Congratulations! It sounds like your baby may be ready for some gentle sleep strategies! The following articles will help you gently begin to use some sleep shaping strategies: • Begin to establish regular bedtime routine… • Make sure to have an optimal sleep environment that is consistent during your baby’s entire night stretch… • Keep lights, stimulation & interaction to a minimum… • A Dream Feed may be helpful at this stage… • You can begin to “Practice” putting your baby down Drowsy and Awake at sleep times… • Make a plan to get the rest you need… • Recreating the womb experience… • Lots of skin to skin and holding during the day… • Try to start your day at the same time every morning… What if what you are doing is not working for you?  This fourth month is challenging for many families. Sometimes these struggles are magnified by concerns that that parents are doing things wrong, concerns that the problems will...

If you have decided to swaddle your baby, the time will come to wean your baby out of the swaddle. Most babies don’t need to be swaddled past 4 months of age, although some will want to be swaddled beyond that. If your baby is rolling over or close to rolling over, swaddling can present a safety issue. Babies who are swaddled with their arms in will have more challenges repositioning themselves when they get in an uncomfortable or unsafe position. For most children the arms are the key component of swaddling. If your baby is swaddled with his arms out, you may find that switching to a sleep sack or just pajamas is not a problem at all. Here are some ways to help your baby learn to sleep without being swaddled: Cold Turkey This technique allows your child to learn a new way of soothing and sleeping all at once. Many children who are ready to be weaned off are already attempting at self soothing techniques (such as rubbing the face or suckling on his...

"Washing hands is one of the most important actions parents can take to prevent food-borne illness in their children." (FDA) Wash, wash, wash!! Everything that will come into contact with the food you’re about to prepare needs to be washed. This includes counters, pots and pans, blending tools, utensils, cutting boards and most importantly, your hands. The FDA guidelines that follow offer some tips to safely handle foods being prepared for babies. Ingredients: Start with good quality ingredients using fresh whenever possible. Frozen and canned foods can also be used but look for products without added sugar or salt. Never use: Dairy products made from raw, unpasteurized milk (they may contain bacteria that can cause serious illnesses) Honey (puts your baby at high risk for botulism, a very dangerous illness) Home-canned food (may contain harmful bacteria if it was canned improperly) Outdated canned food Food from dented, rusted, bulging, or leaking cans or...

When to start your baby on solid foods The World Health Organization recommends that solid foods are to be added to a baby’s diet to complement their milk after 6 months of age, increasing amounts until at least 9 months of age. Starting out with small amounts of food and gradually increasing to 2-3 meals a day by the 9th month. Some doctors are recommending solids as early as 4 months of age, but be sure to ask your doctor before introducing foods. Milk is still very important for the first 9 months and is a perfectly balanced and suited food for your baby. Feeding your baby his milk first and then offering solids 15 to 20 minutes later will ensure that your baby maintains balanced nutrition and that the solid foods remain a complement to milk. Solids don’t improve Sleep Many people think that starting solids will help a baby sleep longer in the night. At this young age it’s likely not true. What we do often see is sleep disruptions with babies who are starting solids....

Making your own baby food does not need to be time consuming and complicated. With the right tools you can prepare and serve the food right off your family dinner table. This way your baby will get used to what your family eats and you’ll know exactly what you’re feeding your baby. You can also prepare and store food specifically made for your baby. Either way, you’ll find that making your own baby food is easy and economical. Step One: wash and clean… Make sure everything, including your hands, is clean before you start. This includes counters, pots and pans, blending tools, utensils and cutting boards. Be sure to use soap (such as dish soap) and rinse any residue off your dishes. Have a cutting board for meats and a separate one for fruits & vegetables. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables you are preparing. Always wash your hands after handling meats. Step Two: cook and prepare… Most fruits and vegetables will need to be cooked to be softened...

Babies who are comforted or fed to sleep (or to a very drowsy state), will usually need that same support in the middle of the night to get back to sleep. If you have a practice of comforting your baby to sleep that is working for you, then you don’t need to worry about changing things at this young age. Rest assured that you won’t create any long-term habits in these early months that can’t be undone easily at a later age, especially if you tackle the association before your baby reaches 18 months of age. These early months can be challenging for both baby and family, so it is fine to go with the flow (if that is working for you). If you get to a place where your routine is no longer working for you, then you may want to try an technique listed below. If your baby cries, pick her up and go back to what has been working, then you can try again in a few weeks or months. Even babies who develop this skill early often regress, especially around 4 months, so it is not worth...

Your baby is ready to start solids if: She can sit up with a steady head without help She does not push solids out of her mouth with her tongue (tongue thrust reflex) She can swallow She can put things into her mouth She can pick things up using her thumb and finger She seems interested in food (watches you while you eat, reaches for food) She wants to put food in her mouth (turning her head away from the spoon means no!) Your baby is not necessarily ready to start solids if: She is unsatisfied after a feeding She wants to feed more frequently Increased waking in the night Chewing fists These signs that your baby is not necessarily ready to begin solids alone could also be an indication that she is sick, teething, having a growth spurt or experiencing other development milestones. Remember, her 4-month birthday is a major development milestone. At this age your baby may show an increased interest at the dinner table. However, this is not a sign...

Babies 4-5 months or age can often stay awake for 1.5 to 2 hours. If they stay awake longer than their wakeful window, it can make it more difficult to fall asleep, cause more restless sleep and be more difficult to stay asleep. Read steps 1 and 2 here. Step 3: Naptime Routines Often babies will benefit form a short naptime routine before going down to sleep. This routine should be less than 5 minutes long and can be an abbreviated form of the bedtime routine. Step 4: Catch up at the end of the day It is also important to make sure your baby does not get overtired before bedtime as well. Being awake too long at any time during the day causes elevated levels of cortisol which makes it more challenging to fall asleep and stay asleep and also fragments sleep cycles. Here are some common results of going to bed overtired:  Difficulty falling asleep (often taking 40-60 minutes) Burst of energy before bed Steady crying at bedtime (even when comforted) often lasts up to 60...

Every child will have a unique sleep schedule and ability. This is a challenging age to try to improve naps as things often get off track around 4 months of age and naps don’t develop consistently until around 6 months of age. It is usually easier for babies to learn sleep skills at bedtime and in the night before they can learn daytime sleep skills. Here are some steps to gently shape your babies naps to improve both the quality and quantity of his day sleep. The main goal for naps at this age is to prevent your baby from getting overtired. Babies who are awake for long periods of time have a tendency to get over-tired which can effect their mood and make it more difficult to fall asleep for the next sleep period as well as, cause fragmented sleep cycles resulting in shorter or restless naps. Step 1: Create an ideal day sleep environment Some babies will have no issues napping while out of the house and on the go in the car seat, stroller, or carrier. Often younger babies...

Keep things low key and calm during the day especially if your baby is very fussy. 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 them 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 day. What Tired Signs Look Like and When and How to Settle My Baby to Sleep Catching your baby’s...