< Week 2 Tummy Time Tummy time is an incredibly important part of your infant's development. Tummy time not only prepares your baby for rolling over and crawling, but it also (perhaps more importantly) will help to strengthen your baby's neck and back muscles. Having good neck control will allow your baby to move her head, which will reduce the risk of SIDS. Additionally, these muscles are key for other large motor activities, such as sitting up, and eventually walking. For more information, please review the following tummy time videos from Pathways: Five Essential Tummy Time Moves Original source: Pathways.org Five Essential Tummy Time Moves Original source: Pathways.org Pathways.org is an incredible non-profit that utilizes evidence-based practice and multimedia as tools to promote each child’s fullest inclusion. They strive to empower parents with knowledge of the benefit of early detection and early intervention for children’s sensory, motor, and...
Recognizing Sleepy & Drowsy Cues
What Tired Signs Look Like and When and How to Settle My Baby to Sleep Catching your baby’s tired signs and getting them down before they are overtired will help in a smoother transition to sleep. Below are the cues and behaviors your baby will show you as they are getting tired. “I’m getting sleepy” and “Drowsy” cues: Decreased Activity Slower Motions Less Vocal Sucking becomes weak or slow Quieter Calmer Disinterested in Surroundings Eyes less Focused Drooping Eyelids Yawning Irregular Breathing *Crying can be a sign that your baby has become overtired Drowsiness serves as transition both in and out of sleep. Your baby will have a delayed response when in this state. If left alone – he may go to sleep or gradually awaken. This is a key time to start to soothe or put down to sleep. If it has been awhile since they have been up, then this would be a good time to put them down to sleep. Tip: Most babies between 0-8 weeks will...
Calming Your Baby
Recreating the womb experience can be very helpful in keeping your baby settled and calm and may assist in extending short sleep episodes. Try swaddling to help your baby feel snug and secure. Add some white noise during sleep times and keep the room dark when sleeping at night. Keep stimulation to a minimum and make sure to only use dim lights when tending to baby at night. During the day experiment with providing a cool, quiet, darkened space for your baby to sleep in to see if that helps them have a better, more restorative stretch. Some babies do better sleeping in the same room as mom so if your baby does better in the area where you are – try providing them with a nice, comfortable sleep space in the living area (bassinet, bouncy seat, swing or pack-n-play) that is in a quiet corner. Use a variety of ways to get your baby to sleep so she learns that there is more than one way to fall asleep. This will help things as she gets older so that she doesn’t always rely on...
Daytime Napping Strategies
Keep things low key and calm during these early weeks. Help your baby rest when she needs to by paying attention to when she is tired and helping her get to sleep during those periods Experiment with putting your baby in cool, quiet, dim place for naps to see if that helps him more for sleep Some babies do better while in the same room with mom with naps. Keep baby close by in bassinet in living area or take baby for morning/afternoon walk in carrier, stroller if sleep proves to be a challenge and see if a change of scenery can help lull them to sleep Observe what keeps your baby calm and what overstimulates them. Too much noise, or too many visitors or running errands can overload your baby’s system. If you notice your baby is becoming restless or inconsolable in the afternoons, evenings or overnight – take a look at what went on that...