Overheating can increase the risk of SIDS. Babies can overheat because of too much bedding or clothing, or because the room is too hot.

• When you check your baby, make sure they’re not too hot. If your baby is sweating or their tummy feels hot to the touch, take off some of the bedding. Don’t worry if his hands or feet feel cool. This is normal.
• It’s easier to adjust for the temperature by using lightweight blankets. Remember, a folded blanket counts as two blankets.
• Babies don’t need hot rooms.  Keep the room at a temperature that’s comfortable for you at night. About 18°C (65°F) is comfortable.
• If it’s very warm, your baby may not need any bedclothes other than a sheet.
• Even in winter, most babies who are unwell or feverish don’t need extra clothes.
• Babies should never sleep with a hot-water bottle or electric blanket, next to a  heater or fire, or in direct sunshine.
• They lose excess heat through their heads, so make sure your baby’s head can’t be covered by bedclothes during sleep periods.

How Not To Let Your Baby Get Too Hot or Too Cold: http://youtu.be/RW5ex9Xb99c
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

Some babies have difficulty settling while lying on their backs, so wrapping can be a useful method to help them to settle and stay asleep. Wrapping has been shown to reduce the amount of crying time and episodes of waking.

• Ensure your baby is wrapped from below the neck to avoid covering the face.
• Sleep  with his face uncovered  with no soft toys, pillows etc
• Use only lightweight wraps such as cotton or muslin to prevent overheating
• The wrap should not be too tight as this may interfere with physical development

• Make sure your baby is not over dressed under the wrap. Loose wraps can be hazardous as they can cover the baby’s head and face.

The wrap needs to be firm but not too tight. Techniques that use tight wrapping with legs straight and together increase the risk of abnormal hip development. Allow for hip and chest wall expansion when wrapping.

Most babies eventually resist being wrapped. This is usually around the age of six months. An alternative to wrapping is to use a safe infant sleeping bag.

How To Keep Your Baby Comfortable and Asleep: http://youtu.be/bhHIlWak1qU
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

Tummy time is good for babies as it strengthens neck, shoulder, back and arm muscles. Your baby can also see the world from all angles which helps brain development. Tummy time also prevents ‘flat head’.

When your new baby comes home start tummy time. A few minutes lying tummy to tummy with you or holding your baby on your shoulder or on your chest is all that is necessary. Do it 3 times a day. Your baby may be a little unsettled at first but he’ll soon work out the simple pleasure of it.

When your baby is a little older you can place him on a mat on the floor and place a rolled up towel under his armpits.  If he is propped up on his elbows he will be able to lift his head quite easily.

Your baby loves to watch your face so get down to his level and interact with him – grab a toy  and play with him or sing to him.

Never leave your baby alone or unsupervised on his tummy as he may fall asleep or his airways could get covered.

How To Do Tummy Time With Your Baby: http://youtu.be/DHCREs7wnq0
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

• Pillows are not recommended for children under two. They can increase the risk of suffocation,
• Ensure the cot or crib sides are completely raised whenever the child is left unattended in the cot.
• Don’t leave toys in the cot that can be used to climb over the cot sides
• Don’t use bumpers around the cot and make sure the cot complies with all safety standards
• If you have blinds with cords in your baby’s room make sure they are secured out of reach

There are FIVE main ways to reduce the risk of SIDS:

1. Sleep baby on the back from birth, not on the tummy or the side

2. Sleep baby with head and face uncovered

3. Keep baby smoke free before birth and after

4. Provide a safe sleeping environment night and day

5. Sleep your baby in their own safe sleeping place in the same room as you  for the first six to twelve months

How To Sleep Your Baby Safely: http://youtu.be/HXtChmLGMwM

——
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

All children are different which means that some children will sleep more and some will sleep less.

From 12 months to 3 years: children need between 12-13 hours per day over a 24 hour period with one long overnight sleep and 1 to 3 sleep/s during the day depending on their individual needs. Some children will not require a day sleep. If your child is happy and displays no tired signs or cues  a short `nap’ or quiet time may be sufficient.

When your child becomes tired or overtired, behaviour can become irritable, overactive and/or demanding. Respond to  tired signs or cues by introducing a quiet time to wind down by reducing activities and decreasing stimulation in preparation for sleep.

At night tell your child what you expect from him and what is going to happen next. In a calm voice give positive instruction such as ‘it’s time to go to sleep – see you in the morning’. This makes bedtime seem less scary and just part of the routine.

Resist the urge to rush in to your child if he cries out in the night. Leave him for a few minutes and see if he settles on his own.

How Much Sleep Is Enough For Your Baby – 12 months to 3 years old: http://youtu.be/T59naHdBTLk
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

By the time your baby is six months old, he will appreciate the soothing ‘sameness’ of a bedtime routine. Babies love routine and it won’t take long for him to understand what is expected. A typical bedtime routine may be:

1. dinner
2. have a bath
3. changing into a fresh nappy  or diaper and night clothes
4. putting to bed
5. reading a bedtime story
6. dimming the lights in the room to create a calm atmosphere
7. giving a goodnight kiss and cuddle
8. singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile that you  can turn on when you’ve put your baby to bed

Tune in to your baby’s tired signs as by 6-12 months they are very busy and often prefer to be doing things rather than sleeping. Night feeds should not be necessary and some babies will sleep up to 12 hours at night. Babies have shorter sleep cycles than adults and spend more time in dream sleep or  REM – rapid eye movement sleep. At 6-12 months their sleep cycle ranges from 40-60 minutes compared to adults 90 minutes. REM sleep is associated with the processing and storing of information and is linked to memory and learning. It is believed that babies need to spend more time in REM sleep than adults because they are practicing what they have learnt and are wiring the pathways of their brain.

How Much Sleep Is Enough For Your Baby – 6 to 12 Months: http://youtu.be/BtZ0s-uCU30
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy! Click here to Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

There’s light at the end of the sleep deprived tunnel for parents of newborns. By age 3 months, and sometimes as early as 2 months, most infants are sleeping through the night, although their sleeping hours may not exactly match yours early on.

In a recent study at University of Canterbury in NZ researchers “identified 2 months as the most likely age for infants to begin sleeping through the night under both the midnight to 5 a.m. criteria (the one criterion traditionally used to describe sleeping through) and an unspecified eight-hour criteria,” By age 5 months, more than half of the 75 infants studied were sleeping the same hours as their parents, the researchers found.

As your baby grows, they’ll need fewer night feeds and be able to sleep for longer. Some babies will sleep for eight hours or longer at night. By four months, they could be spending around twice as long sleeping at night as they do during the day.

How Much Sleep Is Enough For Your Baby – 3 to 6 Months: http://youtu.be/QlkrAZU3brk
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

Most newborn babies are asleep more than they are awake. Their total daily sleep varies, but can be up to 16 to 18 hours. Babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed. Being too hot or too cold can also disturb their sleep.

By the end of the first month your baby will sleep 13-14 hours per day spread across day and night. As your baby matures the sleep requirement of 13-14 hours remains much the same with the length of time your baby sleeps at night increasing.

During the day your baby will have longer wake times and up to 2-3 day sleeps. If your baby wakes up happy he has probably has had enough sleep.

Most babies don’t stay asleep for more than two to four hours at a time, day or night, during the first few weeks of life. The result – lots of sleep for your baby and a very sleep deprived schedule for you!

You’ll probably be up several times during the night to change, feed, and comfort him. You need to have a rest during the day, even 25 minutes will transform your tiredness.

How Much Sleep Is Enough For Your Baby? Birth To 3 Months: http://youtu.be/iBCaf7aP_mg
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

Generally your baby will be around three months old before you can introduce a bedtime routine. Getting them into a simple but soothing routine can be helpful for everyone and help prevent sleeping problems later on.

It’s also great one-to-one time with your baby. The routine could consist of:

• having a bath
• changing into a fresh nappy  and night clothes
• brushing their teeth (if they have any!)
• putting to bed
• reading a bedtime story
• dimming the lights in the room to create a calm atmosphere
• giving a goodnight kiss and cuddle
• singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile that you can turn on when you’ve put your baby to bed. – this was magical for us!

Leave the room while your baby is still awake, happy and relaxed and they will learn how to fall asleep on their own in their cot.

Try to avoid getting them to sleep by rocking or cuddling them in your arms. If they get used to falling asleep in your arms, they may need nursing back to sleep if they wake up again.

As your child gets older, try to keep to a similar bedtime routine. Spend some time winding down and doing calmer activities, like reading as too much excitement and stimulation can be disastrous.

How To Establish A Bedtime Routine With Your Baby: http://youtu.be/neaT52S1dQ4
—–
Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008

With a newborn, be flexible about when your baby sleeps and feeds. Many baby health experts believe that, when it feels right for you, it is good to begin doing things in a similar order each day – feed, play, sleep.

When your baby wakes up:

• Offer a feed.
• Change your baby’s nappy.
• Take time for talk and play.
• Put your baby back down for sleep.

At night-time, you might choose not to play and instead re-settle your baby straight back to sleep.

Newborns need your help when they’re unsettled. If they’ve been fed in the last two hours, cuddling and comfort works wonders. You could also try topping your baby up with a feed to help send your baby to sleep.

Playtime for young babies might be a cuddle or time stretching on a blanket or doing tummy time by lying your baby on your tummy with their tummy next to yours. Little babies do get tired quickly.

Keeping your baby awake all day won’t help your baby sleep better at night. Daytime sleep is important, however don’t let them sleep more than four hours at a time during the day After that, babies need to feed.

How To Establish a Routine With Your Newborn Baby: http://youtu.be/vZVOHOf_9-0

—–

Make sure not to miss a single video from Cyndy!
Click here to Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sn?sub_confirmation=snazzybaby2008