New Ottawa Mom - Ann Douglas Archive

Baby Body Language: The Basics

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 12:31:42 -0700

Your baby didn’t come packaged with an owner’s manual, but her body language can tell you plenty, including what she wants and needs from you. Some of those early body signals are hard-wired—more instinctual than intentional—but as grows little older she’ll use her body language to communicate a whole lot more. Here’s a quick guide to baby body language.

“One moment my one month old will be almost asleep. Then suddenly, for no reason at all, she’ll fling her arms and legs out and start wailing.”

Your baby is startling in response to a noise or a movement. Try blocking out some of the background noise (a white noise machine works amazingly well) and swaddling your baby in a light-weight blanket so she’ll be less likely to startle herself awake. By the time your baby is five or six months old, your baby will have outgrown this particular reflex and sleeping more soundly. “

Eight sleep strategies - by Ann Douglas

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 13:59:32 -0700

Sleep scientists have identified eight sleep strategies that are effective in encouraging healthy sleep habits in babies and young children:

1. Learn to spot and respond to your child’s sleep cues at each age and stage—during the baby, toddler, and preschool years. You want to ensure that your child is benefiting from adequate sleep.

2. Teach your baby to distinguish between night and day and expose your baby to sunlight to help reinforce your baby’s natural circadian rhythms (the body’s built in sleep/wake “clock”).

3. Establish a consistent, predictable, soothing bedtime routine during the newborn phase, and allow this routine to evolve as your child becomes an older baby, toddler, and a preschooler. You will find this easier to accomplish if you provide a sleep environment that is sleep-enhancing.

Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 14:40:58 -0700

By Ann Douglas

The Top 12 Sleep Strategies for Parents of Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

Make sure that your child is getting adequate sleep.
Begin your child’s bedtime routine when your child is sleepy but not overtired.
Use the power of daylight to reset your child’s sleep-wake clock.
Provide your child with a sleep environment that is sleep enhancing.
Make sure your child’s sleep environment is safe, too.
Teach your child how to soothe himself back to sleep, and be aware how sleep associations affect your child’s sleep habits.