42 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • DECEMBER 6, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
3 common new parent questions
Almost every new parent knows the
feeling: It’s 2 a.m., you’re bleary-eyed and
you want nothing more than everyone to
get some sleep. However, you’re up, and
so is your new baby.
Th ough most parents wish their little
one could tell them what’s keeping him
or her awake, sometimes there’s no clear
answer.
To help parents who are looking for
answers to the questions that keep them
awake, including those regarding poop,
sleep and tummy time, the experts at
KinderCare, who’ve been caring for new
babies for almost 50 years, off er this
advice.
1. Why is my baby’s
poop a weird color?
Flash back to before your baby was
born: You probably never imagined you’d
be searching the internet for answers to
questions about poop. Yet here you are,
and many new parents know how you
feel.
When you have questions about poop,
however, you may fi nd there’s an app for
that. Many apps also track sleep, feeding,
pumping, weight and more, making
them useful tools to add to your new-baby
starter kit.
If you see a change in your baby’s poop,
track it. It might be no big deal, but it’s
easier to remember what happened a
week or even a day ago when you have
all the data right at your fi ngertips. Also
remember, if you see anything out of the
ordinary, it’s worth a quick call to your
doctor’s on-call nurse hotline to make
sure it’s nothing to worry about.
2. What’s the big deal
about tummy time?
You’ve probably read how important
tummy time is for developing your baby’s
muscles to get ready for all of the crawling,
rolling, scooting, sitting and walking
ahead. While your baby’s back is still
the safest place for him or her to sleep,
awake and supervised tummy time is
important, too.
Tummy time doesn’t have to be long
to be eff ective. Talk to your doctor to
see what’s recommended for your baby.
Th ough tummy time can be any time,
you might be more successful right aft er
a nap or diaper change when your baby
is well-rested and comfortable.
If your baby just won’t take to tummy
time, try making it fun with toys and
make sure you’re getting down on the
fl oor to play, too!
3. What if my baby just
won’t go to sleep?
It’s never easy to hear your baby cry,
but Dr. Elizabeth Super, a pediatrician
and children’s sleep specialist with the
pediatric sleep medicine program at
Oregon Health & Science University’s
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, has
some advice for sleep-deprived parents.
According to Super, by around 6
months of age, many babies no longer
need a middle-of-the-night feeding and
are ready to start learning how to selfsoothe.
However, about 25 percent of
1-year-olds still have problems waking
up in the middle of the night.
“Th ey should be sleeping through the
night and can be doing it, but it’s very
common that they’re not,” Super said.
“Know that lots of kids have sleep issues,
and sleep issues will come and go as they
grow.”
In other words, if your baby has trouble
sleeping, you’re not alone. Th ere’s
no one-size-fi ts-all solution, and it’s
important to choose an approach that
fi ts your family. Th at might mean
adjusting your schedule to accommodate
Source: KinderCare
an earlier baby bedtime (Super recommends
7-8 p.m.) or coming up with
a simple bedtime routine like taking a
bath, brushing teeth, reading a book,
and going to bed.
For answers to more questions that
can keep new parents awake, visit kindercare.
com.
Courtesy Family Features