Before you had a baby, you likely ran hard and laid down eager for a good night's rest and you likely got it. Now, however, two hours uninterrupted sleep is a luxury. Midnight feedings and mid-day cryfests confirm your baby €™s complete dependence on you, which is both a blessing and a burden. The road to well-timed feedings, peaceful naptimes and dreamy nighttimes can be fraught with difficulty, but you will get there, eventually. Your baby can €™t put words to her needs and pains, but her cries are not a response to inadequacies in you. Eventually, she will sleep without endless rocking and lullabies, feeding will become routine €¦and you both will rest. In the meantime, read on for some encouragement and tips to help you make the most of this challenging, blessedly temporary, season.

Background Information

Breast to Bottle
These tips can help make a smooth transition for both Mom and baby.

Ready for Meat and Potatoes
If a couple of teeth erupt before six months of age (the usual time of the first appearance of teeth), this in itself is not a sign that your baby is ready for pizza.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
This advice won't eliminate all cases of SIDS, but it could save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives every year.

Why Won't They Eat?
One of life's greatest mysteries is how a preschooler can survive on three spaghetti noodles, half a banana and a graham cracker for an entire day!

Questions and Answers

Should a parent try to force a child to eat?
Answer

What are "night terrors?"
Answer

What causes a child to wet the bed?
Answer

Stories

If you've been through an experience related to this topic, we invite you to share your story with others.
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Other Things to Consider

Children: Are They Worth It?
Children can be demanding, frustrating and exhausting. But they can also be a tremendous source of positive change in our lives.

Transitions: Having a Baby, Preparing for Adolescence

Life Pressures: Working Moms, Stay-At-Home Moms, Time for Family

Relationships: Parents and Adult Children, Blended Families

Life Applications

Hush Little Baby
If your baby is waking you up several times during the night, the good news is ... this too shall pass. But until it does, here are some survival tips.

Helping Your Child Get a Good Night's Sleep
Helping your child sleep better at night might be as simple as creating a calm, soothing environment, setting a few limits, and establishing some basic nighttime rules.

A Cry for Help
When colic threatens to push you over the edge, get help before it's too late.

Open Wide
Tips for introducing your baby to solid foods.

The Gift of Time
Your offer to provide a time-out for a frazzled parent may be far more valuable than any baby-shower gift.

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