| Teaching your baby proper sleeping habits is one | | | | you notice any of these signs, immediately put |
| of the most important things you can provide as | | | | your baby to bed.Babies will often cry when they |
| a parent. Newborns require sixteen to eighteen | | | | are first put to bed. Try to ignore light crying that |
| hours of sleep each day. Lack of sleep can cause | | | | lasts under fifteen minutes. It may seem like a |
| them to be temperamental, causing undo stress | | | | long time, but if you immediately go to them |
| on them and the parents. When babies sleep, not | | | | when they start crying, they will learn that the |
| only are they getting the physical rest they need, | | | | crying brings them attention - especially if you |
| they grow, their brains and immune system | | | | pick them up and rock them, trying to get them |
| develop and they process information. Establishing | | | | to sleep. That's not to say that you should ignore |
| healthy sleeping patterns, right from the beginning, | | | | a screaming baby. If you must go in and check |
| will assure your baby receives the rest they | | | | on them, keep your interaction minimal. Pat them |
| require.A vital step in learning when to sleep is | | | | lightly, check their diaper (changing them in bed if |
| helping your baby distinguish between daytime and | | | | necessary) and do not turn on any lights. Then |
| nighttime. Daytime is when you want your baby | | | | quickly leave once you have established that |
| to be awake, so during this time make sure to | | | | everything is all right.One more tip for helping your |
| keep your baby stimulated. Feed and play with | | | | baby sleep well, especially newborns, is to swaddle |
| your baby during these times, keep your | | | | them. Swaddling is wrapping your baby tightly in a |
| surroundings well lit, and conduct business as usual. | | | | blanket, which is how most babies sleep in the |
| This will help your child understand that during | | | | hospital. It prevents them from rolling around too |
| daylight hours they should be awake. Newborns | | | | much and keeps those sudden sleeping "jerks" |
| will still sleep during the day but soon they will | | | | from jarring them awake. It also seems to |
| outgrow that sleep pattern and you want to | | | | comfort them, possibly reminding them of the |
| firmly establish the difference between the two | | | | confines of the womb.Establishing healthy sleep |
| times.On the other hand, nighttime is for sleeping. | | | | patterns from the beginning will only help you and |
| To help your baby prepare for nighttime sleeping, | | | | your child as they grow older. Getting them into a |
| do not excite them, keep the lights low, and keep | | | | routine early will help dictate how well they sleep |
| noise to a minimum. Try to establish a routine | | | | as they down the road. It's never too soon to |
| with your baby that prepares them for sleep, | | | | get started on the right path.Terry J. Coyier is a |
| such as feeding them, then reading them a story | | | | 37-year-old college student studying for an |
| or listening to soft music. Also, follow your baby's | | | | Associates of Applied Sciences degree. She is also |
| cues that let you know they are tired. Often | | | | a freelance writer. She lives with her son in the |
| babies will rub their eyes, pull on their ears or | | | | Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. This article has been |
| even develop red eyelids or a slight circle under | | | | submitted in affiliation with which is a site for |
| their eyes when they become sleepy. AS soon as | | | | Baby Names. |