Your Baby and You: Week Forty Three
YOUR BABY
Physical Development: Getting confident on their feet
If your baby was early to stand, you will probably notice them becoming more confident on their feet each day. They might become more daring in terms of reaching out for objects that they can see on surfaces, and in time this will be accompanied by foot movements enabling them to travel alongside furniture or anything that they can hold on to.
Behavioural Development: Copycat
Copying the sounds and actions of others is very entertaining for babies. Whether they are seeing that you are copying their lead or the other way around, always partake in these games of alternating raspberry blowing, hand clapping or poking out tongues when they happen! They might seem somewhat inane to adults but they are important for the development of your baby's communication skills.
Feeding: Are you giving them too much?
This is often a concern of parents who have babies that eat well. In actual fact, the questions you should really be asking yourself are:
- Is your baby still getting enough breast milk or formula?
- Is the solid food your baby eats nutritious and varied?
Milk, be it formula or breast milk, is still the most important source of nutrients for your child. The foods your baby eats ought to supplement their diet, but make sure that you are not filling up their little tummies with foods that are empty of nutrition, high in salt or sugar. Provided they are getting enough milk and that their diet is nutritious and varied, it is very difficult to over-feed a baby of this age.
Care Advice: Encouraging a routine
No 2 babies follow the same routines, but it is important for your baby (and for you) that you establish a clear routine for them. Make sure that their naps are at the same time each day - wherever possible - and that each day follows a predictable order of events in terms of milk, food, awake time, nap times, bath and bed time. Encouraging your baby to self-settle will really help with this, whether in his cot or buggy.
Safety Advice: Bath time safety
It is easy to become a little complacent about bath time safety once your baby can sit confidently, unsupported. But never be tempted to nip out of the bathroom and leave your baby unattended in the bath, even for a few seconds. It takes a very short time for babies to drown, even in a very shallow depth of water. If you need to dash out of the bathroom, pick them out of the bath in a towel and take them with you, they might protest a little but it's much better to get into these safe habits than to take a risk and leave them alone.
Common illnesses and ailments: Mouth injuries
As babies become more mobile, particularly as they learn to pull up on furniture or cot sides, the chances of a knock to the mouth or a bitten tongue are much higher. If this happens to your baby, be aware that mouth injuries are prone to bleed more than injuries to other parts of the body. Combined with the fact that the inside of their mouths are wet, it can be very difficult to determine where the cut is. If your baby allows you to, apply pressure to the area with a cool, clean cloth for as long as you can. Distract your baby from the pain as much as possible. In most cases, cuts to the lips and mouth heal themselves relatively quickly. However, there are occasions where you should seek further medical advice, including:
- If the bleeding is very heavy and won't stop
- If the cut was caused by an animal bite or a dirty or rusty object
- If the cut starts to show any signs of infection
- If the accident resulted in any kind of puncture wound to the abdomen
THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR BABY THIS WEEK
Entertainment: Recycle your recycling!
Keep an eye on what you're putting in the pile to go to the recycling bin, there are often lots of treasures in a recycling pile that can keep a baby entertained. From cardboard tubes, to scrunchy wrapping paper or yogurt pots for scooping sand or water, there is always something that will interest them. This can be a great way of keeping them occupied on the kitchen floor whilst you clear up their high chair after dinner!
Don't leave your baby unattended with these items, check them for any loose parts or sharp edges and watch out that they aren't eating any bits of cardboard (which can become quite easy to bite off with enough dribble on them!).
ALL ABOUT YOU THIS WEEK
Things to do: Get other mums to bring their little ones round for tea
Making tea time a social occasion can make it much more enjoyable, for babies and mums alike. It's a great way to share ideas when it comes to cooking for little ones or dealing with problematic meal-time behaviour. Cooking for an extra mouth or two isn't much extra work, you will probably find that the other mums are handy for making the post-tea clear up quicker and easier too! What's more, when they return the favour, you get a tea-time off!
Your Emotion: Thick skin for baby teas!
So you invite a few other babies around for tea, work hard at putting together a healthy baby-friendly dinner that your little one loves, and then watch as all the other babies turn their nose up or push it to one side. This is par for the course when feeding children, be it your own or other people's! Don't take it personally, it happens all the time!
YOUR WEEKLY CHECKLIST
(Helping to keep you organised!)
Baby Health: Car seat
Most infant car seats last well up to, and often beyond, the age of 12 months. But check the manufacturer's guidelines for your own car seat to ensure that your baby isn't approaching their size limit for the seat.
