as 75% of their sleep time in active sleep .
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Your Baby’s Sleeping Position
Always put your baby to sleep on their back with their feet touching the end of the cot.
Do not let your baby sleep while lying on their tummy. Babies who sleep on their tummies have a higher risk of cot death. You can give your baby some tummy time when they are awake.
If your baby always lies with their head in the same position they might develop a flat head. This is called plagiocephaly.
You can help prevent this when putting your baby down to sleep on their back. When they are lying flat, you can alternate their head position so that sometimes they face left and sometimes they face right.
Newborn Baby Day 1 Checklist: Forget Routine
In these early days with your baby, there is no such thing as a regular schedule, and the harder you try to force one, the more stressed everyone will become. Your best bet is to try and sleep when your baby does and wake when your baby does, says Dr. Jana. Everyone is tired during this time, and the easiest way to catch up on rest is to follow your baby rather than stick to some predetermined routine.
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Some Tips For Miserable Baby
The first thing you should do is to contact a better doctor! I get upset when I hear about moms who are in your situation getting a maybe diagnosis and nothing more. These days there is medication available both for colic and reflux and your baby deserves proper medical attention! When a baby is crying all the time, something is clearly wrong and even if turns out to be infant colic, you need support and help.
Here are several things you can do at home to improve the situation, while at the same time contacting another doctor:
1. Elevate his crib One thing you can do at home if you havent done it yet is to try elevating your sons crib some 30 degrees to see if it helps his sleeping. If it does, you should definitely discuss reflux in more detail with a doctor.
2. Baby massage One possible home remedy for colic is baby massage. Buy a good book with pictures that explain how to do it and give it a try. You can also learn more about colic and possible remedies here.
3. Upright feeding position When feeding your baby try keeping him in an upright position this will help both colic and reflux.
4. Other types of formula If you do give your baby formula, you could also experiment with giving him other types, such as for example soy-based or lactose-free. A good pediatrician should be able to recommend proper brands where you live. And dont forget to burp your baby!
I hope this provides you with a few ideas and some stamina to not give up!
Good luck!
Newborn Sleep Rhythms: Why Newborns Seem To Sleepand Wakearound The Clock
The timing of adult sleep is governed by circadian rhythms physiological changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. Many of these changes are influenced by your exposure to light.
For instance, when you expose yourself to sunlight during the day, you are helping your body calibrate its internal clock. Even if you are sleep-deprived, morning light helps ensure that you will be more alert during the day than you are at night.
Conversely, the absence of light at night helps your body wind down. When darkness falls, your brain interprets this as a signal to start producing melatonin, a hormone that triggers relaxation, paving the way for sleep.
You can easily disrupt this process by exposing yourself to artificial light sources in the evening especially sources of blue light . But as long as you stick with the program bright light during the day, and darkness at night you will likely find yourself in sync with the natural, 24-hour day.
And of course most adults are in sync. But its different for newborns.
Newborn sleep is not governed by strong circadian rhythms.
Things dont begin that way. Not when babies are still in the womb. During pregnancy, fetuses are tuned into their mothers physiological cues about day and night.
But after birth, this intimate hormonal connection is broken. Newborns must develop their own circadian rhythms of hormone production.
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Months: Make Marbleized Gift Wrap
Yes, youve made it to the age where you and baby can do crafts together. All you need is some tempera paint, plastic wrap and white paper. Cover your work surface and tape the white paper in place. Help your child dribble some paint onto the paper. Use several colors and let the colors touch. Then, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the paint, covering the paint and paper. Show your child how to move his or her hands over the paper to create designs in the paint he or shell probably get the hang of it pretty quickly.
When he or shes done, carefully lift off the plastic wrap and throw it away. Let the paint-and-paper dry the finished product makes great gift wrap. Or you can frame the work of art.
Good to know: My one-year-old loves making marbleized paper, says Kate Freeman of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a child care company. Kids love the tactile experience, and working with various colors helps him or her learn and ID colors .
Let A Friend Or Family Member Watch Your Baby While You Take A Nap Even If This Means Your Breastfed Baby Will Take Some Meals From A Bottle
Lactation experts often discourage breastfeeding mothers from bottle feeding babies for the first 3-4 weeks. The worry is that supplemental feeds will lead to a decreased milk supply and endanger successful breastfeeding in the long-term.
But you need to balance this against the negative effects of severe sleep restriction. Lack of sleep puts parents at increased risk of illness and postpartum depression, which is bad for parents and babies. If you are at the end of your rope, get help.
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How Can I Tell If A Newborn Is Sleeping Too Much
A baby occasionally sleeping for longer than usual is not a cause for concern unless there are other symptoms.
In general, it is uncommon for a newborn to consistently sleep through feedings or to sleep for longer than 19 hours per day unless they are ill or are having feeding difficulties.
Some of the most common reasons that healthy babies sleep for longer than usual include the following:
- They may experience a growth spurt or developmental leap.
- They may have a minor illness, such as a cold.
- They may have a serious infection. This is rare, but it can happen. A newborn might not have a fever or other symptoms of illness like an older baby might.
- In very rare instances, a baby may have another medical condition that causes them to sleep too much. Breathing and heart disorders may affect sleep, and premature babies often have different sleep patterns from full-term infants.
- Some babies sleep too much because they have jaundice. A newborn who has jaundice will have a yellow color to their skin and a yellow cast to the whites of their eyes. Other symptoms of more severe jaundice include being lethargic, having difficulty eating, and being fussy or irritable.
- Sometimes, babies may sleep too much because they are not getting enough to eat. They may get dehydrated, lose too much weight, and even experience a failure to thrive.
However, in the early stages especially for first-time parents the signs of a potential problem may be easy to miss.
Asleep Active Or Alert
During the first month of life, your newborn will spend much of the day sleeping or seeming drowsy. Over the next several weeks to months, your baby will be awake and alert for longer periods of time. You’ll learn to recognize when your baby ready to learn and play:
- A baby who is quiet and alert will be attentive and responsive and interested in surroundings.
- A baby who is awake but active or fussing is less able to focus on you. The baby may seem upset or cry when you try to get his or her attention. These are signs that your baby may be getting hungry, tired, or overstimulated.
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If You Are Breastfeeding You Are Likely To Get More Sleep If You Keep Your Baby Nearby
The World Health Organization recommends that babies share a bedroom with their parents, and its a recommendation that makes breastfeeding less disruptive. A recent study found that breastfeeding women got more sleep when they co-slept with baby . In fact, mothers who co-slept and breastfed got more sleep than did mothers who bottle-fed their babies .
Months: Build With Boxes
Cardboard boxes are cheap, easy to find and endlessly entertainingnot to mention cognitively stimulating. Children are little scientists, Morrison says. Many kids this age are fascinated with filling up boxes and dumping out boxes. And while that can be annoying for parents , your little scientist is actually learning about cause and effect.
Good to know: Building with boxes can also help kids grasp complicated concepts. One of the things that very young children are exploring is the idea of conceptual language, like inside and outside, on top of, underneath, Morrison says. He or she really gets to experience that when playing with boxes.
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How To Tell If Your Baby Is Seriously Ill
It can be difficult to tell when a baby is seriously ill. Above all, it’s important to trust your instincts.
You know your baby better than anyone else, so you’ll know if their appearance or behaviour is worrying.
See does your child have a serious illness? for a checklist of “red alert” symptoms that should always be treated as serious.
She’ll Let You Know If She’s Getting Enough Food
Baby needs to eat every two to three hours but if you’re nursing, it’s tough to know how much milk she’s getting. “The baby’s weight is the best indicator in the early days,” says Dr. Tolcher. Your pediatrician will check it within a few days of discharge. A newborn loses 5 to 8 percent of her birthweight within the first week but should gain it back by the second. Diaper-counting can also act as a gauge: her schedule those first five days is haphazard, but after that, you’ll see five to six wet diapers a day, and at least one or two stools.
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A New Mother Looked At Me Recently During A Conversation We Were Having About Sleep Deprivation During The Beginning Of Baby’s Life
As a postpartum advisor and doula, I talk to a lot of new mamas.
But I hear all the time from women in the midst of transition to motherhood who are struggling to get their little ones to sleep and to respond to the demands of infant life.
This mama looked at me in desperation and asked, So do you just not get anything done then??”
Mamas, I want to tell you the truth. Here it is:
What If Your Infant Still Wants To Be Held
There are a couple of transitional measures that you can consider if your baby still wants to be held despite your best efforts to put him down. One of the things you can try is cuddling with your baby on the bed until he falls asleep. This way, your baby may not get the chance to protest on not being held. Also, you can opt for a partial sort of physical contact instead of a complete one which could make it easier for your baby to adapt.
If your baby wants to be held in spite of making several attempts at the ideas provided above, you may continue holding him for some more time. Bear in mind, however, that you will have several questions thrown at you, for example, are you spoiling your baby, or will you make him dependent? The rest of the article should help you tackle them.
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