4 Effective Tips To Help Your Newborn Sleep At Night

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The journey of motherhood is a beautiful one. However, it is safe to say that it can be challenging, especially when you have a newborn. Newborns do not run on your existing schedule, making sticking to your regular routine challenging. As a mom, you need to get as much rest for the tough days ahead as you need to conquer, but this can be challenging with a baby who struggles to sleep at night. Fortunately, you can get your newborn to sleep at night with the right tips. Here are a few ways to do so. 

1. Keep your baby’s crib close by your bed

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According to experts, one way of ensuring that your baby gets a good night's sleep is to let them sleep in the same room as you. This is not to say they would have to lie on the bed. Instead, you can simply move their bassinet or cot into your room. With them sleeping by you, you can check on your child periodically. This encourages safe sleeping as you can determine if the baby is uncomfortable and resolve it immediately. It also prevents the risk of injury and fatal phenomena such as sudden infants death syndrome (SIDS). 

2. Ensure they are snug and warm

Just like you, your baby would struggle to sleep at night if they are uncomfortable in their cot or bassinet. Therefore, you must ensure that their mattress is soft and baby-friendly before purchasing or before the baby comes home. Additionally, you should ensure that the room is sleeping-inducing. For example, a cooler temperature would likely make your baby more comfortable. For some babies, swaddling helps them fall asleep faster. Swaddling is simply wrapping the baby up in light, breathable material, such as muslin swaddles, to keep your baby calm and sleepy. When swaddling your baby, be sure not to wrap them up too tightly, and remember to place them on their backs when swaddling.

3. Watch out for signs of tiredness

To ensure your baby sleeps at night, you must determine if they are tired enough. The last thing you want is to place your active baby in the crib because they won’t fall asleep soon. An effective way of determining if your child is ready for bed is by watching out for signs of tiredness. Babies have several signs to indicate they are tired. These include rubbing eyes, fussing, and crying. Responding to these signs swiftly would ensure your baby gets to bed and begins sleeping early. 

4. Create a routine before bed

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Your newborn baby doesn’t know the difference between day and night time. Therefore, they can sleep at any time during the day and be wide awake at night. In this case, create a routine with your newborn, especially before bed. For instance, you can give them a nice warm bath before bed or ensure you feed them before to prevent them from waking up in the middle of the night due to hunger. You should also consider singing them a lullaby each night to keep them relaxed for sleep.

Brown Sugar Sugar Cookie Recipe

A classic cookie get a delicious deep flavor with this recipe for brown sugar sugar cookies! This cookie is perfect for a fall day. Make a batch to savor over coffee with a friend, or as the ultimate after school snack for the kids. The entire family is sure to love this easy cookie.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Cookie Ingredients:

2 ⅓ cup flour

1 stick of softened butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup of sugar

1 large egg

⅓ cup of maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoon maple extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons of milk

2 teaspoons of maple extract

Directions:

Cream butter and both sugars together. Beat for 2 minutes.

Add egg, continue to mix for 1 minute and then add maple syrup.

As you are mixing add the vanilla and maple extracts.

Begin adding the flour, baking soda, salt. During this step I like to switch from my mixer to a mixing spoon to stir as the dough will be very creamy and soft and a little sticky.

Chill in the refrigerator for 90 minutes.

When you remove the dough from the fridge, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use a cookie scooper to form balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet, 2” apart.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

I added a basic drizzle to our cookies to give them a little extra sweetness and they looked even yummier!

Serve these with milk or coffee. 

You can bake them ahead of time and freeze them, or you can freeze the dough if you like, and then you can bake them as needed. I

If you plan to freeze before baking, scoop your cookie dough out, freeze on a cookie sheet then transfer to a zipper seal bag.

Mark the flavor, baking time and temp with a permanent marker. I always set 6 cookies aside for baking later, you NEVER know when a cookie craving is going to strike HA!

You can find more yummy recipes here.

Mint Chocolate Chip S'mores

Nashville Hot Chicken Fried Potatoes

Strawberry Syrup

Sunflower Stamped Pumpkin Patch Art

 

This adorable pumpkin patch art is great for kids of all ages! Made with simple supplies like paint, paper and a sunflower head, this is a great way to create art using nature!

Harper and I love to paint together. We have been crafting side by side since she was just a tiny toddler, strapped into a high chair for safety. We have painted pineapples, apples, baskets of fruit and even Christmas trees. We usually use corks to create our process art, but we had a bouquet of sunflowers that had seen better days, and well, inspiration hit.

We decided our fridge just had to have a pumpkin patch scene. We are all about creating refrigerator masterpieces . 

Supplies:

Orange paint

Green paint

A sunflower head

White paper

A paper plate

Pour orange paint and a small amount of green paint onto a paper plate.

Invite your child to press the sunflower head into the orange paint.

Encourage your child to press the sunflower onto the paper.

Use a stem, petal, or other small item to form the stem of the pumpkin with the green paint.

Allow the paint to dry, then

These were so much fun to make! And I think they turned out really cute! Harper was very proud of her efforts. Preschoolers can handle this project, as well as elementary aged kids like Harper. Your kids might also like to draw little pumpkin faces on these after they have dried.

I hope you get a chance to try this project with your family, it is the perfect project for a fall afternoon!

Find more fall ideas here.

A Parent's Guide to Navigating Everyday Hazards with Your Child

 As parents, your greatest priority is to keep your children safe in every aspect of life. From the moment they come into your lives, you hold their tiny hands, guide their steps, and do everything you can to shield them from harm. 

But let's face it; your world can sometimes feel like a never-ending maze of risks and challenges. Navigating these challenges may leave you feeling overwhelmed.

Don’t worry! We're here to provide you with the knowledge and guidance to keep your little ones safe and sound.

Let's get started!

Tripping and Slipping Risks

Whether at home or out in public, be aware of the issues, such as slippery surfaces or clutter, that lead to slips and falls. 

To prevent such mishaps at home, keep walkways clear, use non-slip mats in high-risk areas like the bathroom, and promptly address any spills or wet surfaces. 

And when you're out, watch for uneven pavements, slippery surfaces, or objects in your path. Unfortunately, accidents can still occur despite your best efforts. 

Imagine you're in a mall in Atlanta with your child, enjoying a day of shopping and fun. Suddenly, your child slips on a wet floor, and you notice no caution board is placed. According to the Atlanta slip and fall attorney, you may be eligible for compensation in such distressing situations caused by the negligence of mall managers. Of course, to determine your eligibility, you’ll need to consult a law firm. 

Playground Safety Considerations

Kids love to have fun, develop physical skills, and socialize in playgrounds. However, uneven surfaces or poorly maintained equipment can pose dangers, such as tripping or falls from slides and swings. 

Therefore, to ensure safety, select playgrounds that meet safety standards and suit your child's age group. Moreover, active supervision plays a crucial role in preventing accidents and injuries. Parents should closely monitor their children while they play.

And for added protection, you can provide them with knee pads and helmets, especially if they are involved in activities like biking or rollerblading. 

Road and Pedestrian Safety Awareness

Road and pedestrian safety awareness is crucial in keeping your little ones safe. As parents, one of the fundamental lessons you can teach your children is the importance of looking both ways before crossing the road. 

Encourage them to stop, look left, then right, and look left again to ensure no vehicles are approaching. It's a simple but powerful habit that can save lives. 

Also, you can emphasize using crosswalks whenever possible and the importance of walking on sidewalks to avoid traffic. 

Other Dangers at Home

Little ones, with their curious nature, can unknowingly put themselves at risk. They get attracted to electrical outlets, cords, appliances, and substances like cleaning products and medicine. All these need your attention. 

To safeguard against electrical risks, childproof outlets with safety covers or outlet caps. Also, ensure cords are out of reach and securely fastened to avoid tripping or tugging. Moreover, store cleaning products or medicines in locked cabinets or high shelves, far from the curious hands of your little explorers. 

You create a home environment for your kids by implementing these safety measures. 

Last Words

By staying vigilant and proactive, you can navigate through potential dangers and create a safer environment for your little ones to grow and explore.  Remember, your guidance and continuous efforts to educate them about the hazards are crucial for their well-being. 

Tips on Setting up a Side Hustle

 If you have crafting skills, you may be wondering how to make some money out of it. Setting up your own little business is no easy feat. So, you need to be careful. One way to eliminate some of the risks is to start a side hustle. This is where you start a small business alongside your day job so that you have something to fall back on should it not succeed. Being into crafts, you already have your niche, so that is the easy part. But how do you turn it into a viable business? Let's take a look at a few ways.

Pixabay

Stay Focused

When you're starting a new business, the temptation is to run away what your idea and add layers and layers of ideas to it. This is not tidal. What you need to b focusing on is getting the idea off the ground. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. If you are going to be selling necklaces you make, then stay with that, at least to begin with. Once you have that area working well, then you can start adding more complexity.      

Take Advantage of Offers

If you are going to be buying and selling at any point in your business life cycle, then you need to do your research. Finding offers on your chosen product can help you turn a profit. Take a look at this tragus jewelry for sale with a good discount attached. Finding your chosen product cheaper can help you make more money down the line. 

Create a Website

Creating a website is actually pretty easy these days. You do not have to know HTML or understand coding in any way. If you use a CMS (content management system) such as WordPress or Wix, you can easily set up a website. You can purchase a merchant account and create an online shop on the site too. These are known as plug-ins and make it easy for anyone to create an eCommerce site. A website also gives your business more weight. It is the space you can tell the world about your brand and what makes your business special. Remember, the more personal you can be, the more you will be able to connect with your customers. 

Broker Sites

Clearly, it makes sense to put your wares on a broker site like Amazon. In April last year - 2022 - Amazon received 2.4 billion hits. That is an awful lot of chances to get your products sold. It is important that you label your wares in the best possible way so that you appear high up the listings.

Social Media

You need to use social media to your advantage. It is a fantastic space to advertise your new brand and drum up a following. When it comes to social media advertising, there are strategies you need to follow. Do not post too often; high-quality content is better than high volume. You can use insights to garner how popular a post has been and use that to create better social media marketing in the future.