Sunday 15 July 2012

When do I have to move my baby into a toddler bed?

This is a common question I hear from parents.  As with most things there is no one right answer.

The timing of when to move your toddler into their own bed varies. For some this doesn’t happen for quite some time, maybe when their child is closer to three years of age or longer, depending on the family sleeping arrangements, values and beliefs.

For others this happens quite early depending on many things one of which is that a new sibling comes along a little earlier than planned and thus their cot is needed for the new baby.

For families who share a sleeping surface, a cot may not even feature in their home so this hurdle may never arise. It may simply be a case of sharing beds during the night.  One of my friends with three little boys simply swapped beds all night long.  They would move around from bed to bed sleeping with others or sleeping alone for some part of the night until someone came and joined them. These children simply learned to be independent in choosing where they slept – sometimes with Mum and sometimes with Dad.  Sometimes all three boys were in the one bed and mum and dad in another.  For them there was no issue about moving from a cot to a bed because the baby was hardly ever in the cot and got used to being in beds from an early age.  I am not advocating this for everyone.

It worked for my friends but does not suit the majority of families.

As a general guide, when your toddler starts to climb out of the cot is a strong signal to move them into their own bed.  This is clearly a safety consideration rather than anything else.

Some parents will push this time and their toddler may stay in their cot for much longer.

Again it depends on the child and the parents and what works. Safety is usually the driving factor.

Sunday 8 July 2012

Tummy time

Tummy time is still important for your baby. Now that we sleep babies on their back and they are playing lying on their back more, we sometimes see babies with a part of their head that is flattened.

It is usually behind one of their ears or it is the back of their head. This is the reason we encourage you to give your baby tummy time from an early age.

Part of the reason is that it encourages good neck strength.  Babies will be happy to stay on their tummy longer if they are strong enough to hold and move their head.  Short frequent amounts of time are better than occasional long periods of time. Start with 5-10 seconds and lengthen it as they get stronger.

A good time is when you change their nappy, flip them over.  Don’t make them stay longer if they are not happy.   If they don’t like it and you force it, this will teach them that it is not a nice place to be and just keep fighting it. Tummy time helps prevent their heads flattening- called plagiocephaly.

You can start to give your baby tummy time as soon as they are born.  However, this is not something to concern yourself with initially.

When your baby is 6 weeks old you definitely need to start giving them tummy time if you haven’t started yet. Watch for head flattening by looking at their head from above.  You can see it is even and round on both sides.  If your baby’s head starts to flatten you can usually see this  either on left or right side of their head behind their ears.  Again look from above.  Sometimes the back of their head is flat which pushes the sides of their head forward.  Sometimes it can cause their forehead to be uneven.

Baby’s skull bones are still soft until about 6 months of age.  If you catch the flattening early, you can reverse it.  It will take effort and for you to be consistent in working on getting their position right to reverse it.

If it is left too long, some baby’s are given a helmet to help.  Sometimes the bones in their head are fused and it is too late to reverse it.  Generally it does not interfere with development.  It is a cosmetic thing.

Of course another way to avoid your baby developing a flattened head is to use a pouch or sling often in their early months with you.  It doesn’t have to be all the time, but if it works for you, it is a great tool to use have your baby with you but have your hands free to do other things as well and your baby will usually love just being with you.

Monday 2 July 2012

Cot safety

I thought I would mention a little about recommended  features of a safe cot according to Australian Safety Standards. Australia has fairly high standards of safety compared to other countries.  Most of the items for sale in shops meet these standards.  However, what about those items imported from overseas, for sale on ebay or garage sale?

1. What are the safety features to look for on Cots?

Minimum spaces between bars of 50mm;

Maximum spaces of 95mm;

No protrusion hazards;

No lead based paints;

No entrapment hazards;

Devices to stop the cot moving, that is wheel locks or only two wheels;

Instructions on recommended mattress size.

Consumers should also read the Australian safety standard AS2172 for further information.

Cots - Portable

1. Is it safe to use secondhand portacots?

Only cots that comply with the current safety standard should be used. It is always difficult to evaluate whether secondhand cots comply with the latest safety standards.

In recent years major design changes have resulted in improvements to the safety of these products and unless consumers are certain that a secondhand product complies with the new standard they should avoid using secondhand portacots.

2. Can I use any mattress in a portable cot?

No. Only the original mattress supplied by the manufacturer of the portable cot should be used in the product. Additional mattresses should never be used in a portable cot.

The original mattress will provide sufficient support for an infant up to the weight of 15 kg. Portable cots are not recommended for use by infants once they exceed this weight.

Cot safety is important from newborn right through until your toddler is in a bed.

Additional information can be found at Kidsafeqld.com.au.  It is physically situated behind the Royal Brisbane Hospital at Herston. I hope this helps.