As a new parent, you can’t help but think about your baby’s safety all the time. And this is also true even during sleeping time. To get a little peace of mind that your baby is sleeping soundly and safely, here are some baby sleep safety tips for you.

Sleeping Position
One of the most important aspects of baby sleep safety is the baby’s sleeping position. The recommended position is putting your baby down to sleep on her back. Not on her tummy, nor on the side. Sleeping on the back prevents Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, so always make sure that your baby lies on her back during bedtime.

Sleep Location
It’s advisable for babies to sleep close to the parent in their early months of life. Child care experts say that babies should sleep in the same room as their parents, although not in the same bed. Your baby’s bedding, whether it’s a bassinet, a crib, or a cradle, must be placed close to your bed so you can always monitor your baby’s sleep. Do not let your baby sleep on a couch, pillow, where she could suffocate, or even on the bed as she could roll off.

Accessories
Stuffed toys, plush pillows and fluffy blankets are potential suffocation hazards for your baby. If your baby needs a blanket, make sure that it is securely tucked beneath the mattress, to keep your baby from pulling it out. To avoid suffocation, consider using wearable blankets instead.

Temperature
A baby sleeping in a room that is too warm exposes her to SIDS. Make sure that the room where your baby sleeps remains at a right temperature, not too warm and not too cold. Remember to dress your baby with light clothing so she’d feel comfortable the whole night.

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Babies spend most of their time sleeping or just lying in bed. That’s why it is important that you provide your little bundle of joy with nice and comfortable bedding. If you are in the market for baby bedding, remember that aside from comfort, your baby’s bedding should also be easy to wash and maintain.

To help you decide on what bedding is best for your baby, here are some of the most common types of baby bedding.

Bassinet Bedding
- a freestanding type of baby bedding, it usually features a thinner mattress, along with an adjustable canopy.
- designed for newborn babies from birth to about 4 months, the purpose of the oval design and small sleeping is to simulate a cocoon-like atmosphere intended to help your sleeping newborn adjust to life outside the womb.

Cradle Bedding
- basically a “rocking” crib, cradle bedding is built with curved rails on the bottom to allow it to rock.
- this type of baby bedding is designed similar to cribs but with slatted sides.
- set typically includes a bumper that is intended to cushion, as well as protect, your sleeping newborn’s head from the side rails.

Crib Bedding
- this type of baby bedding is typically larger than a bassinet and cradle
- crib bedding may be used by your baby from birth until toddler age, which is an advantage if you want a baby bedding that your child will not outgrow easily.
- similar to cradle bedding, this includes a bumper for protection against the side rails.

Provide your baby with the nicest bedding to allow her to sleep peacefully. Remember, whichever type of baby bedding you choose, always take into consideration your baby’s comfort and safety.

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Can’t tell if your baby is teething already? Or just too excited about this milestone you can’t wait to see your baby’s first tooth? Although it varies greatly from babies to babies, the first tooth often shows up when a baby is between its sixth and ninth month. Once your baby reached this period, you will soon notice the following signs of teething:

1. Excessive drooling
2. Constant irritability
3. Coughing (if drooling is uncontrollable and there are no signs of colds or flu)
4. Rashes on the chin and chest (caused by irritation from saliva’s contact with skin)
5. Biting and gnawing (these actions eases the discomfort and pain in the gums)
6. Cheek rubbing (as the pain spreads around the gums)
7. Diarrhea (although not a direct sign but probably due to germs swallowed as baby bites anything she can grab hold on to)
8. Low-grade fever (also not a direct sign; same cause as diarrhea)
9. Having trouble sleeping
10. Cold like symptoms such as runny nose (due to frequent hand-to-mouth movements. Notify your doctor if this occurs beyond 3 days or it gets worse.

For symptoms such as diarrhea and fever, check if there are no serious illnesses involved so you can take necessary actions to alleviate your teething baby’s discomfort. If your baby’s condition doesn’t improve, it could be something that is not teething-related. You may contact your doctor for further advice and guidance.

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Does your baby tend to constantly wake up at night? Do you know that babies can have insomnia?

It’s possible that your baby is suffering from infant insomnia if she’s having difficulty sleeping, or maintaining sleep at least, during the night.

Not everyone knows that babies are prone to suffer from insomnia as much as adults do. Contrary to what most people think, baby’s excessive sleeplessness is also considered as insomnia.

Normally, infants do wake up frequently at night. Although by the sixth month, a baby’s sleeping pattern starts to normalize; meaning, they start to sleep soundly the whole night. Babies love to sleep but when your baby is having some difficult time maintaining sleep, these are the probable reasons:

• Digestive problems
• Teething
• Infantile colic
• Or your baby just wants your attention

To cure infant insomnia, do the following (provided it isn’t something serious, like an illness that causes your baby’s constant wakefulness at night):

• Make your baby’s room conducive to sleeping. There should be no bright lights, excessive noise or any disturbances near or around her sleeping area.
• Refrain from comforting your baby immediately when she cries at night. Wait until she stops crying on her own. Your constant attention causes her to heavily rely on you for sleep.
• Don’t let your baby get accustomed to falling asleep in your arms. Allow her to get used to falling asleep on her own on the crib.

Always be observant of your baby’s sleeping habit. A baby needs regular and sufficient sleep in order to grow healthy. If you feel that there’s some serious cause to be alarmed by your baby’s sleeplessness, feel free to contact your doctor.

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Taking care of a sick baby is totally nerve-wracking. Since your baby can’t talk yet, you have no way of knowing exactly how she’s feeling. Your only cue is that she cries more often. And this only increases your anxiety.

Generally, babies do not get serious illnesses during their first few months. Aside from the common cold or flu, the most probable thing your baby will get is a low-grade fever.

Fever itself is not an illness. When your baby has a fever, this means that her immune system is fighting off some infection, probably due to bacteria she got from putting things into her mouth. However, if your baby has a fever, you must remember to monitor her temperature from time to time. Unmonitored fever can be dangerous so always have a thermometer handy for these situations. Most pediatricians agree that a baby has a fever if his or her temperature is above the normal range of 36 to 38 degrees Celsius (or 97 to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

If your baby is running a fever, there are some things that you can do to help you’re her feel comfortable.

• Dress your baby in loose clothing.
• Apply cool compress to the forehead, hands and feet to get the body temperature down.
• Constantly monitor your baby’s temperature. You may use a rectal thermometer instead of an oral thermometer.
• Go easy on giving medications to your baby. Depending on the recommendation of your baby’s health provider, you may give your child Acetaminophen (Tylenol or Tempra).

Always keep a closer eye on your sick baby. Contact your doctor if you notice that the fever is coupled with rash, poor feeding, respiratory distress, vomiting, or diarrhea.

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Swaddling is an age-old practice of carefully wrapping a baby in a blanket for comfort and warmth. It is usually done to infants during their first few days until their third month of life.

To learn how to swaddle your baby properly, do the following steps.

• On a flat surface, lay down a clean blanket with the top-right corner folded down about 6 inches.

• Lay your baby on his back, with his head positioned just above the fold.

• Pull up the left corner across your baby’s body, then tuck the edge under his back on the right side under his arm.

• Pull the bottom corner up and tuck it under your baby’s chin. Make sure that it wouldn’t smother him.

• Pull the loose corner over the right arm then tuck it under the back on the left side. If you feel that your baby prefers to have his arms free, swaddle him under the arms.

• Make sure that you don’t swaddle him too tightly; remember, it should make him feel comfortable.

Swaddling your baby with a blanket has a lot of benefits for your little one. It can help him stay warm during his first few days until his body learns to adjust to changing temperatures. It can also help him sleep better as being snuggly wrapped by a swaddling blanket can make him feel safe and secure. It could also calm him and make him feel comfortable while lying down.

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Babies have different reactions to teething. There are babies who go through this stage with great ease while there are those who experience many teething problems. As many parents might observe, one of these problems is teething fever. Or is it?

It is commonly believed that teething can cause babies to develop fever. This belief is so popular in the olden times that there are cases of infant deaths that were attributed to teething. These days though, there are still many parents who hold on to the idea of teething fever.

Medical professionals do not agree on the premise that teething per se causes fever. Although a baby could have a low-grade fever as the tooth actually erupts, they say that teething fever is primarily caused by viral infection. The opportunity for infection happens when the baby starts to chew on just about anything to relieve them of the pain in the gums. There is a great chance that germs live in anything that the baby puts in her mouth, which can cause an attack on her vulnerable immune system.

If the baby’s low-grade fever increases to 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degree Celsius) or persists for more than two days, it might be a sign of something more serious and a trip to the doctor is in order.

If you believe that your baby is teething, monitor everything that your baby puts in his or her mouth. This could lower the chances of illness and other serious problem. Keep germs away from your baby by giving him or her clean teething toys or clean washcloths to chew on.

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As a parent, it’s natural for us to try to understand our baby’s cries and coos since these are the only ways, at least at the moment, that these little ones can express themselves.

Over time and through trial and error, you will eventually figure out most of your baby’s cues. In addition to your response to her cries and coos, there are other things that can help further develop her communication capabilities. Help baby talk by doing these things that can lead to her language development.

1. Respond to her cries – We know that crying is you baby’s most effective way of communication. Whether she’s hungry, tired or uncomfortable, your baby will whimper, wail or bawl accordingly. Responding to her cries will make her learn that she will be listened to when she reaches out.
2. Have a cooing conversation with your baby – When your baby coos, then looks at you as if she’s waiting for something, that’s your cue to coo back. Taking turns in cooing will help your baby learn the basic structure of conversation: that she will get a response once she tries to communicate.

3. Talk naturally with your baby – Babies tend to understand what we are saying to them even before they learn to speak. Talking to your baby regularly allows her to readily learn your language because babies learn receptive language skills before they start to learn expressive ones. You can do this by describing what you see her doing or what you are doing with her (“I’m changing your diaper, sweetie…”).
4. Tell her stories or sing songs to her – Repeated stories and songs, especially the ones with finger plays or accompanying gestures, are essential to your baby’s language learning. Actions, such as clapping and waving, that illustrate every word in the story or song teach your baby to associate simple words with some objects.

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Have you noticed that sometimes, your baby seems to be fighting sleep? You are cuddling her to sleep but then, she just screams and appears to be stressed out. This is common to most babies. But you might be wondering, why do babies fight sleep? Aside from the obvious reasons, such as dirty diapers or feeling hungry, there are more subtle causes why baby and sleep may seem to be at odds with each other.

Babies fighting sleep are, at times, babies who are too tired to sleep. Just like how adults can have trouble sleeping when fatigued, babies may experience sleeping problems when they are overly tired. Babies who are too cranky and very hyper are the ones who are prone to this. So before your baby reaches the state of being overly tired, lay her down in her crib when you feel that she is becoming too upset or extremely active.

Other times, babies resist sleep when they feel lonely or frightened. You can help your baby overcome this by developing a routine that would assure her of your presence even as she sleeps. Every time your sleeping baby wakes up and cries, assure her that you are near by going back to her room and gently patting her to sleep, without lifting her up from her bed.

To ease your baby’s sleeping troubles, and reduce her resistance to sleep, develop a before-bedtime routine that will make her realize that she’s about to be put to sleep. You may give her a warm bath, brush her teeth, or read her a story; any relaxing routine that would remind her that what would be coming next is sleeping time.

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It is a joyous time to welcome a new baby in the family. If you are a first-time mom, this time can be nerve-wracking too. But a happy experience altogether. Nothing is comparable to the joy and excitement of being a new mother. To help you ease your transition to motherhood, here are some mothering tips that you can take to heart.

1. Let in-laws and friends pitch in when they can. Everyone is excited about the new baby, so use this opportunity to have some needed rest. This won’t happen too often so grab the chance.
2. Always follow your instincts. Your instincts as a mother is your greatest tool and it will guide you in every step of the way, especially when your baby is getting cranky.
3. Keep your baby’s things organized. It will make attending to your baby’s needs much easier and make everything more convenient.
4. Learn how to properly swaddle your baby in a blanket. Swaddling will make your baby feel secure and calm
5. Don’t get too frustrated easily. Babies have an uncanny way of knowing that there’s tension around them and this will make them cranky.
6. Feed your baby when he or she wants to eat. Don’t rely too much on a schedule. When babies are hungry, you’ll know. They get irritable.

As a new mom, you will feel excited and nervous at the same. That’s normal. Cherish these moments because your baby will soon grow faster than you think.

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