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How To Get Your Baby To Sleep At Naptime?

If you baby is not napping well during her first few months of life, you may want to try to cut back on the time she is awake by 15 minute increments. If she is getting over stimulated, then she will fight sleep and be difficult to get to nap. The way to prevent this is to watch her “sleepy” cues to make sure that you put her down when she is beginning to get sleepy.

Some parents believe that letting their child cry will harm him or her. Fifteen or twenty minutes of crying will not harm your child physically or mentally. Babies will learn to self-soothe and fall asleep by themselves, but only if you let her. It is very important that babies learn to fall asleep by themselves so that they can self-soothe if they awake in the middle of the night. Otherwise, you may have a child that will not sleep through the night for years.

Regular sleep patterns are intermeshed with regular eating patterns, so let us look at the stages of a baby’s life:

Newborn: Your newborn will sleep anywhere from 16 to 20 hours a day, including the naps that he takes between feedings. When your baby has been fed, let him stay awake for a short while and then put him down before he becomes over stimulated.

Two months: At two months and older, your child should be allowed to try to self-soothe during their naptimes and bedtime. Crying is normal when you put your baby down, but it is okay. If he cries for longer than 10-15 minutes, then go in and check on him. Don’t get him up, but pat his bottom or lightly rub his back until he calms down.

3-6 months: At around 3-6 months, your baby will stop taking one of his naps. Usually it is the third nap or late afternoon nap that they do not need as much. He may be a little fussy and may want to take a little nap, but you need to try to keep him up if you want him to go to bed at a decent time and sleep soundly through the night.

16+ months: When your child is between 16-20 months, they usually quit taking the morning nap in favor of a longer nap in the afternoons. Babies this age usually sleep between 10-12 hours a night and take a 2-3 hour afternoon nap.

Ground Rules about Naps:

1. You decide when the nap starts and ends, not the baby.

2. When your baby is older than 4 months old, she will wake up crying if she hasn’t slept enough. She might have a dirty diaper, be in a position that is not comfortable, or cold/hot. Fix the problem and encourage her to go back to sleep. Babies that have enough rest wake up happy, talking, and in a good mood!

Behind every successful baby shower party are the proud parents of the baby

So many ideas for baby shower centrepieces can leave you in a turmoil not knowing what to pick to display on the day. Centrepieces used for baby showers were traditionally flower arrangements. Floral pieces on show would come beautifully arranged in a basket or a crystal holder. Remember the theme for the baby shower when choosing what flowers to have for the centrepiece. A good idea is to try blending in personal items in and around the arrangement. Colour is another important factor we don't want the table laden with pastel lemons and whites only to throw in a big red bloom. Another issue to focus on is selecting the right flowers. Flowers are one of natures beauty alongside your newborn, blossoms picked by you for the baby shower will enhance the occasion with an essence so sweet filling the air. Personal items for the flower basket centre piece can include baby novelties like cuddly toys these can be bears and bunnies to baby clothes.    



 Have you considered preparing and making up your own baby shower centre piece, if this is out of your league then buy one, expect to pay approx 35 pounds upwards all depending on the design and content i.e. whatever goodies you choose to place inside the basket. Baby shower centrepieces can come in edible form such as a baby showers cake. If a diaper cake is your decoration for the middle of the table then you have to remember these are not for consumption. Diaper cake is actually made up of diaper/nappies. It is a fabulous and practical idea for a baby shower centre piece. Another tip and cost effective for a centrepiece is to place a plant on display not only does this do the trick but you get to keep the plant for a long while after. Try placing some baby extras around the pot like baby linen, towels what ever you feel is best suited It has been known that fishbowls have been used to decorate the table at baby showers, floating candles, beads or flower petals were added to spice up the look. Liven up the occasion with colour add balloons they are cheap and ideal for the baby shower party. Try tying a few brightly coloured bows around cuddly toys. Silk flowers scattered around a neat tower of baby linen or candles encompassed by baby soaps and smellies. Do be careful with candles. Creativity creates a more exciting centre piece I hear, I don't think so not if you are on a budget. If you are struggling to meet the cost of a baby shower centrepiece then cunning it has to be. Here is how it is done spruce up the table with more colour by adding floating balloons, action the whole content of the table with so many different little gifts brightly gift wrapped. And a definite guarantee to distract eye contact away from the non absent centrepiece is to place plates of cream filled cakes here and there; the centrepiece will not even be missed.

Baby Gift Baskets Are The Hottest Gifts You Can Give

One of the most difficult decisions to make is the choice of gifts to give new parents after the arrival of their baby. It seems rather simple, but believe me it is a tough one.

Though this might sound funny, but its usefulness as a gift for new parents is getting increasingly popular. The item is baby-gift-baskets.

They are a very good gift option and are always welcomed, perhaps due to their utility nature. This kind of baskets can be used for variety of tasks.

Baby-gift-baskets are available in retail stores, and if you prefer shopping online, you can still order one from several internet shops. Those with a flair for creativity can even go a step further by making a baby-gift-basket of their choice.

When purchasing the gift, or if you are making one yourself, you must consider the gender of the baby. These will guide you about the theme to choose for the basket.

An interesting theme is "diaper duty". If you decide to go for this, then its best to include disposable diapers and baby powders for the parents.

If you are not disposed to the above, another option you can go for is to fill the baby-gift-baskets with travel sizes of the products most used by the parents.

Items to consider for this includes baby shampoo, soap, baby wash clothes, creams and lotions. The parents will appreciate this because the gift items will just fit into the diaper bag anytime they go out with the new arrival.

You can also include fun items like toys and books in the baby-gift-basket. They will come in handy when the baby begins to grow.

A very good idea is the addition of a memorable item in the baby-gift-basket. The best item for this will be a copy of the local newspaper for the day the baby was born.

An alternative to baby-gift-basket is a small rocking chair the baby will be able to use when it becomes a toddler.

And like other baby-gift-baskets options, this one too goes with accompanying items. Clothing and toys are good examples of what to add.

If you are not too keen with a rocking chair, you will want to give a baby bathtub a look in. The bathtub can be filled with all bath essentials like soaps, shampoos, wash cloths, and towels.

Fun items like a bath toy or bath crayons can also be added to the baby bathtub gift. This will offer something for the first few years of the baby's life.

However, when planning for the purchase of the baby-gift-baskets, you should also ensure you include a small gift for the new parents into your budget. A bottle of wine will be just fine, as it will enable the parents toast to their new bundle of joy.

Clothes to make your baby look long and lean. Find baby clothes that make your baby comfortable and healthy.

Confused by the phrase ‘Long and Lean’ following Baby Clothes? Well, this article works both ways to reduce the confusion of those online baby cloth hunters. And surprisingly, most of the optimized searches will disappoint you if you are either searching clothes meant for your long and lean babies, or clothes to make your baby look long and lean! Confusing, right?

For those who have been thinking that buying a baby’s cloth is just a child’s play, note that baby clothes have their whole of rules. And as they begin their growth, you will realize that your baby should be understood in terms of their growth and gender in order to meet their needs. Let us take a peek into what makes these criteria a must for those parents shopping for baby clothes.

The Long and the Lean

It is believed that the condition of birth determines what a child will look like when it grows up. But there is no way to predict exactly the rate of their growth. However, recent studies have claimed that heavy babies tend to grow up fat and long babies tend to grow up tall. But this may be contestable.

Sizing a baby’s clothing: the Long and the Lean

Parents might be often asking: “What do I need to buy for my lean or fat baby?” Though a baby’s clothes comes in sizes shown by months, as in 0-3 months, this question calls in for a different set of solution. How do you know that this is a standard? There are four fundamental flaws in this standard:

1. The sizes of babies vary enormously. And the manufacturers might claim that a particular size is the standard of your baby’s age group.
2. The growth of babies varies, ranging from slow to rapid. And some babies might be double the size of their same age group.
3. The shape also varies. Some children might outgrow their clothes; clothes made for round babies might stop snapping at the crotch well before they hit their supposed limit.
4. Different manufacturers have their own specific standards. This considerably confuses parents while buying clothes for their babies.

So what do we do? Does one need to buy by weight, or size, or age group? A baby’s age stage is the most confusing stage indeed! And, parents will be likely to keep buying clothes to keep up with the alterations in the baby’s growth – size, weight, length, and shape.

The best advice is not to buy very expensive clothes for this stage. You will not be able to keep up with the speed a baby soils the clothes. However, ensure that the clothes are friendly with your child.

And remember that we cannot help the fluctuations in a baby’s growth; while searching clothes for your long and lean baby, or clothes to make your baby look long and lean, just be patient. We all have been through it as babies!

All You Wanted To Know About Baby Highchairs

If your baby is already of six months age then having a high baby high chair is very important for you. There are many types of chairs available in the market and some of them even recline. You may choose a chair which is specially made for small babies who haven’t yet learnt to sit but they may not be very useful if the child is not able to sit at least.

Highchairs for the child have more than sufficient features for the child and the parents; you will really be not using all of them. The seats are padded and they are very comfortable for the child. The wheels on the chairs make it very convenient for you to move the chair everywhere. Nowadays, you even get chairs whose height can be adjusted according to the child’s growth. Thus the child is always at the same height of the table in spite of having grown up. Even the footrest available is adjustable. The highchairs which are available nowadays can be folded away. You can convert the high chair into a play table also. There is an insert in the chair which can fit over the chairs tray, so that your child gets enough space to play. Some of the models have very big feeding trays whereas others have a bottle or cup set in the tray.

The highchair’s base is stable and broad. This doesn’t allow the chair to trip over, even if the baby leans over its side. Actually it is a good idea not to encourage the child to move about while sitting.

There are many types of highchairs. They may be made of wood or plastic or metal. Wood chairs are generally not adjustable.

You should however take the precaution of not leaving the child alone even for a short while; not even to go and answer the telephone, or get a bib or get some food. The baby in the chair must never be left alone. Accidents happen suddenly and unexpectedly. You must gather everything before putting the baby in the chair.

The baby must always be strapped to the chair. The child may slip from under the feeding tray and get hurt seriously. The older ones may slip and get stuck under the tray.

If you have a folding variety of high chair then in your haste you must not forget to lock it in that position. If the highchair happens to fold back, the baby can be hurt badly. Thus you must check the chair at regular intervals to rule out any defects.
When you are setting the tray for feeding the baby, just keep an eye on the baby’s fingers. They may get a cut or get hurt. You must also be sure that the lock is well set. Tug it a little and ensure it. If it is not tight enough or is not set properly the baby may fall down and hurt him.