Baby Advice @ Cuddles 'n Gifts sending smiles!

Sleepless nights are one of the first things that come to mind when thinking of taking care of a newborn or infant. The sleep-deprived parents may not realize that their baby is actually sleeping 16-20 hours a day! Your baby’s sleep schedule is just very different from yours. Babies spend a longer time in light sleep, deeper sleep in true sleep and drift in and out of deep sleep and light sleep in shorter amounts of time.

The amount of sleep needed varies with each child and age of the child. Some babies are longer sleepers and others enjoy short naps throughout the day.

Here are some facts and information that will help you understand why your baby isn’t sleeping or the crazy sleep schedule they force you to fall into and some tips on how to get your baby to fall asleep.

Newborns do not know the difference between day and night, they need to sleep and eat around the clock. For the first six weeks or so your baby will need to sleep every two hours or so and will probably not sleep longer than 3 or 4 hours. You can start to teach your baby the difference between day and night by playing with it and speaking louder during the day but being more subdued at night. You can start establishing healthy sleeping habits at this age by learning when your baby is tired, if your baby is rubbing their eyes or developing faint dark circles under the eyes put your baby to sleep. If you wait too long the baby may have trouble getting some shut eye. You will soon know instinctively when your baby is ready for a nap. When your baby is about six to eight weeks old try to let him fall asleep on his own, put him to bed when he is sleepy but still awake, that way your baby will learn healthy sleep habits and will be less likely to need to be rocked every night in the future. .

Another good way to establish healthy sleeping habits is to set up a routine. Here is a good example of a bedtime routine:

• Start with a bath or just washing their hands and face, make sure that your bedtime is as consistent as possible every night.
• Change diaper and put on pajamas.
• Singing a quiet lullaby is soothing to the baby when it is a familiar voice.
• While you prepare your baby for bed, if you prefer not to sing, put in a tape/cd of baby-friendly sounds on low volume and leave it on after you leave the room.
• Cuddle and rock your baby before you lay her down to bed.
• Try to make it short and put your baby in her crib while she is still awake.

In the early months all you can do is try to go to bed early and nap when your baby naps, so you can get enough active sleep to cope with the next day. However soon your baby will not associate needing another feed with falling asleep and you won’t need to attend to them every hour.

At about 3 or 4 months your nights of getting up every three hours are probably over, by now your baby is sleeping 14-15 hours a day , 9-10 of those are spent at night and then various naps through the day. You might still be getting up once and a while for night feedings at the beginning of this stage but by six months old your child should be capable of sleeping through the night.

Whether your baby does or not depends on if he is learning good sleeping habits and patterns. If you haven’t set up a bedtime routine yet, now would be the best time to do so, babies thrive on consistency.

So while sleepless nights have been and probably will always be just one of the many joys of parenthood there are several ways to make this time easier to deal with for baby and parents. Just remember to get as much rest as you can during the first few weeks when your baby will need to be feed, changed, or played with every couple of hours, make sure to nap when your baby naps. The better you’re rested the better parent you will be able to be.

Pamper the new mom with a gift basket created especially for her and the new baby. Filled with spa gifts and baby items, these gift baskets are memorable!

Moms tend to think about everyone but themselves, which is great for everyone around them but it can take a toll on even the most devoted mom. In order to keep your sanity it is important that moms take time out to relax and regroup.

I know it is easier said then done, there is always one more diaper to change, one more meal to cook or one more load of laundry to do. So what can you do to take time out for yourself and when are you supposed to do it? Here are a few ideas to help get your mommy time out started.

1. Ask your husband, a friend or a family member to watch the kids for a while. In just a few hours you could go see that movie you have been dying to see, minus screaming babies and frequent trips to the bathroom to avoid bothering other people. In just two hours you can get your hair done, a manicure and a pedicure. Imagine how relaxing just two hours of alone time would be.
2. Chances are you won’t be able to get someone to take the kids everyday for a few hours but it’s still important to take a mini time out everyday. By doing this you will spare the children from unwarranted outburst and yourself from slipping into depression.
3. Leave the dishes, the laundry and the spill in the kitchen for just thirty minutes, maybe while the baby is napping or while the kids are watching a cartoon. Just taking thirty minutes to relax or work on a hobby will alleviate some of the days stress.
4. Wake up and hour early or go to bed an hour late, the kids will be sleeping and you can spend sometime getting ready in the morning or watching TV.
5. Exercise regularly can be a great way to get you going and keep you in shape for keeping up with your kids.
6. Eat right, veggies and fruit will charge your immune system, the last thing you need is a sick mommy.
7. Remind yourself that you can’t control everything. Don’t spend your mommy time out worrying about what is going on at the house, your husband is perfectly capable of handling the kids alone for two hours.
8. Start a baby swap, a baby swap is when two or more moms agree to take each others children for a few hours to give the other some free time on a weekly or monthly basis.
9. Share the load. Sit down with your family and divide the chores. By sharing the load you can make more time for everyone and by giving
10. When hit overload just taking a few minutes to sit and think about the positive things in your life can make you feel better.
11. You don’t need to be busy every minute of the day. Stay home with your family. Don’t make a commitment unless it is important to you. Get in the habit of saying no to things you don’t want to, or don’t have time to do and don’t feel guilty about it.

While motherhood is a very rewarding experience and totally worth the sacrifice it can be stressful and with all that you do for your family it’s hard to think about yourself, but very important. By taking care of yourself, you also teach your children the importance of taking care of their own mental and physical health. Look at the time spent on yourself as an investment to make you a better, happier mom for your husband and your children.