During the first six weeks, getting baby to sleep is usually not the big problem it can become in later weeks. Babies and mothers both need to establish a firm bond and this often is best established through constant contact.

When my elder children were born, the babies were usually cared for in the hospital nursery, away from the mother and tucked firmly into cribs.

It always troubles me to hear that there are parents using sleep medications for getting baby to sleep. Not just for baby's welfare but for the parents as well. Sleeping pills can be deadly for babies and small children for the following reasons:

1. Your child could be in for a lifetime of sleeping pill addiction. When he turns into an adult, he may never be able to develop a healthy sleep routine.
2. No sleeping drug has ever been tested on a baby or young child. In the case of some over-the-counter medications containing histamines (Nytol or Sominex) the effects can be reversed and they can act as a stimulant. Getting baby to sleep with these medications is virtually impossible.

Swaddling is a great way to lengthen your baby's sleep. It simulates the womb by providing a warm, secure and snug environment. This age-old practice of wrapping your baby in cloth, is almost sure to help get your baby to sleep faster, and for a longer period of time. In addition to making your baby feel warm and secure, swaddling your baby is beneficial in keeping your baby from startling herself with flailing limbs and preventing scratches to your baby's face. Swaddling also helps to restrain the Moro Reflex, which is an involuntary spasm in response to a perceived loss of balance.

With a little light playtime, your baby will have the opportunity to unwind before bedtime. A little playing can help the baby to fall asleep quicker, however, be careful not to play to hard, that can hinder a baby in falling asleep and you want to get baby to sleep as quickly as possible.

Your baby's comfort can also help to get baby down in a timely fashion. Warm baths and a fresh diaper can lull a baby to sleep. In some cases, a comfortable set of pajamas can add to a baby's comfort level and promote a drowsy baby.

Getting babies to sleep can be a frustrating and draining process. Thankfully there are ways to make it easier for you and your baby, so neither of you have to suffer. This article will explain the biggest mistake new parents make when teaching their baby to sleep and how to overcome it.

A newborn baby will sleep from 16 to 20 hours per day. Unfortunately, this sleeping time is usually broken up into 2-4 hour periods. The key is to get your baby into a routine sleeping schedule. This type of consistency will allow you ample time for household chores, a good night's rest, and time in general just for you...( because we know that all moms need some of that.)

Read about Parenting and also read about SIDS Risk and Baby Swaddling

Everyone knows that adequate sleep is very important for a healthy life. But all are not lucky to get good sleep, for various reasons. Sleep is one of the supporting pillars of life, and acts as a rejuvenator of mind and body.

Ayurveda, the oldest medical system, offers some simple tips for insomnia.

Try to sleep at a regular time daily. Whether it is a working day or a holiday going to bed, on a regular time helps to get good sleep. To achieve this, if necessary avoid napping during the day.

You need to be able to control your emotions in any situation. Find ways to channel stressful energy. Take deep breaths in a steady pattern. Clear your mind of worries and begin to relax every muscle in your body. Start at your toes and slowly work your way up, mentally relaxing your body as you go. Find what works for you, and practice reaching that clear-headed state of mind.

There are many factors behind sleeplessness. It could be financial concerns, relationship problems, or work issues. While it's possible whatever has been keeping you up is beyond your control, creating a conducive environment for sleeping is not. Try the following tips to make it easy on yourself to get 40 winks and a snore.

Make it a rule of thumb no caffeine or soda, 2 hours before bed time. If you did not know already, caffeine is a stimulate. Drinking those kind of drinks so close to bed time makes' it very difficult to sleep. If you want something hot and soothing, try some chamomile tea or you could have a glass of warm milk.

Sleep apnea literally means "sleep without breath" and can result from respiratory muscle weakness (known as central sleep apnea) or a blockage of the trachea, or airway (known as obstructive sleep apnea.) Obstructive sleep apnea is much more common than central sleep apnea and can be caused by a variety of factors including obesity, congestion in the throat, tonsillitis or mononucleosis. If the obstruction is big enough and the sufferer cannot breathe properly, there is a chance for sudden death from obstructive sleep apnea.

Remember also that while everyone gets insomnia from time to time, long term insomnia can be a sign of a more serious health condition. Be sure to visit your doctor to discuss your problem, potential causes and solutions. Good sleep is vital to health.

Over the counter sleep aids are meant for rare cases, not to be used on a regular basis. If you're becoming addicted to them or find that you cannot sleep at all without an over the counter sleep aid, you need to see your doctor. Some people also try to use alcohol to self-medicate. While you may feel that it helps you sleep at first, it actually increases insomnia and long term sleeplessness. If you are having trouble sleeping, alcohol should be avoided until the problem is cleared up.

We all want to arrive at our destination relaxed and refreshed but that does not always happen. Getting some sleep when traveling across time zones or on long flights is often necessary but not always accomplished. Here are some tips to help you get some shut-eye on your next flight.

Read about Parenting and also read about Baby Naps and Baby Sleep Night

Congratulations! You're probably reading this as you've brought your precious little baby home. Its a great step in life and you'll enjoy it. Many people struggle with sleep the first couple of weeks when their baby first comes home and don't really understand how to get their babies to sleep. Well I'm here to let you know that its not that hard to get your baby to sleep. With a little knowledge you'll know how to get your baby to sleep with little effort, which means more sleep for you. Both baby and parents win!

Many babies wake up because of hunger and because they are used to being fed in the hospital every four hours. Once you get your baby home, you can either continue in this manner or allow the baby to sleep as long as they can without waking them to be fed. If you feed them as much as they want just before putting the down for the night, they will have a full belly and are more apt to begin sleeping through the night. Most doctors tell you not to feed them solid foods such as cereal or baby food until they are at least six months old. How would you like it if you could only drink for six months? You most likely would not like it and could not sleep longer than a few hours without your stomach needing food.

As any Thanksgiving will show, people generally get sleepy after eating. This happens because your blood sugar levels change and because your body pushes blood to your stomach, thus taking it away from your brain. Babies are no different.However, letting babies fall asleep after eating creates a bad habit - it unconsciously forms a routine of only being able to fall asleep after eating. In the beginning this might not be an issue, but think about a few months from now. Do you want to have to feed baby every time she wakes up?

Another way to get baby to sleep through the night is to make sure that some one-on-one snuggle time is in your routine. You don't want to just dump the baby into his or her crib without another word. Take advantage of your baby's attachment to a blanket or cuddly animal. If they haven't established this yet, help them to find something that will make them feel comfortable when you are not there. An object like this, often called a transitional object, can give your baby comfort and help him or her to get to sleep, both when first put to bed and also on waking during the night.

As a parent, you can help to encourage your child to enter into a consistent sleep pattern if you follow certain steps to encourage her to sleep alone. The first is to observe when and for how long she sleeps, feeds and rests. You might think you know this, but make out a chart and write it all down. This lets you do two things: you will be able to detect a pattern of how long she spends on each of the above activities, and at what times she does it. You will also be able to detect changes to the pattern as you train her to change her sleeping habits.

Read about Parenting and also read about Baby Sleep Patterns and Sleep Baby Need

The baby monitor allows you to be aware of noises made by the baby in your absence. It allows you to hear when your little one wakes. It also safely allows you monitoring on a sleeping baby while working around the house. Baby monitors have developed in a big way over the years. There are so many types of baby monitors available in the market, from the simple low priced to the high end products, that can meet the needs of all parents.

That babies could be born with the sleep through the night gene that magically kicks in as soon as they are out of the womb. Unfortunately we know that just isn't the case. We do need to intervene and it is a skill a baby must learn. Ever heard of sleep like a baby? Well I don't know about you but from what I've seen not many children sleep like a baby as soon as they are born. Oh sure, they sleep during the day and for intervals during the night but most of the time they are sleeping when we could best handle them being awake and awake when we could best handle them being asleep.

New born babies will not sleep through the night because they need to feed every few hours. In fact, if you are breast feeding your baby, expect to wake up every two hourly at least during the first few months and if you are using formula milk, it will be every 3 hours. Your baby will cry when he/she is hungry so your sleep will be disturbed as you will have to wake up to feed. I can fully understand how tiring that will be because my pair of twins was more accurate than my alarm clock!

Thus it is very important that you make some arrangement to your schedule so that your newborn can settle into a good sleeping routine quickly. It will help to make your night feedings less stressful and tiring.

To have sweet sleeping babies all night long, you must nurture and train the child, from the very moment of its first breath. Children learn naturally as is their own individual nature as well as fitting into the lifestyle of their parents. Being a person is a busy experience, even more so when offspring depend upon you for their needs. It is no wonder many parents find themselves tired and yearning for rest at the end of their day.

In this current growing epidemic world, a lot of people, especially adults who are living in the city with a stressful life are suffering from sleeplessness. If you are one of them, you may wonder how to sleep better and deeply every night just like a sleeping baby. This is the holy grail question in the mind of insomnia sufferers. For those insomnia sufferers, they feel lonely, frustrating and always depressing at bedtime.

Before we offer a solution to sleep better for insomniacs, we have to identify the causes of the insomnia problems first because insomnia does not build overnight, actually, it is a learned habit. For example of the insomnia causes is a traumatic event or troubling time in someone's life, such as lost of your beloved family members who has just passed away in an accident can trigger someone to be insomnia.

Read about Parenting and also read about Baby Sleep Problems and Healthy Sleep Habits Baby

A baby shower idea that can lead to heart-stopping, imaginary adventures in the African Bush is a set of African Safari baby crib bedding. Imagine how much fun a mom-to-be and her precious baby is going to have exploring all the animal antics brought to life on innovative African Safari baby crib bedding fabrics. It is a worthwhile baby shower idea to team up with a few friends and give a really useful set of baby crib bedding or cot bed bedding.

There is hardly anything else that can match the excitement of waiting for the arrival of your baby. Ask any parent, especially the mother-to-be, and you will be told that the new baby's arrival is, by far, the most cherished and much-awaited event. She waits with baited breath for the moment when she will be able to hold her baby in her arms and see this most wonderful and precious gift of nature. She spends each waking hour counting the ticks of the clock for the baby's arrival.

Not sure how to plan for a baby shower and need help with fun and creative baby shower ideas? Planning for a baby shower can be very fun and a great way to celebrate a mother and her baby. Having a great theme will help to pull all the elements of the baby shower together. Some of the best baby shower ideas and themes are listed below for you to reference as you plan the event.

Baby Construction Zone. This is a great theme that screams, "IT'S A BOY!" You could make stop signs, hazard signs, and yield signs to use as decoration, and incorporate lots of red and yellow. You could also purchase some Tonka trucks to display for decoration, and then give them to the mommy-to-be as a baby gift. Your invitations could be shaped like dump trucks and concrete trucks, and you could even purchase some orange vests or hard hats for your guests to wear.

But for many of our people, we are surrounded by all kinds of free information about love, family, and generations on TV, magazines, newspaper, and outdoor advertisements. Speak them with your friends and families, and see if they can come up with some special ideas for baby showers For example, you can have a celebration of the entire family and their heritage especially with the soon-to-be-grandparents. you can even be creative to include some of your close friends in your guest list, and play games include friends sharing trivia about their own families, like famous relatives, traditions, or a funny family story.

Choose a Jazzy Color: Maybe the color of the nursery, or the mom-to-be's favorite color. We'll use red as an example. Decorate with red balloons, red plates, napkins, tableware. For the centerpiece, use a small red wagon and fill with stuffed animals, baby toys, lotions, pacifiers and give to the mom to take home at the end of the shower! Serve chocolate dipped strawberries, red finger jello cut into baby-themed shapes and a red velvet chocolate cake.

Read about Babycare and also read about Baby Shower Favor and Baby Shower Gift

The first thing to note is that it depends on how old you are, as to how much sleep your body needs. The younger you are, the more sleep you need. For example, a baby requires a lot of sleep, and will sleep up to 16 hours a day. An infant will need about 14 or so hours of sleep a day. Children will need less sleep as they get older, so between eight and nine hours of sleep is usually enough for most of them. Teenagers actually need a lot of sleep, since this is usually when growth spurts occur, and need around nine hours of sleep a night.

There is no generic answer believe it or not, we are not robots- each person is different. Sleep is important for growth and development. As a general note babies require 10 to 14 hours of sleep per night. Children may need 9 to 12 hours and adults between 7 to 9 hours. As we get older we generally sleep less, however this is not to say we don't require as much sleep! Most of us experience sleep debt during the week which we often try and make up on the weekend by sleeping in.

Between six and twelve months, children need fourteen or fifteen hours. This is the stage when your baby will need to take several naps, and sleep at night as well. Most kids at this stage take two or three naps during the day, and sleep through the night fairly well. They no longer need to eat at night. This is the best stage to start your child on a routine. Pay attention to their normal moods, and put them on a sleep schedule that gives them a morning nap when they are tired, and an afternoon nap when they are tired. Put them to bed between seven and nine p.m., and plan on them waking between six or eight a.m.

An interesting study published in BBC News Online (24th April 2004), suggests that sleep problems in babies could lead to drug problems in the teenage years. This is the first study to look at the relationship between children's sleep problems and substance abuse in later life. Researchers from the University of Michigan claim that early sleep disruption does not mean a child will have substance abuse problems as a teenager, but that it could be a 'marker' for later issues. This is one more reason that parents should focus on healthy sleep habits for their children.

Some babies are fantastic sleepers, going through the night from 6 weeks old and taking three perfect naps a day. But most babies ­ probably yours included - are not fantastic sleepers. There is no reason why they should be, of course. Many of the sleep "problems" with young babies are to do with parental expectations rather than with the baby behaving abnormally. But while you shouldn't have high hopes of your baby's sleep fitting in with yours in the early days, it is important to plan ahead. The habits that your baby is getting into by around the 6-month mark will condition her sleep habits for the months to come.

Read about Babycare and also read about Pumping Breast Milk and Weaning Baby

Very early signs of pregnancy - are there 10 pregnancy signs? Yes, there are signs that indicate very early that you are pregnant. Some women will experience one or two of them, others will have several of the very early signs of pregnancy. Once you have conceived, it will take about a week for the fertilized egg to implant in the uterus. As implantation happens, it's now possible to experience one or more of the 10 pregnancy signs and begin to know you are pregnant. Around this time, hormone levels begin to change, and the body reacts to these new hormone levels.

A woman's basal body temperature (the lowest body temperature attained during rest) begins to elevate after ovulation, and stays elevated past when you should have had your period. This increase in basal body temperature, usually one-half to one degree Fahrenheit, is a subtle very early warning sign of pregnancy. To get this clue, you should have some idea what your normal (non-pregnancy) basal temperature is.

So what are the very early signs of pregnancy and what else could the signs mean? Well here is a list of many of the symptoms and their alternative diagnosis.

If you are not aware, there are a number of signs that show very early - positive for being pregnant. There are some women that show two or three of the signs, while there are others which have all five very early signs of pregnancy. Upon conception, it takes roughly seven to ten days for the uterus to be implanted with the fertilized egg. After this period of time, there are at least five pregnancy signs that show you are pregnant.

Another common pregnancy symptom is the dreaded morning sickness. It will generally start as soon as two weeks after conception, although it can take up to 8 weeks for it to begin. While most women experience this nauseous feeling, there are some who never do.

Morning sickness combined with some other early signs of pregnancy is sometimes quite distressing as well. Specifically if the woman is reeling from the discovery that she may be pregnant. If there are mixed feelings about being pregnant and not pregnant; the morning sickness is quite distressing as it brings a constant reminder of the reality that pregnancy is there.

This is probably the most obvious sign. If you have a regular 28-day menstrual cycle and are in tune with your body, you will probably know as soon as you miss your period. For someone who is trying to conceive, it is certainly a possible indicator. However if you are someone who has an irregular menstrual cycle, chances are that this very early sign of pregnancy may not clue you into what is happening.

Missed Period Missed period is the most important sign of pregnancy. Sometimes periods are missed because of some transient hormonal variation within the body or because of some kind of stress. If it is because of any of the above reason then periods will come within 10 days of the due date; otherwise you must start to think about the possible pregnancy.

If you're expecting, you've probably already started to feel your body change, and you've probably started to pay extra attention to your diet, sleep patterns and body signals. It's important to be well-informed as to what changes fall within the norms of a pregnancy, and which changes may be problematic. Take for example, the occurrence of spotting or vaginal discharge during pregnancy. It's actually quite common to experience such symptoms during pregnancy, although this does not exclude the need to consult with your family doctor on occasion.

Vaginal bleeding often causes pregnant women a lot of alarm. The first thought in this type of scenario, is that of a miscarriage. Miscarriage, however, is not the only reason behind vaginal bleeding in pregnant women. For some women, the reason may be quite simple. The taking of certain medications, can produce certain levels of bleeding from the vagina.

Vaginal hemorrhage during pregnancy should be treated with precaution at whatever stage of the pregnancy. It is therefore important that you seek the advice of your healthcare provider whenever you spot bleeding. You also need to note that the bleeding in conformed pregnancy is not associated with menstrual bleeding.

There is also increased vaginal secretion during pregnancy, a condition that results to increased secretion of leucorrhea or odorless but clear/whitish discharge. As long as the color of the secretion stays clear or white, there's nothing to be anxious about, but watch out when the discharges turn greenish-yellow and emit a foul smell. This is no longer normal and must be reported immediately to your doctor. Alert your doctor, too, when you experience soreness or pain around the vaginal area.

Experiencing vaginal discharge is a regular way of life to women. But when they are pregnant, women tend to keep a more watchful eye on the discharges they have. It doesn't matter whether you're experiencing a normal one, or a thick vaginal discharge, pregnancy makes the issue worth noting. In some cases, it will be necessary to consult your doctor.

Both white vaginal discharge, and yellow vaginal discharge, should be monitored closely. In those cases where discharge signals another condition, this monitoring is important. White vaginal discharge is generally common in pregnant women. It is the regular process, often caused by the increase of hormones in the body.

Pregnancy spotting, and other symptoms, like discomfort in the vaginal region, can be results of the presence of another ailment. If such a condition doesn't exist, there could certainly be problems with the pregnancy. It does not matter, at what point in your pregnancy you experience these, you need to be aware of the circumstances. Seeing either pregnancy spotting, or vaginal discomfort, are important symptoms to address, at any phase of the pregnancy.

Though people raise several questions on pregnancy, there are some questions which cannot be raised thoughtlessly. They sound out-and-out awkward, and you may be in dilemma whether to raise such questions at all. For instance, you cannot discuss even with your close friend if you have problems like vaginal discharges, fishy vaginal odor or itching in the vaginal area. For some of such embarrassing questions based on problems during pregnancy, you have the consoling answers here.

Have the 40 weeks of week by week pregnancy begun? Am I pregnant? Is it time for paternity testing? If this is what you are thinking than taking a pregnancy test is on the cards. The extensive medical test sure can be referred to, yet as a prelim confirmation, an early pregnancy test also referred to as pregnancy test at home can also be considered. It helps give a basic indication as to whether the early pregnancy symptoms you are experiencing are true or misguiding, especially if you have skipped a period.

How accurate are first response home pregnancy tests? The highest possible screening sensitivity for an hCG-based pregnancy test conducted on the first day of a missed period is 90 percent, as 10 percent of women may not have implanted yet in the uterus. The authors estimate that the highest possible screening sensitivity of a home pregnancy test by one week after the first day of the missed period is 97 percent, thus their accuracy is usually not doubted so long as the test instructions are correctly followed.

During pregnancy there are so many wacky hormones shooting through a woman’s body that a lot of things change. A pregnant woman’s bladder needs to empty more often, particularly in the first and third trimester. Make sure you always know where a clean restroom is when you’re out in public.

The body's basal temperature (the lowest body temperature that happens during rest) begins to elevate after ovulation, and stays elevated beyond your next expected period. Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary and pushed down the fallopian tube and is ready to be fertilized by a sperm. The implantation of a fertilized egg normally takes place 6 to 12 days after ovulation - that's about two to three weeks before the next period is missed.

What implantation bleeding looks like depends on how long it takes from the blood to travel to the outside of your body. The color of implantation bleeding can vary form bright red to brown implantation bleeding. Bright red implantation bleeding means that there is an active area of bleeding within the womb and blood is flowing from the site of implantation to the outside of your body very quickly. It may indicate that implantation has just occurred.

There are dozens of other signs that can point to a pregnancy. Some unfortunate women seem to inherit every single pregnancy malady possible and of course realize they are pregnant when everything aches and they are puking up every single meal. Other women have such subtle signs that they really need to pay attention to their bodies to get the message. Most women, however, have a combination of pregnancy signals and eventually realize that all signs are pointing to a pregnancy.

A free of charge on the net being pregnant test must be treated being a earliest step in detection of having a baby. You can not just rely on these check outcomes like a final confirmation of your pregnancy.

A free of charge on the net being pregnant test must be treated being a earliest step in detection of having a baby. You can not just rely on these check outcomes like a final confirmation of your pregnancy. You are sure to locate hints concerning the being pregnant by an on the net pregnancy test, but this test have to certainly not replace healthcare confirmatory experiment below observation of physicians. Instead, these assessments are the finest ways to measure your possibilities of acquiring pregnant. You may follow these test benefits to decide if you ever should consider a healthcare confirmatory experiment. So allow us uncover out, how can these tests process outcomes and what do they conclude, finally?

If you have been tracking your period every month and you are usually pretty regular the absence of your period is a pretty good indicator that something is going on. Women who are not attempting to get pregnant and who are currently on birth control are certainly not immune to pregnancy as no birth control except for abstinence is fail-safe. Any missed period merits the purchase of a home pregnancy test, just to be sure.

Aside from premature delivery, stillbirth, and the low birth weight, nicotine and carbon monoxide will reduce the oxygen supply to your baby. By choking off the oxygen in your body by narrowing your blood vessels, your baby is forced to breathe through a really narrow straw. Also, the red blood cells will begin to pick up the carbon monoxide molecules making your unborn baby breathe all those toxins and affect his or her health.

Pregnancy is a time of joy and happiness. You are not just “pregnant” with new life, but pregnant with the anticipation of what that new life will mean. When you are pregnant, you should feel physically, mentally and emotionally on top of the world. The discomforts of morning sickness, stretch marks, heartburn, skin pigmentation and fluid retention are real and can be distressing, but they should be offset by the knowledge that your baby is developing and growing in an optimally healthy environment.

Implantation bleeding occurs very early in pregnancy as a direct result of the fertilized egg (your growing baby) burying and snuggling its way into the lining of your womb. Implantation bleeding occurs about 10-14 days after the egg has been fertilized or when conception occurred. This is also around the time when your menstrual cycles would be expected. Most cases of implantation bleeding last for a few minutes to a few days. If implantation bleeding lasts more than a few days then it may be a sign of infection or a threatened miscarriage.

Most pregnant women have some symptoms of early pregnancy. On the rare occasion some women have no symptoms of early pregnancy except that them miss their menstrual period. Some women are so busy in their lives that they are unaware that their menstrual period was due and forget they did not get their periods.

The body's basal temperature begins to elevate after ovulation, and stays elevated beyond your next expected period.