How I Grow

• I rock, roll, and twist my body.
• I kick my feet and suck my toes.
• I keep my head and back straight when I sit, if you support my body.
• I stand, jump up and down, and stamp my feet when you hold me under my arms.
• I have pretty good aim when I grab something. Once I have it, I can put it in my other hand.
• I can grasp and hold two objects at once.
• I can turn in a circle when I'm on my stomach.

How I Talk

• I watch your mouth and try to copy you when you talk to me.
• I make sounds like ee, ah, ooh, da-da, bye-bye, ma-ma.
• I babble to myself, to my toys, and to people. I get attention that way!

How I Respond

• I may cry when I see strangers.
• I smile at familiar faces and voices.
• I look around when I hear sounds.
• I make sounds and interrupt your conversations because I want attention.
• I want to touch, hold, turn, shake, and taste everything.
• I put a lot of energy into everything I do.

How I Understand

• I know my name. When you call me, I look at you and say something.
• I can tell the difference between myself and others when I look in the mirror.
• I look for something if I drop it.
• I remember what I just did.

How I Feel

• I cling to you when you hold me.
• I stop crying when you talk to me.
• I show fear, anger, and disgust.

Soon you will find Baby...

• Really enjoying different expressions you make with your face.
• Copying the sounds you make and the way you move.
• Rolling from back to stomach.
• Moving objects from hand to hand.

Make Home Safe For Baby

Crawl around and look carefully at everything in the rooms where Baby goes.

There are many reasons for making the area safe:

• It protects your child from accidents.
• It gives your baby a large space that can be safely explored.
• It keeps you from having to say, no, all the time.
• It protects your treasured possessions from harm.

Take these safety steps:

• Cover all electrical outlets.
• Move cleaning products to high shelves.
• Put small items, such as matches, nails and tiny beads, out of sight of the baby.
• Move dangerous chemicals -- cleaning products and bug killers -- to high shelves.
• Keep all medicines out of reach.
• Create a safe area for Baby to play. Use gates to keep Baby from dangerous parts of a room or from rooms where you do not want Baby to play.
• Install child-proof locks on cabinets that hold items that could be broken or you don't want Baby to have.

Until you have a safe area, buy or borrow a playpen or gate. Playpens work well with some babies, and others cry the minute they're put into one. If you do use a playpen, be sure it has a spring lock and that there are no hinges or joints that can pinch tiny fingers. Old-fashioned accordion gates are dangerous. Baby can be trapped in the gate.

Sooner or later, Baby will learn how to reach the areas that you have set as "off limits." At that time, teach Baby how to handle these areas and things safely.

Discipline: It Starts Early

Discipline means guiding a child's actions to make him acceptable to others and to himself.

When you make Baby's play area safe and distract your baby from doing something harmful or annoying, you are beginning to use positive discipline -- taking away what could be harmful to a child until he is old enough to understand.

Babies under a year old are too young to know why they should stop doing something.

For example, your baby may love to throw toys on the floor. He likes to hear the noise, watch the toys bounce, and thinks it's a great game!

It doesn't occur to him that the noise is bothering you. You may even think that he is being defiant, but he only thinks that toy-throwing is fun.

Stop Baby from doing something in a helpful way.

Remove the item that you do not want Baby to have. As you take it away, firmly say something like, This could hurt you. Take the item away. Distract him, show him something else he can do or give him an object he can have. Give him a hug, too.

Telling Baby why he has to stop doing something helps him deal with day­to­day troubles. Over the years, this parenting strategy helps Baby to cope better.

What Happened To Time For Us?

Does this seem familiar?

Ever since we had the baby, there's been a lot of strain between my partner and me. We never seem to have time to just sit and talk anymore. I can't seem to tell him how I feel. Things really seem to be piling up between us.

Many new parents feel this way.

Their lives are so busy with all the added demands a new baby brings, that it's hard to find the time to sit down, talk, and make a plan for working together.

As difficult as it may be, it's important to make the time and talk about what's bothering you.

Chances are your partner has been storing up some gripes, too.

Here are some ways to begin talking:

Set up a "date."
Set aside a special time (or times) each week when you can be together to talk without being interrupted.

Use "I" messages.
Tell each other how you are feeling without blaming the other. Make sure you put YOURSELF in your statement. Instead of saying, You always put me down, say, I feel put down when you tell me.... By using "I" messages, your partner will not feel blamed or accused, and is likely to be more interested in changing so that you can feel better.

Be direct.
Say what you mean, rather than hoping your partner can guess or know what you mean. Instead of saying, The living room has been looking messy; say, I get upset when the newspapers are all over the living room and I have to pick them up.

Avoid the question trap.
Asking questions is often a poor substitute for direct communication. Instead of, Why didn't you call to tell me you'd be late? say, I was worried that something had happened to you when you didn't come home at the usual time. Next time call me please, so I won't worry.

Be sure to listen.
Give your partner a chance to air his or her eelings and gripes. Don't interrupt, jump to conclusions, preach, or quickly offer dvice. Check back to see if you really understood what was said; for example, say, Let me see if I understand. Are you saying that....?

It's normal for new parents to have many mixed feelings.

If you use these important communication skills, you will be able to find solutions to problems before they get out of hand.

Let's Play . . . Help Me Learn

Your baby is a bundle of energy!

No longer content to just sit quietly and look around, she wants to move all the time and in all directions.

Babies at this age often demand a lot of time and attention because they want to play.

Try to keep your sense of humor and patience. Doing these activities may help play time be fun for both of you.

Games To Help Baby Make Sounds

Repeat the sounds your baby makes so she can hear them twice.

As you say these sounds back to your baby, you are helping her learn how to make new language sounds.

Help Baby learn new sounds with this game:

• Hold your baby in your arms or lay her on the floor to let her relax.
• Make sounds like, eee, iii, ooo, uh-oh, mm, daaa, brr-own, grr-ate, buzz-y, aaa-all gone.
• Face her so she can watch your lips.
• Nuzzle or cuddle her after you make the sounds.
• Laugh, smile, or hug her gently when she makes the sounds.

Help Baby Learn About His Body

To help him discover his feet:

• Rub his feet together.
• Bring his feet to his mouth.
• Count the toes.
• Say "This Little Piggy."
  This little piggy went to market (wiggling the big toe)
  This little piggy stayed home (wiggling the next toe)
  This little piggy ate roast beef (wiggling the third toe)
  This little piggy had none (wiggling the fourth toe)
  And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home (wiggling the littlest toe)

To help him discover his hands:

Do the same activities with the hands that you do with the feet.

• Help him clap.
• Do hand motion games such as "Patty Cake."
  (clap Baby's hands) Patty cake, patty cake, Baker's man (girl), Bake me a cake as fast as you can (swirl).
  (pat hands on the lap) Pat it and
  (move hands in a circle) roll it and
  (draw a letter with the hand) mark it with a (letter of Baby's initial).
  (pulling hands away from Baby) Put it in the oven for Baby and me.

Read Simple Books To Baby

• Baby likes to look at brightly colored pictures.
• Point to the item being talked about as you read.
• Make up your own short story about pictures you see on a page of a book or in a magazine.

Toys Are For Learning

From this age on, your baby will be very interested in toys that can be touched, examined, chewed, and sucked, such as rubber teethers, plastic discs, and rubber beads.

Your baby learns from play and likes to explore each toy to get the feel of it. She likes to take a toy and twist, shake, suck, move it from hand to hand, and bang it on other objects.

As she plays, she is:

• learning about nearness and distance, inside and outside.
• discovering the world of objects.
• developing a sense of space, form, and texture.

Other Ways to Help Baby Learn

• Talk to Baby in complete sentences about what you are doing.
• Face Baby so he can watch your lips when you talk. He will try to copy you.
• Play peek-a-boo games.
• Let Baby listen to the radio for a short time. Baby likes quiet times, too.

Reduce Lead Dust In Your House

Breathing or eating lead dust, chips, or flakes is the common way lead gets into a child's body.

Reduce the amount of lead dust children can get on their hands.

• If the house was built before 1980 and has hard surface floors like tile and wood, wet mop the floor at least once a week. Use a mixture of 2 tablespoons of powdered dishwashing detergent in a bucket ¾ full of very warm water. Mop the floor with clear water after washing. Do not vacuum these floors because that stirs up the dust.
• Wash the baseboards and window sills with a mixture of powdered dishwashing detergent and water, mixed the way you do for washing the floors.
• Clean Baby's washable toys at least once a day in the sink with regular dish soap. Rinse the toys with hot water. If you wash the toys in the dishwasher, use only powdered dishwasher soap.
• If you want to reduce the lead paint in your home, call the Division of Public Health for information on how to do this.

  New Castle County 995-8693
  Kent and Sussex Counties 856-5350

Feeding Your Baby

Between 5 and 7 months, several things begin to happen...

• Baby's growth will begin to slow down.
• She will become more active and need more calories.
• She will be able to eat some solid foods.

Baby May Be Ready For New Foods

Near the end of the fifth month, Baby may be ready for vegetables and fruits.

Check with your doctor or health care provider about adding these foods. Try one new food at a time and feed it every day for about 5 days. For example, give the baby strained carrots for 5 days before trying another vegetable, such as strained squash.

Start with one food rather than a mixture of foods -- for example, squash instead of mixed vegetables or applesauce instead of mixed fruit dessert.

Start vegetables and fruits slowly.

You can start with a half teaspoon of a yellow or orange vegetable, serving it 1 or 2 times a day.

After a few weeks of yellow vegetables, you can offer strained or puréed green vegetables.

Try peas, or green beans. Over time, increase the amount you are feeding Baby to 2 teaspoons.

After Baby has tried 3 or 4 vegetables, try some fruit.

Some babies love fruit. Others have a hard time digesting it. Puréed fruits, like applesauce or mashed ripe bananas, are good foods to try. Again, start with a half teaspoon of the fruit and work up to 2 teaspoons, serving it 1 to 2 times a day.

Once in a while, a new food causes vomiting, diarrhea, or a skin rash.

By starting only one new food and by using a simple food, you will know what food is to blame if there is a problem. Stop serving this food for a while.

As You Feed Baby

• Put what you will feed baby in a serving dish. Don't feed your baby directly from a jar of commercial food until he is eating the entire contents at a single meal. Refrigerate the rest of the food in the original jar. Use it in the next 2 days.
• Heat only the amount of baby food that you think Baby will eat at this meal.
• Any food that Baby did not eat from the serving dish should be thrown away. It has bacteria and saliva from Baby's mouth in it.

Buying Baby Food

• When you buy the food specially designed for infants, remember to get only single-ingredient vegetables and fruits.
• Check the "circle of safety" on the baby food jar lid to be sure the vacuum seal has not been broken.
• Listen for the "pop" sound when you open the jar. Do not use the jar if you think the vacuum seal has been broken.
• Check the ingredient label to know what you are feeding your baby. Do not buy baby food with added salt, sugar, seasonings, or tapioca.

When Making Baby Food

• Use fresh or frozen vegetables or fruits, without any salt or sugar added. Regular canned foods, that are not specially made for babies, may have some salt, sugar, and lead in them. Although these foods may be used safely for adults and older children, they are not as good for infants.
• Cook the vegetables or fruits, except bananas, to soften them.
• Put the food through a baby-food grinder, food mill, or food processor until it is very soft.
• Do not add salt, sugar, butter, margarine, or seasonings to the food you make. These are not good for Baby now.
• Make only as much food as Baby will eat in a day. If you have more, freeze it in a small container to use another time.

Watch Out! High Chairs Can Be Dangerous

If you are thinking of buying or borrowing a high chair, look for these safety features:

• Well built, sturdy construction.
• Wide base (so it won't tip over easily).
• Seat belt that fastens across the waist to hold Baby in the chair.
• Crotch strap that runs between the legs (to keep him from sliding out of the chair).
• Tray that locks securely on each side.
• Belt buckles and tray locks that are handy for you to use, but that Baby can't work.
• Seat that is not slippery. If the seat seems very slippery, attach rough-surfaced adhesive strips to it.

Consider how easy it will be to clean. High chairs quickly become caked with messy baby food. An easy method of cleaning, if the finish will allow this treatment, is to place the high chair in the shower stall to soak and steam it clean.

Here are some rules for using a high chair safely:

• Be sure there are no sharp edges or hardware to cut Baby or you.
• Be sure your baby's hands are out of the way when you lock the tray.
• Be sure tray is securely locked in place.
• Don't let your baby stand in the chair.
• Don't leave the chair too close to a table or counter. He can push against it and overturn the chair.
• Don't leave Baby alone in the chair.
• Don't let other children climb on the chair.
• Don't leave the chair near the stove.

Help For A Fussy Baby

When Baby is fussing, find out what the fuss is about.

She may need to be held, talked to, or walked around. She probably doesn't need to have a pacifier.

Children are more alert and aware of their surroundings when they are not sucking on a pacifier.

Healthy babies go through a stage where they put everything in their mouth. Research suggests that babies that are given a pacifier may be missing out on a chance to learn by putting different objects in their mouth. Wash toys and other objects that Baby puts in her mouth at least once a day.

If you feel your baby still needs a pacifier at times, you're in good company.

Dr. Julie Boozer, chair of the Department of Nursing at Wesley College, says, After all, some babies just need to suck a lot.

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. This series has been adapted from Parent Express, by Dr. Dorothea Cudaback, Cooperative Extension, University of California, and her colleagues throughout the national Cooperative Extension System.

GB-5M
6/17/97