|
Page 3 of 4 Babies die in adult beds, too. Usually that happens when baby's delicate neck gets compressed between the mattress and the bed's headboard or a bedside table. Waterbeds are dangerous for babies and so are lambskins or puffy bedding that can capture a baby's face so that she suffocates in her own re-breathed air. Some babies mysteriously stop breathing and die during sleep. That isusually labeled as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ("SIDS"). Recent studies in Europe and the U.S. have found that babies' lives can be saved by having them sleep face up (on their backs) instead of face down (on their stomachs). By the time your baby is able to roll herself over from back to front she is most likely past the most dangerous age range for SIDS deaths. Another sleeping danger is called "Baby Bottle Mouth." Cavities form in the back of a baby's front teeth that cause the teeth to rot and crumble. It is caused by putting baby to bed with a bottle of formula that pools in the sleeping baby's mouth. The best prevention is to hold your baby and rock him to sleep before removing the bottle and putting him to bed. Some studies show that serious thumb sucking problems can also be headed off by holding your baby during nursing instead of making him feed himself alone in the crib. Getting the Rest You Need Parents don't die from lack of sleep but sometimes it feels like that when your baby is crying for attention for the fourth time in one night. It helps to turn the clock to the wall so you are not keeping tally of the number of times you get up to tend to your baby. Get rest whenever you can. You may need to trick your body into thinking it is nighttime even though it is broad daylight so you can nap. Take off your clothes, put on your jammies, close the blinds, unplug the phone and sleep when you can.
Also it helps to divvy up household responsibilities so neither adult has too much of a burden during this period of heavy baby care responsibilities. The simplest way to accomplish this is to make a list of everything that needs to be done in the house and decide together who does what and when. Most partners have found that to trade off who gets to sleep late on Saturday or Sunday mornings adds a touch of luxury during this high demand time. Hiring a teenager from a local high school to do the household chores once a week also helps to lighten the load for parents. Post-Baby Sex problems Most moms and dads find that their sex life changes radically after a baby comes into the house. Although a dad's desires may be equally as strong as before baby came a mom may lose interest in sex for months after birth. Some moms have stitches from Cesareans or episiotomies that make sex uncomfortable until everything is healed. Another problem affecting sex after birth is sheer exhaustion and the feeling of being "touched out" by the baby. If a mom is nursing her hormones may affect natural vaginal lubrication and result in uncomfortable sex.
|
