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December 16, 2024

New Year, New Baby: Goals for the New Parent

New Parent New Year’s Resolutions: Setting Goals for You and Baby

New year, new you takes on a whole new meaning as a new parent. You may have very different goals from the ones you envisioned in prior years—and before your new baby. Creating a comfortable environment for your little one is now at the top of your goals. This precious life you brought into your home deserves everything you can give it. As someone navigating a new phase of life and diligently watching a baby cam every night, setting achievable goals can help you build confidence and create a positive space for your baby’s development. 

Goal #1: Cozy Sleep
There’s a lot to say about the importance of sleep. The first three to six months of being a parent can look like you have a little baby bean attached to you, and you love that (mostly). Still, separate sleeping schedules are inevitable. While you are content to enjoy those sweet contact naps in the beginning, for which you are fully awake, you want to encourage sleep habits that work for your lifestyle. That means you need to create a comfortable and secure sleep environment. 

Your baby should have a flat surface where they sleep on their back without nearby obstructions like pillows, stuffed animals, and blankets. This space could be a crib or a bassinet. If your baby sleeps in their own room, a baby monitor lets you know when they wake up. 

Your baby monitor can be a simple camera or a more advanced system. An all-in-one baby monitor can track heart rate, oxygen levels, skin temperature changes, room temperature, and humidity. It may even have a sound-machine function. These advanced systems are convenient and informative, helping you create a comfortable sleep space while giving you peace of mind. You’ll know when your baby wakes up, and you’ll also know when there are any significant changes to their surroundings or vitals. 

Goal #2: Bonding with Your Baby
Most parents can bond with their babies in the first weeks after bringing them home, especially if they use parental leave. Bonding can look like contact naps, playtime, singing them songs (letting your baby hear your voice), or showing them around the home and outside area. In the earliest parts of parenthood, bonding is spending time with your little one—you don’t have to overthink it.

Goal #3: Prioritizing Mental Health
Parenthood is a new phase of life that brings many physical and mental changes to your routines, habits, comfort levels, work, and social life. It’s a big change. Prioritizing your mental health is crucial when taking care of your little one. In order to do so, make sure you do what you must to create space for yourself. You may have a high-quality smart baby monitor, but you’re also your own mommy or daddy baby monitor. When you’re using a baby monitor that alerts your phone to any changes, from your baby waking up to changes in oxygen levels, you can focus on yourself for a little bit, whether that means taking time to listen to your favorite podcast or even scheduling an appointment for yourself with a healthcare provider.

Setting goals as a new parent can feel simple with some tips like these. Achievable goals that support a healthy home environment are the best way to enter the new year with you and your little one. 

 

The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not replace medical advice from your doctor, pediatrician, or medical professional. If you have questions or concerns, you should contact a medical professional.

December 16, 2024

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October 02, 2025
4 Tips to Help Your Baby Adjust to the Time Change Before Daylight Savings

When the clocks “fall back” on November 2 this year, many parents expect to brace for disrupted sleep (which goes both ways). Babies thrive on consistency, so even a one-hour shift can throw off naps, feedings, and bedtimes. With a bit of preparation, you can help your little one adjust before Daylight Saving Time.

Start Shifting Early
With steady, minor adjustments, you can help align their internal clock without major disruptions. Begin about a week before the change, knowing that it may take longer than that for your little one to adapt. One idea is to move your baby’s wake-up, naps, and bedtimes earlier by just 10-15 minutes every day or

two. Consider keeping bedtime routines the same, including bath times, book reading, and lullabies. These are cues for sleep, even if the timing is slightly different.

Use Light and Environment Advantageously
Morning sunlight helps reset circadian rhythms, so open the curtains soon after waking. At night, dim the lights earlier than usual to signal winding down. Consistency in the sleep environment, such as comfortable room temperature, quiet, and darkness, makes the transition smoother.

Lean on Smart Monitoring Tools During time-change prep, an all-in-one wellness monitor that tracks oxygen saturation levels, body temperature variations, heart rate, sleep patterns, and even nursery conditions through a connected hub is excellent, especially for parents of newborns. By seeing trends in your baby’s natural sleep cues, you can implement gradual schedule shifts more confidently.

A built-in baby wellness cam offers night vision and two-way audio to observe if your baby is settling earlier or waking at new times. Environmental sensors for temperature and humidity levels help you fine-tune the nursery for comfort. At the same time, app notifications provide reassurance if your baby stirs more often during the adjustment period.

Stay as Consistent as Possible
Some babies adapt quickly, while others need a week or more. Once the clocks change, stick to the shifted schedule and resist reverting to old times. A little extra patience and help from your monitor go a long way.

When the clocks “fall back” on November 2 this year, many parents expect to brace for disrupted sleep (which goes both ways). Babies thrive on consistency, so even a one-hour shift can throw off naps, feedings, and bedtimes. With a bit of preparation, you can help your little one adjust before Daylight Saving Time.

Read more
August 19, 2025
Should You Follow a Feeding Schedule?

Babies know what they need: milk, sleep, and comfort. They tell you when they need them. You sometimes wake up to the sound of your little one through the baby sleep monitor because they’re hungry. Yet, your little one doesn’t run on a schedule, and they can’t tell you the time. So, should you, as a new parent, follow a feeding schedule?

Daytime Feedings
The early days with a newborn swing between sleeping and feeding with a few (or a lot of) diaper changes in between. Sometimes, the day just feels like a series of feedings, and you can’t even remember what happened when you weren’t feeding the baby. Eventually, you notice a kind of pattern to the sleep-wake cycles. You can create a little strategy to give yourself one (or more than one) grown-up nap a day, letting your baby sleep in a comfortable environment thanks to a smart baby monitor. 

Nighttime Feedings
Newborns don’t really have a bedtime. They just take a series of naps until they adjust to a new schedule and develop their circadian rhythm, sleeping for two to four hours. When they’re not asleep, you should encourage them to drift off again after feedings, so they get into the habit of sleeping more at nighttime. 

Breast vs. Bottle
Sometimes, breastfed babies have to nurse more frequently than bottle-fed babies. While the size of a person’s breast doesn’t determine how much milk they produce, it does impact how much milk they can store. Women with smaller breasts sometimes store less milk at a time, so their babies may nurse more frequently. Women with larger breasts store more at one time, so there may be less frequent nursing sessions. 
On the other hand, bottle-fed babies can take in more milk per feeding and don’t have to work for a letdown. Your little one’s feedings may be more spaced apart if they’re bottle-fed, regardless of whether there’s breastmilk or formula in the bottle.

Babies don’t know the difference between night and day and need frequent feedings. Instead of focusing on a feeding schedule in the early days, keep everyone in the family comfortable and well-fed. 

Babies know what they need: milk, sleep, and comfort. They tell you when they need them. You sometimes wake up to the sound of your little one through the baby sleep monitor because they’re hungry. Yet, your little one doesn’t run on a schedule, and they can’t tell you the time. So, should you, as a new parent, follow a feeding schedule?

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Postpartum Support: A Guide for Dads & Partners

New parents take on a lot in the weeks and months after having a baby. It’s plenty of fun with many new experiences. While the parent who gave birth, breastfeeds, and pumps has another full-time job, partners can step in to help in different ways.

Researching Baby Products
Parents often research and purchase baby products long before their little one arrives. As parents, both of you should be looking into high-quality baby tech and supplies. One of these essentials is a baby monitor, which you might forget to prioritize. Partners, it’s your turn to research smart baby monitor options that give you extra support.

Nowadays, this goes beyond simple cameras with night vision. You can find monitors with various features, including a smart sensor on an ankle band to track your baby’s heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, and external skin temperature variations. A design that has a nightlight is a plus, too.

Nap-Time Checks
You’ll hear plenty of moms and birth parents acknowledge how difficult it is to sleep when the baby sleeps. They want to watch over their little ones and catch up on things around the house. It’s also surprisingly easy to fall asleep during a contact nap. That’s where your partnership can help. Not only can the birth parent snooze while the baby naps, but they can also rest easy knowing that you’re starting the laundry, there’s a plan for dinner, and you’re making sure the baby is in the right position for a comfortable contact nap.

*Contact naps are only okay if the parent is awake or there’s another person present to monitor the snoozing parent and sleeping baby. 

Late-Night Wake-Ups
If the breastfeeding parent recently fed the baby, there’s breastmilk in the fridge, or your baby takes formula, there’s no reason why a dad or partner shouldn’t take on nighttime wake-ups. You can learn to change a diaper, prepare a bottle, and comfort a baby. We’re in the 21st century, and with birth parents being full-time employees at other jobs, it’s time to share the unpaid role of parent, especially in the beginning.

Someone who has given birth or had a C-section is still recovering from what is technically a surgery. If there is a caregiver who stays home while the other is at work, that home caregiver doesn’t get lunch breaks or a chance to decompress. So, let them sleep or take turns covering nighttime wakeups. You can both access your baby sleep monitor through an app, so it’s not the sole responsibility of one parent.

Scheduling Pediatrician Appointments
Your first pediatrician appointment is likely within a week or two after leaving the hospital or giving birth. There will be several appointments within the first year of your baby’s life, and dads can make those appointments. It’s super easy. After both parents agree on a pediatrician, contact the office and tell them it’s your first appointment with your baby. It’s probably way less stressful than ordering a pizza over the phone back in 1995.

Being a parent is exciting, and if you’re lucky enough to go into parenthood with a partner, do your best to be their best advocate. There are things that only a birth parent can do, and you can help with the rest.

New parents take on a lot in the weeks and months after having a baby. It’s plenty of fun with many new experiences. While the parent who gave birth, breastfeeds, and pumps has another full-time job, partners can step in to help in different ways.

Read more