eat, play, sleep

Eat, play, sleep ... that is all your little one and YOU need do for at least the first 6 weeks!

When they are very young eat, play, sleep happens often. Sleeping takes up most of the time, next to eating and play is only for very short periods during the day.

As babies get older, anytime from 6 weeks on (or in my son's case at 3 and a half months of age) babies can and do stretch out their feeds during the night and sleep up to 6 hours quite easily.

Remember an older waking baby may not always be hungry (he may need a little soother, stroking for reassurance). Try and not pick them up or talk to them when they have woken during the night as this will send them a confusing message. They may think they are getting up to eat and play again. A hungry baby will not take a soother for too long before he is crying again.

eat
Milk feeds can be every 2 to 3 hours and last up to 40 minutes. As your newborns gets older you may notice they feed more quickly. By 6 weeks of age my son was done with one side of the breast in 10 minutes, sometimes less.

play
To encourage a burp, gently stroke the back of your baby, in an upwards motion on the left side. Ensure you are stroking their back well above the kidney area. Chat or sing to your little one. My son enjoyed being held with his arms up and over the top of my shoulder (while waiting for him to burp).

This is all part of play.

Sing a song, say a nursery rhyme or read a book. It is never to early to start reading to your child.

sleep
Then get ready to change their diaper (make it a short time of play), sing a little more, give them a cuddle and talk about getting ready to go to sleep.

At 8.5 months of age I still sing this little song to my son (while signing to him) to the tune of 'Frére Jacques' after changing his diaper ready for bed...

"Are you sleepy? Are you sleepy?
Baby mine, Baby mine,
Now it's time for bed, Now it's time for bed,
Time to sleep, Time to sleep

Try putting your baby down to sleep within 20 to 30 minutes of a feed. Watch for the signs that your little one is ready to sleep. Are they rubbing their eyes, pulling their ears, or giving a small yawn. The sooner you can put them to bed after catching that first sign of sleepiness the easier it will be for you, and baby will go off to sleep well.

Awake time = 1 to 1.5 hours (up to 3 to 4 months of age)
Sleep time = 2 to 3 hours (up to 3 to 4 months of age)

For extra help and ideas go to http://www.thesleepstore.co.nz for articles on baby sleep.