Baby sleep training & scheduling caution

It's all exciting and new with your new baby but your are tired! 

 When is my baby going to sleep? Many books are now published on the topic of sleep training for babies which often include some form of allowing baby to cry it out or may include a system of scheduling. It's a huge topic and money maker for those out there teach training methods. I believe it's very important to understand from the beginning that all babies are individuals and are born with their own personality and disposition. One book or one ideology may not be your answer. What might work for one baby may not work for another.  Or for that matter it may work for one family may not work for another.  Things to consider when trying to "get baby to sleep"   

• It's normal to be tired with a newborn, sleep when the baby sleeps, even during the day
• Newborns shouldn't really be sleeping more than 2-3 hours at a time because they need to eat
• Get help from supportive friends or family, after you have fed the baby if baby is still awake let someone else watch him/her 
• It's normal for babies of all ages to want to be held - a lot, it's instinctual
• Six hours of continuous sleep is considered a full sleep through for a baby.
• Some babies naturally sleep more than others
• Some need help by rocking or soothing from parents
• Some get hungry and need to feed more frequently
• Allowing a baby to 'cry it out' is physiologically stressful on a babies delicate system
• Scheduled feedings was originally designed for formula fed babies, not breastfed babies. (Studies have noted that scheduling a breastfed baby often leads to an underweight baby at 6 months)
• Breastfeeding on demand is less stressful on mother and baby. Breastfeeding will not be on a predictable schedule. It's a myth that formula fed babies sleep longer. The latest studies have concluded that breastfeeding mom's get more sleep than formula feeding moms
• Swaddling is not recommened anymore because of the possible overheating of baby which can lead to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Sometimes you just have to accept that there is not always a magic bullet for your baby to sleep. Sometimes it's just patience and time.
• And remember you can be doing everything just right by your baby and your baby just doesn't want to sleep at that time.  If you think about sometimes you don't sleep for whatever reason, let's allow babies to be themselves and steer away from trying to "control the baby"
• Take what you read with a grain of salt and test it with what research and safety experts say

Good night LOL

Having a baby? Take a look at this. Open your mind, I encourage you to think or peak outside the box.

Orgasmic Birth web page and trailer

http://www.orgasmicbirth.com/

Pregnant Women have Rights!

Happy New Year 2012!

  Did you know that every pregnant woman has RIGHTS? Yup

• Every woman has the right to......
• health care before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth
• choose a midwife or a physician as her materinity care provider.
• choose her birth setting from the full range of safe options available in her community.
• receive all or most of her maternity care from a single caregiver or a small group of caregivers that she can establish a relationship with and she has the right to leave that caregiver and select another.
• information about her caregivers identity and qualifications.
• communicate in privacy with her caregiver.
• receive maternity care that identifies and addresses social and behavioral factors that affect her health and that of her baby.
• full and clear information about benefits, risks and costs of procedures, drugs, tests and treatments offered to her including no intervention.
• accept or refuse procedures, drugs, tests and treatments.
• be informed if the caregivers wish to enroll her and her infantin a research study
• unrestricted access to all available records about her health and that of the baby.
• receive maternity care that is cultrally and religiously appropriate.
• have family members and friends of her choice present during maternity care.
• receive continuous social, emotional and physical support during labour and birth from a trained professional Birth Doula
• receive full advanced information on the risks and benefits of available medication for pain management during labour and the right to change her mind if she chooses not to use what is offered.
• freedom of movement during labour.
• receive complete information about the benefits of breastfeeding in advance of labour.
• decide collaboratively with caregivers when to leave the birth site for home.
• every woman and infant has the right to receive care that is consistent with current scientific evidence about benefits and risks.

Spa and labour

Spa and Labour? I try to encourage couples to think outside the box. Think about what you would like your atmosphere to be like during labour. I suggest that women should and can have a spa like experience complete with massage, facial, warm bath, music. I am sure initially the idea of labour atmosphere conjures up the idea of obstetric machines, bright lights and sterile room but it doesn't have to be all like that. Most caregivers suggest first and foremost to try to labour at home as long a possible. Some experts have suggested that a labouring women should have a birth setting that is like the love making room.....low lights, romantic music, warm bath, candles (battery operated of course). Why? Because women respond better in an atmosphere of private, safe and undistured atmospheres.

Also, what would you like it to be like for your baby when he or she makes it's first appearance upon the outside world. Wouldn't you like the first few minutes to be warm, calm and welcoming? So take some time to think about what you want your labouring atmosphere to be like. Think about things you could bring to the hospital to create a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere. Now take that thought and put it into action. Start your "labour tool bag" today.

Birth the Universal holiday

We are now in the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa season. I acknowledge all these holiday traditions. In an era that everyone is trying to be politically correct it is right and proper to a respect people's holiday traditions. Birth on the other hand is an everyday event but is extraordianary for the family. It's a miracle, a blessing and is often life changing. The birth of a baby is usually remembered annually which not only marks a passage of time but acknowledges this person is special, alive and worth remembering. Birth is universal and happens every minute somewhere in the world. After all the hard work of birthing the baby a mother deserve a little holiday. Birth of a Baby, Birth of a Mother. 

Entenox for labour

Entenox during labour can be very useful. What is Entenox you ask?

Dr. Mike Tunstall invented Entenox which revolutionized the control of labour pains for millions of women around the world. Entenox is also know as "Gas and Air" because it is 50% nitrous oxide and 50% air. It's relatively cheap form of pain relief and can be an effective way to reduce pain sensations during labour. It is also used by other health care professionals in acute trauma.

How is it administered during labour? The labouring women controls the use. She places a small mask over her mouth and nose or uses a mouth peice and inhales deeping just as she feels a contraction just starting to build. She continues breathing till the contraction is gone and then she will remove the mask or mouth piece. Sometimes it take a couple, three, four tries to get the hang of it. For some it may smell a bit strange and feel abit strange having something covering your nose but with proper support it can be very helpful.

Benefits: Entenox tanks are transportable so you can use it in the bath or shower or even down the hall if you go for a walk. Because it's short acting if you decide it's not for you then you could stop it and then breathe it right out of system. Effects on the baby? None because it is rapidly elminated out of the baby once the baby takes its first breath. It can be used for 1st and 2nd stage of labour. Entenox doesnn't affect labour.

Possible side effects for the mother: claustirophobia, nausea, dizziness, disorientation.

It's certainly worth trying especially if you are trying to avoid the more invasive forms of pain management.

Babies Benefit from Labour

You've had a long hard labour and much to your total disappointment you had to have an emergency c-section. Afterwards you think to yourself, what was the point of all that labouring and then I end up with a c-section. Actually there is a point, babies benefit from labour! Here's how:

• Labour helps baby breathe. The hormones released during labour increase important elements in the baby's lung which help the lungs stay expanded after birth, it also helps the baby clear the amniotic fluid out.
• Labour stress helps pump more blood to the baby's brain, hear and kidney.
• Labour sends increased energy supply to the baby to help the baby keep satisfied until the transitional milk comes in on day three.
• Labour increases the hormones that aid in bonding. Babies often arrive in the quiet alert state which helps babies be more responsive to their parents in the first hour or so. Hormones are directly responsible for that.
• Labour increases the white blood cells generated during labour which helps increase the baby's immunity