Your Baby and You: Week Forty Two
YOUR BABY
Physical Development: Waving
By now your baby may have learned to wave, waving goodbye in particular is something babies learn to do quite quickly. You may find that for some time they are slow to respond to a goodbye with a wave, often waving after the person has gone!
Behavioural Development: Using meal times for messy play?
The world of food is one exciting experiment after another for babies. And whilst they may take much enjoyment over stimulating their taste buds, they are often just as keen to explore with their other senses. Food smeared across the highchair tray, dropped on the floor or rubbed into their hair doesn't constitute 'being naughty' at this age, it's actually a good sign in terms of their development. Of course the additional mess is something you could do without, so help yourself through this period by remembering these helpful points:
- They're not doing it to upset you or to be naughty
- They may enjoy provoking a reaction though, so remember that by telling them off you could encourage them just as much as laughing at them. Try turning your back and displaying complete disinterest - as hard as it is!
- Remember to praise them when they eat nicely
- Remember this is just another phase, they will grow out of it!
Feeding: Let me have a go mum!
If you haven't already given your baby the chance to self-feed, you should start trying it now. It's really important for encouraging the early stages of independence, as well as coordination. It also helps babies to start getting to grips with their own tastes and preferences, and to learn about different textures and flavours. You don't just need to limit finger foods to dry breadsticks or pieces of fruit, allowing your baby to tuck into their pasta with their hands might seem like a ludicrously messy idea, but with practice they will get better at it and you will reap the rewards of a baby keen to feed themselves in the long run.
Feeding Tip - whole grains
Don't shy away from giving your baby whole grain food. There is a tendency to stick to a lot of baby meals based around white boiled rice, when in fact there are far more nutritious sources of carbohydrate out there that babies will enjoy just as much. Do don't be afraid to be a little bit more adventurous, try giving them some quinoa or barley for a change!
Care Advice: Baby walkers and door bouncers
Baby walkers and door bouncers are useful ways of entertaining babies. They leave your hands free for a while and offer your baby a different perspective on the room. However, it is important that you don't fall into a habit of leaving your baby in one of these devices for too much time each day. It is thought that this can lead to delays in achieving certain milestones, probably because babies aren't exploring for themselves as much or exercising the same muscles that they would if left to their own devices on the floor. Check the guidelines in your manufacturers' handbook for recommended daily use periods.
Safety Advice: Do you know basic first aid?
Take time to refresh your memory on basic first aid so that you are confident in how to treat or respond to any accidents that your baby may have. These include dealing with bumps to the head, cuts, falls etc. We have some helpful first aid advice here.
Safety Tip: Know where your hospital is
Find out where your nearest walk-in centre is, or how to contact your out of hours GP. Also familiarise yourself with where your closest hospital is with an A&E department. Keep emergency contact numbers on your phone and at home - on the fridge is a good idea. If you have a sat nav for driving, programme these addresses in to it and save them so that in an emergency you don't need to waste time looking up directions or trying to guess where you are going.
Common illnesses and ailments: Foreign object in baby's ear
Be it by accident, by their own hand or by a dextrous sibling, babies and children can sometimes end up with unwanted objects in their ears. If this happens to your baby, it is only OK for you to try to remove it yourself with tweezers if it is very close to the surface and you are confident that you can remove it easily. Otherwise, to avoid pushing the object further into the ear and causing more damage, you should take your baby to see a doctor.
THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR BABY THIS WEEK
Entertainment: Action songs
Action songs and nursery rhymes are a great way to bring a smile to a baby's face, whilst at the same time teaching them about music, rhythm and encouraging their own coordination by joining in. Some great ones to start with include:
- Head, shoulders, knees & toes
- Row, row your boat
- Incy wincy spider
ALL ABOUT YOU THIS WEEK
Your Body: Are you getting enough exercise?
As a general rule of thumb, many practitioners advise exercising at least 3-4 times per week. The NHS gives even more specific advice here about how your exercise regime should be split between aerobic exercises and muscle-strengthening activities. Now, if you've been letting your trainers gather dust over the past year then you may find the idea of getting started on an exercise programme more than you can bear. But you don't have to take up jogging to get fit, there has never been more choice when it comes to different exercises and options of where to do them. There are plenty of group classes that are fun and motivating, such as Zumba, Spinning and Body Combat. As well as personal trainers who offer reasonable prices on one-one sessions and even better value for group sessions if you want to get fit with some friends! Don't let the pressures of motherhood become your excuse to get out of getting fit, being healthy and strong is vital for both you and your baby now and in the long run.
Your Relationships: Date nights
Whether you want to call it 'date night', or just' a night out' book one in. It doesn't matter how many weeks it is away, if you have something firmly in the diary, and a babysitter booked, it is much more likely to happen. It doesn't matter whether your evening out is dinner, a cinema trip or just an evening spent enjoying the sights of London or another city, spending time together as a couple (and without any children) is really important for your relationship.
Time for yourself: Stretch out date night!
When the time comes for your evening out, see if you can get your other half, or your babysitter to take care of the baby a couple of hours before you go out. Take the time to pamper yourself a bit, spend that bit longer in the bath or shower, do your nails or even have a pre-date kip!
