You’ve just spent a good part of the evening preparing your baby for bed. As she falls asleep in your arms you tenderly place her in her cot; her eyes flash open and she screams the house down. So you lift her and start all over again.

Routine is a great teacher. But getting into one is not so easy.  It takes time and perseverance on your part. But at the end of the day it makes for a happy family.

Try to have a set bedtime. As it approaches, watch for signs that your baby is getting tired. She may cry for a prolonged period and only settle when you lift her. Or she may rub her eyes or pull at her ears. Try to notice such signs, because if she gets over-tired it will become more difficult to settle her.

A warm bath can be a wonderful way to prepare baby for sleep. Avoid playing with the baby during her bedtime bath. You do not want to get her excited as this will have the opposite effect to that intended. Simply trickle some warm bath water over her as she lies in the bath.  After bathing, many babies are very receptive to a baby massage. There are lots of good baby massage books available which show you a variety of massage techniques.

After her massage, give baby a cuddle and dress her for bed. Keep your movements slow; this will ensure she stays calm.  Some babies enjoy a feed before sleeping, so you may like to feed her after her bath. If she is breastfed she may fall asleep on the breast. It is best to waken her before placing her in her cot as babies can get frightened if they awaken in different surroundings to those in which they fell asleep.

Leave a small, dim, night-light on so that baby will not be frightened if she awakens later on.  It is also a good idea to play a soothing lullaby CD and leave it playing quietly on repeat. Play the same CD every night and baby will begin to look forward to bedtime.
Avoid keeping the whole house silent. Babies need to learn to sleep through some noise.

Within two or three nights most babies stop protesting and have learnt what bedtime means. Many happily lie down and fall straight to sleep once the routine is established. As a result your baby will be happier and so will your family.

Goodnight!

6:38 PM | Talkin', Tips | 1 Comment »

Have you ever think back to your childhood and remember using those large plastic hoops to have a little fun as they rolled around your waist line. I know many of us figured that they had died out by the time we left primary school and never to be heard of again. That’s not the case because the reality is, hula hoops are making a come back but not as a toy instead they are becoming somewhat of an exercising icon for people looking to enjoy getting and staying fit.

Hula hooping in your daily routine will come with some astonishing health benefits not to mention add a little fun to an otherwise dull exercise routine.  Many people are beginning to discover that hula hooping is also an excellent all around workout with an emphasis on the tummy or abdominal muscles.

Hula hooping really can be a great full body workout, although the main concentration of the hoop is in the mid section, working to strengthen abdominal muscles, tighten the stomach and even lose some weight along the way. By simply moving the hula hoop to different points on the body we are able to get that full body workout. For instance, we want to tone our arms, roll the hoop up around the arm and move it in a circular motion, making sure to keep the hoop going, almost immediately we will begin to feel the burn that we all love to hate.

Here are some things to keep in mind to benefit the most:

1. When it comes to hula hooping, the name of the game is to keep it moving. The longer we keep moving, the more exercise we will get and more calories we will burn.

2. Place the hoop in the area we wish to workout. Place it lower down on the waist to work the hips, thighs and buttocks. Place it on the arms to work the arms, the legs to works the legs and so on.

3. Consider trying a dance routine as we are hula hooping for a more strenuous workout.

The truth of the matter is, hula hooping is a great workout for the whole family, and always has been we just didn’t realize it.

8:50 AM | Health, Talkin', Tips | No comments