Baby Parenting - Guide Your Baby Everyday

Babies learn by exploring the things around them. Show your baby how to look at, listen to, touch or smell something new or different. Hold your baby so she (or he) can see things. Help her hold objects like her socks or a rattle. As she grows, give her safe objects to feel, shake or put into her mouth.

• Be your baby’s teacher. She (or he) will see how you react to things. When you get excited about a toy or object, she’ll get excited too. As she grows, show her how things work—for example, how doors open and close. Talk about what you are doing. For example, “I am putting the food in the pot to cook it.”

• When a baby is learning something new, it helps her to try it again and again. With your help and support this can be fun, and your baby will like trying new things.

• Protect your baby from harsh disapproval, teasing or punishment. A baby doesn’t understand right from wrong. She doesn’t know what things are dangerous for her to do. Watch her to keep her safe. Remove her from situations where she can be hurt or injured.

• Talk and sing to your baby. Even before she is able to speak, this helps her develop language skills. Babies learn best when you talk to them.

• Read to your baby from the earliest months of her life and continue this habit as she grows.


Babies Have People Skills

From the start, your baby is interested in your face. She notices your expressions and tone of voice. She reacts to your emotions. For example, when you say something in a soft and loving way, she will relax and feel more secure.

Scientists have learned that babies show emotions as early as when they are one month old. Something else scientists have learned is that feeling good helps babies learn better.

Why? Happy babies are more alert, attentive and responsive. Babies remember things better when they are happy and at ease. The way you hold and talk to your baby can help her feel happy.

Babies who are alert and feeling good are more likely to look at things, explore and play. They will pay attention more. For example, they will try to make new things happen with toys or make sounds with people. This helps them learn and remember new things.

Brief periods of distress or difficulty will occur. These will not harm a child. Short periods of negative emotions can be helpful for your baby. You should do something quickly to help her feel better. From this she will learn you care about what she tries to tell you. Long periods of negative emotion, like crying, can do harm.

In the first month, the negative emotion that occurs is distress or a response to pain. Later, she will show sadness and anger. Next comes fear. All people have these emotions to protect themselves. Help your baby be at ease with having emotions. Respond to her emotions in a warm and loving way.

You can tell what your baby is feeling by changes in her facial expression. You can also see what she is feeling by her posture, movements and the sounds she makes.


Learning to Communicate

It will be months before your baby says her first word. But babies start learning about language much earlier.

Even in the first few weeks after birth, your baby is learning about language. Very young babies can tell the difference between speech and other sounds. They can tell the difference between the voices of men and the voices of women. They even know the voices of their own mothers. A baby can tell the voice of her mother from the voices of other women. Researchers think babies are able to do this because of the way specific parts of their brains work.

Babies can also communicate long before they speak. They use movements and sounds to let you know what they want or don’t want. Some people refer to these as a baby’s “signals”.

Right now, your baby can tell you if she needs something by fussing or crying. She can also let you know when she likes something or someone by looking intently. Babies learn best how to tell parents what they like or don’t like when they begin to see that parents respond to them in positive ways.

Even before she can speak, you need to talk to your baby. Even though there are differences among individuals, babies whose parents talk to them talk sooner. They also have larger vocabularies. Talking to babies gives them language skills that will help them learn more easily when they get to school. Hearing words on the radio or TV is not very helpful to babies learning language. Your baby benefits from having you up close smiling, talking and singing.


Babies Cry for Lots of Reasons

Crying is the way newborns communicate. Your new baby cries to let you know she needs or wants something.

The first thing to try when she cries is to feed her. By noticing when she wants to be fed and when she doesn’t, you will learn which cries mean that she is hungry, uncomfortable or wants attention. Sometimes she will want to be held. Sometimes she wants a dry diaper. Sometimes she is tired or bored.

As you and your baby get to know each other, you will sometimes be able to tell the difference between each kind of crying. You can then try to give her what she needs.

Taking care of your baby when she cries will not spoil her. It will help your baby feel loved and secure.

Smile, touch and talk to your baby as often as possible. Do this when you feed her, change her diaper or give her a bath. Your baby will learn that she can rely on you to take care of her.


Ways to Soothe Your Baby

Sometimes babies cry even when they have been fed, have clean diapers and are healthy. If your baby is crying because she needs comfort, there are many things you can do. Every baby is different.

Here are things you can try to find out what calms your baby down.

- Rock your baby in your arms or while sitting in a rocking chair.

- Stroke your baby’s head very gently, or lightly pat her back or chest.

- Make soft noises to let your baby know you are there and you care.

- Talk to your baby.

- Softly sing to your baby or play soft music.

- Wrap her up in a baby blanket (but not too tightly).

If your baby keeps crying after you have tried everything, stay calm. Babies know when you are upset. No matter how stressed you are, never shake your baby. Shaking your baby can cause blindness, brain damage or even death.

If you need a break, call a relative, neighbour or friend to help. All babies cry. You will not be able to comfort your baby every time. That does not mean you are a bad parent. Do the best you can to soothe and comfort your baby.

Here’s a simple tip to help your baby cry less—carry her. Research shows that babies who are carried more often don’t cry as much as other babies.

What You Can Expect From 7 To 9 Months Old Babies

Now that your little baby has reached 7 months old, it’s time to reflect. Time goes by so fast that you don't realise your baby is now able to sit upright without your support or even his or hers own hands. Wow, that must be an incredible feeling seeing baby grow so instantly.

For parents of 7 to 9-months-old babies, what else can you find in their physical growths? Well, every baby is not the same. One may have earlier development from the others.

For example, your friend's baby was able to start crawling when he was 8 months old, while yours could do it when she was seven and a half months.

On the other hand, the first baby started teething when he was 6 months old, whereas yours did it when she was 9 months.

So, you really need not to be anxious about your baby's development. She will reach the stage.

What you need to pay attention to is your baby's developmental milestone. This means she should be able to do certain things at particular ages.

It's best for you to make some notes on your baby's growth, such as writing all her new skills in an online diary. If you do not want to miss any of your baby's growths, writing the journal will be very exciting.

Adding up cute photos when new things happen will also be a wonderful endeavour. Later on, you'll thank yourself for keeping the memories online as you can see it anytime anywhere. Add up the joy by sharing the site to friends and families.

Now let's go back to the previous topic. If you're a first-time parent, you probably still have a little idea about your baby's development.

Below is a milestone you can use as your guideline. If your baby isn't on her track or doesn't reach many of the stages mentioned here, you may consult it with your baby's paediatrician.

Here are some of the milestones for 7 to 9-months-old baby:

1. Sitting upright without support
2. Crawling
3. Teething
4. Babbling
5. Passing things from hand to hand
6. Standing up by holding onto something
7. Waving hands
8. Clapping hands
9. Turning heads when someone calls her
10. Holding her bottles
11. Picking objects up with pincer (thumb-finger) grasp
12. Testing your responses to her behaviour
13. Able to distinguish people she knows and strangers
14. Cruising while holding onto the wall or other furniture

The older your baby, the more skills she may have. If your baby is not able to do some of these things, don't worry too much. It does not mean a problem. She'll reach the phase in the perfect time, soon.

Advice and Tips on New Baby Cots

Congratulations! You have just learned that you are having a baby. Whether this is your first or not you need to look at cots. Do you have one already? Is it an antique? A second hand cot, whether antique or not needs to be carefully looked at. This is for the safety of your new baby.

The screws, bolts, and/or other fasteners should all be in place. Are they loose? Will the position of the mattress hold under your baby's weight? It is imperative that this be tested before you put your baby in the crib. Take something that approximates the weight of your baby at about 4 months old. Bounce it off the mattress to be certain it will hold its position. If it doesn't it could cause serious injury to your baby or worse.

When setting up the nursery (if it isn't already up) consider very carefully where you will place the cot. If you place the cot near a window and you have Venetian blinds, either shorten the cords or anchor them somewhere that your baby can't reach and get a hold of them. If it all possible avoid placing the cot near the window. As your baby grows into a toddler and s/he attempts to climb out of the crib, s/he could possibly fall which could cause serious injury to your baby.

Blankets and your baby are not necessarily a good mix. With the incidents of SIDS today, you want to be sure to do everything that could possibly put your infant at risk. It is more advisable to put your baby to bed in a sleeper. If you absolutely have to have a blanket on the baby, tuck it tightly around and under the foot of the mattress with your baby's feet touching the footboard. Also you don't want to put the blanket any higher on the baby than up to his chest as that will help prevent him from slipping under the blankets and suffocating.

Bumper pads are a great concept but unless they are secured properly, there is a risk of your baby slipping between the mattress and the bumpers and possibly suffocating. If you use them they should be anchored in at least eight places one at each corner of the cot and at least two spaced evenly on each of the sides. There should be a total of 16 ties in all, for the top and bottom.

Mobiles are a nice addition and look adorable but... the caution here is that if you use a mobile as soon as your baby starts to sit up on his own the mobile should be taken down to prevent your baby from getting tangled in it. Also make sure that it has no small removable parts that your baby could choke on.
If your cot is second hand, no matter whether you had for a previous child or you got it from someone else check out the mattress carefully. Make sure there are no cracks or holes in the mattress covering. Make sure too that the mattress properly fits in the cot. Here again, your child could slip between the mattress and the sidebars or the end boards and suffocate. The mattress should fit snugly in the cot. Now the sheets you use in your baby's cot should also fit properly and not slip and slide. Sheet anchors are available that hook on the sheet under the mattress and keep it in place.

The position of the mattress is imperative for your child's safety. Most parents put the mattress at the highest position when the baby first comes home because it is so much easier to change him in that position. As your baby becomes more active you will want to lower the mattress accordingly. Once your baby is able to pull up to a standing position put the mattress in the lowest possible position and to be sure your baby is safe, measure the distance between the top of the side bar and the mattress. In the lowest position the distance of the top of the side bar should be no more than 26 inches above the mattress. If your child's head is over the side bar or they climb out of the cot, it may be time to move your child to a regular bed. Some cots are convertible into beds that will grow with your child.

The cot itself should be looked over for things that might put your baby at risk. Have you seen those cots that have ornate designs carved into the end boards? They are beautiful but they pose a danger to your child. Your child could get his head or arm and leg caught, and sustain an injury. The simpler the design of the cot the safer your child may be.

Since approximately 1974 safety guidelines for cots state that the slats should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. This is to prevent your baby from getting his head stuck between the slats. This could cause injury to your baby but it would necessitate the removal of some of the slats and that alone would compromise your baby's safety.

The most important baby care tip: the parents should find enough time to spend with the baby.