Submitted by Pooja Jain

"An over-tired mother of 5 days old baby girl gets up in the middle of sleep cycle at 3 in the morning because of a bad dream. She turns to baby sleeping next to her, hoping to find her dreaming blissfully unaware of her mother's nightmare. But what she saw was much worse than any nightmare. She found her baby sleeping but not breathing. She started trying to wake her baby up by lightly tapping the chest, the baby gasped, and started breathing again. Thank God!" That mother was me. And this turned me into an extremely worried paranoid mother who used to wake up from deep sleep at multiple times in the day and night, just to check if her baby was breathing properly by placing my hand on her chest. And if by chance she was not breathing I use to stop breathing myself so that I won't miss the sound and feel of her breathe.

• Don't shake your baby to try and start breathing as it might cause brain injury.
• Don't put your baby on his/her stomach while sleeping until and unless the baby turns itself in that manner.
• Avoid placing any of those cute stuff toys, soft pillows or fluffy comforter near baby as they pose a threat of suffocating.
• Always keep the infant's head and neck in a straight position when the baby is lying down, because the neck bends too far back or forward, which will block the breathing.
• Do not expose your infant to cigarette smoke. Never smoke in the home or around the baby.
• And lastly it's not a disease or a problem that your kid has.

But one can never be too careful when it comes to their precious kid, so please don't hesitate to consult a pediatrician if you have any questions, as In infants, minor symptoms can worsen very quickly. Or if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Breathing pauses for more than 15 seconds.
• Baby stops breathing and becomes limp, pale, or blue around the mouth.
• Baby's skin changes and remains a bluish color even during periods of normal breathing.
• Baby is vomiting or not feeling well or losing weight.
• Baby is not active or behaving normally.
• Fever of 100.4°F (38.0°C) or higher.
• Baby breathes very fast i.e. more than 60 breaths per minute for baby under 6 weeks old, or more than 45 beats per minute if baby is more than 6 weeks old.

 Please remember that children are not small-sized adults, newborn infants certainly have their own peculiar body functions that distinguish them from older children as well.

Happy Parenting!!

Click here to buy Infant Essentials by The Mom Store