Sleep Tight Baby

Give yourself and baby some much-needed snooze time with these easy tips:

Clear the clutter

Make sure the nursery is designated as a room for sleep. Keep the area around the crib free of toys and other fun knickknacks. “Crib distractions confuse your baby,” says Conner Herman, sleep expert for TheNestBaby.com. “They’ll make him wonder, ‘Is this a playpen, or is it time to sleep?’” Clearing the space will help your baby mentally associate the bedroom with sleeping and other rooms with playing. “Babies can’t understand you verbally,” reminds Herman. “You need to figure out how to give them other cues.”

Start Separating

Though it may go against your natural instinct, Kira Ryan, another sleep expert for TheNestBaby.com, recommends putting baby in her own room for at least one nap a day from the start. “This gets her acclimated to her room, so when it’s time to move in there, it’s not a total change.” A daily solo nap also helps baby and you get used to being apart–these little breaks may be tough, but they’re healthy and necessary. Even if baby sleeps in your room, Herman recommends putting up a screen or partition for a little separation. “If baby wakes up during the night and sees you, it’s easy for him to rely on you to fall back asleep.” And you′ll all be happy later if baby’s able to put himself back to bed.

Stay cool

Baby sleeps best when the temperature is consistent and cool. “Most moms actually keep the nursery too warm,” says Ryan. Try to keep the room temperature between 68 and 72 degrees. Putting your crib in the right spot is also essential. “Pick a location that isn’t in the direct pathway of your air conditioning or heating vents,” says Herman. Sudden temperature changes will startle and disturb baby. Also, keep the crib away from windows to protect baby from drafts and outside noise.

Dim the lights

Forget the nightlights — babies aren’t likely to fear the dark until at least 18 months. In fact, cut out all the extra light you can. “On a scale of one to five, five being pitch black, your baby’s room should be a four,” says Herman. Get yourself an extra hour of sleep by putting vinyl blackout curtains behind decorative drapes. Light signals daytime to baby, so blocking out the sun will help keep her snoozing. Also, scan the room for anything shiny. A CD player, baby monitor, or flashing toy could catch baby’s eye and wake him up, so cover these objects or turn them around. If baby likes to nurse at nighttime, attach a dimmer switch to a lamp and turn it on and off slowly for nighttime feedings.

Soothe with sound

What baby hears (or doesn’t) is just as important as what she does or doesn’t see. Pick up a white noise machine to cancel out house noise, cars, and other distracting sounds; leave it on all night. Baby will begin to associate the constant and consistent sound with sleep. Some noise machines have lullaby, ocean, or other sound options, but simple white noise is fine–it′ll bring baby back to being in the womb, and really, what’s more soothing than memories of mommy’s belly? Look for a portable machine so you′ll be able to recreate the sounds of the nursery while you′re away from home.

JACKSONVILLE, FL — It was eight years ago but Judy Lanham remembers every detail of her son Dusten’s death.

“He was in the hospital for four days before we were able to take him off life support, and you just don’t want any other parent to have to go through this,” says Lanham.

Dusten was 3-months-old when he died sleeping in a crib.

Lisa Sculley’s son was just two and a half months when he died on his stomach on an adult sized bed.

“Would my son still be alive if he would have been off his back on a regular bed? I can’t prove that but he would have had a better chance,” says Sculley.

It’s not clear exactly what caused either of their sons’ deaths, but both died while sleeping.

It’s a tragedy that links these two women together, but they are not alone.

Since 2000 in Jacksonville, 157 babies died because of unsafe sleeping conditions.

“When it happened to us, I really thought I was going to die, I wanted to die, but you have a choice, to help others go on, or not. For me my choice was to help others,” says Lanham.

And so now they are both actively involved in support groups and demonstrating the right way for a baby to sleep.

The baby should sleep alone, never with parents, in a crib, and on its back.

So even after years have passed and both women have other children they say they will always remember their sons by being there for other parents.

“And to help parents through the most difficult time of their life and if I can help them through that period my son didn’t die in vain,” says Lanham.

Bringing home a newborn is one of the most chaotic times in a parent’s life. Here are some must-haves to stock before the baby arrives, according to Heather Maclean, author of “The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide.”

Car seat: This is the must-have of all must-haves. It’s illegal to bring the baby home in a car without one. To save time and aggravation as you are leaving the hospital, make sure it’s properly installed before the baby is even born. Call your local police department to see if they have someone on staff certified to install car seats.

Place for the baby to sleep: Pick at least one spot in your home that is designated for the baby, and have what the baby is going to sleep in assembled. That may be a crib, a wide-based bassinet or Moses basket. Sock drawers just won’t do.

Diapers and diaper rash cream: Especially during the first few weeks, as baby′s digestive system develops and his or her skin is extra sensitive, diaper rash may play a big, painful part of both your lives. Have plenty of diaper cream on hand – and it might take a bunch of tries to figure out the one that best suits your baby.

Five thin, baby-sized blankets: You can use regular towels and washcloths for cleaning and drying your baby, but you cannot use towels or adult-sized sheets to keep them warm. Babies need small, relatively thin blankets for safety, but also for weather protection, a clean spot on the floor and for swaddling – one of the best sleep tricks in the book.

Two baby sleepsacks: Since babies are not supposed to sleep with loose blankets because of suffocation risks, they need a special sleeping blanket to keep warm at night. Sleepsacks are like little baby sleeping bags with armholes or sleeves that zip on so baby is warm, but safe.

Three kimono-style wrap shirts: Getting a newborn dressed and undressed is no easy task, so for quick changes – especially at 2 a.m. – that don’t require pulling anything over the baby’s head at first, this is the way to go.

Swaddling blanket: The nurses in the hospital are pros are swaddling – a method of wrapping babies snugly – but parents rarely can do it as neatly or tight. There are plenty of swaddling blankets on the market now that make it safe and easy to wrap a child up.

A couple of bottles: Even those who plan on breast feeding should stock some bottles in their house for those just-in-case moments – maybe mom is too tired to feed or maybe someone else wants to.