Hi to all,

Thanks for visiting with me today! So far we have discussed alot of different topics here, I hope that this blog is helping you in some way! Please feel free to post any suggestions that you may have to help me enhance this blog. Let me know what you the reader would like to see here! Now today I am going to talk about naptime with your little one. Lets face it sleeping is somthing your baby does alot of. However as babies get older they tend to adjust their schedule, it is important for any new parent to know that what your baby did last week may change on you today. Just when you and your infant has finally gotten into a schedule bang she decides she wants to change that. Remember babies grow very fast in the first years so they change as they mature. Welcome your babies changes as this is a sign that they are maturing and that is a good thing! I welcome your questions and comments so please feel free to post anything you wish under comments. You can also send me and email to MelidaCohen@CareForMyBaby.com. Make sure you visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how you can learn all you need to know for your baby's first year of life. Happy Reading!

How to Get Your Baby to Sleep at Naptime
By: Melida Cohen

Naptime is a very important issue when you have a newborn. Did you know that a infant spends 16-20 hours of their day asleep? That is over 75% of the day so you can see that this is a important issue. Your baby will generally let you know when she is tired however below are a few guidelines you can follow with your newborn.

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 overstimulated, 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 overstimulated.
• 
  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!

3. Make naptime a routine by always doing the same thing at naptime such as turning off the lights. or singing a certain song. Do this whenever possible this way your baby will know that this means it is naptime

Remember your baby will always give you clues when she is tired. Your baby might do a huge yawn, or rub her eyes. Pay attention to these clues this way baby can sleep when tired. A baby that is not well rested will usually be very cranky! However keep in mind that with our sometimes busy lives it may be hard to put baby down for a nap, for example if you are out on a shopping trip. Do not beat yourself up over these times and do not feel bad it is ok to break your baby's routine, if your baby is tired she will go to sleep in the car seat or stroller! Always remember to cherish your time with your precious baby and do not fret when she misses a nap!

Again thanks for visiting today! I hope that you leave here with a little more knowledge about babies. Do not forget that you can visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how you can learn all you need to know about baby's first year!

Until Next Time!

Melida Cohen

Hi to all!

Thanks for taking the time out and visiting today! I hope that the post today will enrich your life with your new bundle of joy in some way! Now today's discussion will be on Breast Feeding. This is a touchy situation with new moms and moms to be. Breastfeeding your new baby can seem to be scary to a new mom. However this is one of the things our beautiful bodies were built for. Breastfeeding is considered to be best for baby, bottle feeding is second best and is good also. I have three children and I have actually done them both. In the beginning breastfeeding can be hard and difficult, the first few days can be very discouraging. Do not fret though because after a short while this will become second nature to you as a mom! It can be a very rewarding time with baby, so take this time out as time to bond with your little one. It is also very relaxing, and remember it is ready made and already packaged so feeding times become a snap! Trust me after a while you will actually began to look forward to this very intimate time with your new infant. To all of you moms who bottle feed I will put a post about this subject up for you also. Remember feeding time, no matter which way you do it is a special time with baby. Plus this time is what helps to keep baby healthy and make baby grow big and strong! If you have any questions, comments or something that you would like to share with new moms feel free to post under comments. You can also send me and email to MelidaCohen@CareForMyBaby.com with any questions you may have. Remember to visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how to learn all you need to know for your baby's first year of life and do not forget to sign up for my valuable newsletter below. Happy Reading!

Breastfeeding My Baby, Where do I Start?
By: Melida Cohen

Congratulations you have a new baby! Having a new baby is hard enough but when you choose to breastfeed you sometimes feel that you made this experience even harder. Breastfeeding is not as difficult as it looks or as you may have heard from others. It is actually pretty easy and a very fulfilling way to nourish your newborn once you get the hang of it. Remember as with most things practice makes perfect! Breastfeeding is new to you and to your little one but with a little practice you two will become pros in no time!

During the first week of your baby’s life, your breasts will produce colostrum for your baby to drink. Colostrum is rich in antibodies and aids the baby’s immune system. It also helps him pass his first bowel movement, which is called meconium. Meconium is black and tarry looking and is in the first few diapers after birth. Then he begins to transition to a brown substance and after your milk comes in, it becomes a yellow, mustardy stool that is loose and watery. Bottle-fed babies pass firmer, tannish stools than breastfed babies.

After 24-48 hours after birth, your baby will start having wet diapers that will increase to two or three a day.

Your technique and positioning is a very important factor in ensuring that your breastfeeding experience is a great one. There are a few different positions that can be used to make the experience more comfortable for you and baby. Some of these positions include:

• Laying down - Lay down on you side with pillows behind you to support your back. Lay baby facing you with her head on a pillow your breast should be level with baby’s mouth. Bend your legs with a pillow between your knees and then have baby latch on.

• Sitting Up – Sit up either in bed or a comfortable chair or couch with pillows supporting your back and head. Place a pillow on your lap and put baby on top of the pillow in your arms, you can rest your arms on the pillow to make it easier to bring baby up to your breast. Bend your knees to make this even easier have baby latch on.

• The Clutch Hold – This is also known as the football hold. This position is also good when nursing twins as it allows mom to have a baby on each side. Sit down and tuck your baby under your arm almost like a handbag. Rest baby’s head on a firm pillow on your lap. Ensure that baby’s feet are behind your back. Your hand is at the back of baby’s neck, not on baby’s head. Your arm will extend down baby’s back , guide baby to latch on.

At the bottom of this post you will find pictures illustrating the techniques listed above as well as additional techniques.

These are just a few of the positions that you can use there is also the cradle hold, clutch hold, and the transition position. Do some research to learn these other positions to nurse your baby if you find the above positions uncomfortable.

While your baby drinks colostrum and then milk, you should listen for a pattern of “suck, suck, suck, swallow.” This pattern will be rhythmic and there should be no “clicking” noises. The “clicking” sound can indicate that your baby is not properly latched on and may not be getting enough milk from you. If you start to hear this, you need to unlatch him and then reattach him. If you continue to hear this sound after reattaching him several times, then you may want to consult a lactation consultant or your pediatrician.

After the first week of life, you should see 6-8 wet diapers each day and at least 3 bowel movements a day. His urine should be clear and he should become more alert with each passing day. Your baby should also be gaining weight and growing, as this is the surest way to tell that they are getting enough nutrition. If you have two days in a row that deviates from the above indicators, then you should call your pediatrician immediately.

Breastfeeding problems, such as milk production difficulties, are not as common when using the PDF feeding method, but they do occur. Even if you are well rested, eating healthy, have a pretty routine life, and your baby is growing and getting enough food, you still may experience a milk production issue. Many things can cause production problems. Here are just a few. Some things that can affect your milk supply are:

• What mom eats

• How much mom rests and sleeps

• Her state of mind

• The age of the mom

• How many children you have

• Your desire to breastfeed

• Your nursing capabilities

• Your nursing techniques

• Baby’s latch on abilities

If you choose to breastfeed, it is very important that you take your baby for their check-ups as needed. If you don’t, how will you know if he is getting enough milk and growing at the correct rate? There is no way for you to tell that your child is getting enough nutrition for sure without your child being weighed.

I hope that this post was helpful to you in some way, shape, or form! Remember that you can visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how to learn all you need to know for your baby's first year!

Talk to ya soon!

Melida Cohen

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for visiting my blog today! I hope that the information you find here today will help you in your life someway. Today we will discuss tidbits on issues that are significant to new parents. I will discuss a few issues such as bathing your new baby. In future post I will go into more depth on each of the topics discussed in this particular post. Being a new parent or and expectant one is scary and every little bit of information that you receive will help and ease any fears you may have. So sit back and read todays post also please feel free to post any questions or concerns you may have about new baby care or as and expectant parent under comments. You can also send me and email to MelidaCohen@CareForMyBaby.com with any questions you may have. Remember to visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how to learn all you need to know for your baby's first year of life and do not forget to sign up for my valuable newsletter below! Enjoy!

Baby Care Tidbits
By: Melida Cohen


New parents face many problems and issues that they are expected to understand and deal with immediately. Unfortunately, newborns do not come with an instruction book so here are a few topics that you may need to know about.

Bathing your baby: Until your baby’s umbilical cord falls off one to two weeks after their birth, only give her sponge baths. A cotton ball or cotton swab dampened with alcohol can help to dry the umbilical stump or follow your pediatrician’s directions. After the stump falls off, you can give him a bath in a sink or shallow tub.

Caesarian delivery: A caesarian is usually performed to make delivery safer for you or your baby. C-sections can be done for many different reasons including stalled labor, complicated labor, problems with the baby that may make delivery difficult, or other problems. It does not matter if you deliver vaginally or by a caesarian section, you are still a mother with a beautiful new blessing.

Circumcision: Many doctors agree that there may be some benefit to circumcision, but it may not be absolutely necessary. It may help to lower the risk of urinary tract infections and eliminates just about any chance of penile cancer. Circumcision does not cause long-term emotional problems for your child.

Crib death (SIDS): Many studies have been done regarding SIDS. Although the cause of SIDS has not been definitely defined, there are some correlations that have been made between SIDS and the following things:

Male babies are more likely to die from SIDS than females

Prematurity makes it more likely

Minority children are affected by it more often than non-minorities

More children of young, single mothers die from it

Children who live in a home with one or more smokers are more likely to be affected

Some people say that sleeping with your baby can reduce the risk of SIDS, but the American Academy of Pediatrics disagree with this statement and go on to say that there is a greater risk of SIDS in babies who co-sleep.

Back sleeping is what most pediatricians recommend for babies to decrease the SIDS risk. The reason for this is widely debated between health experts. If you have concerns, talk to your pediatrician.

I hope that you found this post beneficial! Remember that you can visit www.CareForMyBaby.com to find out how to learn all you need to know for your baby's first year! Goodbye...

Melida Cohen