Your baby, 0 months 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! Caring for an infant can be scary and overwhelming at times, but you and your baby will get to know each other in no time. Becoming a parent is a big change and can take some time to adjust to. Make sure that you accept help from friends and family in the early weeks.

Newborn babies move between six states throughout the day. Your baby could be in deep sleep, light sleep, a drowsy state, awake alert, fussy alert, or crying stage. It is important to recognize these stages so that you can adapt to your babies needs and develop a better understanding of what soothes him the best.

Babies like to look at human faces the most. They can not see very far and can not distinguish colors very well. Besides the human face, babies like brightly colored patterns, mirrors and objects that are red, black or white. Babies will stare at things but can not grab ahold of anything quite yet. It is comforting for your baby when you hold her close, rock her and speak gently to her. It is important to handle your baby carefully and always support their underdeveloped neck.

You may be tempted to put your baby to bed with you, but this is dangerous. Babies should sleep on their backs in their own crib. Young babies can begin to develop some type of a schedule. All stuffed animals, bedding and pillows should be removed to reduce the risk of suffocation. You can put your baby on her belly for tummy time several times a day. This will help to develop muscle strength.

When traveling, always use a properly installed infant restraint seat. To ensure the safety of your baby, have their carseat checked by a licensed car seat installer. Because car accidents reduce the quality of a car seat, never buy used car seats and replace yours if it is in an accident.

Babies cry for lots of reasons. When a baby is crying, that his means of communication. He is experiencing a need that is not being met. Babies cry because they are hungry, wet, tired, hot/cold, experiencing pain, overstimulated, and many other reasons. Soon you will be able to decode your babies cries. Sometimes babies can not be comforted and it seems that the crying will never end. When you have tried everything and nothing seems to work, put her in her crub and close the door. Come back in a few minutes to check on her. Whatever you do, don't take any frustration out on your baby.

Your newborn will be ready to eat every two to three hours on average. Formula fed babies may go longer in between feedings. Remember to burp your baby after each feeding to reduce gas and fussiness. Breast feeding can be trying for the first few weeks. It takes patience, support and dedication, but you can do it. If you are encountering problems, ask for help. Call your doctor, the baby's doctor or a lactation consultant.

Developmental Milestones Newborn


Physical

• It may look as if your newborn baby is scrunched up with his arms and legs not fully extended. Your baby is used to being inside the womb, and this is normal. If he appears bowlegged, don't worry. It's part of the stretching-out process and will most likely fase away by the time he's five or six months old.
• Your baby may lift his head briefly when he's lying on his stomach by the end of this month. Give your baby plenty of tummy time to help him develop his muscles. He may also be able to turn it from side to side. Jerky movements give way to more smooth ones as his nervous system and muscle control mature. Your baby's primitive reflexes, such as sucking and chewing on his hands, remain dominant.
• Baby's vision is still fuzzy and he can not see very far. Your baby likes to look at your face. Keep it close by and talk to him when you are holding him.

Intellectual

• Right now food is the most important thing in your newborn's life. Sleep comes in at a close second. Most newborn babies will feed every two to three hours around the clock. Sleeping patterns are equally intermittent. Most newborns sleep for a total of 16 to 17 hours in a 24-hour period, but that's usually broken up into eight to ten naps. By the end of the month your baby may have developed something of a feeding and sleeping pattern, but you may not notice any real pattern for months. It is hard to put a newborn on a strict schedule. Sleeping helps your baby regain energy and it also helps brain development.
• Right now your baby doesn't have much of a personality. Crying is the only way that your baby knows how to express himself. He spends his time moving in and out of several different states of sleepiness, quiet alertness, and active alertness.
• Your face is the most interesting thing to your baby right now. He also likes high-contast objects. Show him black and white toys at playtime.
• Learning begins immediately, so take all opportunities to teach him about the world around him. Use his quiet and alert times to play and talk with your baby.
• Your baby can recognize faces and may try to imitate gestures. Give your baby the chance to imitate you. Stick your tongue out and give him a chance to repeat it. Then, do it again. Even if he does not do it, he is watching you!
• Mobiles with high contrast patterns and picture books with strong line drawings will capture your baby's attention. When your baby starts fussing, its time to stop and move on to something else.
• Babies like their own reflection. Place unbreakable mirrors at cribside or on the floor for them to focus on.

Emotional

• This month your baby becomes quiet and calm when you speak to him gently and hold him upright. He may even make an 'ah' sound when he hears your voice and sees your face. Most babies love to be held, caressed, kissed, stroked, massaged, and carried. Touch is an important means of communicating with your baby.
• Your baby can show you their feelings. She may yawn, arch her back, turn her face, fuss or cry if she is overstimulated. She will coo if she is enjoying something. Pay close attention to what your baby is `telling` you.

Age Appropriate Toys:

• Rattles
• Play gyms
• Unbreakable mirrors
• Mobiles
• Soft toys
• Musical toys
• Toys with lights
• Swings
• Bouncy seats

Comments:

Comments 1-25 of about 11124 for month 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next

OrganicMomma - 3 minutes ago
MommaT~ i still have the formula the hospital pushed on us... lol but i haven't touched it. emergency use only :) fortunately we haven't had one. Ebf can be exhausting. our LO is a constant nurser, and i do mean constant, if he's not actively seeking nutrition he still wants to nurse... it is called comfort nursing. obviously it is for his comfort, not mine :) definately worth it though!

deeyore486 - 12 minutes ago
mamatabby, good for you! Sometimes the best thing to do is remove the temptation! Is there anything that I/we might be able to help you with??

deeyore486 - 13 minutes ago
LOL, I think that the reason why I am not swearing off pregnancy is because I don't carry to full term (reason why dr wants me to wait...hoping that by giving my uterus ample time to heal will help me carry my bubs longer) and because I have such easy labor and deliveries. My longest labor was five hours and longest pushing time was 39min. This last go around I was in hard labor for 3 hours and pushed twice. haven't torn at all, so never needed stitches... I think that if I made it to the uncomfortable part of pregnancy, or had a horrible labor and/or delivery I would feel differently. :)

mamatabby - 25 minutes ago
I'm having a hard time breast feeding too. But I'm not going to give up!! I had all the formula taken from my house so I wouldn't be tempted to feed him it. I get frustrated sometimes but I tell myself its the best thing for him!!

mrs. myers - 2.6 hours ago
Hi mamas! Just thought I'd pop in and say hi. Haven't been able to hang out here in the baby section yet. But I'm finally starting to get my bearings here and maybe I'll have time to join in now. BECCABOO - I had a real hard time with getting started breastfeeding. I'm still having issues with my right breast. But it's definitely getting easier. Don't give up!! Your nipples will toughen up, I promise.

janemarie - 6.3 hours ago
JoJos Mommy, my son is the same; he has not stopped moving since he was born. In the hospital he was put on my chest to nurse right after birth, which he did, and then proceeded to crawl over my chest and my shoulder onto my pillow. He held his head up at 1 weeks, turned it from side to side at 2, and now at 3 weeks he is moving himself forward a little when on his belly. He is very active in other ways too, he sleeps only 12 hours a day, and when awake he is always fussing and fidgeting or following people and voices with his big eyes. I guess we just have active babies!

mamatabby - 10.6 hours ago
Spud I'm right there with you. I love my son to pieces but to have another one now. Yea prob not!! :)

SPUDinTHEoven - 11.4 hours ago
I think it's great that some of you ladies are already wanting to start on your next lil one. I cannot relate on this subject at this point though, because the thought of being pregnant again is bringing on nauseous vibes similar to morning sickness! I almost don't want to have sex ever again just to be sure I don't have to be pregnant again, lol!

carmensmomma - 12.7 hours ago
If you girls are wanting more kids more power to u! I absolutly hated being pregnant and i can't handle n-e more kids. I was happy with 1 but now i have 2 and i think she is my last. I didn't get a tubel like i wanted to becuz i was afraid that 10 years down the road i might want another but i'm pretty sure i'm happy with 2. Fiance wants to try one more time for a son but i think he's going to have to find someone else to give him one cuz i think i'm done. We made an agreement that when he can pay to get his sperm seperated and make sure we have a boy i'll try again, but i know he'll never save up and actually pay for that and once he gets out of where he is this lil girl will have him so wrapped around her finger he won't even think of having more.

kp7586 - 13.4 hours ago
My son was 6 months old when we got pregnant with #2. I love them being so close together. I do not think it is any harder with the 2 then it was with 1.

deeyore486 - 13.7 hours ago
Mrs. Joiner, I wanted to get pregnant again right away too! I have to wait at least 18mo before getting pregnant again though, combination of financial situation and doctor's orders. :)

SPUDinTHEoven - 14 hours ago
lorelaismom: Kylie did the same when she was a couple days old. She would sleep around 4 hours between feeding. Around her 4th day she was eating more around every 2 hours.

MiniOface - 14.3 hours ago
Mrs. Joiner- If anything having this baby has made me think about waiting longer than I originally wanted to! We were thinking about trying again when he is 2 but now we are thinking more like 4 lol

carmensmomma - 14.6 hours ago
lorelaismom, Carmen did the same thing when she was a baby. They told me to feed her every 2 -3 hours and i tried really hard but she wouldn't wake up. She would sleep for 20 hours a day and only be awake when she was hungry, so i never followed a schedual with her. I was really concerned but it ended up fine, if ur worried i would call her pedi. Laina is way different she is up and acts hungry all the time and i've actually had to keep her on a lil bit of a schedual because she was over eating and making herself sick. The spitting up has got better i found if i give her 3oz instead of 4 she won't puke.

lorelaismom - 14.7 hours ago
Ok, so Scarlett is two days old and I'm already worried! I know that they sleep all the time, but today she seems to be sleeping a lot more than she should. She's gone four hours between a few feedings, and I've actually waken her up for those. Then she'll nurse for about 15 minutes and fall right back to sleep. She did have a more traumatic birth -she was born sunny side up and they ended up having to use the vacuum to get her out. She had some pretty significant bruising and swelling on her head, but it went down pretty quickly. She worked really hard to get here so maybe she needs her rest from that? Should I be worried?

expecting-2b-patient - 15.5 hours ago
Labor was too hard and the recovery was too sore to even THINK about having another at this time! I always said I'd have my kid back to back but while the doctor was stitching my vagina back together for 45mins (which is just as painful as pushing that baby out) I said 'I'm not doing this for a LONG time' LOL!

Mrs. Joiner - 16.2 hours ago
Taking care of her is so easy! She's a very good baby. My hisband and I decided we wanted a large family and we wanted our kids close together, and even though I have birth control now and can start taking it, I can't wait to get pregnant again! Before we delivered this time (because we thought I wouldn't have a csection) we joked about trying to concieve 3-6 months after our daughter was born. Now that I have a cesection we are trying to figure out when it is safe to start trying again though 6 months is probably okay... Aaah my brain is melting! Haha!

OrganicMomma - 16.7 hours ago
Mrs. Joiner~ you're amazing! i'm 4 weeks pp and must get on birth control at my 6 week check-up! lol i love my LO, but have no desire to be pregnant again, go through labor or have a newbie. this is the most demanding thing i've ever done. bless all the women who do this multiple times. i only ever wanted 1... i do wonder though if i'll change my minid as the LO gets older???

Mrs. Joiner - 16.8 hours ago
Has anyone else already got the baby fever again? I seriously want to get pregnant again already! Yikes! I am mental!!

OrganicMomma - 17.2 hours ago
Carmensmomma~ i feel ya sister. a couple of times i've rhought to myself: i wanted this???? lol we're only human. sleep helps. maybe you could check around to see if there is a new mom's support group. i live in las vegas,nv and have found a wonderful midwifery/parenting center and have met some great women... seems to be helping :)

expecting-2b-patient - 17.4 hours ago
beccaboo1117: Try different feeding positions so your baby isn't always sucking the hardest on the same part of your nipple. I was using the 'football' hold for the first week to week and a half and was crying through the feedings on my left nipple. It looked like he took a chunk out of it! I called the lactation consultant and she told me to try the cross crandle. It has given me such relief and you'd never think just changing a position would help. Also I still get sharp pains on both nipples right when he latches on. But it subsides after a few moments. Good luck I think breastfeeding is such a sacrifice and you have to be so dedicated!!

deeyore486 - 17.7 hours ago
MiniOface, tuna is fine now. :)

aileenc0 - 18.6 hours ago
well went back to doc today and she has given me two new atibiotics so i have to complete these two bcourses that will be 5 lots after these are done so keep your fingers crossed that this will heal my wound as I'm 4 week pp and am still getting loads of pain take care ladies. someone's hungry gotta go.

MiniOface - 19.1 hours ago
This may sound silly but can we eat tuna now if we are bf?

deeyore486 - 19.2 hours ago
beccaboo1117, its going to take a bit for your nipples to become hardened against the hardships of breastfeeding. Use nipple creams and breastmilk on your nipples to help them heal. Try and go shirtless if you can so that the air can get to them as well. Breastfeeding is where your breathing excersizes really come in handy! Breath through the pain! Your nipples should feel better in a few days, but if there is an incorrect latch it will take longer and you will have to fix the latch. You make it through the first six weeks and the rest will be a piece of cake! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!!

More comments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next Latest comments from all months More months: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older