How I Grow

• I still wobble my head a little when I'm propped up.
• I hold my head up for a few minutes when I'm on my stomach.
• I move my arms and legs and "bicycle" with my feet when I get excited.
• I hold onto things for a little while.
• I cry with real tears now.

How I Talk

• I gurgle, laugh, and smile when I'm happy.
• I like to try out cooing sounds.
• I cry to let you know when I want something, or when I am hungry, wet, or tired.

How I Respond

• I am fascinated by my own hands.
• I blink at shadows made by my own hands.
• I follow you with my eyes when you move.
• I can follow objects with my eyes.
• I smile at others besides my mother.
• I quiet down when I suck my fingers, a bottle, or a pacifier.
• I perform just to get your attention.
• I don't like some noises, like loud radios. I will tell you this by fussing.

How I Understand

• I recognize some people by their voices.
• I recognize a few objects, such as my bottle or a favorite rattle.
• I like to stare at people and things.

How I Feel

• I feel happy, scared or uncomfortable at times.
• I feel happy when I hear you tell me that I am beautiful and you love me.

I am beginning to open my hands more.

Help me discover more about them. First, I may just look at them. Then I may bring them to my mouth. This may have happened before, but now it is because I decided to move them.

Stress Management for Baby

Some babies are still a mystery. It takes a detective to figure out what will work to quiet a distressed baby.

• Hold him close. Talk to him, cuddle him, and rock him for awhile.
• Check the temperature of the room. Try to keep the room an even temperature -- neither too cold or too hot.
• Is your baby dressed for the temperature?
• Be sure clothing isn't too tight.
• Turn on a soft light in the room where you want our baby to sleep.
• Sing a gentle melody over and over. Play soft, soothing music. Use a fan, vacuum cleaner, or some other motor noise to provide a monotonous
• sound.
• Swaddle your baby by wrapping him in a soft, light blanket or cloth to keep him from thrashing about.
• He may have an air bubble in his stomach. Gentle burping may help.
• He may have a diaper rash. Leave his diaper off for awhile. The air helps skin heal, and most babies love the freedom of not wearing a diaper.
• If the weather is cold, wrap him loosely in a blanket.
• Sometimes there is just too much going on. If so, take him to a quiet place with dim lights and talk to him with your soothing voice.
• Call his name as you come to him. Use a soothing voice. This will let him know you are coming. He may even stop crying before you get there.
• Help him learn to comfort himself. Hold his hand in yours or help him find his hand to suck on.

Feeding Your Baby

Don't be concerned about solids yet.

Parents used to think that feeding solid foods at bedtime would help their babies sleep through the night. Not true! If your baby is hungry, give him breast milk or formula -- it will help him sleep.

Your baby is the best judge of how much he needs at each feeding.

Be careful not to force him to feed longer than he wants. This month you can expect him to change his feeding pattern. If you offer him breast milk or formula and he is not interested in eating, wait until he lets you know he is hungry.

Most doctors want to know if your baby misses more than one feeding.

Something is usually wrong if a baby misses 2 or 3 feedings in a day.

Be patient with him when he wakes up during the night.

Night feedings don't last forever. At this feeding, let him know that it is time to go back to sleep. Place him in his crib, swaddle him, or let him sit in an infant chair. Discourage him from playing after this night-time feeding.

Working Mothers

Many mothers have mixed feelings about returning to work.

Some feel guilty. Others feel pleased, but are concerned that they should not feel this way.

If you are returning to work, here are some points that may be helpful as you balance your time for work and parenting:

• Make the time you spend with your baby quality time, time that you are playing with and paying attention to baby. The quality of the time you spend with your child is much more important than the quantity of time.
• Try to have a special time each day for the whole family to be together.
• Decide which household jobs have to be done. Which ones don't? Share the work that has to be done with others.
• Find child care that you are comfortable with. You'll be a happier and more productive worker if you feel secure with your child care arrangement.

Parents are Baby's First Teachers

Your child will learn more from you than anyone else.

Your baby is constantly learning about the world around her through her senses of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch. You can help her develop her senses by providing playthings that can be seen, heard, and touched.

Playing helps Baby to strengthen and use muscles better.

 

Use items that you already have around your house.

These can often be a child's favorite plaything. "Toys" need not be store-bought and expensive.

Playing with your baby gives her a chance to explore the world and satisfy her growing curiosity.

She will enjoy your loving attention and benefit from it.

Let's Play . . . Help Me Learn

Listening Games

I like simple games best.

Look at me when you are about 10 inches away from me. Catch my eye and make a sound. Wait to see what I do. Make the sound again. If I like the game, continue. Make some different sounds.

Use different objects that make noise when we play.

I like music boxes, bells, rattles, and squeak toys and even the crinkling of paper. Remember, though, I only like to play for a minute or two at a time.

Help me learn about my world by telling me about the sounds I hear.

Tell me what is happening when the doorbell rings, when you drop something, when you turn on the water in the sink, or even when I burp.

Learn my way of telling you that I am listening.

I might smile, wiggle my body, or stop what I was doing to tell you I was listening. I may also show that I am listening in ways that are hard to see. I might change my breathing pattern or move my hand.

Talk to me!

Look me in the eye, speak slowly, and make your voice have a high pitch. Use short phrases and change the tone of your voice. Invite me to respond: raise your eyebrow, change your pitch, or say something like, What do you think?

Touching Games

I like your touch.

Rub my body gently after my bath.

Help me learn about touch by providing me with a variety of textures to touch.

Place me on a clean carpet, a terry cloth towel, or a smooth blanket. Touch my arms and hands with stuffed animals, rubber toys, and smooth and rough fabrics.

Help me Learn to Roll Over

You can help me by placing me on my side sometimes.

Rolling back to front is hard.

While I'm on my side, get a rattle.

See if I will follow it with my eyes and then roll to my back. If I don't, help me by gently moving my shoulder or hip.

Be sure I learn to roll to both my left and right. I also need to learn to roll from my stomach to my back. Put me on my tummy. Lean over and catch my eye. Then move so my eyes must follow you and to do this I must roll over. At first I will need your help on my shoulder. When I do roll over (even with your help) be sure to talk with me and give me loving hugs.

Looking Games

I develop my eye muscles by using them.

Place me on my back or in an infant chair. Move behind me so I will focus on the object, not you. Hold a noise-making object, like a ring of keys, about 10 inches above my face. Shake the object gently until I look at it.

Watch my eyes to see how I follow the object. Move the object slowly from side to side, and up and down. When I am good at this, try moving the noise-maker in a circle in the air, and around my head. Change the direction of the circle.

Watch for me to let you know I am looking.

I may look very intent. I may look at you or at something else. I may wave my arms or become very still. I may even look like I am saying "O."

Change my position often.

I like to look at many different things. If you place me on a blanket on the floor, what can I see? Place some interesting toys around me. I like roly-poly toys that rock and make noise.

When you put me down in the crib put my head at different ends. Sometimes, carry me in your left arm and sometimes in the right.

More Ways to Help Me Learn

• Put a mobile over my crib so I can watch it as it moves.
• Move objects back and forth in a straight line in front of me.
• When I am awake and alert, move me around in my infant seat so I can be near you as you work.
• Babies like to be with people and see what is going on.
• If I am looking one way, call to me from the other side. See if I'll turn my head to find you.
• Let me stay close to you while you move around the house. Talk to me about what you are doing.
• Let me lie on my back under a tree and watch the leaves blow.
• Take me for a walk or to the store. I like to see and hear what's happening.
• Shake a rattle or use a squeaky toy to attract my attention. I may be able to focus on the toy and follow it with my eyes as you move it slowly in an arc.

Baby's Health

Check with your doctor, nurse, or clinic about the immunizations that your baby needs.

Immunizations take away a lot of the risk of bringing up baby. They help to prevent diseases that could severely change the life of your baby and family.

When you go to the doctor on well-baby visits, take along a pad and pencil.

Write down questions you have for the doctor so you won't forget to ask them. Write down the answers. It is hard to remember everything when you get home.

Don't be afraid to call your baby's doctor and ask for advice.

There will come a time when your baby will have a cold, fever, or just won't act up to par. The doctor expects you to call when you have a question or when there is a problem.

To be well prepared when you talk with the doctor, have the following information written down in front of you:

Baby's temperature

To learn how to take the baby's temperature, look in a baby care book or ask a friend or the nurse or doctor.

It is important for the doctor to know if the baby has a fever and whether it is a low fever (100 degrees) or a high fever.

Baby's symptoms

• a runny nose?
• a cough?
• slow, drowsy, listless behavior?
• diarrhea?
• constipation?
• a different kind of cry?
• a change in the usual eating or sleeping habits?
• cries when touched?

Listen carefully to the instructions the doctor gives you. Write them down.

Don't be embarrassed if you need the doctor to repeat or explain something. Read the instructions you have written to the doctor to make sure you understood them. The instructions are important and need to be followed carefully. Look at the instructions, later, to see whether or not you have followed them.

If you are very concerned about your baby, tell your doctor.

Tell the doctor that you would feel better if you could bring the baby to the office to be checked. Your doctor will listen to you. Remember, you know your baby better than anyone else does.

Keep Baby Safe

Check the batteries in your smoke alarm.

Active babies can move or tip infant carrier seats.

A baby can push off on another object and cause the infant seat to move or fall. To prevent injuries and deaths with an infant carrier seat, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that parents:

• Choose a carrier with a wide, sturdy base for stability.
• Stay within arm's reach of the baby when the carrier seat is on tables, counters, couches, and chairs. Never place a carrier seat on soft, plush surfaces that will make it unstable.
• Always use the safety belts.
• Do not use infant carriers as a substitute for infant car seats.

Never let infants sleep on adult beds.

Infants 12 months or younger can suffocate while sleeping when they:

• become trapped between the mattress and bed frame or wall,
• become wedged against an adult and the mattress, or sink into a waterbed mattress while on their stomach.

Check the design of your crib.

Remove any knobs on the cornerposts. Most crib manufacturers have stopped producing these; however, there are many cribs like this being used.

Be careful where you lay the baby.

Some active babies will move and even turn over at this young age. Never leave her where she could accidentally fall. Even quiet babies who "never move" have learned to turn over at the wrong time. Crib sides need to be kept up and firmly secured to prevent falls.

Think about what is around that Baby can grab.

She can swipe at objects and kick them. Pretty soon she will put them in her mouth. Move everything away from Baby that she should not be touching or putting in her mouth. If she can reach the mobile hanging over the crib, move it higher or take it off the crib.

Take a Parenting Break

Allow time each day for relaxation and exercise -- you've earned it!

These exercises take only a few minutes and will make you feel refreshed again:

• Lie flat on your back. Take a deep breath. Now breathe out slowly. Repeat five times.
• Lie flat with your arms at your sides. Move your arms out to shoulder level, keeping elbows stiff. Then raise your arms over your head and bring your hands together. Repeat five times.
• Lie flat, then raise your head, touching your chin to your chest. Try not to move any other part of your body. Repeat a few times.

Plan and take time for yourself.

Find a friend or relative to watch the baby while you get time away. Do something that will refresh you and make you happy to be back home.

Anything that makes you a happier, more enthusiastic person is bound to make you a better parent.

Be kind to everyone, and take a "parenting break."

Great Beginnings   is sent to you by:

Patricia T. Nelson, Ed.D.
Family and Child Development Specialist

This newsletter has been edited by Deborah J. Amsden, CHE; and prepared with the assistance of Dr. Penny Deiner, Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware. The newsletter has been adapted from materials prepared by the national Cooperative Extension System, including those prepared by Dr. Vivian Halverson, University of Hawaii, Dr. Dorothea Cudaback, University of California, Dr. Shirley Bryant, University of Arizona, and Polly Spedding, Cornell University. Safety information was provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

GB-2M
4/23/97