Your Baby: The Second Month

Your Baby: The Second Month

March 6th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

In the second month of your baby’s life, great things will begin to happen. Your baby will begin to interact more with you, move around more, and you will likely even see that first smile.

Growth and Feeding

Throughout the second month, your baby will continue to require around the clock feedings to keep growing. And growth is still going strong this month, as your baby may gain another 1-2 pounds. You will also notice he is getting longer. Although babies gain in length in the first month as well, this will become more evident as the second month passes and he starts to stretch his legs more, allowing you to see him at his full length.

Sleep Patterns

While sleep will likely still be erratic, you can expect some longer stretches of sleep at night in the second month. Developing a bedtime routine and sticking to it will be greatly helpful at this stage, as he starts to learn the difference between day and night. Your baby still needs 15-16 hours of sleep a day, but towards the end of the second month he will start to get more of that sleep during the night hours and be awake more during the day. A simple bedtime routine consisting of a bath, feeding, and a song or story will help him to understand when it’s time to go to sleep.

Physical and Cognitive Development

Your baby is making great strides in the second month! She will be able to hold her head up at a 45 degree angle when placed on her stomach. Regular ‘tummy time” throughout the day will help her to develop the neck strength necessary to do this, as well as for future endeavors such as pulling up and crawling. She will start to wiggle around a lot, kicking her arms and legs. If you hold a toy out to her, she might reach for it or bat at it, and may even hold it and shake it around a bit.

As eyesight improves, your baby is starting to take in the world around her. She will follow an object with her eyes, and will also start to respond to your facial expressions. When something tickles her just the right way, you will be rewarded with a smile. While you may have seen baby smile in her sleep previously, you will now be seeing responsive smiles. Your baby is truly starting to interact with you!

This interaction will also start to extend to baby’s vocalizations. During the second month, you will hear her make some new sounds to get your attention. While crying is still the main way of telling you she needs something, she will now start offering coos and vowel sounds as well. Responding to these sounds will encourage your baby to continue vocalizing and develop these early language skills.

While all this new interaction is very exciting, remember that your baby is still very young and can become over-stimulated easily. Watch for signs that baby is tiring, such as breaking eye contact, becoming fussy or crying, and pulling away. When you see any of these signs, it’s time to switch to a quieter activity.

Now that your baby is stronger and more alert, you will probably want to start taking her out to explore the world. At this age baby will enjoy riding in a stroller or front carrier and being able to take in the sights and sounds of the outdoors. Be sure to dress her for the weather to keep her warm but not overheated.

The second month is filled with exciting milestones and a new type of connection with your baby, and you will start to see the world in a new way as you see it through your baby’s eyes.

Your Baby: The First Month

Your Baby: The First Month

March 5th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The first month of your baby’s life is a special time of bonding, cuddling, and adjustment to the major changes that have come into your home along with this new little person. While mom and dad learn to function on a lot less sleep, baby is doing more than it might appear.

Growth and Feeding

Shortly after birth, your newborn will lose up to 10% of her body weight. This is perfectly normal, and soon after she will get started on a newborn’s main task: gaining weight and growing. It’s not unusual for a baby to gain up to two pounds in the first month of life. In order to accomplish this task, your baby will eat frequently, and need to feed around the clock. Her small body requires regular nourishment, and that includes feedings in the middle of the night!

Sleep Patterns

In the first month of life, your newborn has not yet developed circadian rhythms. Simply put, she just doesn’t know day from night. Your baby will sleep and wake at what might seem to you to be strange and in some cases downright unpleasant hours. Some babies are often fast asleep much of the day and wide awake come nightfall. Most newborns sleep a total average of 15-16 hours per day, but this is usually broken up into 2-3 hour stretches of sleep, with wakeful periods in between. As your baby grows, her stretches of sleep will become longer.

Physical and Cognitive Development

Some babies are able to briefly lift their heads from birth, but most will slowly develop the necessary strength. Over the first month of life you will notice your baby’s increase in strength as he starts to lift his head for longer periods, especially when placed on his stomach. Newborns have limited eyesight, and see best from a distance of about 8-10 inches. Hearing is well developed and your baby will respond readily to the sound of voices, especially those that are the most familiar to him. He is already able to tell the difference between voices, and knows the sounds of mom and dad. He will start to respond to the sound of your voice by turning his head towards you and seeking for your face.

Much of your baby’s behavior at this point is instinctive. Hands will generally stay in a clenched fist, but he will grasp at a finger or object placed in his palm. The fetal position remains the most comfortable to a newborn, used to the confinement of the womb. This is why newborns often find swaddling to be comforting. Newborns startle easily, and your baby may jump at sudden noises or even in his sleep. This is called the Moro reflex, and he will grow out of it in time.

Newborns cry reflexively to communicate their needs, and your baby will probably cry fairly frequently in the first month. Soon, he will come to understand that crying elicits a response from mom and dad, and will begin to do it with more awareness. Towards the end of the first month, your baby will begin to understand that you will be there to fill his every need, and he has only to cry to get your attention. This is the beginning of trust and security.

The first month is a time to settle into life with your newborn, and to begin the bonding process. Enjoy this special time of cuddling and getting to know your little miracle, who wants nothing more than to be in your arms.

The Amount of Liquids Your Baby Should Be Drinking at Each Age

The Amount of Liquids Your Baby Should Be Drinking at Each Age

February 22nd, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Babies begin life with a liquid diet of either breast milk, formula or a combination of the two. They should remain on an entirely liquid diet until around six months when solid solid foods are introduced gradually. By a year, your baby should be eating three meals and two snacks a day of table food and drinking milk as a supplement – not a meal. It’s a fast transition for both mother and child, and the most important part of ensuring a smooth transition is determining how much your child should be drinking over that first year.

Birth to Six Months

Breastfeeding

When you breastfeed your baby, you normally don’t have a gauge of how much your baby is actually eating other than the amount of time he spends on each breast. A session of breastfeeding, once established for both mother and child, should take ten to thirty minutes, but can be longer for any number of reasons. As a newborn, your baby might nurse eight to twelve times a day at any interval and this pattern can last up to six months of age.

Bottle Feeding

Formula takes a bit longer to digest, so babies typically wait a bit longer between feedings, and the amounts consumed can vary widely among babies. There is no average amount, but before the introduction of solids, your baby is likely drinking 16 to 32 ounces, or 460 to 940 mL, a day. Some babies drink more or less, and the best way to gauge if the amount is correct is to check your baby’s weight gain and growth over time. Your doctor will be doing this at every appointment.

A more numerical approach to the amount a child should be eating is offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics, -On average, your baby should take in about 2 1/2 ounces of formula a day for every pound of body weight.- This translates to 24 to 36 ounces of formula after four months for most babies.

Six Months to One Year

Around six months you will start introducing solid foods. During this period of introduction, the solid foods are a supplement to the milk-based diet, but over the remaining months, solid food will become the basis of your baby’s diet and he will be supplemented first by breast milk or formula and then by cow’s milk (unless you continue to nurse after this point.)

At six months your child will be nursing on demand or drinking close to 36 ounces of formula per day. This requirement should hold steady over the next few months as you increase his diet in solid foods. As solids become more proficient, milk will actually decrease until he is drinking only about two cups at his first birthday per day. The two cup requirement is an average and is the same for toddlers and young children of all ages.

The Amount of Foods Your Baby Should Be Eating

The Amount of Foods Your Baby Should Be Eating

February 22nd, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The amount of food your baby requires varies a great deal not only from one developmental stage to the next, but also among babies of the same size and age. Many conditions play into the nutritional requirements of babies, and the best way to determine if the child’s needs are being met is through growth and measurement patterns. If your child is eating a balanced children diet and growing well, you can rest assured he’s likely getting what he needs.

While this is comforting, many parents still prefer to average their child’s food intake at different age. This becomes more important as children reach their first birthday and are taking the bulk of their nutrition from solid baby foods. When trying to help your child meet the minimum requirements for a toddler, be sure to average three days to a week at a time rather than focusing on each day. In a given day a toddler might seem to eat next to nothing in a particular food group, but then compensate by eating large amounts the next day.

Birth to Four Months

From birth, babies are fed breastmilk, formula or a combination of the two. The breastfed baby is eating eight to twelve times a day at random intervals and the formula fed baby is eating six to eight times a day on more regular intervals. The breastfed baby should be nursing ten to forty minutes in a sitting and the formula fed baby should be consuming 16 to 32 ounces on average.

Four to Six Months

The breastfed baby continues on the same track, but with reduced feedings. Occasionally longer stretches of feeding will occur offering you signs that your baby might be ready for a supplement to breastmilk. The formula-fed baby is eating 24-36 ounces of formula on average.

Six to Nine Months

Beginning at six months, the amount of formula and breastmilk should hold steady as you introduce solids. Introduce the solid foods slowly and let your child eat as much as she wants at mealtimes. She is still getting the bulk of her nutrition from milk and formula at this stage, but increasingly she is gaining essential vitamins and nutrients from the solid food. All told, she should have:

  • Breastmilk or formula (24-34 oz.)
  • Half cup of iron-fortified baby cereal per day
  • Soft mashed, ripe or soft-cooked fruits or veggies
  • Strained meats

Ten to Twelve Months

As your child becomes more adaptable with finger foods and is able to eat larger portions from a spoon, her needs for milk or formula will decrease. This means getting a balance of nutrients from solids is even more important as they are becoming the bulk of her diet.

  • Breastmilk or formula (16 – 24 oz.)
  • Cereal, toast, bagels, crackers, dry cereal, whole grain bread, pasta, rice, cooked grains, muffins
  • Fresh, peeled ripe, soft-cooked fruits and veggies
  • You can now also add egg yolk, yogurt and soft-cooked beans

After One Year

At a year, your child might be eating voraciously or starting to slow down as her rate of growth slows. At the minimum, your toddler should be eating:

  • 2 cups of milk (you can switch to whole milk at one year)
  • 4 servings of fruits (a serving is 1-2 tablespoons)
  • 2 servings of meat or the equivalent (a serving is 1-2 tablespoons)
  • 4 servings of breads and cereals (a serving is one quarter of an adult serving)

Be sure that your child gets at least one fruit or vegetable with vitamin C and another with vitamin A every day, and that at least one grain be a serving of iron-fortified cereal.

The Basics of Breast Milk

The Basics of Breast Milk

February 19th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Breast milk develops in stages.

Colostrum

Colostrum is the milk produced by moms in the first few days of a newborn infant’s life. Colorstrum is colorless, thick and sticky. It contains high amount of immunoglobulins, which is an anti-infective component.

It is common that only very small amounts of colostrums are produced during the first few days after a child is born. This often frustrates mothers who expect a greater amount of milk. However, it is important to continue the breastfeeding as the volume of breast milk will increase after 3 or 4 days.

Mature Milk

Mature milk is produced after 3 or 4 days. This milk consists of two different components:

  • Foremilk: Fore milk is the milk that baby receives at the beginning of each feeding. It has high water and sugar content, which will help to quench baby’s thirst. It is produced between feeds in response to previous suckling.
  • Hindmilk: This milk is produced during each feed as the pressure in a mother’s breast decreases. Hindmilk is rich in fat and calories.

It is important the baby receive adequate hindmilk as this calorically dense milk provides the nutrients and calories needed by the newborn. To ensure the infant receive this milk, mother should continue breastfeed until:

  • baby pulls away or
  • baby begins to nibble at the breast or
  • baby falls asleep at the breast or
  • baby doesn’t start to feed again if milk is squeezed into his mouth.

Baby who is not receiving sufficient hindmilk may feel hungry often and require frequent feeding. Because hindmilk provides the needed nutrients for the baby, insufficient hindmilk will result in inadequate weight again. Besides, infant will tense to have lot of gas and explosive production of green stools. The normal stools should be yellow and seedy in texture.

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