Here are a few items from our baby store that are sure to make Christmas even more special this year. How adorable would your little little one look in the following items!?

1. Baby Santa Suit. Okay, so he won’t be drinking sherry and chomping down full mince pies but this Santa will still be bringing joy and happiness to all around him. £12

 2.  Rudolph Outfit.  An adorable reindeer suit with matching bib that can be enjoyed over the entire festive period.  £10

 3.  Winter Robin Outfit.  Keep little one snug and warm over the winter with this gorgeous little two-piece set.  £8.99

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Every baby`s sleep pattern is different. While some babies quickly learn to sleep through the night, others take a lot longer to get used to it. A good indication of how your baby will sleep can be learnt from the baby`s sleep patterns in the womb, but some babies are quite simply unpredictable. Generally speaking, after six months the baby should be getting into a routine and sleeping throughout the night. Newborn babies won`t be sleeping through the night for a few months as they spend between fifteen and eighteen hours of the day asleep and usually in two or three hour bursts. This sleep pattern is essential to help the baby to grow and develop, but after a while the daytime naps will shorten and the night time ones will lengthen. Until that point the parents have to adapt their routine to the baby`s sleep pattern. Read the rest of this entry »

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Newborn babies shouldn’t be expected to sleep through the night from day one.  They have tiny tummies that digest milk very quickly and if babies didn’t wake up when they needed feeding they would fail to get the level of nourishment required.

But there are some things you can do to help ensure a safe night’s sleep for your newborn. The Numours Foundation offers the following tips:

• You should never let a newborn baby sleep with plush bedding, blankets or pillows.
• You should put baby to sleep on her back to reduce the risk of cot death (sudden infant death syndrome).
• You should remove stuffed toys from the crib at bedtime.
• Every night you should alternate the side of baby’s head that she sleeps on.  This prevents development of a ‘flat spot’ on a favoured side of the head.

Want to Learn more?

Check out our category on SIDS (on the left hand side of the page) because this contains a wealth of safety information for new parents.

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I have to say, since my last post, I’ve been getting about 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. What a blessing! Especially consdering we’ve been traveling since last month and have gone through 4 time zones (India, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Dallas). The little one has adapted wonderfully and gotten used to day and night across the globe, no problem.

Rich’s advice of calorie shifting was great. That coupled with my mom’s advice of 6-10-2-6-10 nursing cinched the deal. Basically, not just did work with the little one to shift their feeding times to days, I also nursed him at 4 hour intervals starting at 6am with the last feeding being at 10pm.

This has worked wonders! In between nursings, Aidan gets his fill of solids so I know he’s got a belly full.

Ah, a full night’s sleep. No replacement for that!

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A new study has found that more than half of the occurrences of Cot Death happen when the baby is sharing a bed with his or her parent

The research from Bristol and Warwick University claims the safest place for baby to sleep for the first six months is in a cot next to the parent’s bed. We completely agree with this statement and it is something we have been recommending to parents since the start of this blog over a year ago.

However, when the tabloids published this story they did not go into enough detail. On closer inspection of the study it is apparent that the extremely high correlation between cot death and co sleeping was observed in a high-risk group. This high-risk group consisted of young, socially-deprived mothers who smoked and many of whom had taken alcohol or drugs at the time of the tragic cot death. In the group studied, there were also many cases where the mother had fallen asleep on the sofa with her baby.
Read the rest of this entry »

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I came across an interesting article this morning that is packed with tips to help save you money and help save the earth.

The author starts by examining the merits of breast milk but goes on to give some good suggestions for what to do when baby reaches the stage of wanting to eat everything that’s on your plate! She says the greenest way of feeding your baby at this stage is to prepare local organic fruits, veg and even meats in your own kitchen.  The author says not to go out and buy the foods separately, but instead put a few items aside that you’re preparing for your own dinner and mash them up with a fork or mix in a blender to create your own organic baby food! Apart from being the healthiest, least wasteful method of feeding baby, this should also be the cheapest. Read the rest of this entry »

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A recent study has shown that breast milk contains different compounds at different times of day. Morning breast milk contains natural stimulants and its effect on babies could be compared with an adult’s morning cup of coffee!

Breast milk produced at night-time has been shown to contain calming compunds that may help babies sleep (just liike an adult’s cup of Horlics!).

This study could prove really important for mothers who express breast milk for bottle-feeding because they could easily be giving the ‘pick-me-up’ milk at night time and the calming milk during the day. This would obviously affect the baby’s sleeping patterns and mothers who express may want to ensure they are giving the right milk at the right time.

The Daily Mail has the full article here: For baby, a breast-milk cappuccino: Morning feed gives infants a natural pick-me-up

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We’re now on Twitter and Facebook.  Join us on there:

-To keep up to date with what we’re up to

-To share baby tips with other parents

-To get involved and be sociable! 

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I work for an online retailer that specialises in breast pumps and the guys at Lullaby Babies have invited me to share my expertise on this blog. 

Breast pumps can prove to be an essential item for a breastfeeding mother to provide enough milk for the baby. Many women complain about the use of breast pumps but the fact is that as long as you buy a good quality breast pump that suits your needs and you know exactly how to use and clean it, then you will have no problems. Since a breast pump is a machine and is not designed to be as flexible as your baby, you will have to work with patience with your personal pump to express sufficient milk. Mothers usually need a breast pump when they are returning to work or when they have to be away from the baby. A breast pump also helps mothers to maintain and increase a healthy milk supply and it is best to pump milk often and usually during your normal nursing hours.

To use a manual or electric breast pump efficiently, firstly make sure everything is clean and hygienic, wash your hands thoroughly and go through the instruction manual of your pump to know every detail about it, so that you can set it up and use it correctly. Every breast pump requires you to achieve a let-down; with some breast pumps there are massagers in the flanges that massage your breasts and nipple. Otherwise, massage and gently rub your nipples until you relax completely. After you have achieved a let-down, the milk will flow freely. You can choose either between an electric breast pump or a manual breast pump. Manual pumps require a little more time and effort and are not meant to be used frequently. Spend around 15 to 20 minutes per breast or 5 minutes for each breast till they are drained. Use short squeezes to get a let-down with a manual pump and afterwards use long squeezes for an effective, less tiring job. Electric pumps, on the other hand, are best if you will be expressing milk frequently, for example, during work hours. Different types of breast pumps can be found and ordered online at trusted breastpumps.

After each use, you have to completely disassemble the pump parts and wash each of them separately in hot, soapy water and dry them after rinsing them properly. Try to clean your breast pump right after use so that bacteria are not allowed to grow in it. If you cannot do that immediately, then soak the pump in warm soapy water until you can get back to it. Also read your pumps’ instruction manual about the proper way to clean your particular pump. Some pieces of you pump may require mild cleansing while some may require regular sterilization. Remember that not all parts of the pump can be submerged in water, electrical parts like the motor, batteries etc. should never be cleaned with water but can be cleaned with a clean, dry cloth. Some pump parts are also dishwasher friendly but check that with your instruction manual before putting them in the dishwasher.

Clean all parts of the pump thoroughly that come in contact with your breast milk, no milk should be left behind as this curdle combines with fresh milk and can be harmful for the health of your baby. There are a few of ways to sterilize pump parts; with the electric sterilizer method you need special bags, a container designed to sterilize parts in the microwave or an electric counter top sterilizer. These use water to steam the parts of the pump and use it for nipples and baby bottles as well. To sterilize in a dishwasher, first determine which parts of the pump are dishwasher safe. Then rinse excess milk from the parts and place them in the top tray of the washer, set the washer on hot cycle to ensure enough heat for sterilization. You can also sterilize pump parts in a large pot after washing the parts with warm, soapy water. Boil these parts in water for 10 to 15 minutes to sterilize them.

Once you have cleaned your breast pump, don’t dry it with a cloth or towel because they can contain germs and bacteria which will contaminate the pump parts. Leave the parts to dry and when they are completely dried, they can be reassembled for use or stored for future use.

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I was determined last night to try out the advice from Rich’s article on reducing night-time feeds.  At 10:30pm sharp, Aidan had his last feed for the night and went to sleep without a fuss.  At 1:17am, the l’ll guy woke up.  I sent the hubby in for a quick diaper change and a reassuring pat.  Aaah, back to sleep.  3:54am, awake again.  Another diaper change, and time for some nursing (usually Aidan wakes up for a feed at around 2:30am).  Quick feeding, and back to sleep.  7:04am, awake once again (sigh), another feeding and diaper change.  Aidan’s in the mood to play, so he hangs out on our bed between the hubby and me, explores around, sees us asleep and curls up near my knees and passes out.

9:14am, Aidan’s still asleep.  Ah, finally.  He actually slept in (wow, this rarely happens)

We’ll be trying this again tonight to see if we can prolong the first night time feed to a decent hour

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Much has happened since my last update.  We are now moved to our own place which allows us to have our room back and Aidan a room of his own.  He adapted to that change without any problems which was wonderful.

Not long before the move, Aidan learned to stand and hold on to things.  For a while, I was overjoyed, until the night, when he refused to sleep and promptly stood up in his bed, looked at us and bawled.  SIGH!  So much for the joy.

We’re past that now.  Our solution?  Ask him to sit down in his bed and if he resists, gently ungrip his hands from the sides, sit him down and thank him.  Then talk, sing and soothe him to lay down, and encourage and appreciate him as he complies.  These simple steps have helped even on the toughest nights to get him to lay down and go to sleep.

Not long after we moved, Aidan started getting panicky.  Every time we left the room, especially me, he would erupt in serious tears.  Some late night research showed that he’s at the ripe age of 9 months when babies go through separation anxiety.  OH GRIEF!  We’re working through that phase as well and things are much much better now.  Something that we’ve realized is that if we leave Aidan alone, it’s best to have some background music going to occupy him so that he doesn’t panic and he’s got something to pay attention to, especially since his toys just don’t make the grade (he doesn’t much care for toys).  Lots of reassurance helps as well.

Our latest sources of entertainment are watching Aidan point and identify people, him counting, learning his abc’s (he’s still on a), enjoying the swings and slides at the park and crawling full force.  Our latest challenge, learning how to get him to sleep through the night and make him independent of nursing to go sleep.

Wish me luck!

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Ever since we “ferber-ized” Aidan, I couldn’t help but feel that I was missing out on holding him and watching him fall asleep in my arms.  I felt conflicted.  I was happy that he was going to sleep independently at the same time, I missed feeling his small body cuddled up to mine or his head on my shoulder.

Well lately, I have a good blend.  For his afternoon nap, after we read a story, I hold Aidan for a bit, walk him around and on days that he’s especially wired, I hold him close and dance.  Anything from a gentle sway to the Foxtrot.  I watch as his eyes slowly drift to a close.  After a final kiss goodnight, he’s ready for his bed.

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After days of frustration and scouring the net for some new wisdom, I found the answer.  I chided myself for not figuring this out sooner as obvious as it was and under my nose the whole entire time.

I am now the wiser and want to share this advice with you in case you’ve been in the same position as me.

Why was Aidan fussing at naptime and bedtime and why was putting him to sleep such a hit and miss.  The answer….lack of quiet time.

So easily put by some wise parent (that had no doubt been in my shoes at some point in time), babies, like adults need quiet time to wind down before bed.

We had a routine (dinner, bath, bottle, in bed with singing and patting), but some nights were easier than others.  The not so easy nights, Aidan took up to 1 hour to go to sleep fussing and fighting the whole time.

The last few days and nights have been SOOOO much easier.  At naptime, I shut the door to our room, sit with Aidan in a clear space (i.e. no distractions or toys), sing him a song (Raindrops on roses….from Sound of Music), within minutes I’m rewarded with a yawn and the telltale rubbing of the eyes.  Once the song is done, Aidan gets nursed and he’s out.  The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.  Yippee!!!!

At night, the bedtime routine starts at 7pm with dinner (some solid food), then bath, then a bottle in a dimly lit room accompanied with a song.  Aidan arrives at the land of nod by 8:30 pm.

I have to say, I’m now a much calmer person and he’s happier for this routine as well.

To quote Archimedes…”Eureka!”

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A few weeks ago, my husband and I started an adapted version of the Ferber method, where rather than put my son down in the room and let him cry for a bit then check on him periodically, we would stay in the room, encourage him to sleep, pat his back and even sing to him until he did in fact fall asleep.  Now we share this room with Aidan, but his bedtime is 8:30 pm where as we get to stay up till later (yay adulthood).

For the first few days, it was anguish.  He fussed, fought and then after what seemed like an eternity, finally fell asleep.  Now I feel like we’ve gone from one bad habit to another.  Let me explain.  Before the Ferber method, we would rock, walk or do whatever it took to put Aidan to sleep, including holding him while he slept and then trying to put him down gently (if he’d let us).  Now instead of him being independent, he wants us to pat, sing and sit with him until he finally dains to go to sleep.  I feel like we’ve regressed completely.

I can’t bear to hear him cry and fuss (although I know it’s more of a manipulation thing), but at the same time, sitting with him for 30 + minutes is not ok.  We check on him and make sure he’s fed, safe, changed etc etc (using the checklist), but now I’m at a loss as to what it’s going to take to fix the problem.

This kid has enormous energy, even though I know he’s tired and exhibits the signs of fatigue.  He can fuss for more than an hour until he finally gets exhausted enough to fall asleep.

I’m looking for tactics to undo what I’ve done wrong and truly train him on falling asleep independently.  Nap-time is a whole ‘nother problem that I won’t even go into in this post!

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