baby sleeping

Often new mums are only worried about how to put their bundle of energy to sleep. Just because your baby is sleeping for the moment doesn’t mean that he is all safe and sound. Did you know that many accidents happen during your baby’s sleep hour that can cause harm and be life threatening too? Your job is not only to put your baby to sleep but to make sure your baby sleeps safe. Here we give you some dos and don’t to follow while putting your little one to sleep, which will save you not only from sleep troubles but also other hazards. 
  • If you are going to place your infant in a crib or a cradle make sure it is placed right next to your bed, so that you can attend to your baby’s needs faster even in the dead of the night. Know more ways to put your baby to sleep. 
  • ‘Ditch the ultra soft baby mattresses and get one which is firm and doesn’t have any foam or strings coming out of it. A firm mattress is what your baby’s delicate back would need to rest on, says Sonali Shivlani, an Internationally Certified Pregnancy, Lactation and Child Nutrition Counsellor.
  • If you co-sleep take care to avoid occurrence of any unnatural accidents and make sure you provide your baby with enough space. Be sleep alert so that your hand, leg or pillow doesn’t harm your baby in anyway.
  • Do not keep a pillow for your baby to sleep on; it can lead to suffocation if your baby’s delicate head sinks in.
  • Make sure that the crib you use has firm railings on the sides and the spacing is less than 2 inches so that your baby’s hand or leg doesn’t get trapped in between the gaps.
  • To avoid flat head syndrome, make sure you take enough care so that your baby isn’t sleeping facing in one direction for too long. ‘Mothers need to be more attentive here and keep changing the side of the baby’s head. Even keeping your baby straight for too long can make the back of the head flattened,’ says Sonali.  
  • Remember to remove all the stuffed toys from the crib or cot before you put your baby to sleep to avoid incidences of suffocation.
  • Always try to put your baby to sleep on the back to avoid SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. Know more about SIDS.
  • ‘Never keep anything under your baby’s head or on the bed that can elevate the neck during sleep. For the same reason give the pillow and also the horse shoe pillow a miss,’ says Sonali.
  • Always keep the baby’s bedding, bed sheet clean. Dust, mite and milk can trap germs and give rise to infections.