Let Mommy Sleep Blog - Overnight Infant Care + Resources

Toys Siblings Can Play with Together!

August 1, 2019

Updated November 19, 2023 – If you’re expecting your second, it’s normal to worry about how you’ll manage your time with a newborn and older child. How will you keep everyone happy and occupied? What if the toddler is (unintentionally) too rough with baby? And what about twins…how will you handle 2 babies and then 2 toddlers? Our night nanny and postpartum doula team have a few suggestion to help your days go smoothly in this blog, Toys Siblings Can Play with Together!

Toys Siblings Can Play with Together – Our Faves

We’ve got a full list of toys siblings can play with together on Amazon, but here are our favorites:

The Aqua Magic Mat is a 40″ x 60″ is colorful and meant to be drawn on, so the baby can have tummy time alongside older kids. There are pens and small parts that come with this toy so supervision is of course a must. You can always add a separate playmat for baby on the side too.

Step 2’s Walk-In Play Kitchen is big enough for 2 or 3 kids to cook and create together and looks like a modern kitchen! It’s all wood, includes 15 play pieces and has moveable parts at all levels so even babies who aren’t standing yet can parallel play and watch.

Jumbo Foam Blocks are basically giant soft Legos! They’re sturdy and have endless possibilities for safe play.

For toddlers, the 40 piece cardboard block set with 3 different sized blocks means even more building! While you’ll probably have these for many years, parents should know that each of the 40 pieces must be put together individually.

The full set of Elephant & Piggie books. Go ahead and do yourself a favor and just buy all 25 books. We PROMISE your reading age child will adore reading these aloud to their baby brother or sister. And if you want to read aloud to the kids, Elephant & Piggie stories are warm, hilarious and often have a funny twist at the end.

4-in-1 Activity Center – This toy is not to be used without adult supervision but we love it because for less than $150 you’ll have a toy that occupies several kids at a time for years! Your baby will learn so much just from being held while watching the older kids slide, climb and shoot hoops! see the next section for more on this!

What the Experts Say About The Power of Play

Sibling Bonding and Play

While fostering good sibling relationships is ultimately up to the kids themselves, we parents can help the process along! A Georgetown study notes that “Infants with siblings imitated more behaviour without explicit instruction than did infants without siblings.” That means your little ones do learn from their older brothers and sisters. In addition to nurturing your infant with baby-age activities yourself, it’s great to encourage cooperation, bonding and good old laughter with toys kids can explore together.

You Are Your Child’s Favorite Toy

As the Zero to Three foundation says, whether you have 2 or more children or are a one and done family, you are your child’s favorite toy. You don’t need fancy or expensive items to nurture your newborn, infant or toddler. Understanding what your baby will respond to at each age makes development fun and educational for the whole family.

newborns, infants, twins and toddlers can all play together

We’re Amazon Associates. That means we receive a small fee from purchases made from this site. This helps finance our non-profit, Mission Sleep which gives free overnight care to families whose newborns arrive when a parent is deployed, wounded or deceased.

How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube

July 22, 2019

I originally wanted to do one simple blog post about keeping children safe online by using parental restrictions. After researching and learning about all the loopholes in common apps and websites though, it became quickly apparent that YouTube -with all of its amazing and wonderful content- needed its own in-depth post on safety. We’ll post more internet safety blogs over the next few weeks. As the mom of two 10 year olds and an 11 year old with iPads, I hope you find How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube helpful. -Denise Stern

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Access to YouTube means kids can easily view billions of videos. Violence and pornography are prohibited but with over 400 hours of video uploaded every minute it’s impossible for YouTube to catch and delete all the illegal or harmful content. Even with set age filters, inappropriate content still gets through.

Recent examples of inappropriate content being viewed include the many videos of the Christchurch, NZ mass shooting and popular YouTuber Logan Paul’s filming of a dead body, an apparent victim of suicide, hanging from a tree in Japan’s “suicide forest.” It’s good that YouTube removes these videos of course, but removal only happens after the fact. Paul’s 19 million subscribers are mostly young kids so you have to wonder how many saw that hanging body before it was reported, reviewed and removed?

Isn’t YouTube Kids Okay?

For these reasons YouTube Kids exists, but it’s not perfect. The Elsagate scandal, where seemingly harmless videos included sexual, bloody, suicide and other violent acts by children’s characters resulted in the deletion of over 400 channels, but it’s a bit like whack a mole and channels like this one still remain. (I don’t want to give them any more publicity but this CBS article and many others detail more disturbing videos and channels).

In addition to viewing, children need to be protected from exploitation when they themselves are the content. In March 2019 outlets such as NPR reported “tens of millions of videos that could be subject to predatory behavior,” meaning that pedophiles use comments to network and share links of videos starring children.

Again, YouTube acted on this unexpected situation by locking comment sections, but only after the fact and after predators had viewed and shared them.

Currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for collecting kids’ private data, YouTube is considering major changes of moving all children’s content to YouTube Kids, and eliminating the auto-play feature which can steer kids to unsafe content. These 2 changes can help YouTube keep tighter control over content, but for now here’s what you can do to keep your kids safe:

How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube

Be Aware of Knock off Channels– There are fake channels that appear to be the real product. The channels are able to do this by cleverly manipulating keywords to sidestep child-protective algorithms. Peppa Pigusing a lowercase “L” instead of “i” or other subtle misspellings is one example of how this can happen. Another way is for a channel to include keywords such as “learn to read” or “educational.” When in doubt look for channels titled “Official Channel” and the checkmark after the title.
Turn off Auto-Play Mode– Be sure videos don’t unintentionally keep running and eventually get to inappropriate content by turning off the auto-play option in the upper right-hand side of the screen.
Keep Restricted Mode On – Depending on your device, Restricted Mode can be found by clicking your Account, then Settings and then choosing “Restricted Mode” from the menu, or scrolling to the bottom of the page. Of course, there’s nothing stopping an older web-savvy kid from switching Restricted Mode off, so parents need to be watching over their shoulders or blocking YouTube altogether if they are concerned about inappropriate content.

4. Use the Parental Settings on YouTube Kids– Parents can choose content for kids 8 and younger or older than 8 by using their email address and then a 4 digit passcode once YouTubeKids is downloaded. Using this tool will greatly help keep YouTube kids safe.

5. Only post videos of your own children in PrivateMode– This means that only people with the link to your video can watch it. You choose who sees and comments on videos of your family.

Of course nothing can help keep our digital natives safe better than parental involvement. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends having proactive conversations with kids before they get online about what sites are allowed and each child’s screen time limits. Keeping devices in common areas of the home also helps parents keep an eye on kids’ activity. If you would like more tools to help manage media use by your children, please see the AAP’s Family Media Use Plan.

Should I Host an Au Pair?

July 21, 2019

Should I Host an Au Pair? answers parents’ frequently asked questions about au pairs so you can see if this international childcare option is right for you, your newborn and your family.

Should I Host an Au Pair?

How does a family actually host an au pair?

The first thing to do is register with an agency or even several agencies. Jaclyn Perovich a current host mom and Cultural Care Au Pair consultant notes that it’s perfectly fine if you need a placement quickly or down the road. Either way, registering with an agency is the first step so you can begin the matching process when you’re ready.

Once you’re registered, you can start looking at au pair resumes and email them for interviews. A Placement Manager will help you go through the au pair applications and narrow down your family’s specific needs. You might have twins, be expecting a newborn when your older child is a toddler for example. The selection deadlines needed to secure a particular au pair with you will then be shared. The deadline is important because the au pairs travel will be determined by your start date.

In addition to the agency Placement Manager there may also be a Local Childcare Consultant (LCC) to help. This is the person in your geographical area who will be your local support throughout the year. The LCC also conducts in-home interviews with families and provides orientation for both the family and au pair upon arrival.

Should I Host an Au Pair? FAQ’s

What happens if the au pair arrangement isn’t working out?

If things aren’t working out with the host family and au pair, the local consultant will conduct a mediation. A “rematch” will occur if the relationship does not improve. The happens usually within 2 weeks.

Parents can set clear expectations and even over-communicate their needs to make set the relationship up for success. Following up with an email of the expectations and then having a hard copy of instructions in the home are also good ways to keep everyone on the same page.

When can the au pair work?

An au pair will work up to 45 hours of childcare per week, scheduled around your families needs.

Can an au pair work with newborns?

Au pairs can NOT be the sole caregiver for newborns. For infants 12 weeks and under their role is more of a “mother’s helper.”

How can families be sure their au pair is trained properly?

Reputable agencies provide safety and child care training. Cultural Care Au Pairs for example, conducts four day reviews of child safety and development at the company’s training school in New York. They also require a classroom course on driver’s safety taught by the Red Cross and the Red Cross Full Service Training in adult and pediatric CPR/AED and First Aid.

Should I Host an Au Pair? What are Alternatives to Au Pair Care?

Nannies are the main alternative to au pair care. The main differences between nanny care an au pairs is:

Cultural Exchange vs. Formal Employment:
- Au Pair: An au pair is typically a young person from a foreign country who lives with a host family for a certain period of time. While the au pair is expected to help with childcare and household duties, the main purpose is cultural exchange.
- Nanny: A nanny is a professional childcare provider who is employed by a family to care for their children. Responsibilities can include newborn and infant care, meal preparation, transportation, and light housekeeping.
Duration of Stay:
- Au Pair: Au pairs usually commit to staying with a host family for a fixed period, usually 6-12 months, before returning to their home country.
- Nanny: Nannies may work with a family for a more flexible period, and their employment may continue as long as both parties agree.
Age and Experience:
- Au Pair: Au pairs are typically young adults, who may not have extensive childcare experience. They can not care for newborns without a parent present.
- Nanny: Nannies can be any age but often have professional childcare experience as well as formal training in early childhood education or newborn care.
Compensation:
- Au Pair: Au pairs receive a stipend, room, and board from the host family. The stipend is typically a modest amount, as the primary focus is on cultural exchange.
- Nanny: Nannies are paid a salary or hourly wage for their services, and the terms of employment are more formal.

In addition to daytime nannies, parents of newborns might choose to have a postpartum doulam night nanny or night nurse. These providers usually work overnight hours while the parents rest and recover.

Your First Night Home: Newborn Diapering and Bathing

February 11, 2019

To conclude our three part, “Your First Night Home with Baby” series, here are the most common diapering and bathing questions our Night Nurses and Newborn Care Providers receive. Your First Night Home: Newborn Diapering and Bathing answers FAQ’s about clothing, bathing and circumcision care when transitioning your newborn from hospital to home.

Your First Night Home: Newborn Diapering and Bathing

Bathing FAQ’s

Should I bathe my baby every day?

Babies don’t need to be fully bathed everyday. Their skin is sensitive and can dry out a lot faster than adults. It’s best to give baby a sponge bath their first week or two. Making sure to get in their rolls and in between their fingers and toes. You would be surprised how much lint collects in fingers and toes! Once your newborn’s umbilical stump has fallen out and heals up, it’s okay to give baby a full bath. Babies do not need to be bathed more than 3 times a week.

What temperature should my baby’s bath water be?

Newborns and infants should be bathed in warm water, not too hot. Test the water with your wrist, not your hand. Also, babies bodies lose heat quicker than adults. Keep the bath time brief to avoid chills.

What kind of soap should I use on my baby?

Warm water is just fine for bathing newborns. If you do use soaps, lotions or oils be sure they are non-toxic and infant safe so baby’s skin does not dry out or become irritated. Avoid a scented soap or bubble bath.

Diapering FAQ’s

How often do I change my baby’s diaper?

It is best to change baby’s diaper every time you feed your newborn. Try to change your baby before feeding them. If you change their diaper immediately after feeding, they might spit up because laying horizontal can cause distress.

How do I care for my newborn son’s circumcision?

If your male baby was circumcised, you were probably instructed to use petroleum jelly and gauze at each diaper change. When bathing, stick to sponge baths only and use unscented soap and warm water. If you notice any continuous bleeding, trouble urinating, fever, or swelling, call your pediatrician immediately. The circumcision should heal in about seven to ten days.

Can I use baby wipes on a newborn?

Many doctors and newborn care professionals suggest using warm water and a clean washcloth to wipe at each diaper change. Others say it is fine to use disposable wipes on newborns, as long as they are the unscented type. The important thing is to be sure that baby is completely dry before putting on diaper creams or vaseline. It is also fine to let your baby go diaper-free for 10-20 minutes (or longer if you’re okay with it) to allow the diaper area to stay dry.

How Do I Know if My Baby is Eating Enough?

Your newborn will usually nurse/feed 8 to 12 times per day. It can be hard to know exactly how much is being taken in during each feeding session. But that’s okay because you’ll always be able to tell how much is coming out! You’ll see plenty of wet and soiled diapers once you arrive home with your newborn on day 3 or 4 of baby’s life.

Every baby is different of course but this wet and soiled diaper chart can help assure parents that baby is feeding well. You’ll also be visiting the pediatrician during this first week home and baby’s weight will be checked. As our postpartum doula Shiro says, weight gain is the other sure sign that your newborn is eating enough!

know if your newborn is eating enough with this diaper chart — Diaper expectations

For more information, on what to expect on your first night home with your newborn, please see:

Your First Night Home with Baby: Questions About Newborn Feeding

Your First Night Home with Baby: Questions About Newborn Sleep

sleeping infant is monitored by certified newborn care provider — this is an artist rendering it does not show safe sleep

Cradle Cap, Eczema, and Infant Acne Explained

January 14, 2019

There are several common newborn care skin conditions; cradle cap, eczema and infant acne. How can they be -and should they be- treated? This blog Cradle Cap, Eczema, and Infant Acne Explained can help.

Cradle Cap, Eczema, and Infant Acne Explained

What is Cradle Cap?

Cradle cap is scales and redness on a baby’s scalp. When this rash occurs on the scalp alone, it’s known as cradle cap. It may start as scaling and redness of the scalp and can also extend to the face and diaper area, too. When it does, pediatricians call it seborrheic dermatitis (because it occurs where there are the greatest number of oil producing sebaceous glands).

newborn or infant cradle cap is not harmful and will go away on its own — Cradle Cap

Seborrheic dermatitis is a noninfectious skin condition that’s very common in infants, usually beginning in the first weeks of life and slowly disappearing over a period of weeks or months. It is rarely uncomfortable or itchy.

Treatment: Cradle cap is not harmful and will typically go away on its own by baby’s first birthday. It can be treated, by washing hair frequently with a mild baby shampoo and using a soft brush to remove the scales. Some doctors recommend a stronger, medicated shampoo or cortisone cream. These may remove the scales quickly but can be irritating to baby’s sensitive skin. Only use them after consulting a pediatrician.

It is not recommended to use baby oil or mineral oil on cradle cap. Doing so allows the scales to build up on the scalp, particularly over the fontanelle, or soft spot on baby’s head. Sometimes a yeast infection may form on the crease areas of the skin (rarely on the scalp.) If this happens, the area will be red and itchy. Seek the care of a pediatrician who may prescribe an anti-yeast cream.

What is infant eczema?

Infant eczema known as atopic dermatitis (AD), is a chronic skin problem that causes red, dry, and itchy rashes. In babies, the rashes usually occur on the face or scalp or folds of skin. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is the most common skin problem treated by pediatric dermatologists. Eczema can be hereditary and occur in conjunction with allergies or asthma. Also baby’s saliva from drooling can provoke irritation. Eczema in babies tends to be worse in the drier, winter months.

Eczema. See more examples of eczema via the Mayo Clinic

Treatment:

Infant eczema usually clears up before 4 years of age. Before then however, different triggers cause eczema so treatment can vary.

Parents should contact their pediatrician for specific direction but common non-medical treatments include:

eliminating certain foods from baby’s diet – we should note that eliminating certain foods to see if baby’s eczema clears up is appropriate for children on solid food, there is conflicting advice on elimination diets for exclusively breastfed babies.
- The AAP suggests that “lactating mothers with infants at high risk of developing AD should avoid peanuts and tree nuts, and should consider eliminating eggs, cow’s milk, and fish from their diets.”
- However, La Leche League states that mother’s almost never need to limit their diets. So, parents can try an elimination diet while breastfeeding or use the other tips below.
using mild soaps, moisturizers and detergents specially made for sensitive baby skin
dressing baby in lightweight, loose fabrics or try skin -soothing fabrics
putting a cool-mist humidifier in baby’s bedroom
In some cases, a prescription cream or oral medicine may be prescribed.

What is infant acne?

Infant acne is harmless acne that is often caused by exposure to maternal hormones in utero. Many babies develop infant acne around a few weeks of age, and in most cases, the acne is gone before baby reaches six months. While we think of acne appearing most often on the face, it can also occur on baby’s chest or back.

newborn and infant acne is harmless — Infant Acne

Treatment:

Unlike acne in adolescents and adults, infant acne requires no special treatment or medication. Clean the area daily with warm water, mild soap, and pat gently dry. Since baby acne is not caused by dirt, do not over wash the area, which can cause irritation. Since infant acne usually clears up within a few months, it is not cause for concern. However if the bumps look unusual, parents should mention the acne to their pediatrician to rule out other skin conditions.

The thing to remember about these three skin conditions is that they just happen. Parents aren’t doing anything wrong when these conditions present, and there is usually no reason for nursing mothers to change their own diets.

Skin issues are usually simply due to baby’s little body adjusting to the world outside the womb.

Blog

Toys Siblings Can Play with Together!

Toys Siblings Can Play with Together – Our Faves

What the Experts Say About The Power of Play

Sibling Bonding and Play

You Are Your Child’s Favorite Toy

How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Isn’t YouTube Kids Okay?

How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube

Should I Host an Au Pair?

Should I Host an Au Pair?

How does a family actually host an au pair?

Should I Host an Au Pair? FAQ’s

What happens if the au pair arrangement isn’t working out?

When can the au pair work?

Can an au pair work with newborns?

How can families be sure their au pair is trained properly?

Should I Host an Au Pair? What are Alternatives to Au Pair Care?

Your First Night Home: Newborn Diapering and Bathing

Your First Night Home: Newborn Diapering and Bathing

Bathing FAQ’s

Diapering FAQ’s

How Do I Know if My Baby is Eating Enough?

Cradle Cap, Eczema, and Infant Acne Explained

Cradle Cap, Eczema, and Infant Acne Explained

What is Cradle Cap?

What is infant eczema?

What is infant acne?

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