Baby’s firsts. Every parent waits breathlessly for them to
happen and sheds tears of joy when they do. As we wait for
these big moments, there are many little firsts that will
be happening; many of these important firsts deal with
babies’ sleeping habits.
As a parent, how do you know when your children can go
through the night without a feeding, when they can begin
sleeping on their stomach, or when they can sleep with a
blanket?
Sometimes it seems like getting your child to go through
the night without a feeding can take forever. However,
according to experts, ninety percent of healthy children
should be able to go through the night without a feeding
within six months.
Children should be comfortable for six or more hours of
sleep without waking up hungry. You need to wean your child
off nighttime feedings around this time to help them
separate sleep and food so that your baby can wake up
without needing to be fed. A good way to do this is to
begin feeding your child smaller amounts when he wakes up
at night.
Around six months, your child will begin to have many
firsts. One of these is that your baby should begin being
able to sleep on her stomach. By this time, your child will
be able to roll from her back to her stomach, so you will
really have little control over it anyway.
However, babies should not sleep on their tummies before
this time, because the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS) peaks between 2 and 4 months. Continue putting your
children to bed by laying them on their back, since SIDS is
a risk until around 12 months.
At every baby shower you will probably get at least one
lovely blanket for your baby. Although these are wonderful
and can be used for decoration, your child should not begin
sleeping with a blanket until around 12 months.
Many babies who die from SIDS are found lying on their
stomachs covered by a blanket or soft cover. Since babies
are not able to safely use all these wonderful gifts until
around 12 months, dress babies in a warm blanket-like
sleeper to keep them comfortable at night.
Although we always hear about the big firsts, some of the
small firsts are very special as well. Specifically when it
comes to these nighttime firsts, your knowledge concerning
your baby’s ability to do these things helps you keep your
child safe, healthy, and happy.
Beth Hayward’s articles on topics related to babies and
parenting are published at RK Baby , a premier
resource on-line for baby information. For addtional
articles by Beth, visit Flowers eShop and First Class Wedding