Some helpful advice – from one mum to another!

Vicki Scott is Philips AVENT’s baby feeding and wellbeing advisor. She is a qualified midwife, nursery and maternity nurse and breastfeeding consultant, with nearly 20 years professional experience.

More importantly, she is also proud mum to two-year-old Poppy and regularly draws on her own personal experiences. Yes, she knows firsthand what you’re going through!

Vicki will be posting monthly updates with top-tips and topical features that will help take the stresses and strains out of life for you and your little ones.

Making sure you have a fun-filled festive season!

Christmas is a time for families, fun and festivities. It can also be a bit hectic, and with the arrival of a new baby it may at times be a little hard to remember it is the ‘season to be jolly’! The good news is that there are a few things you can do to make it all a little less stressful and to ensure everyone gets into the Christmas spirit.

You may be travelling between relatives and home over the festive break, which will require a bit of planning. It’s not always easy but it’s really important to try and plan your travels to fit around your baby’s routine. Young babies nearly always sleep well in the car, so take advantage of this and stop off at your baby’s usual feed times so that your baby can get out of her car seat, have a feed, change and stretch. Having these wakeful periods, even if your journey takes longer, should help to avoid your baby sleeping all day, and being up all night. Take along your baby’s usual items that she’ll associate with bedtime, such as her sleeping bag, special cuddly toy, soother or a lullaby CD – that way, your baby will know it is time to sleep, even though she’s in different surroundings.

That said, Christmas is a holiday for the whole family, baby and mum included, so don’t worry if your usual routine is relaxed a bit. Just try to avoid picking up any bad habits you’ll regret come 2 January! Your baby will be the centre of attention, so be aware that she may get over-stimulated by lots of noise and by being cuddled and looked after by more people than usual. The best thing you can do is try to ensure she gets her naps when she needs them and is given some quiet wind-down time before you leave her to sleep. Try to be firm with keen grandparents as your baby will be up for lots of fun and playing after her nap – remember you’re the one who’ll have to calm her down when she gets overexcited and overtired.

It’s a good idea to give your baby a little time away from all the fun as her nap-time approaches. Some quiet time with you or dad will help her wind-down and go to sleep more easily. On the subject of noise, it’s definitely worth investing in a good baby monitor if you don’t use one already. Using a monitor means your baby can be left to sleep safely in a quiet part of the house while you spend time catching up with friends and family. You will still be able to hear her if she stirs, and the lights feature on the better baby monitors mean you can also ‘see’ if your baby stirs – especially useful when it’s busy and noisy.

When you’re feeding, if your baby seems distracted, escape somewhere quiet so she can concentrate on taking her milk properly, then you can both return to the party afterwards. You may also want to express some milk and let someone else give a few of the feeds.

And of course, since there may well be a few over-keen helpers, there’s no reason to take full advantage of that! Grandparents are nearly always eager babysitters, which gives you a great opportunity to relax and have a break. Make sure you’ve packed your pushchair, so your baby can be taken out for some fresh air while you get some time to yourself. Remember Christmas is a time for everyone to enjoy themselves – especially you! Have a great Christmas.

Read Vicki’s Top Tips for more great advice on how to get the most out of Christmas. And, why not have a look at our fun new video feature to find out more about the latest state-of-the-art Philips AVENT DECT baby monitors, designed to give you extra peace of mind at anytime of the year.

With a Philips AVENT Baby Monitor you can be close to your baby in many different ways; with a clear, fully secure connection; through temperature & humidity monitoring; with talkback, lullabies and a nightlight. To find out more about our range visit www.philips.co.uk/avent

For a chance to win one of ten new Philips AVENT DECT baby monitors enter our competition

Philips AVENT Top of the range DECT Baby Monitor, SCD530

  • Zero interference so you are totally connected to your baby
  • Room temperature sensor
  • Humidity sensor
  • Extra long range of 330m and 24hr operation time
  • Vibration alert
  • Lullaby option
  • Baby unit nightlight
  • Parent talkback
  • Rechargeable parent unit
  • Sound level lights
  • Adjustable sound sensitivity
  • Volume control
  • Belt clip and neck cord
  • LCD screen on parent and baby units
  • Travel bag

More Advice