Your Baby and You: Week Twenty Two
YOUR BABY
Physical Development: Roly poly
At around 5 months of age you may start to see your baby rolling from her back over onto her front. Once she has got to grips with doing this intentionally, it may become hard to keep her still.
When you hold your baby upright with your hands under her arms or around her tummy, you may find she naturally starts to bear some weight on her legs.
Don't Forget: Rolling distances
Now that your baby has started to move around by rolling and twisting her body, be aware of how far she can travel. Never leave her alone lying on a high surface, such as a changing table, and always be wary of the objects nearby that she could roll and bump into.
Behavioural Development: That's my name!
Try to repeat key words often when you are talking to your baby. You should notice that he starts responding when you say his name. For example, he may turn his head to you if he's been looking in another direction.
Babies of this age are often very sociable little people. They love being surrounded by people, activity and noise. It is only when they are older that babies start to become anxious or unsure around people they don't know.
Speech and Communication: Dada!
You may find when you are chatting to your baby that, if you leave pauses when you are talking, your baby will chat back to you by making her conversational babbles. At around 22 weeks, babies can usually combine vowels and consonants. For example you may hear 'baba', 'ah-go' and of course 'Dada!'
Feeding: Signs of weaning?
Is your baby starting to show interest in what you are eating? He may watch you intently when you are eating; gazing at your food as it moves from your plate to your mouth. He may even try to grab some of the food off of your plate. These are all signs of your baby being ready for his first taste of solid foods. To prepare for the fun phase of weaning your baby, read our Weaning to Solids section. It will give you good tips for how to wean, when you should wean to solids and the equipment you will need.
As your baby nears 6 months of age, you may also start to think about weaning him from breastfeeding to formula feeding. It may surprise you to find that this decision can be quite an emotional one, even if you didn't always find breastfeeding easy. If you decide to stop breastfeeding before the age of 12 months then your baby will need to be given formula in place of the breast milk feeds. For many babies the transition is straightforward, particularly if they are already used to drinking expressed breast milk from a bottle. For other babies the transition needs to be more gradual. Take a look at our Weaning from Breast to Bottle section for advice on making a smooth changeover from breast to formula feeding.
Care Advice: Choosing childcare
You may be nearing a time when you need to start thinking about going back to work. You might have decided to stop working, want to go back to work part-time or be considering a change of career to be more flexible with family life. Whatever your work plans, you will want to make sure your baby has a smooth transition to being cared for by other people. It is only natural to want the very best care for your child and to know that your baby is content when you can't be with her. There is a range of childcare options available: nannies, childminders, nurseries and au pairs. Some people also have a family member, often a grandparent, willing and able to help out. Read our Childcare section, where we cover the different options of childcare for your child and the things you need to look for when taking on a childcare professional to look after your baby.
Common or Serious Ailments: German Measles
German Measles, also known as Rubella, is an infection that is caused by the rubella virus: it is passed from person to person through touch, sneezing and coughing. Rubella most commonly occurs in young children, but it can affect anyone of any age. A German measles infection usually only causes a mild illness. But, in pregnant women, rubella can cause serious damage to their unborn baby or even miscarriage. Cases of rubella in the UK are now quite rare thanks to the childhood MMR (Measles Mumps & Rubella) immunisation.
Some people with the infection suffer no symptoms at all. Rubella symptoms that can appear are swollen glands; a pink spotty rash; a cold, cough, sore throat and mild fever; sore red eyes (conjunctivitis) and tiredness.
It takes around 2 to 3 weeks for symptoms to appear after being infected with the rubella virus. A child will be infectious from 1 week before the symptoms develop until 4 days after the rash first appeared. Children should not go to nursery or school and should avoid public places until they are no longer infectious. The infection poses a serious risk to pregnant women in the first half of their pregnancy Since it is a virus there is no treatment for rubella, but most people are not unwell and quickly make a full recovery.
THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR BABY THIS WEEK
Ways to Entertain Baby: Touchy feely
At 5 months of age, babies are becoming increasingly inquisitive about the world around them. They will really enjoy touching and feeling different textures. A great activity to do for your baby is to put together a Sensory Discovery Box of different materials and objects from around the house for your baby to explore. You could try throwing things in like a flannel, scrunched up wrapping paper, a slipper, an orange or banana, felt, a large feather, a muslin, a baby blanket with tags on, a wooden spoon etc. You may also have bought toys for your baby that make a noise when squeezed, or have materials on that crunch and crackle, so add these to the box as well. You will find this activity will delight your little one as they discover the feel of different objects and fabrics. Remember never to leave a baby unattended with these items - make sure they always play with them safely and don't put small objects into their mouth. Read What Toys Does a Baby Need? for more ideas.
ALL ABOUT YOU THIS WEEK
Your Body: Healthy diet
There's no denying that by maintaining a healthy diet, you will feel fitter and have more energy to get through those sleep-deprived days of motherhood. It is also important for your baby to see you eating a rich and varied diet.
You hear doctors, the newspapers and celebrities harping on about healthy eating, but what does that actually mean? A healthy, well-balanced diet should include all of the main food groups:
- Fruit and vegetables: aim for 5 portions a day to lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and osteoporosis.
- Carbohydrates: give you lots of energy and nutrients. Carbohydrates are found in starchy foods. Try to eat wholemeal bread and wholegrain rice, pasta and cereals.
- Protein: helps your body grow and repair itself. Protein comes from meat, fish, eggs and beans. Aim to eat mainly lean meats with the occasional red meat indulgence (such as a steak, which is rich in iron).
- Dairy: choose low-fat milk (skimmed or semi-skimmed), unsweetened yogurts and small quantities of cheese.
- Only a very small amount of foods high in sugar and fat (such as cake or biscuits)
About one third of your daily diet should be carbohydrates. Another third should be fruit and vegetables. The final third should be made up of protein and dairy foods.
Emotions: Going back to work
The prospect of going back to work can be an emotionally difficult time and the final weeks of your maternity leave can pass all too quickly. You may also be looking forward to getting back to a world of grown up conversation and the challenges of working again. See our Returning to Work section to see what emotions are normal as you approach this transition.
Activities: Time Out
It's time for a little pampering. How about giving your nails a manicure and pedicure? This doesn't have to be done at expense by a professional; taking some time out to do it yourself can be just as relaxing. You'll have some beautiful nails to show off while changing those nappies!
