One of the most commonly held baby myths is that, "babies will sleep when they are tired." Life would be simpler if it were true....but it's not. Helping your baby fall asleep, figuring out when they need to sleep, and making sure they get enough sleep is pretty much the bane of every new parent. How long should your baby be awake? Newborn babies generally sleep a lot (according to Dr. Weissbluth newborns average between 11 – 18 hours of sleep per 24-hour period). However baby sleep is generally broken up into 7-8 “naps” varying in length from 15 minutes to 4-6...
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If your baby is of the human variety you have probably noticed that getting them to take medicine is quite the challenge. This is especially true if the medicine in question is Zantac or some other drug that tastes like gasoline, licorice, or feet. Newborn babies who have not yet mastered the ability to get their hands INTO their mouths are remarkably good at getting yucky medicine OUT of their mouth. I've been effectively shoveling yucky medicine into babies for so long I suppose it's time to put it on my resume under "skills." This is my super secret technique to...
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I don't care what your nap or bedtime routine is like as long as a) it exists b) you like it and c) it involves books. Reading with your kids is a fun and wonderful way to connect with your kids. It's the most powerful tool you have to create a strong foundation for literacy. Even little babies love books (especially those that feature pictures of babies). I won't waste your time with common book recommendations as I'm sure you've already discovered the gentle joys of Goodnight Moon and Sandra Boynton. Instead I've pulled together some of the lesser-known but well-loved...
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Every once in a while your baby's sleep will mysteriously become a disastrous mess. At the same time your baby will become really fussy which is either the cause or result of the sleep deprivation. The slender thread of normalcy you've been clinging to will disappear and you will stumble into the void of parenting despair wondering "Why did we think this baby thing was such a great plan anyway?!?!?" If you've ruled out all the obvious causes of sleep stoppage (teething, colds, ear infections, etc.) then what is probably going on is a "sleep regression". Lots of people have written...
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By 6-8 months your baby is fully ready and capable to be completely done with eating at night. Dr. Sears suggests that some parents really enjoy feeding their babies at night and will happily continue offering night feeding sessions until the child stops waking up on their own. If you are one of these mythical "I love waking up in the middle of the night" parents, best of luck to you. Personally I don't know any people like this. And I think they're really rare. Like unicorn rare. But my point is that by this time your baby no longer needs...
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