I always make sure that my daughter wears a helmet when she bikes.  According to Helmets.org, 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year, and 770 of these bicyclists died in 2006.  Quite frankly, the statistics show that 1 in 8 cyclists with bicycle-related injuries had a brain injury.

So when my daughter’s friend showed up this weekend without a helmet, there was no way I was letting her ride helmet-less with my daughter using one of our bikes!  Her friend’s head was too small, and her head would not fit any of our helmets.  And quite frankly, a helmet that is loose-fitting (and can be moved from side to side exposing the head) will do nothing to protect a victim in the event of an accident.

So I improvised.  Since I was going for a run anyways, I let my daughter’s friend run along with me for the first 3km, so she could run back home to her parent’s place.  She, out of breath, then managed to pick up her helmet, and her own bike, and I accompanied her back to our house.

As a parent, my motto is always: safety first!

As a parent, you can help to encourage your child to enter into a consistent sleep pattern if you follow certain steps to encourage her to sleep alone. The first is to observe when and for how long she sleeps, feeds and rests. You might think you know this, but make out a chart and write it all down. This lets you do two things: you will be able to detect a pattern of how long she spends on each of the above activities, and at what times she does it. You will also be able to detect changes to the pattern as you train her to change her sleeping habits.

You won’t be able to change anything during this period: as any mother knows, when they are very young, babies rule! That’s what you call baby power and I have experienced it many times – and I’m just a dad, nothing as exalted as a mom! So this comes from experience, although I must admit that my wife is mostly responsible for this advice: her and her mother – and mine!

You should start to encourage your baby to sleep alone, but with you close by. The warmth of your body is comforting to your baby, and if you give her a cuddle first she will sleep easier if you put her into her bed.

Initially, your baby will not take too well to sleeping alone. Babies like their mothers to be close by, but with a bit of training and practice will learn to sleep by themselves. To achieve this have him in a darkened room during the evening and do not stimulate him in any way. No tickles or visits from relatives at this time. When the baby wakes and cries for feeding or nappy changing do it quietly and without fuss. The objective is to get him into the habit of being at rest in the evening.

Don’t wake him mid-evening for a bath. Bathing should be carried out in early evening before he is put to into his bed. No play at night! This will simply stimulate him and keep him awake. Getting baby to sleep through the night requires him to be settled and peaceful, not excited and stimulated.

Babies wake at night mainly to be fed. Sometimes they are unwell or too hot but it is usually to be fed. A baby’s stomach is the size of your fist and if you are breastfeeding, which is best for your baby, your milk will absorbed much quicker than formula milk. About 90 minutes is normal for digestion, and then your baby may need fed again! If you feed her during the day on demand, and try feeding before settling her down for the night, the feed will last as long as possible.

Many mothers have the maternal instinct to have their baby sleep with them in their own bed. This is natural instinct, originating from times when babies were fair game for nocturnal predators, but these are uncommon in normal urban environments. In some areas of the world it is still valid, but modern mothers should restrict this to having the child sleep in the same room at first.

This is fine: it allows you to tend to your baby during the night without too much disruption and your baby will find a sleep pattern much quicker knowing his mother is close by.

I do not recommend parents sleeping with their babies. It may work for some, but there have been tragic cases. Young babies are too weak to struggle if a parent rolls over onto them, and there have been cases of suffocation occurring in this way.

There is also the question of whether a baby should sleep on his stomach or his back. The normal advice given is that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is more prevalent with children put to bed on their stomach than on their back. I am making no inference here, but these are the facts. I personally would choose to place my child on his back at bedtime. After a few months he will be strong enough to roll about and choose his own most comfortable sleeping position.

A bassinet, pram or Moses basket by your bed is a suitable bed for your baby in the early days. You will be less disturbed while feeding, and your child will feel more secure. Children know when their mothers are close by. They can sense you and smell you. If you are breast feeding you will be able to feed your child without leaving your bed: this will help to prevent you from being grumpy during the day. Good for your baby and good for your partner!

Once your baby is around three months old she can be put in a crib to sleep in her own room. It should be achieved gradually, with the light on and with a feed and a cuddle first and you will have to return to the room several times a night for the first few weeks. Some children manage this younger and some take a bit longer, but it will be achieved quicker if you take the above advice. There is no real ‘right way’ of getting your baby to sleep, but this advice is based on what is known to succeed.

Eventually your child will get used to it and will settle down, and though a night light normally keeps them more at ease, you have achieved your objective of getting baby to sleep through the night.

It may seem like something you can put off for a while, especially if you haven’t had your baby yet – but time will fly by, and before you know it, your child will be getting into everything that looks exciting to them.

The best way to see what may be a potential hazard for your baby would be by crawling around on all fours and seeing what is in your reach that could be harmful to a child. You can also check out what is precious to you that your child may be able to get their hands on, and can remove that to a more suitable location.

After you have done that, here are some other things that you can do to childproof your home.

Doors and Cupboards

Babies are naturally very curious people, and they like to go exploring, whether it means outside, in another room in the house, or in the cupboards in the kitchen.

A baby gate is a good thing to have for your staircase, or any other rooms that you don’t want your child getting into. When looking for a gate, buy a brand-new one; one that cannot be dislodged by a child but is still easy for you to open and close, and preferably one that screws into the walls as opposed to a tension gate. Try and choose a gate that is straight across the top.

When childproofing your cupboards, buy exterior or interior cabinet locks. Put them on most of the cabinets that you don’t want your child getting into, however, always leave one cabinet (filled with plastic containers and the like) unlocked for your child to play with. Remember – because some children can still manage to get into cupboards with locks on them – keep anything hazardous in a higher cabinet that your child won’t be able to reach.

Childproof door handles are great so that your child won’t slip outdoors if you’re temporarily distracted. You can buy these for all your doors, or you can use a hook and eye latch on doors that are indoors that you don’t want your child opening.

Furniture

Once your child starts walking, you’ve got other things to worry about; children learning to walk are never completely steady on their feet at first, and have a tendency to fall into things, or hold onto things to keep them steady. In order to prevent serious accidents, put bumpers or cushions on tables, fireplaces or other furniture with sharp edges to soften the fall if your child falls into these objects. Also, if you have a traditional fireplace with doors, keep these doors shut and locked to prevent your child from playing in any remaining ashes.

Any large or heavy pieces of furniture should be bolted to the wall with L-brackets, and you shouldn’t use furniture that has wheels on the bottom.

A lot of drapes or blinds will have cords attached to them – children can easily get caught in these cords. Roll up the cords until you need to use them, or cut them off completely.

Toys

Every child likes to play with toys, and most parents love buying toys for their new youngster. All toys can be intriguing for young children, so keep any toys belonging to older siblings in a separate room where your younger child can’t get to them. Also, make sure to throw out any broken toys and toy parts that could prove to be a chocking hazard.

Don’t allow young children to sleep with a stuffed animal (or too much bedding) as it can sometimes lead to suffocation.

Other

There are numerous other little things that can be done to keep your house a child-safe place for your new baby:

• Buy outlet covers for all of your electrical sockets.
• Cleaning Supplies can be poisonous when consumed by anyone, and children like to get into everything. Put all your cleaning supplies together in an inaccessible location, preferably far out of reach of children (high up cupboards work best). Lock the cupboard the supplies are in with childproof locks. It’s also a good idea to store any knives or glass in locked cupboards.
• Double check that your baby monitor is always working and within range to hear your child.
• Houses built before 1978 were painted with lead paint. If the paint is old and peeling off, it may release lead particles into the air, which could cause lead poisoning. If there is lead paint, it should either be removed (by a professional) or covered with an approved sealant.
• Remove anything that is small enough to be a choking hazard – including fridge magnets that could fall on the floor when the door is slammed.
• Get lids for your trashcans to prevent your child from putting something into their mouths that may prove harmful.
• When cooking, use back burners and turn any handles to the back of the stove. This will stop young children from grabbing a pot handle, tipping it over and having something hot spilled on them.

Of course, these are only some things to do to baby proof your house. Try looking at things in your house from the perspective of a young child – what looks like it could be interesting to explore and play in? Then look at it from an adult – is there something that could hurt your child from this? If there is, look for ways that you could make this object safer.

Lastly, and I can’t stress this enough, don’t wait until your child is old enough to be crawling around on his/her own. This is an exciting period of time for your child, and you don’t want to have to worry about how you haven’t had a chance to childproof your home yet.

There might be some babies who dislike taking a bath. For these children, sponge bathing might be a better choice instead.

Here are steps to properly sponge bathe your baby:

1. To stop your child from waving their arms around, wrap them in a towel and undress them if you prefer.
2. Now its time to wipe the eyes clean. Take a little cotton ball that has been dipped in luke warm water. Wipe the inside of the eye first and work your way towards the outside. Now do the same for the other eye with a fresh clean cotton ball.
3. Use the cotton ball and clean over and behind the baby’s ears. Use fresh clean cotton balls for each ear.
4. Wipe the baby’s face, neck, and under the chin with a cotton ball or wool.
5. With a soft towel pat dry their hands, face, and any damp crease area.
6. Clean up their sleeping area and place them in clean clothes. Having certain bedtime clothing will ease the baby into a routine sleeping pattern.

Hair Cleaning

You don’t need to wash and clean the baby’s hair with shampoo everyday. You can wipe it down with a flannel cloth to remove any accumulated dirt particles.

Nail Clipping

The best manner to cut baby’s nails is to do it when they are asleep. Use scissors or nibble them off. It’s recommended to do this after bath time because the nails are very soft and can be removed with little discomfort for the baby.

Cradle Cap

Most babies show a sign of a yellowish crust on their scalp, which looks similar to dandruff. Babies between the ages of one month and six month will experience this growth. Don’t worry. This is a normal occurrence in almost all children and doesn’t harm the baby in any way. Usually disappears as the child grows but there are actions you can take to clean it up a bit:

Take on tablespoon of olive or almond oil and massage it into the baby’s scalp. Let it set for an hour, making sure the oil does not touch the baby’s eyes or hands, then wash it clean by using a shampoo.

You can also drop a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda into a 600ml of warm water. Apply on the scalp and massage gently for about 5 minutes then shampoo clean. Use this routine about once or twice a week.

Remember to never pick at or scratch to loosen the flakes. The flakes will loosen up if you gently comb his hair.

When my son was a baby he had colic. I tried every method that was suggested and developed the best game plan for myself and other moms. One of the best investments I could recommend would be a battery operated or wind up swing. It can be with or without music, as my son did not enjoy the music. Often, soothing movement will calm colicky babies. It is impossible to drive around in the family car 24 hours a day, so a swing is the next best solution. The motion of the swing and the sound of the clicking of the gears soothed my son to sleep. For the first 2 months he only slept in the swing. Of course, you should make sure your child is securely fastened in the seat and that you never leave him or her unattended. You can move the swing around the house and continue your daily routine while calming your baby.

Another great tip for calming colicky babies is placing your baby across your lap on their stomach. Make sure their stomach is positioned in the middle of your lap, so the pressure of your legs rests against them. Colicky babies often have gas, built up in their stomachs from the constant intake of air while crying. This often leads to even more crying and discomfort. I would lay my child on my lap, on his stomach and gently pat his back in a rhythmic manner. After a few minutes of this, some gas was relieved and my son could relax a bit more. You can do this right before you place your child in the swing to aid in rest.

Of course, most colicky babies need to be held constantly. This is one thing that can lead to extreme fatigue in parents. One thing I learned was to invest in a very comfortable rocking chair. Buy a glider that has soothing motion or a large padded rocking chair. Make sure you have the option of a foot stool, as you will want to rest your legs. The gliding motion or rocking motion of these chairs often sooths colicky babies. This also works better than the car ride option because you can rest your eyes while rocking. Make this part of your routine and it can serve to energize you and your spouse or other members of the family that are dealing with your colicky child.

In addition, make sure to burp your child a few extra times after feedings. The build up of gas from crying should always be on your mind. Attempt to relieve this and it will make a difference. If you incorporate all of the above tips in your daily routine with your child, you will find that he or she will sleep through the night easier and they will be calmer in the long run. Focusing on soothing colicky babies is more important than play at this point, as colic can be exhausting. Soothing colicky babies through motion and touch can make the difference between a long sleepless night and a restful night’s sleep.