I don't care what your nap or bedtime routine is like as long as a) it exists b) you like it and c) it involves books. Reading with your kids is a fun and wonderful way to connect with your kids. It's the most powerful tool you have to create a strong foundation for literacy. Even little babies love books (especially those that feature pictures of babies). I won't waste your time with common book recommendations as I'm sure you've already discovered the gentle joys of Goodnight Moon and Sandra Boynton. Instead I've pulled together some of the lesser-known but well-loved...

Every once in a while your baby's sleep will mysteriously become a disastrous mess. At the same time your baby will become really fussy which is either the cause or result of the sleep deprivation. The slender thread of normalcy you've been clinging to will disappear and you will stumble into the void of parenting despair wondering "Why did we think this baby thing was such a great plan anyway?!?!?" If you've ruled out all the obvious causes of sleep stoppage (teething, colds, ear infections, etc.) then what is probably going on is a "sleep regression". Lots of people have written...

By 6-8 months your baby is fully ready and capable to be completely done with eating at night. Dr. Sears suggests that some parents really enjoy feeding their babies at night and will happily continue offering night feeding sessions until the child stops waking up on their own. If you are one of these mythical "I love waking up in the middle of the night" parents, best of luck to you. Personally I don't know any people like this. And I think they're really rare. Like unicorn rare. But my point is that by this time your baby no longer needs...

From the Desk of Dr. Hale As a practicing pediatrician, when a get a call from a parent wondering if their baby has reflux, my first thought is to make sure there isn't something else going on. Reflux seems to be an "in" diagnosis currently and I don't want to miss something more important. So I will ask the parents to bring in their baby to rule out any other problems. I'm looking most importantly for a good weight gain. Adequate weight gain in the first few months makes me feel more confident that there isn't a concerning illness lurking. If, after...

Sometimes a baby is generally miserable and rarely sleeps because some babies are like that. And sometimes it's because they have reflux. If you suspect you're dealing with reflux it's time to talk to your pediatrician. However your pediatrician won't be able to make a definitive diagnosis without doing something invasive (like an endoscopy which requires putting baby under anesthesia) so you guys will talk it over and make an educated guess. Regardless of which conclusion you and your pediatrician come to, if you even REMOTELY suspect your baby may have reflux you'll want take the following steps so that you...