Wrapping is soothing for some babies. It can also reduce the risk of SIDS by keeping babies on their backs during sleep. Babies can be wrapped from birth up until they can roll onto their tummies (4-6 months).
Not all babies like to be wrapped. Follow your baby’s cues, and don’t wrap if baby resists. An infant sleeping bag is a good alternative. Like wrapping, it helps keep babies on their backs, which reduces the risk of SIDS.
It’s not recommended to wrap babies who bed-share with their parents. This can cause overheating (a known cause of SIDS). Dress baby as you would dress yourself in this situation.
How to wrap your baby:
- Lay a blanket on a flat surface and fold down the top-right corner about 6 inches.
- Place your baby on his back with his head on the fold.
- Pull the corner near your baby's left hand across his body, and tuck the leading edge under his back on the right side under the arm.
- Pull the bottom corner up under your baby's chin.
- Bring the loose corner over your baby's right arm and tuck it under the back on his left side. If your baby prefers to have his arms free, you can swaddle him under the arms. This gives him access to his hands and fingers.
- Just make sure to keep the blanket away from the baby's face.
- Get up a half hour to an hour before you need to. This may sound ridiculous since the whole problem is that you don't want to wake up early but it's going to give you the time that you need to ease yourself into the day. Use this time to snooze the alarm once or twice and then get up and get going slowly.
- Do breathing exercises in bed. Many people find that a good way to get the blood flowing in the morning is to do some basic breathing exercises in the bed.
- Start stretching and get moving. In order to wake up, your body needs to get going. When you get out of bed, you should do some basic stretching. Try going out for a walk or doing some exercise indoors.
- Cool off. Your body wakes up easier if it's cool. Open some windows in the morning or turn a fan on. If you stay in a heated house with the blankets on, you're not going to want to wake up.
- Coffee. Some will say it's bad for you but it's a stimulant that will get you going in the morning and it's one that works for a lot of people. If you want to avoid coffee, try black tea or at least a big cold glass of water.
- Develop a routine. You should get up at about the same time every day no matter what your schedule is. You should also develop a morning routine that you always follow. You'll get used to just getting up and doing this and you'll be able to wake up and get going more easily.
- Make your bed. This should be a part of your daily routine. It gives a start to the day, makes you feel ready and makes it a lot harder to get back in there and sleep.
- Give yourself a reason to get up. Many people find that it helps to create a To Do list for the morning, something that you need to get up and be ready to do. Of course, it has to be something that you're not dreading so you won't want to avoid it. Plan to call a best friend (or better yet, meet her for breakfast) or plan to work on a fun project in the morning.
- Make sure you had enough sleep. Sure, there will be times when you have to wake up early after a long night but don't make it a habit. Make sure you go to bed early when you have to get up early so that you've gotten enough sleep and you can wake up.
Its very difficult to give bath to your infants without guidance. So I hope these tips will help all the moms to give bath to their infants. Its good to know about things attend them. My kid (Abhi) loves water and having bath.
Gather all of the supplies you will need and place them within arms' reach of where you will be bathing your baby.
- Adjust the temperature of the room you will be bathing baby in to make sure it is warm enough to comfortably accommodate a bare baby (around 75 degrees).
- Fill the infant tub with no more than 2 inches of warm water.
- Test the temperature of the water with your elbow, wrist or thermometer to ensure that it is only warm and not hot. The water should be no more than 100 degrees.
- Some infant tubs even come equipped with a special built-in thermometer that indicates if the water to too cold or too hot for your little one.
- Some infant tubs even come equipped with a special built-in thermometer that indicates if the water to too cold or too hot for your little one.
- Undress your baby and gently set him in the tub while making sure to keep him in a partially reclined position. You can purchase a bath sling to help keep baby positioned correctly.
- Keep one hand on your baby at all times. With your free hand, wet a soft washcloth or sponge and begin gently cleaning your baby. It's best to start with the "cleanest" parts first and save the diaper areas for last.
- Gently dab each area with the washcloth, instead of rubbing, which can irritate baby's sensitive skin. As you move to different areas of the baby, try to use a different spot on the washcloth on each part.
- Don't forget to pay special attention to the folds in baby's legs, arms and neck. These areas tend to build up "gunk" rather quickly so it is important to thoroughly them.
- Turn baby over on your arm to wash her backside. Be extra careful; a wet baby is a slippery baby.
- Use a second washcloth for rinsing your baby. Try rinsing each spot immediately after it has been cleaned, if you are using a mild soap and make sure to rinse completely clean.
- Washing your baby's hair, or scalp if he's a baldy, should be limited to once or twice a week. Use only a mild baby shampoo and rinse thoroughly.
- Remove baby from the tub carefully with both hands and immediately wrap in a dry towel or terry cloth infant robe. Pat her dry, don't rub, and redress her immediately.
