Advice To Women With Babies
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Having a baby is not an easy task. And what comes after the baby arrives is even more difficult to comprehend unless you’ve had your hands full and actively practicing your motherhood.
Today, we’ll have time only to peek into a couple of issues like sleep and co-sleeping, pacifiers and diapers. Each issue is a huge story book of its own. Knowing that, let’s make this morning cheerful and pleasant, as we will go down the memory lane, at least for some of us, and reflect on the state of things as they are today.
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• What would be that ONE Advice you should have received when you had your 1st baby?
good morning I hope you all have a great day
Good morning! The best advice I got was, “sleep when the baby sleeps” LOL
Good morning! The best advice I got was “it’s okay to let him cry”.
Good Morning! The best advice I could offer up is get plenty of rest, when you can get it & get help when you can get it!
Good Morning all!! The best advice I got was don’t be afraid to ask for help. I had to learn I could not be too proud to ask for help or admit I didn’t know what to do sometimes.
Good morning everyone
Best advice I received is you will get overwhelmed. Just step away for a minute. Glad they told me that way when I did find myself overwhelmed I knew it was normal, I was still a good mom
Good morning
Sleep when the baby sleeps
Good afternoon!! Enjoy every precious second-they grow way too fast (my oldest is in her 2nd yr of college-she was just a baby last yr!!)-or so it feels
This is such a simple, yet effective tip. We just need to do it, take small action steps to journal our journeys through this magical process.
Thank you!
Retweet, Repin, Shout-Out!
RETWEET #1
RETWEET #2
RETWEET #3
REpin #4
REpin #5
did them all
Done all 🙂
retweeted (@dubuque_cynthia) and pinned
Did them all
All done
Retweeted & repinned.
Better late than never @buttmonkee8 😉
– Baby & Mama Sleep 101
– Sleep Deprivation
– Sleep Tips
I was blessed with my baby, though he was a frequent waker-upper. But no screaming or excessive crying.
One of the difficult moments in my life was this SLEEP issue. Being not alone, that’ what we’ve learned in the past years with babies.
Babies sleep and wake up in short bursts sometimes. Here’s what we could do to tame this process.
– Put your baby to bed when she’s drowsy, not fast asleep
“Babies who drift off on their own are more likely to fall asleep quickly and learn how to soothe themselves to sleep more easily,” says Kim West, author of Good Night, Sleep Tight.
– Light vs Dark
Light pushes the biological clock to be active. Dark triggers your babies melatonin which helps them to sleep.
– Not Looking your Babies into her Eyes
This can easily stimulate her. Isn’t it a great sign with gurgling smile in the morning! That could be discouraging at night when you are half asleep and your baby is still quite awake. Looking into baby’s eyes would bring her to her active day mode.
– Let that Diaper Wait
Changing that diaper every time your baby wakes up would stimulate her to know that every time she cries or wakes up she’d get your attention. It’s OK to keep her in that diaper, unless it’s soiled. By the way, cool wipes wakes up your baby like nothing else – keep that in mind!
And most important, although it may seem convenient at the time, NEVER sleep with your baby!
I’ve tried all of those methods and they do work!
Yep I do all the things above and I have a great baby! He likes to sleep in the dark, he sleeps all night, he doesn’t claw and scratch for attention. Just a super good baby 🙂
them are some great advice I followed all this with my own children
Good advice but they do make co sleepers,it is like a crib that attaches to your bed. I used one with my daughter, the baby is next to you in their own bed not yours.
Yes, Rachael,
We used a small in-bed co-sleeper crib for our baby. It was truly heavenly, as I did not have to get up that may times.
We did transfer our baby to his crib at 3 months, and at 4 months, he had his own room. We started to get ready for his adjustment sleeping alone early!
I had major problems with baby number 1 she NEVER stopped crying. Once we figured out it was a milk allergy she seemed perfect. Hoping not to repeat with baby 2 giving up dairy a month before delivery and will use these tips:-)
Laura,
It could be very distressing having allergies and not knowing the source.
We had same with our son. It was different source, but the labor we put into it and the skin trauma to him were absolutely tremendous. I am so happy to know now and think back that we managed to figure it all out. Wasn’t easy.
I have 4 kids and have done these with all all they defanitly work
Yup-I agree 🙂 Babies sleep in the room with us for 1st few months so I only have to reach in to nurse (& only change stinky or Very heavy diapers…in the dark)
Comforting Sound of White Noise
Have you heard that babies sleep better with noise? Yes, it’s been shown in studies. It is explained with ease, as when inside their mom’s body, a baby is constantly surrounded by the noises from heart beat, working organs, the omniotic liquid they’re swimming in. It is a natural environment to be surrounded by noise for babies.
Have you heard that some babies sleep and fall asleep only with running hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, fans? Now, they’re making White Noise machines that produce noises at different frequences for babies to be soothed to sleep.
Many families use fans as a sleeping aid for babies! The biggest benefit of a ceiling fan or a box fan is that research has shown that circulating the air in a baby’s room may reduce the risk of SIDS by 73%. This is a fantastic discovery in the arena of SIDS.
DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE HOW YOUR BABY(-ies) FELL ASLEEP?
I have used the fan (either ceiling or box) with my children. I even have a problem not being able to sleep without the whirring of the fan.
My now 3 year old has always fallen asleep with the ceiling fan on. If the fan wasn’t on, he wasn’t sleeping. When he was 16 months old, he started putting himself to sleep by saying the alphabet and when he was 18 months old, he would count how many times he could see the ceiling fan spin.
and my grandson would sleep when I was doing my carpets and I never when he went to sleep keep the house quite and it works if your to quiet the slightest noise would wake him
My baby had a bassinet that smoothly glidded side to side automatically and it played
Lullabies and heart beat sounds. So he loved his bassinet. But it wasn’t as hard to switch him to his bed as I thought it would be. But it was an adjustment. He did pretty well with it though. 🙂 and he was born may 31st last year so I had a window unit, and it ran constantly and that definitely helped him sleep 🙂
We actually have a light projector that plays lullabies my daughter has used since birth and she’s almost 3
I used a fan,the radio or tv on at a low volume & even read to my kids because if it was too quiet they woke up right away. They can’t sleep if it’s too quiet & I am the same way.
I used music and white noise with all 4..it really helped
My kids use childrens cassette tapes/cds played on very low volume to help get to sleep
I’ve had no problems with pacifiers – my baby never wanted it! Having my personal opinions on them, here are the major PROs for a pacifier in baby’s and yours life!
PACIFIER PROs
For some babies, pacifiers are the key to contentment between feedings. I’ve looked up and researched pros from many source like Mayo Clinic, Baby Center, individual authors, and here are some advantages to consider:
– A pacifier might soothe a fussy baby. Some babies are happiest when they’re sucking on something.
– A pacifier offers temporary distraction. A pacifier might come in handy during shots, blood tests or other procedures.
– A pacifier might help your baby fall asleep. If your baby has trouble settling down, a pacifier might do the trick.
– A pacifier might ease discomfort during flights. Babies can’t intentionally “pop” their ears by swallowing or yawning to relieve ear pain caused by air pressure changes. Sucking on a pacifier might help.
– Pacifiers might help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Researchers have found an association between pacifier use during sleep and a reduced risk of SIDS.
– Pacifiers are disposable. When it’s time to stop using pacifiers, you can throw them away. If your child prefers to suck on his or her thumb or fingers, it might be more difficult to break the habit.
WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH BABY AND PACIFIER? WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND, ADVISE US ON USING IT OR NOT?
I never used a pacifier with my children, but my grandchildren both used one. It wasn’t hard for them to give it up!
My oldest son was in the NICU for 3 weeks after birth because he was 6 weeks premature. One of the key things that aided him was a pacifier. He had to be fed through a feeding tube and afterwards, they’d give him a pacifier to give him the sensation of sucking on a bottle.. That helped him associate sucking and feeling full.
Both of my kids were pacifier babies.. One of the best things you can do, though, is take the pacifier away at the right time. If you wait until they’re too old, they develop an attachment to it that goes beyond soothing. They become dependent upon it. Our first, gave up the pacifier at 12 months, it took 1 night of crying and he was done. Our youngest, we had him throw his pacifier away at 20 months and it was 3 nights of absolute torture for all 4 of us (my fiance, oldest son, youngest son and myself). But he’s now pacifier free.. I think they’re a good thing but not a good thing for a 3, 4 or 5 year old to walk around with.
my children never had but my grand kids did but we aso used a nipple and pluged the end up so no air and when you take bottle away so dose the nipple I see kids big ones still using them my granddaughter was hard but when she stayed over I just took it from her and she was fine
Cynthia,
I have a sad feeling when I see a 3-4-5 year-old toddler waling with a pacifier on the playground. The parents do not take responsibility for their child’s health allowing her/him to use this pacifier at this age. Leave alone dental work they will need to go through, it is a huge mental and psychological conditioning that is going on for a child with a pacifier, when the pacifier has to go.
Ok well my two older children both had a pacifier. My son Taylor have it up pretty easily. Now my daughter Sierra did NOT! She wanted it until she was like 6 yrs old . My youngest doesn’t use a pacifier. But he doesn’t want one and after the experience with Sierra I would rather him now have one anyways. I just think it all depends on the child. To each their own.
Ugh so many typos lol!
MANDI,
Typos do not matter! I love reading all you have your own opinion on!
Thanks laura!!! <3
We used it, it worked wonders. Getting rid of it on the other hand was difficult. Bottle we went cold Turkey In a day no problems. Paci we had to wean
All of the kids in our family have had them, I would rather have my child use a pacifier we call the binkies than suck their thumb. I do not think others should judge when another parent uses them or if it is an older child with a binky. I had this problem with one of my nieces she had a binky until she was 6 & we got comments & stares all the time BUT when she was ready to give it up it was much easier than forcing her. All of our kids(I have 1 & my sister has 3 but we have helped each other & raised our kids more like siblings) have used binkies to some extent some more than others & we did not take their binkies away they stopped using them on their own. The only thing I worry about is if they fall with the binky in their mouth because it can cause damage that a dentist will have to fix & that the binky is not too small because I am always afraid they might choke. I think it is something each parent must make up their own mind & what they think is best for their child.
Out of my 4 kids I had one pacifier baby..I took it away at 18 -24 months.( its annoys me to see bigger kids with pacifiers) I took the her favorite one and cute the tip off it. She didnt like the way it felt so ahe did use it..one night of crying and she was good.
Thats a tough one- Im pro pacifier (All 4 of my boys had /used them for at least the 1st yr which is when I started to wean them from it so I didn’t have a kindergartener with a binky (Id watched other toddlers/preschoolers become devastated when it was time to give them up ) I am not convinced using them did not affect my milk supply though(which was low with my 1st 2). My youngest used me as his pacifier and my milk supply was better than ever
My Biggest CON for pacifiers is a Dental problem. Obvioulsy it becomes Obvious when teeth show up! This is a sign of overdozing on a pacifier. Some parents allow their toddlers to have it in their mouths up to 5 years-old! It’s rare, but true. Majority allows up to 2-years-old.
Here are the CONs for use of a pacifier fished out of sources like Mayo Clinic, Baby Center, mom’s blogs.
– Early pacifier use might interfere with breast-feeding. Sucking on a breast is different from sucking on a pacifier or bottle, and some babies are sensitive to those differences. Research suggests that early use of artificial nipples is associated with decreased exclusive breast-feeding and duration of breast-feeding — although it’s not clear if artificial nipples cause breast-feeding problems or serve as a solution to an existing problem.
– Your baby might become dependent on the pacifier. If your baby uses a pacifier to sleep, you might face frequent middle-of-the-night crying spells when the pacifier falls out of your baby’s mouth.
– Pacifier use might increase the risk of middle ear infections. However, rates of middle ear infections are generally lowest from birth to age 6 months — when the risk of SIDS is the highest and your baby might be most interested in a pacifier.
– Prolonged pacifier use might lead to dental problems. Normal pacifier use during the first few years of life doesn’t cause long-term dental problems. However, prolonged pacifier use might cause a child’s top front teeth to slant outward or not come in properly.
WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND HOW DID YOU MANAGE – OR WAS IT EASY – TO WEAN YOUR BABY FROM A PACIFIER?
It was easy to wean off it for both my grandsons. But I did notice, my one grandson seemed to suffer from ear infections, which have since given him no problems.
Our first son was VERY easy to take the pacifier from. Our 2nd was very attached to his and didn’t want to give it up. We let HIM do it.. At 20 months, we told him to throw his pacifiers away, and he did.. It was still rough, but I think that giving him the choice and allowing him to throw them away, made a big difference. It wasn’t taken from him, HE gave it up.
Sierra would take pacifiers from STORES!!! And she was a mister without it, a few days to a week? No she never forgot about the stupid thing. And now she has braces 🙁
She was a monster without it! Grr what is going on with my phone!! And maybe she was 5 and not six
Did not know about ear infection my daughter actually had tubes placed at 9 months due to reoccurring war infections. Definitely going to look into it
My daughter was pretty easy at 18-24months. i do have 2 thumb suckers..cant really take those away
It depends on which child,my oldest niece was the WORST we tried taking it away multiple times & she had extras hidden throughout the house. We let them give then up when they were ready so I found that easier. When they gave the binky up forever we would let them pick a big kid prize to trade for all the binkies. We are now just waiting to see how my nephew does since he is the youngest. My daughter gave hers up in 1 day she had fallen when she 20 months old & hit her front teeth on a book permanently damaging her 4 top teeth. She had to have them removed & couldn’t use a binky for 24 hours,so she made up her mind that she was too big for binkies & never used it again.
It was really pretty easy to wean my boys off their binky’s…..I started close to 12 mos and the longest one had theirs was 16 mos. I think timing is of the essence when taking them away (and having another “distraction” like a lovey to soothe is helpful)
good morming
I have an uncle and aunt that let their 2 kids keep their pacifier till and bottle till they were 4 and 5…just plan laziness on the parents part
It is plain laziness, Agreed here.
CO-SLEEPING – ARE YOU IN OR OUT?
We’ve done it with my son for the first 3 months, and we did is with a bed crib, so he could be protected from our bodies. Worked superbly well for all.
With one of my favorite resources What To Expect, here are some PROs for co-sleeping.
The Pros of Co-Sleeping:
Supporters believe that sharing sleeping quarters:
– Encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime nursing more convenient
– Helps a nursing mom get her sleep cycle in sync with her baby’s
– Helps babies fall asleep more easily and go back to sleep more quickly when they wake up during the night
– Leads to more nighttime sleep overall for babies
– Helps parents who don’t see their baby much during the day regain a sense of intimacy with their child
WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH CO-SLEEPING? TRIED IT AT ANY TIME?
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT TO ANYBODY?
We refused to co-sleep with our oldest son because we didn’t want children in our bed.. It’s surprising what sleep deprivation will do to you because we broke that major rule with our 2nd child just to get more sleep.. We had a co-sleeper so we didn’t have to worry about rolling over onto him.. I HIGHLY SUGGEST a co-sleeper.. There are people that will just allow their children to sleep in bed naturally but there’s a serious risk of rolling onto them and hurting or killing them. It’s difficult to transition to them sleeping in their own crib.. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t do co-sleeping. Our youngest (almost 2 years old) is just now starting to sleep through the night in his own crib. I would have rather gone with less sleep back then and more sleep now with 2 very active little boys.
Cynthia,
Yes, this is one of the difficulties that transition when they are older and know better!
But with your love and care, he will adjust.
I don’t know how things are done when babies and toddlers are not sleeping well and there are several of them!
I had one and was sleep deprived due to frequent nights with no sleep up until he turned 4. Now, I cannot get enough sleep ever. I was an early riser all my life. That changed with my son’s birth.
No I won’t co sleep. Did that with my oldest and my daughter and they were both way too attached and refused to sleep on their own. Just too much to handle ! So with the baby I have made sure not to do it! He sleeps in his bed every night and does very well with it. Eh knows when I lay him down and turn the lights off it’s time for bed and he doesn’t give me a lick of trouble. 🙂
We started cosleeping at about a year and a half. We love it but miss are privacy. We have been trying to transitIon her to her room but she’s finding it bet stressful
I had a portable crib next to our bed that the kids would sleep in. Sometimes if they wouldnt sleep unless they were next to me, I would sleep with them…no one is happy if momma doesnt get sleep..I wad pretty lucky..my 4 were sleeping through the night in their own beds at 4, 6 and 8 weeks
Co sleeping was the ONLY way we could get any sleep because our daughter was a very difficult baby & had to be on special formula because she threw up all the time & even had to be put on medicine at 6 weeks old. If I had not used a co sleeper I would have been up all night. The big downside is privacy but they are only babies for a little while.
I co slept at some point with all 4 of my babies and am pretty sure we will occasionally with the one on the way too. I keep a port-a-crib /bassinet next to the bed but am notorious for falling asleep nursing .Wake up with hickeys on random parts of my tummy /chest….was the worst that has happened.
Here are some CONs for Co-Sleeping I dug out from Mayo Clinic, What To Expect.
The Cons of Co-Sleeping
Anti sleep-sharers point to these disadvantages:
– Potential risks. Again, the AAP advises against sleeping in the same bed for safety purposes, but you can still experience most of the pros if you opt to share a room instead.
– Less sleep for you. Infants toss and turn and burp and bark in their sleep — pretty noisy little creatures to keep close while you’re trying to sleep yourself.
– Less sleep for baby. Your super-attentive tendencies (picking baby up at the first whimper) may actually do more harm than good when it comes to (both of) you getting a good night’s sleep.
– Less whoopee. Let’s face it — can you really let it all hang out when baby is sleeping (or cooing) in the same room? If so, more power to you — your baby won’t remember a thing. But if you’re like most couples, either the two of you — or your child — have got to go for the passion to flow.
– Potential problems later on. While some experts argue that sleep sharing promotes independence by making baby feel secure, others say that the longer you wait to move baby out of your room, the greater the chances he’ll have a tough time adjusting when you finally do.
We transferred out baby to a separate room at the age of 4 months. It’s been a great experience. He’s slept in his own room since then and loving it.
HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE A SITUATION WHEN YOU MEET A MOM WHO’s A PRO CO-SLEEPING?
Would you tell her about the CONS of CoSleeping?
I don’t co sleep.. I dont get how ppl have their kids sleeping in thier beds for years..how does mom and dad time work?
I would absolutely tell her about the cons of co-sleeping and my personal experience on both sides of the pro con sanerio.
I would just let them know that a couple night can turn into a permanent situation. Getting them I’m there own bed becomes very difficult
No because I did & I did my own research. I would just share my own experiences.