These are some short ideas on ways to help a baby over 6 weeks sleep though the night with out the additional stress of ongoing crying.
We read “On Becoming Baby Wise” and other similar books but we do not let the baby cry out or stress for long periods of time even with interruptions. I am not a doctor or professional in pediatrics but we are average parents that have read and watched information on helping a baby to sleep and sleep through the night after 6 weeks. Before 6 weeks our medical advisers suggest having the mother feed the baby at night to relieve pressure and to give the baby the nutrition every few hours.
Sleep Through The Night
Here are my suggestions after 6 weeks:
- I would suggest waiting for an “owe” sound or “owal” sound before putting the baby to bed at night. This is the sound they tend to make when they yawn. If they are saying “eh” they may still need to be burped and may wake up because they are uncomfortable due to gas.
- Even though I did not enjoy tight spaces as a child, the tight swaddle seems to help the baby calm down and relax. This may be in part due to the consistent procedure before going to bed but the results have been positive.
- Feed more often during the day and “cluster” feed before bed. The baby normally goes in about a 2-3 hour cycle of feeding at this time along with the mother. This seems to be right amount of feeding during the day after 6 weeks. I would normally see newborns to 6 weeks feed about 1.5 – 2.5 hours. Cluster feed by increasing the amount of feedings later in the day to help provide the baby with nutrition.
- Consider a 4 oz. bottle of fresh breast-milk before bed. Since the mother’s milk productions tends to decrease later in the day, try using a 4+ ounce colic reduction bottle with pumped breast milk. This may help provide the baby with more nutrition that could help it sleep though the night. Remember to burp often when feeding with the bottle.
- After the baby is fed, changed, swaddled, and tired you are ready to “soothe” the baby. I have seen this done in many ways including a rocking chair, bouncing, swaying, walking, driving, or any ongoing light movement. Include a soft lullaby during this time and keep playing them until the baby is completely sleeping.
- Once the baby is sleeping put the baby down in the crib or bassinet gently. The room should be completely dark with a quiet fan to help circulate air and remove toxins.
- If the baby does wake up, feed, then “soothe” the baby again until sleep is ongoing. Feed early in the morning when the baby wakes.
Swaddling To Help Baby Sleep Though The Night
Don’t forget to put the baby on the back to sleep through the night and if they tend to look to one side or the other try to help the baby look the other way frequently to help with normal development.
Fans and air quality from the CDC:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts111.html
“Formaldehyde is usually found in the air, and levels are usually higher indoors than outdoors. Opening windows and using fans to bring fresh air indoors are the easiest ways to lower levels in the house. Not smoking and not using unvented heaters indoors can lower the formaldehyde levels.”
If you have any questions or need more information please leave a comment on this page.
Try a lullaby before bed:
Earwax, or cerumen as your medical professional may call it, will normally cause a concern a few times in your life but for some earwax is an ongoing problem that may need to be treated once a year or more frequently.
I am not a medical professional and I can not offer medical advise but these are some things that I believe have helped me remove wax after over 20 years of visiting the doctor a few times a year for wax removal. I now have relieved of problems with earwax and do not need a medical professional’s help for most of my ear concerns.
Caution When Using H2O2
An audiologist friend of mine warns anyone of using H2O2 in your ear because it can eat away at healthy tissue. She suggests garlic and olive oil during the night and a flush of bulb water in the morning. This technique has never worked for me to date but it may work for you. I believe H2O2 should be a last resort after using filtered water in a bulb first and other methods of earwax removal. I also believe H2O2 will hurt human tissues.
Caution When Using Ear Picks
I do not suggest using ear picks because it is too easy to scrape skin or hurt your ear drum. Japanese bamboo ear picks, down tipped ear picks, and even the softest brush has irritated my ears in the past.
Symptoms Of Earwax Buildup
The first signs of earwax buildup are normally that you have slight hearing loss in your ear, that you notice pressure, or a “slushy” feeling when your ear moves. Do not mistake earwax buildup for water in your ear. I have written more about getting water out of your ear on this site here:
http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2009/08/13/how-to-get-water-out-of-your-ear/
Just because you have some earwax buildup does not mean that you need to treat your buildup. Earwax will normally dry up and fall out with out any additional help. One thing I have found that will hurt the process of natural removal is pushing the wax further in your ear with a q-tip or your finger. This just moves the wax in your ear further but it can still normally be removed with this treatment.
Treatments of Earwax Buildup
If your wax is causing a problem and does not fall out normally, you could have buildup in just one ear or in both ears. I have found that only treating the ear that has the earwax buildup is necessary.
First, use water with your syringe or bulb. Water may be all that is needed with some light pressure to remove the wax. I use water with a very low TDS that has been put through a Reverse Osmosis membrane so it contains less extra materials.
Earwax Removal Syringe Bulb
If the purified water with some pressure from the bulb does not work, I normally use about 1/2 a cap full of H2O2.
Lay down on your side with a white towel under your head so the light bleaching agent does not bleach any materials under your head. H2O2 (Hydrogen peroxide) will make spots in dark clothing, towels, and rugs.
Pour about 1/2 to 1 cap full in the effected ear while laying on your side. You should be able to hear the bubbles easily with wax in your ear and fresh H2O2. You may also see bubbled up wax coming out of your ear during this process. After about 3-10 minutes the bubbles will stop and you can pour the wax and excess H2O2 in your sink or shower.
Then take your earwax removal bulb and spray warm (98.4±0.7 °F or slightly warmer) water in your ear with some light pressure. This should help remove any extra wax.
Be sure to put the cap back on your H2O2 right away otherwise it will loose the ability to work correctly. Also, be sure to replace your H2O2 if it is old or does not work any longer. I do not use H2O2 unless it is completely necessary because there may be other side effects from this weak base. I use about 3% H2O2 and additional purified water to make it more diluted.
If you have a more significant buildup you may need to repeat the H2O2 process with the bulb a few times or once a day for a few days.
H2O2 For Earwax Buildup
If the wax is not gone and your hearing is back to normal with no evidence of wax you may need to visit a medical professional for a much stronger syringe. Some professionals have much larger devices that will spray at a higher level but not so height it will rupture your ear drum. Be careful though because a doctor or nurse could rupture the drum with this high pressure device.
This water test was completed right next to the 405 in Los Angeles near Santa Monica at a private residence. The water was taken directly from a tap and placed in a cup with the meter. The results show a lower tap water quality that other parts of Los Angeles at this time.
Normally I have seen tap water have slightly lower TDS and EC readings such as around 240 ppm for TDS near UCLA or 400 ppm or less TDS near the harbor area. These readings do meet the EPA secondary maximum standards.
Is water important?
Many of the food providers including pizza places and fast food locations are using this tap water for drinking, beverages, and other food related purposes as well so it is good to know where the water comes from that you are taking into your system. I suggest at least finding out what type of filtration they use before consuming the water.
Water Testing Cost
I own the meter so this test only costs a few minutes of the battery life and the time it takes to read it. Testing can be done to any water with this meter from Hanna including lake water, sea water, tap water, brackish water, and filtered water. It includes EC, TDS, and pH with Temp.
405 Los Angeles Water Testing
I am not a professional water tester and I can not say if water is safe or not to drink. Also, I was only able to do three tests and there are many other tests that can be done to determine water quality. These are the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels from the EPA:
| Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) | 500 mg/L | hardness; deposits; colored water; staining; salty taste |
| pH | 6.5 – 8.5 | low pH: bitter metallic taste; corrosion high pH: slippery feel; soda taste; deposits |
You can also read more about EC and water quality on this site.
This first test shows a 8.41 pH of the tap water:
405 Los Angeles pH 8.41 Water Quality
This second test shows a TDS of 472 ppm in the tap Water
405 Los Angeles TDS 472 ppm Tap Water
The third EC test shows 946:
405 Los Angeles Water EC of 946!
Would I drink this water?
I hope not. The EC shows much more salts than normal in the water. The TDS show much harder water than I would suggest drinking since we do not know what materials are in the water. The pH is much to high as well and the test is just a little under the EPA secondary maximum contaminant levels.
I would try to filter this water and only drink it if I was suffering from dehydration. I would want to at least put it through an RO filter but a carbon block or even a fine screen or paper filtration would improve the quality.
