Heating rooms in winter for snuggly baby sleep

Heating

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="alignleft" width="150"] safe winter sleep[/caption]

 
Heating rooms in winter to take the chill off the air is a common practice for many parents and is also a common dilemma for many. This is mostly to keep the babies room at a constant temperature in an effort to ensure baby sleeps through the night. It is also nicer for the person going to the baby in the middle of the night if the room is a little warmer.
Is it necessary? In Australia - No.

Not unless you live somewhere where the temperature is constantly low and the building you are in is always cold.

 

Many avid campers go camping in cold weather and manage a baby well with appropriate clothing and layering.

 

Even though the air temperature may be low, if your baby is rugged up in swaddles and blankets and appropriate clothing there may be no need to heat the room.
If you do decide to heat the room, we would encourage you just to take the chill off the air not to heat it to a tropical summer island holiday type of temperature. Different seasons offer us different positives and experiences. Winter is no different. It is up to us to adapt.
Enclosed heating devices or reverse cycle air conditioners are the most preferred heating appliances mostly from a safety perspective and also from an energy efficiency consideration.
Heating a room using any means usually has the effect of dehydrating the room and anything in the room. People will often notice potplants needing a little more water. Adults will also notice that they are more thirsty or may even feel like they are hung over if the heating is too high and causes dehydration.

 

Something as simple as putting a bowl of cold water in the room that is heated may help towards stabilising the moisture content in the room.
Babies can easily dehydrate and if you are using even low level heating , may be a little more thirsty and may want to feed for a little longer or have an extra feed. It is realistic to expect this however it may not be noticeable.

 

If you do decide to heat the room in winter for snuggly baby sleep, I hope these ideas will help you.

Baby Sleeping AND have a Social Life that Works!!

Having your baby sleeping and having a social life is one of the things that seems impossible to new parents. Suddenly their ideas about what life with a new baby would be like is shattered with reality.

What they once thought would be easy; “it’s a baby, how hard can it be? They are so little, surely it’s not that hard?”, is not so easy in reality. The idea of getting out of the house with their baby often seems overwhelming.
Questions come up like: Is it ok to go out with my baby?
When should I go out?
How long is ok to stay out?
Should I just stay at home?
How do I breast/bottle feed/ get baby to sleep when we’re out?
How will I know if my baby is ok with going out?

It is not impossible. Here a few tips to help.

 

1. Take Baby steps.

When you first go out, make it a very short trip. Perhaps to a friend or family nearby. Then perhaps to the shops for bread and milk or something simple that won’t take long. Perhaps meet up with a friend for coffee. Build on longer outings as you gain your confidence.

2.  Wait until you are ready.

There is no timeline for when you have to go out with your baby. Most new parents go out with someone else to start with. Usually we encourage you to wait until you feel more confident with feeding and handling your baby. Get comfortable with the basics first, then consider going solo in public with your baby.

3. Practice at home before you go.

Practice putting your baby in the capsule and the capsule in and out of the car. Practice getting the pram in and out of the car and unfolding the pram so that when you are out you are confident with the mechanical things.

 

These ideas will hopefully help on your way to getting out with your baby. Having a baby sleeping will be easier when you can see your baby sleeping patterns. Once you can get your baby sleeping better then a social life is easily sustained that will benefit your baby too.

Sleep training-Getting your baby to sleep using the pouch or sling

Baby sleep training-

Getting baby to sleep using the Pouch or sling

 

Baby sleep training is still one of the most controversial subjects for new parents. When parents use a pouch or sling in getting their baby to sleep, many from old school type of thinking  may caution that they are spoiling their baby or creating bad habits.

 

Is this really the case though?

[caption id="attachment_2460" align="alignleft" width="150"] sleeping baby[/caption]

 We know that babies love to be held, rocked, soothed, sung to and generally held.  They love the contact and closeness, the security and comfort feelings that it brings. Babies need these feelings for  survival, it is required. So why then are we so averse to giving this to babies when they need it most?

 When your baby feels secure, calm, safe, relaxed and content, he or she requires less of you emotionally and physically because they are ok. When your baby is out of sorts, feels “yucky” for some reason then he or she will require more of you to help him or her return to a calm, soothed and relaxed state.

At times, particularly when discussing infants sleep methods or baby sleep training, using a pouch or sling is often frowned upon. However, it is a very useful tool for helping your baby soothe and calm so that he or she can get the sleep needed to feel calm again. When your baby is overtired he or she needs help to get to sleep and then sometimes to stay asleep. Baby sleep training can play a role here without being strict and harsh and using the pouch in a positive way.

Most babies love being in the sling/pouch because they are near you and feel safe, secure and content. Certainly young babies love it as do their parents mostly.  It is a handy tool for soothing or when doing shopping or walking so that hands are free and baby is calmed.

If you do feel the need to do some baby sleep training in getting your baby to sleep, using the pouch or sling can still be a useful and positive tool to achieve your goals and will not necessarily spoil your baby.

Baby Sleeping -  Babies Who Don't Sleep

To enjoy your baby sleeping he or she must first get to sleep. Babies who don't sleep often either don't know how,  are not given the best opportunities to go to sleep or simply can't because of discomfort.

The good news is that this is all changeable with a little bit of knowledge.

Most of you who know me or have worked with me know that I am often talking about building sleep in babies who are overtired to help get their babies to sleep.  When we are discussing what is happening or not happening for sleep so we can work out what steps to take, the knowledge that sleep builds sleep often takes people by surprise.

 

All too often when we explore what has been trialled, I hear that they have tried everything including keeping their baby up longer hoping that it would completely tire him or her out and so sleep better. Unfortunately that is the exact opposite of what would be helpful.

 

To get good quality sleep, you need to be relaxed.  When any of us are overtired, we tend to have more difficulty going off to sleep. The same is true for your baby sleeping and also for your toddler.

 

When this idea is new to you , it can take a little while to get your head around.  For a lot of us it doesn’t seem to make to make sense.  Most people think that if any of us are over tired we will just go to sleep because we are exhausted.

 

At times this may appear true. Certainly there are many, many babies who do this every day.  They are so beyond overtired that they just crash, often after being awake for hours on end , beyond what they can cope with.  Most times, they are cranky and not happy when awake. Usually sleep will occur in waves with a few nights of problem sleep and then one or two nights of blissful sleep.  When good sleep is not sustained like this there is usually a problem of overtiredness.

 

Babies who don't sleep can become a baby sleeping peacefully and without fuss in most situations, once we work out what is and is not happening for your baby around sleep.

Healthy families and "toxic oil" and "poison sugar"

On a different note, I have been exploring the topics of “toxic oil” and “sugar is poison” ideas that have been floating around. I had wondered about them and finally got to read about it and look a little more closely at it.  After much reading, I think I have an idea of where they are coming from. At first I thought they were talking about all oil /fats and sugar full stop, however I now understand that they are talking about the processed ones that are not so good for us and may well have a large stake in our problems with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancers.  This makes more sense to me.

Why am I so interested?  I have always been interested in healthy living and eating. I love food and those who know me, know I love sweet stuff. I have a sweet tooth to rival any in the land.  I, and my siblings have never been physically sick from eating too much sweet or junk, ever. We were brought up eating healthy.  Junk food was limited  but we regularly had sweet treats- all home made. The thought of going without sweet food is very hard for me to accept.

I am often baffled by announcements in general media about certain new super foods that we absolutely must consume to live a healthy life and going into an organic shop is overwhelming for me. I feel  baffled by all the things in there that I have never heard of and supposedly should eat.  Don’t get me wrong, I am all for no pesticides and ethical and sustainable farming practices especially coming from a farming background. I am also into simplicity.

 This is a snippet of what I have learned.

Simple sugar is used by every cell in our body. This is glucose. Also known as dextrose.  Simple sugars are ok for us. Any processed sugars are not. Sucrose is not so good for us and any modified sugars are not good for us. Sugars are processed by the pancreas. The pancreas produces insulin.  There are many people with insulin resistance and more and more commonly I am seeing it in newborn babies in special care nursery with  insulin resistance or low blood sugars in the first few days of life and needing to be on a drip to help stabilise it.  This scares me- the fact that newborns are having trouble with blood sugar.  Something is amiss.

This all leads me towards the questions I have about why so many babies have reflux type symptoms as small babies.  Reflux in infants is often what we see and treat when it is food reaction but difficult at that age to identify. There is too much of it around and I still am confused  about why. So this also got me thinking about babies and unsettled tummies and food reactions.

So I continue on my search for understanding about unsettled infants. It is by no means a simple answer but there has to be one out there.

 Unprocessed, varied diets with plenty of protein, unprocessed fats and sugars, and plant foods is the best way to get on the right track.

Enter our March competition

Enter our March competition.

We are delighted to offer you the chance to win one of these gorgeous tutus this month. There are 5 colours to choose from

They are made by The fabulous Ruby Abbott this is her facebook page in case you would like to check them out more.

https://www.facebook.com/AliceRoseDesigns  .  All you have to do is comment on this blog post to win one. Sizes range from newborn to size 10.  Good luck . Enter now below.

[caption id="attachment_2421" align="alignleft" width="150"] White-girls-tutu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2420" align="alignleft" width="150"] red-girls-tutu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2419" align="alignleft" width="150"] candy-stripe-girls-tutu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2417" align="alignleft" width="150"] Win-baby-pink-girls-tutu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2418" align="alignleft" width="150"] yellow-girls-tutu[/caption]

 How do I get my 2 year old out of my bed?

 

[caption id="attachment_2359" align="alignleft" width="150"] older baby and toddler sleep[/caption]

At times I hear from a parent – how can I get my 2 years old out of my bed?

Sometimes parents find themselves in this position where when once having your little one in bed with you even for part of the night is now not as helpful as it once was.

Instead of everyone getting a good sleep, now it is just the opposite and no-one sleeps well anymore. However how do you change this situation? It is something that you just didn’t see coming.

 It all starts out beautifully.  You have  your baby and to make night time easier you bring your baby into your bed so you both  get sleep.   You don’t mind, it is a beautiful feeling-A nice warm little body snuggled up against you, both of you sleeping peacefully.  The reassurance of the  sweet, soft breath of your little one against your skin. It works for everyone.

 

 

Fast forward 2 years later and it may not be the case any more.  Your baby is bigger, more active  in the bed and getting is sleep is now almost impossible.  Any sleep you get is now broken for everyone, you and your little one are cranky and always overtired.

 

 

So what to do?

 

 

If your little one has been in your bed for a long time, then it will take time and the approach will depend on how you want to approach. You can  start with day sleep in their room, or start with night time in your bed then transfer to their bed.

 

 

Depending on their age talking  about any changes to come will help to ease the transition.  However it is realistic to expect your little one to protest loudly. The first 3-5 days will be the hardest and expect it to take up to 3 weeks to really cement.

 

 

Exactly how to do this will vary  depending on various factors including age of child, how long they have been in parents bed and whether they are over tired or not.

 

 

Of course if there is no problem  then there is no need to change anything.

 

 

How do I get my 2 year old out of my bed?- with patience, perseverance and persistence.

How to make baby have longer day sleep

[caption id="attachment_2402" align="alignleft" width="150"] How to help baby sleep longer[/caption]

I am asked regularly how to make a baby have longer day sleep. Today I am going to discuss this a bit more.

 

I often trip over myself working out where to start with this question. There are a number of things to consider. These include age of the baby, developmental level of the baby, any habits that are in place, what is working , what isn’t working, is the baby overtired, is the baby getting adequate sleep overall, what is happening at night, is the baby well, is the parent well, what is happening in the environment.

 

I want to know as much background information as I can so that I can put it all together and get a really good idea of what is happening not only for sleep but also feeding, family habits, beliefs and values. Sleep and feeding go hand in hand so I would want to know about feeding too.

 

Sometimes  a short day sleep is perfectly normal.

 

The times when we think that  a baby probably would do better with a longer day sleep the things I would look at is refining the sleep cues. This just means  looking at whether the cues that this particular baby have for sleep, are easy for the baby to reproduce or is the baby completely dependent on outside sources for sleep. Remember we all have sleep cycles and when we come into light sleep if what was happening for sleep is no longer happening, your baby may wake .  I also like to reiterate early sleep cues so that your baby is not completely over tired when you want your baby to go to sleep.

 

The main things I would look at are early tired signs and helpful sleep cues.  How we start would depend on whether your baby is really overtired or not. If really overtired  then we may work on building sleep first then addressing the habits.

 

Sometimes what the family wants to do is not compatible with where the baby is at developmentally.   And that is a different kettle of fish.

 

The next time you or someone you know  asks  how to make their  baby have longer day sleep, how we approach it depends largely on what is happening and then tailoring the response  to that.

Getting rid of the dummy

[caption id="attachment_2387" align="alignleft" width="150"] baby sleeping with dummy[/caption]

 

So many parents struggle with how to get rid of their baby’s dummy. It seems each week I am asked this question.

 

As we have discussed, using a dummy to help soothe your baby can be helpful- when your baby is little. As with all well intentioned things or practices, sometimes the time that they are helpful or needed, comes to pass without our really noticing it and Hey presto , we have a problem where the dummy becomes the problem rather than the help.

 

Once this time comes and parents realise the dummy is no longer helpful but in fact the problem, it is really hard to change just because the baby is so dependent on using it. Remember anything we  do with our babies repeatedly becomes an ingrained habit for babies, toddlers and children.

 

It is a useful way to learn and it also helps give little ones that sense of security because they know what to expect.

 

When we want to change what they know- that becomes a harder task.  Any change to any habit is usually met with resistance- particularly young babies just because they cannot put into words what they may thinking or feeling.

 

Most babies will scream when any changes are made to habits and expectations that are really ingrained. Most parents, understandably, avoid this situation and inadvertently make any unhelpful habits even stronger. Remember a dummy is to soothe so when you are changing this we need to show your baby other ways to soothe and a firm calm cuddle is one of the best ways.

 

There are certainly  some techniques and principles to assist the transition of stopping the use of a dummy.  Clear communication, plenty of emotional support, planning and alternatives should be thought out before just stopping. This should help to ease the transition to life without  the dummy.

 

With careful planning and a concerted follow through getting rid of your baby’s dummy can be achieved with relative ease.