Mom of Six | Sheri K Bio

Hello all! I thought that I would take a moment to introduce myself before I started blogging for Night Nannies for Newborns. My name is Sheri and I am a very happily married mother of six children. Yep, you read it right, six kids! Crazy as it may seem to some, six seems a perfect number to me. I have four girls and two boys with ages as old as 11, and as young as 2 months. Some are spaced only eighteen months apart, and my youngest two are a little over two years apart. I have nursed every one of my children for at least a year. I loved it so much that I became a Lactation Educator. I am a stay at home mom, so that pretty much means I am their mother, chauffeur, doctor, cook, house cleaner and everything in between. I have over the years worked in the corporate business world, nannied, and now I help out my husband as much as I can with our video production business (aKvideo). My kids however take most my time. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes this crazy, hectic life is exhausting but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have lots of stories to share (good and bad) and hopefully you will find them enjoyable, helpful, and maybe just a little bit entertaining too. From talking to other mother’s I have found that nobody does it perfect, but it is nice to know you’re not the only one. So here we go folks…..welcome to my life.

~Sheri

New Guest Blogger, Mom of Six

I am happy to announce that we have a new guest blogger here at Night Nannies for Newborns.  In addition to our normal blogging we are pleased to have a new segment on our blog focusing solely on infant care from the perspective of a mom.  Sheri isn't just another mom either, she is the proud mother of 6 children including her newest addition, Isaac who was born this last summer. Please keep an eye out for our special new Mom of Six blog entries.

How do you know when it is time to stop swaddling your newborn?

I get asked this question by parents all the time.  First off, there really isn't a "Right" time to stop swaddling.  You just want to make sure that your baby is not swaddled unless they are sleeping.  You know that the baby is ready when they are able to reach up and purposefully grab an object and bring it back to themselves.  Then you can move them into a sleep sack to sleep.  Now if your baby is not getting out of their swaddle and it still helps them to sleep better, you can swaddle as long as you need.  I have families swaddle anywhere from 4 months up to 9 months. You just want to make sure that they are active and un-swaddled when they are awake.

Our Favorite Swaddling Blanket

Now that we have discussed why swaddling is important, the next step for parents is learning how to swaddle their baby.  There are many options out there for new parents to try when it comes to swaddling blankets and they really make swaddling easy.  Our favorite here at NNfN is the Miracle Blanket, it fits all size babies so you can use this as long as the baby or you need.  This really is the best $30 investment you can make for peaceful nights. I can't reiterate enough how important swaddling is, especially because a newborn cannot control their reflexes until they are 4-5 months old. The main objection that most parents relay to me is that their baby likes/needs their arms out.  It is important to understand that babies don't even know that they have arms at this early stage.  When you swaddle them, they feel safe and secure and therefore they will sleep better because their arms aren't startling them awake.  So parents, please try swaddling your newborns and see how it goes. I promise you, both you and your baby will be better rested. Next we will discuss when it is time to stop swaddling and move on to a sleep sack.

Why swaddle your baby?

We work with a lot of families and we find that they have different opinions on swaddling their newborns. Why do we think it is important to swaddle babies at Night Nannies for Newborns? First of all, babies come from a tight, enclosed, warm space in their mommy's womb when they are born. Then they are thrust into trying to adjust to this wide open, cold and strange environment. Why do we expect that this transition is easy for them? We find that the swaddle really does soothe the baby and help them get some much needed rest.  Secondly, babies have minimal control over their reflexes until they are around 4 months old. They startle easily and tend to jerk and twitch, which not only wakes them up but scares them.  Often times you will see your sound asleep baby wake up crying due to this. Obviously, we feel the swaddle keeps them from startling themselves awake.  Of course we always respect the wishes of the family, but we would like to encourage that you at least give swaddling a try.  We think you will find that not only will your baby get some much needed rest, but so will you.