Quality sleep is important for infants and toddlers during their formative years between 0-3years - a time when they need the right balance of physical and emotional nourishment and care to develop and grow healthily and happily.

Tips to establish good sleeping habits for your baby:

1. Creating day/night sleeping environment
   For daytime naps have your baby sleep in a relatively stimulating environment where there is still some noise such as living room. As for nighttime sleep, place his bed in a quiet, low traffic and dim-lit room.
2. Setting a regular sleep time
   To help your infant or toddler regulate his biological sleep rhythms, set a schedule for his sleep time including naps e.g. put him to bed at 9 pm every night.
3. Establish a bedtime routine
   Practice this every night as babies love routines:
1. Step 1 - Warm bath : a warm bath and your comforting touch will help your baby relax and let go of the excitement of the day
2. Step 2 - Gentle massage : Your gentle massage and touch on his soft skin makes this time together positively delightful
3. Step 3 - Quiet bedtime activities: Ease your baby off to sleep by spending quiet time with him, speak softly, sing or read him a story. Your quiet time is about the warm, cozy feeling your baby gets from sharing this special moments with him.

Babies’ skin is different from adult skin. It is thinner; less pigmented and has a higher density of sweat glands. Though seemingly minor, these differences make infant skin more fragile and more susceptible to irritation and physical damage With skin problems prevention is better than cure.

Tips to keeping your baby’s skin healthy:

1. Protect your baby’s skin from harsh detergents and soaps by using skin care products specially formulated for baby skin.
2. Keep irritating wetness away. Change your baby’s diaper whenever it is wet.
3. Keep your baby’s skin well moisturized.
4. Reduce friction especially between baby’s skin folds.
5. Protect your baby’s skin from sun and wind.

Massage is especially beneficial to babies during the early months of their lives when they uncurl from their fetal position, stretch their muscles and coordinate their movements. It helps to prepare baby for the coordinated physical skills to come as they grow and adapt to the new environment. It’s a valuable means of preparing the body for activity and improving mobility and relaxation. It also stimulates the circulatory and the digestive system.

Tips to Infant Massage:

1. Babies have short attention span, so the massage should last about fifteen minutes.
2. Try to massage your baby once a day, at a time when he is receptive, and not hungry or cranky.
3. Be relaxed, put on some soft music and keep the room warm and comfortable for the duration of the massage.
4. Use a mild baby oil to reduce friction against your baby’s skin.
5. Begin with a light but firm touch and gradually increase the pressure as you become more confident and your baby gets use to being massaged.