All newborns are, of course, different. Some sleep better than others at a young age, which prompts many parents to trade stories of how “lucky” or “unlucky” they were with a given child. There is, no doubt, a certain amount of mystery to getting a child to sleep well and through the night on his own. Nevertheless, a plethora of baby sleep tips exist intended to speed up the process which your child goes through before sleeping on his own.

Getting your child to sleep on his own in a timely fashion involves speeding up a natural transition: the one from sleeping with his mother to sleeping on his own. At first, when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, he will cry for his mother, as this is the only way he knows how to fall asleep. One of the things you must do as a parent is help create the best environment for your baby to fall asleep on his own.

Many people naturally assume that the best environment for sleep is one of total silence: most of us are familiar with having to tiptoe around a sleeping baby’s room. Although a quiet environment is the best one for most adults, you’d be well advised to remember where your newborn baby has been sleeping for the past nine months: in his mother’s womb. In the womb, of course, your newborn slept in many situations that were far from quiet – when the mother was out in public, or socializing with other people. For this reason a newborn baby will often sleep better by being exposed to some quiet background noise.

You should be trying to allow some ambient “white noise” to be around your baby when he goes to sleep. Sudden loud noises will, of course, rouse him, but in most cases some background chatter and other soothing noises will help the sleep process: most adults, I’m sure, can likely remember falling asleep to the sounds of their parents and their friends having a conversation.

There are products marketed to new parents to create these ambient noises – white noise machines. It usually isn’t necessary to buy these, however – in most cases simply leaving the door to the baby’s nursery ajar will do the trick. In a similar vein, if your baby falls asleep around company, allow them to stay there rather than moving them to a quiet room.

By helping to create the best possible environment for your baby’s sleep, you help him learn to fall asleep in his own. Often a humming noise can help – we all know how easy it can be to fall asleep in a moving car – so having a humidifier or fan in the baby’s room can often do wonders.

Whatever solution you choose, remember that it needn’t be overly complicated. Simply leave the door ajar, or let your baby sleep in the company of others. Contrary to what many people intuitively think, if you keep your baby from sleeping in total silence, he’ll often sleep much better.

The crib is where your baby will spend a lot of their time and you want to be sure they are safe. Below are some of the questions (with the answers) that are asked about crib safety. Topics such as mattress position, how to place your baby in the crib, and general safety standards are discussed, as are other issues. If you need further information you can search the Internet and visit baby furniture stores. 

Q. Are there safety standards for baby cribs? Yes there are some very exact standards for your baby’s crib. In 1974 it was made law that cribs should no longer be painted with lead based paint. It was discovered that the ingestion of lead (from any source) could cause learning disabilities and other difficulties in young children. The slats of the crib must be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, this is to prevent your baby from getting his body or head stuck between the bars causing injury or strangulation. The side bar should be 26 inches above the mattress when it is in its lowest position. If your child is more than an inch taller than the sidebar it is time to move him into a regular bed. 

Q. Are there some hazards in my baby’s crib that I need to be aware of? Your mattress must fit snugly in the crib; an ill-fitting mattress could cause your baby to slip between the mattress and the side bar causing suffocation. The mattress height should be able to be adjusted into at least three different levels. When your baby becomes more mobile you will want to put the mattress in the lowest position to prevent your baby from climbing or falling out. The slats should be tight, loose slats could pinch little fingers. Do not put the crib near a window to prevent your baby from possibly falling out or becoming tangled in Venetian blind cords.  

Q. What are some historical facts about the crib?Here is a short chronological time line of crib facts:

1973 – The standard for crib slats was to be no more than 2 3/8th inches apart to prevent your baby from slipping through or getting their head stuck. Also, double latches for drop-down sidebars were to become the norm.

1976 – The standard for cutouts in the crib end panels are presented. The end panels must not have any decorative cutout designs. Children were getting their limbs or heads caught causing serious injury or death.

1978 – Cribs must now be painted with non-toxic finish.

1981 – Two models of cribs with cutouts are recalled. 1988 – A voluntary standard addresses mattress support hardware, failure of glued or bolted connections, drop-side latch failure and loosened teething rails.

1990 – No corner posts or projections can be more than 1/16th of an inch above the drop-side.

1998 – California and Washington mandate that hotel cribs must meet the same standards set for full-size cribs

1998 – Portable cribs must now meet the same standards as full-sized cribs. 

Q. How can I tell when my baby is ready for a regular bed? When your child stands more than a couple of inches taller than the sidebar with the mattress in the lowest position. If your child is climbing out of the crib, for his safety put him in a regular bed. 

Q. How should I put my baby to sleep in his crib? Place your baby on his back or on his side for sleeping. Use one piece sleepers rather than blankets. Your baby could slip under the blanket and possibly suffocate. Remove all pillows and toys as well, in order to prevent suffocation. 

Q. What can I do to keep my baby’s crib safe? In order to keep your baby’s a safe place, you should make sure to all connections are secure and that there are no broken or missing parts. Regularly, check the teething rail for splits or cracks. Make sure the mattress spring support and your crib will withstand your baby’s increasing mobility. The mattress itself should have no splits, tears, or holes. 

Q. How can I tell when it’s time to lower the mattress? When your baby becomes more active, when s/he begins to pull himself to a standing position or when he sits up alone it will be time to lower the mattress to prevent your little one from either climbing out or falling out. 

Q. Can I hang a mobile over my baby’s crib? Mobiles and crib gyms can be used to entertain your baby but when your child is able to get on to their hands and knees or pull themselves up. This will prevent your baby from becoming entangled in them. Making sure your baby’s crib is safe, is an ongoing to task. Proper positioning of the mattress, making sure all connections are secure and that there are no loose slats that could pinch little fingers will help to keep your baby’s crib a safe place for him to be. Be sure to place him in the crib on his back or side and dress him in a sleeper rather than using a blanket. Keeping these tips in mind will help keep your baby safe and give you some peace of mind.

Sleep is an essential aspect of a newborn’s health and well-being, but it’s not always easy to establish a routine that works for both baby and parents. Sleep training is a process that can help teach a baby to sleep independently and develop healthy sleep habits. Here are some tips for sleep training a newborn.

1. Establish a consistent bedtime routine: A consistent bedtime routine can help a baby recognize when it’s time to sleep. This routine can include activities such as a warm bath, a story, and a lullaby.
2. Create a conducive sleep environment: The sleep environment should be quiet, cool, and dark. Make sure the crib is comfortable, with a firm mattress and breathable bedding.
3. Learn to recognize sleepy cues: Babies may show signs of sleepiness, such as rubbing their eyes or fussing. Learn to recognize these cues so you can put them down to sleep before they become overtired.
4. Put the baby down drowsy but awake: It’s important to put the baby down to sleep while they are still awake, but drowsy. This can help them learn to fall asleep on their own.
5. Practice gradual withdrawal: Gradual withdrawal is a method where you slowly move further away from the crib each night until your baby can fall asleep without you being present.
6. Be patient and consistent: Sleep training takes time, and it’s important to be patient and consistent. Stick to the routine and methods you’ve chosen, and remember that it may take a few weeks to see results.

In conclusion, sleep training a newborn can be a challenging process, but it’s worth it in the long run. With consistency and patience, you can help your baby develop healthy sleep habits that will benefit them for years to come.

Everyone who has had the experience of being a parent knows all too well the difficulties of getting your baby to sleep soundly throughout the night. The dark circles around the eyes of new parents are usually familiar to all those that have been around them. In terms of baby sleep tips, one of the most important things you must try and establish as a parent is getting your baby to learn to fall asleep on his own. The process by which your child begins to fall asleep on his own is one that involves a natural transition from falling asleep with the mother to falling asleep in an independent fashion. One of the best ways in which you can speed up this transition is to encourage your child to develop sleep associations that he or she can recreate independently.

Naturally, everyone – and babies in particular – will develop sleep associations. These are the things that you associate with bedtime, and allow you to create an environment in which it is easy to fall asleep. When your baby is at an extremely young age, he will naturally develop sleep associations involving the mother, as he will often fall asleep in her arms. As you attempt to get your baby to sleep in his own, however, it is crucial that you work to change these associations.

If you always put your child to sleep by holding him, or allowing him to use a pacifier, you create a sleep association with these things. Then, when your child wakes up in the middle of then night, he can’t go back to sleep on his own because he is unable to recreate his sleeping environment without you: he needs you to feed him or rock him in order to sleep.

As you begin to try and get your child to sleep on his own, you should introduce items into his sleeping routine that he can sleep with, such as a particular blanket or a stuffed animal. What this will do is create associations for your child with these items for sleep. Then, when he awakes in the middle of the night, he will be able to recreate a sleeping environment without your assistance by grabbing his stuffed animal, etc. It can also be beneficial to introduce “transitional items” into your baby’s bedtime routine: Allow him to have his stuffed animal or blanket with him during a final feeding and before-bedtime activities, and allow him to take these things with him to bed.

No matter what you do, your child is going to be creating his or her own sleep associations. Your job is to try and create associations with items that are under his or her control. By giving your child as much control over his sleeping environment as possible, you allow him to begin to achieve sleep independently. The most difficult transition in early parenting is the one towards independent sleep for your child, and if you introduce new items into your child’s sleeping place, you will hasten this transition, which will soon allow both you and your child to get a good night’s rest.

Every parent of a newborn will inevitably deal with many sleepless nights. Babies, of course, have many needs, and when they awake in the night they will cry for their mothers. One of your most important tasks as a parent is to establish good sleeping habits in your child. Every baby must go through a transition where he adjusts from sleeping with his mother to sleeping on his own. This is a natural transition of course, and takes some time, but there are things you can do to expedite the process. Not only will this help your child develop better sleep habits, it will allow you to get some much needed rest.

Many baby sleep tips exist, and every parent would be well advised to research many different baby sleep tips. It is important to keep in mind, however, that no baby sleep tip should be considered hard and fast rules. As a parent, your instincts know best, and when you are in doubt in regards to baby sleep tips remind yourself of this fact. Many first time parents experience insecurity in terms of whether their decisions and strategies are correct, and while you shouldn’t be uninformed, you should always view baby sleep tips through the lens of your own parental instincts.

Now, one thing you should consider when trying to get your newborn to sleep better at night is what his feeding habits are. Oftentimes the child will be active and otherwise busy during the day, and won’t be doing a lot of feeding. The problem with this, of course, is that he will then wake you repeatedly thought the night for feedings. A good technique, then, for getting your baby to sleep better at night is to “tank up” during the day. Try feeding every three hours during the day. This will not only ensure that you child’s appetite is satisfied for the night, but will create an important association: you want your child to associate feeding with the daytime. If your child does wake up in the night for a feeding, try to get him to do one full feeding the first time he wakes up. If you don’t do this, you encourage him to “snack” throughout the night – i.e. wake you up every couple hours.

Again, it is important to understand these baby feeding tips should not be taken as hard and fast rules, but rather as guidance. In a general way, you want to create both daytime and sleep associations for your child. You want him to associate feeding and play with something that happens during the day, and lullabies and baths as something that happens at night, before bed. By doing this you ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness, which is the ultimate goal in terms of putting your child to bed easily. If, however, your child doesn’t want to feed every three hours, don’t force him. Similarly, don’t force a full feeding when you wake him at night. Rather, think of the bigger picture: by creating general habits and associations for your child, you will ensure a hasty and healthy sleep development.

When a newborn comes home with the family for the first time, there is a period of adjustment for everyone. While at the hospital, there are nurses to help; you are able to rest every time they take the baby to the nursery. You don’t have to cook or clean. It’s quite a different thing once you are home and you have complete responsibility for this new life. If you are first-time parents, your baby will be teaching you a lot as you both go on this adventure. Even if you are pros at this parenting thing, every child is different, so there will always be new things to learn.

Sleep is now at a premium. One of the best things you can do, especially in the first few weeks, is to nap any time the baby naps. Your body needs to adjust, and you will be tired. At first, the baby will likely be sleeping for about two hours at a time. You’ll find yourself in a pattern of nursing, napping and new diapers. Don’t try to force the baby to stay awake, or go to sleep at certain times. They have small tummies and need food frequently and will tend to fall asleep shortly after nursing.

Once the baby is about a month old, you will probably notice a change in their sleep habits. They will begin to sleep a bit longer at a stretch, around three hours at a time. Naps during the day may be about two or three hours each. You will notice they start to stay awake a bit longer after nursing. Watch for those signs that the baby is starting to get sleepy, like yawning or getting a glazed look. Once you get to know your child, you will start to see a pattern of when they are ready to sleep, and start a pre-nap or bedtime routine.

Between three and six months, most babies will begin to sleep through the night. It may not be a consistent thing at first, but their stomachs are able to hold more food and won’t need to feed as often. You need to decide how to deal with those nights that the baby may slip back into the old pattern of waking off and on through the night. Do you use the “cry it out” method? Do you try co-sleeping? Do you use the “peek in and check” method?

All three of these methods have their supporters, and critics. It is up to you to decide what works best for your family. However, most doctors agree that forcing any behavior on an infant younger than one year is counterproductive. If something isn’t working, try something else, while trying to maintain a routine of some sort at bedtime.

By about nine months, not only is everyone starting to get more sleep at night, your baby may only be napping once in the early afternoon. It is important that you find the best time for your baby to nap. If the nap is too early, they will probably be cranky by bedtime. If it is too late, or too long, bedtime will become a real nightmare. Look for the signs that they need a nap, and start the nap routine. If you need to adjust the start time of the nap, do so gradually by about thirty minutes a time until you find the right balance.

By establishing the routines early, and adjusting them as the sleep needs change, you will find everyone is much happier. It takes time, but it will be worth it once everyone is getting a good night’s sleep.

It’s impossible to list all the different skills you need, and decisions that you have to make, as a new parent. Although you should try to educate yourself and talk to other parents, in most cases the best solution for any questions you may have is to follow your instincts. Parenting is, after all, one of the most natural things in the world. One of the most common and difficult things you’ll deal with as the parent of a newborn is in getting your child to sleep well and throughout the night. Often, the process of achieving this seems to be a combination of science, art, and just plain luck. There are many baby sleep tips out there, and many of them are useful, but before you begin researching and applying them, you should develop a realistic and healthy attitude towards sleep. If you don’t do this, you risk applying tips in a rigid and scattershot manner, which isn’t likely to work.

One of the keys to this is understanding that you should be developing a long term goal, in terms of your baby’s sleep habits. As much as any parent’s short term goal is simply to get their child to go to sleep, so that she can get some sleep herself, you should be thinking of the long term goal of instilling healthy sleep habits in your child. A successful way to implement this goal is to be realistic and flexible. Your child is not going to sleep the same way or in the same manner every night. What you should be trying to do, therefore, is creating an environment that is conducive to sleep, so that your child can slowly learn to fall asleep on his own.

The best thing you can do is help your child develop an attitude in which sleep is both an enjoyable and secure state. Your child should think of sleep as a comforting thing that comes naturally. One way you can help foster this idea is by avoiding too much interference with your child’s sleeping habits. Although it can be tempting to follow guides and implement rigid rules regarding your child’s sleep, in many cases this can cause problems down the road.

If you rouse or put your child to bed at set hours, you may achieve a short term goal of getting some rest, but you may also be altering your child’s attitudes towards sleep. Instead of thinking of sleep as an enjoyable activity, he will begin to think of it as something he “has to do” like eating his dinner. By altering your child’s attitude towards sleep in this way – by making him think of it as a task rather than an enjoyable activity – you risk problems developing later.

In older children and adults who have sleeping problems, doctors can often trace the source of the problem back to sleeping habits enforced at an extremely young age. If as a baby the subject was put to bed at a set hour, for example, regardless of weather he was tired or not. By trying to stay more in tune with how your baby is feeling and what he wants, you will encourage a healthier attitude towards sleep, which will benefit both you and your child in the future.

Colic is one of those things every parent hopes they can avoid. But what is colic? Colic is when a baby starts crying for no apparent reason for about three hours at a time. There is no real medical reason, or treatment, for colic. It usually starts when the baby is between two and six weeks old, and lasts until about three months old. It can be hard on the whole family.

Nursed babies tend to be less colicky, but there are still a few that may develop colic. Some people think the baby is hungry or in pain, but the truth is no one really knows why it happens. Some experts feel it could even be from an immature nervous system and it just takes time to develop.

So what can be done? There are a few things that you can try that may help calm your baby. But first, as difficult as it may be, try not to stress. The baby will pick up your feelings and it just makes things worse. Try to take turns with someone else when the baby is colicky. If you are alone with the baby and just feel overwhelmed, put the baby in the crib and go to another room. Even just a few minutes away can help you be better able to calm your baby. Never blame yourself or the baby. It just happens; you haven’t done anything wrong as a parent.

Motion has been shown to offer relief for some babies. Swings or car rides can sometimes help offer relief. It may just remind the baby of being in the womb. If you have a front-carrier or stroller, go for a walk, even if it is just around the house. Rock together and hum or sing to the baby.

Sometimes certain sounds will help the baby to settle down. Some have found that the sound of a fan, washer, dryer or vacuum seem to help calm the baby. Putting the baby in a carrier seat on top of the dryer may also help. Just be sure to stay with the baby, so they don’t vibrate off. Parents even combine using the sound of the vacuum with having the baby in a front-carrier.

Giving your baby a massage can sometimes help. Gently moving the legs toward the stomach can also help relive any excess gas that might be adding to the discomfort. The massage can relax the baby and maybe they can fall asleep during it. Sometimes a warm water bottle on the stomach can offer some relief as well – just be careful that it isn’t too hot.

If you notice a pattern to when your baby becomes colicky, try to snuggle before the fussiness starts. Sometimes that added attention might help reduce the intensity of the crying. Holding and loving your new baby is in no way spoiling them.

If none of these ideas help and you feel something is really wrong beyond colic, always give your pediatrician a call. Often just talking to the nurse can give you some peace of mind.