Life definitely changes once a baby is on board, and there's nothing more interesting and exciting than your precious little bundle of joy. This section will answer many of your pressing parenting questions and hopefully help make life easier and more fun for you and your baby.
Hooray! Baby's Here. Now What?
- > Breast Feeding vs. Bottle Feeding
- > How to Make Breast Feeding Work
- > Essential Baby Items for Newborns
- > How Much Sleep Do Babies Need?
- > Signs of Postpartum Depression
- > Good Tips for Baby Immunizations
- > Fun Tips on How to Bond with Your Baby
Baby Safety
Being "Baby" Prepared
Behavior & Developmental Challenges
- > You Can Calm a Fussy Baby - Find Out How
- > Does My Baby Have Colic?
- > How to Identify a Growth Spurt
- > Is your Baby Teething? How You Can Help
- > Ways to Encourage Crawling
- > Ways to Help your Baby Sleep Well
Baby Health Issues & What to Do
- > Diaper Rash Remedies & Prevention
- > Help Your Constipated Baby Feel Better
- > Treatments for Cradle Cap
- > How to Help a Choking Baby
Developmental Milestones & Solid Foods
First Year Baby Development Milestones
Your newborn will go from lying and doing hardly anything to rolling to walking in no time. Have a camera on hand to capture every baby milestone during your little one's first year. Below are some important first year development milestones you can expect Junior or Princess to achieve.
- Sweet Baby Sounds - Right from the start your baby will make lots of noises including cries, grunts, sneezes, squeaks and hiccups, but the actual baby coos won't start till later.
- Quirky Movements - During the first month a baby's nervous system is still out of whack so your baby will probably have sudden movements, her arms and legs will jerk and this could lead to crying. If your baby jerks a lot, then you should consider swaddling her with a blanket or holding her tight against your body to help calm her nervous system. The jerking motions will lessen after the first month as your baby's nervous system gets in check.
- Baby Will Smile - During the first month you'll also notice that your baby will start to smile when you do certain things. This will really help you get to know your baby and start to understand how she likes you to interact with her.
- Intentional Movements Start - During the second and third months, your baby will start to learn how to move more intentionally rather then by reflexes because her nervous system will calm. You'll start noticing small, subtle movements that she's deliberately making.
- Stronger Neck Muscles - During the second and third months your baby's neck will start to strengthen. She'll be able to move it and lift it more and more. If you place her on her tummy during playtime this will force her to exercise her neck muscles and help her strengthen her neck so that by the 4th or 5th month she'll be able to lift her head and hold it up for long periods of time.
- More Hand Control - During the 3rd month you'll see your baby's hands start to open and close. If you place a toy in her hand she'll now be able to grasp it on purpose and by the 4th month she'll be able to bring objects up to her mouth deliberately.
- Baby Becomes More Social - By the end of the 3rd month Baby should be more social. She'll smile at people, enjoy play time and try to mimic people's face expressions and movements. She'll even be quite expressive.
- Rolling, Standing, Reaching and More - Through months 4 - 7 your baby will learn many things. She'll learn to roll over, sit up, pull up to standing, reach for objects and move objects from hand to hand. Each baby develops these skills at different times, but by age 7 months most babies have developed all of them.
- Understand Verbal Cues and Express Herself - Through age 4 - 7 months your baby will also learn her own name and respond to it, she'll understand "no", be able to express herself through noise and understand your tones.
- Baby Will Gain Control of Entire Body - During months 8 - 12 your baby will also learn many things. She'll be able to sit on her own and push herself to a sitting position. She'll be able to crawl and pull herself up to standing. She'll be able to walk while holding on to furniture and she'll possibly learn to take a few steps on her own, without support. She'll also learn some fun skills that allow her to play more heartily. She'll be able to grasp objects and put them in and out of containers and have lots more control over her movements.
