Baby's firsts. Every parent waits breathlessly for them to happen and sheds tears of joy when they do. As we wait for these big moments, there are many little firsts that will be happening; many of these important firsts deal with babies' sleeping habits.

As a parent, how do you know when your children can go through the night without a feeding, when they can begin sleeping on their stomach, or when they can sleep with a blanket?

Sometimes it seems like getting your child to go through the night without a feeding can take forever. However, according to experts, ninety percent of healthy children should be able to go through the night without a feeding within six months.

Children should be comfortable for six or more hours of sleep without waking up hungry. You need to wean your child off nighttime feedings around this time to help them separate sleep and food so that your baby can wake up without needing to be fed. A good way to do this is to begin feeding your child smaller amounts when he wakes up at night.

Around six months, your child will begin to have many firsts. One of these is that your baby should begin being able to sleep on her stomach. By this time, your child will be able to roll from her back to her stomach, so you will really have little control over it anyway.

However, babies should not sleep on their tummies before this time, because the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) peaks between 2 and 4 months. Continue putting your children to bed by laying them on their back, since SIDS is a risk until around 12 months.

At every baby shower you will probably get at least one lovely blanket for your baby. Although these are wonderful and can be used for decoration, your child should not begin sleeping with a blanket until around 12 months.

Many babies who die from SIDS are found lying on their stomachs covered by a blanket or soft cover. Since babies are not able to safely use all these wonderful gifts until around 12 months, dress babies in a warm blanket-like sleeper to keep them comfortable at night.

Although we always hear about the big firsts, some of the small firsts are very special as well. Specifically when it comes to these nighttime firsts, your knowledge concerning your baby's ability to do these things helps you keep your child safe, healthy, and happy.

Beth Hayward's articles on topics related to babies and parenting are published at RK Baby , a premier resource on-line for baby information. For addtional articles by Beth, visit Flowers eShop and First Class Wedding