sleep

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Various Ways to Take Special Care of Your Special Child

Children are an important part of any family and thus their proper care plays a crucial role in the prosperity of any family. For better health of children, it is very important that the family ensure that the children get an adequate sleep and that too without any problem and discomfort. This is only possible when the mattresses that are being used for the child is comfortable and cozy. Proper and adequate sleep for the child ensures that the whole family gets a proper rest because if the child does not sleep properly at night, he can put the whole family in discomfort. 

The things and the way remain the same, but we need to use the stuff effectively and in a proper manner. There are certain ways through which the children at home can be given special care, and their health can be ensured, these are discussed as follows:  

  1. GIVE A HEALTHY SLEEP TO YOUR CHILD

In order to make sure that all the members of your family derive the right kind of sleep, it is quite essential that quality products are being used. It ensures that sleeping off the whole family becomes a good experience. This contributes to a healthy family over the longer run. There are various types of mattresses, that are available in the market but there are specific companies, which do have expertise in making an efficient and comfortable bed and mattresses for babies.  One of the companies is Nectar, which is specialized in Sleep Products like Pillows, Mattresses, Bed sheets etc. The company is well known for its sleep products, which offer a great deal of comfort and coziness to every respective customer who purchases its products. The products of the company are designed in a way that your children will get the best of comfort in the house. This will mean healthiest of sleep for them. This can lead to better health and overall prosperity among the family in general.  

  1. THE EFFECTIVE AND QUALITATIVE PRODUCTS

The quality of the Nectar products is quite premium. It is a leader in the mattress and bed sheet industry. It is on the top in the market for its qualitative raw materials used by the company for the manufacturing of these products. The mattress provided by the company consists of cotton and jute, which helps, in providing the best of the sleep to both children and parents. The mattresses of the company are made up of high-density memory foam, which is available at affordable prices in comparison to another mattress. The products of the company are recognized widely for sleep due to its quality. The company has tested its mattresses through 365-night trial and it is the only company to do so in the industry to gain a widespread confidence of the consumer in the longer run. It also offers a lifetime warranty. 

  1. BENEFITS OF PROPER SLEEP ON HEALTH

Your family members can achieve various benefits easily. In terms of health, take adequate sleep on a regular basis. The various advantages of efficient sleep are right kind of health for you and your children. They will feel more energetic and enthusiast throughout the day. The individuals who take an adequate amount of sleep are active, as compared to people who do not take an adequate amount of sleep. 

Various studies have shown that effective as well as adequate sleep at night improves brain functioning by 15% and thus the importance of proper sleep cannot be ignored. Therefore, right sleep has various health benefits as well and thus it shall be kept at the priority of every family head while framing the day-to-day schedule of the family. 

  1. DISADVANTAGES OF INADEQUATE SLEEP

If the person does not take proper sleep, one can have serious health issues. It is essential to avoid the different types of health issues like possible chronic sleep loss, also called an insomniac, mood swings, and irritations. These can cause various kinds of issues in the personal and professional life of an individual in the longer run. Thus, it is far better to avoid all these issues by spending a fair amount on the qualitative sleep products that will benefit not only your family’s health but their future as well over a period. These disadvantages can be overcome by effectively through using right sleeping products within the home. 

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dad from day one: Baby Boot Camp

Week 1.

Regarding immediate life in the home front and finding a method to the madness, my wife and I are starting to get things figured out.  When Jack needs a diaper change, I put in his pacifier, “shush” him, and place my right hand over his chest while my wife handles the dirty business, delicately cleaning around his healing circumcised penis and belly button (similar to playing the Operation board game by Milton Bradley).  Regarding sleep schedules, my wife has come up with this gracious plan: On weeknights, I sleep in the guest bedroom on a futon bed from midnight until 6 AM for 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, then I get ready to leave for work.  When I arrive home 12 hours later, I do whatever my wife needs me to, including but not limited to rocking him, holding him, and helping with the feedings.  But during the weekends, I pretty much just take naps when I can.

Yes, this is my new normal.  I look at the situation for my wife and I as “baby boot camp”.  We are being broken down to the point now where we see two hour naps as a valuable prize, as sleep becomes the new currency in life.  Though so many people have told us the “sleep when the baby sleeps” rule, he inconveniently sleeps between 4:30 and 8:00 PM, a time slot where I am always widest awake and eating dinner.  Hopefully keeping him awake during this time will push back his schedule enough to ensure better sleep time for his parents.

I figure if we can make it through the difficulties of breastfeeding and learning to deal with sleep deprivation, we can officially handle all else that will come our way in raising him.  So I remind myself that every good and present father has been through this too.  I look at parenting as a necessary rite of passage for myself as a human being.  It’s something I was meant to do in order to fully serve my purpose here on Earth; never really knowing all the positive chain-reacting side-effects that my influence on him will cause in the world.  Deep.


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dad from day one: The Benefits of Responsibility and the Inevitability of Learning from Mistakes

Thirty-three weeks.

Something I have learned in my adult life so far is that when I am offered more responsibility, it’s almost always the best decision to take it.  Sure, there is such a thing as wearing yourself too thin by agreeing to too many things, even (and especially) with church activities, but that’s a whole different story.  When the company I work for asks me on short notice to leave for a trade show which begins two days after returning from my vacation, or I realize I can save an errand and $20 by activating our new cell phones myself instead of going down to Verizon Wireless, I do it.  Responsibility is an important key in maturity.  And maturity is a key to quality of life.

Hence, parenthood.  Responsibility is almost always attached to loss of time, space, and freedom.  But there are certain life experiences that can never be known and certain character elements that can never be built until responsibility is tackled head on.  Of course, when any person adopts a new important role in their  life, it means they will consistently make mistakes while doing it (since new life experiences don’t usually come with a detailed user’s guide).  And those mistakes become the actual footnotes for every future reference.

I am prepared to lose my sense of freedom, my time, my space, and especially my sleep.  I am prepared to make mistakes constantly, yet learn from them.  I am prepared to become more responsible than I’ve ever been before.  Most importantly, I am prepared to be more blessed than I’ve ever been before, as well.

All pictures with the “JHP” logo were taken by Joe Hendricks Photography:

Blog- www.photojoeblog.com

Website- www.joehendricks.com

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Life is Underrated: Battling the Mindset of Debbie Downer

There is an alternative outlook on life which opposes the “just you wait…” mentality of so much of the general population.

“Your life will never be the same.  Get as much sleep as you can now, because that’s all about to change!” If only words could express how tired I am of hearing it and how unoriginal and not funny that line is.  But as long as people say that to me after learning my wife is pregnant, I will continue giving them courtesy laughs.  Yes, I get it.  I realize that my life is taking a different turn with my first kid on the way.  It’s not new information that having this baby will change my life.

I am 29 years old.  By this time next year, I’ll be 30.  I’m not 22.  Nor am I unaware that a baby needs constant care and attention.  Nor do I need to move to Norway to experience life abroad or smoke pot for a year while playing Super Mario Bros. 2 in somebody’s basement while eating Cheetos to reach perfect nirvana before throwing in the towel to become a responsible adult.

Evidently it’s quite difficult for a lot of people to grasp this concept, but I’m actually truly happy about my life changing.  It’s as if certain people are surprised by my positive outlook on not only my own life but also that I am a man who is excited about parenthood.  These people live by what I call a “just you wait…” mentality.  “Just you wait ‘til that baby’s waking you up in the middle of the night crying…”  “Just you wait ‘til he’s going through his Terrible Two’s…”  “Just you wait ‘til he starts school…”  “Just you wait ‘til he starts driving…”

Argh!  It turns me into a pirate at the thought of these annoying Debbie Downer lines forecasting a life of waiting until some other stage becomes worse than the last.  No.  No, I will not wait.  I will savor each stage of life for all its worth.  And I will enjoy it, just to spite those naysayers who want to make a tired joke out of the whole thing.

The baby will cry and poop and make messes and get into trouble.  And that’s okay.  I feel like I’m being left with no choice but to become an ambassador for parents who are proud and happy and optimistic about being a parent.  Of course that only provokes the opposite group of people to say, “just you wait…”  I know, I know.

And that’s how it works.  The just-you-waiters, in their minds, are helpful by always having advice for other people since life is full of progressing stages- advice that spoken with a tone of “you’re so naïve, if you only knew what’s ahead…”  I heard the same kind of “just you wait…” crap when I was engaged to be married to my wife,  from the same people trying to be funny about my approaching fatherhood.

Yesterday made exactly two years that my wife and I have been married.  No regrets whatsoever, despite a handful of just-you-waiters.  Couldn’t be better.  Couldn’t be happier.  Thank God for her.  I love being married to my wife.

All I can say is that I’m sorry that’s how they view life.  Life isn’t all sunshine and puppy dogs.  But it is enjoyable if you let it be.  If you’re enlightened enough to see that people are the meaning of life.  Marriage is good.  Having kids is good.  Friends are good.  Family is good.  If you can’t enjoy those things, what can you enjoy?

My worldview: Live life then give life.  And don’t whine about it.  Listen to a Jack Johnson CD if you need to.

 

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dad from day one: What Does a Real Baby Do?

Fifteen weeks.

My expectations of what it will be like for my wife and I to have a real baby are pretty limited.  When I try to imagine it, I can only think about a few things: the baby crying, the baby being hungry, feeding the baby, the baby wanting to be held, holding the baby, the baby pooping, changing the baby’s diapers, the baby sleeping, us wishing we could sleep.

And aside from the 80’s sitcom stereotypes, I of course am well aware, thanks to everyone who has ever been a parent and given me any advice: There’s nothing in the world more rewarding than being a parent.

In November I will begin to feel like a real parent (once the kid is born).  Until then I won’t really truly be able to understand or fathom this most rewarding thing in the world.

It’s funny to think that eventually we won’t be comparing our baby to the size of a certain fruit.  (This week our baby is the size of a naval orange.) Eventually, our baby will be the size of a baby.  Interesting thought.

Excerpt from “the bump.com”, regarding week 15:

“Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby’s legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can’t feel the movements.”

All pictures with the “JHP” logo were taken by Joe Hendricks Photography:

Blog- www.photojoeblog.com

Website- www.joehendricks.com

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/nb_checklists/pages/how-big-is-baby.aspx?r=0&MsdVisit=1