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 101-125 of about 11269 for month 0
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JoJos Mommy - Wednesday, 11 Nov
hey all...my 4week old is at 6oz of formula every 3.5-4hrs...does that seem like 2much? his ped said that i needed to give it to him like that because he was drinking 4oz bottles and only staying full for2hrs.

serenitysmommy - Wednesday, 11 Nov
Hey every one I put pics up of our new baby! Feel free to check them out!

cookbabycook - Wednesday, 11 Nov
New photos are up. Feel free to look at them on our profile page.

collsbaby - Wednesday, 11 Nov
This is GREAT for new moms because you don' have to leave the house to buy diapers, formula or nursing products! I just ordered some stuff on diapers.com for the first time. My cousin said she liked it because it comes the next day usually and they take discounts and you can get bigger boxes of the hard to find diapers like Seventh Generation and other 'green diapers', so I thought I'd check it out. I got some other stuff too and saved almost $16.00 in coupons and discounts! I couldn't believe it. They have a sale going on now (but it ends Nov 12-tomorrow), but there's free shipping (next day) and a lot of coupons and stuff for Huggies and Pampers and other brands. Anyway, I signed up for their referral program, so if you are a first time customer and you type in my code you get an extra $10.00 off! That is what I just did, I used another person's code and I got $10.00 off. I found the 7th Gen diapers in bulk there, I can only find bags of like 26 in the stores, but there they have boxes of over 100. Anyway, just wanted to pass it along since the sale ends tomorrow, but you can use my code whenever and still get $10.00 off if you are a first time customer. When you check out in the promos & referrals section type in: COLLSBABY The site offers a first time customer discount too, but it's only $5.00, so I wanted to be sure to share this with everyone. $5 bucks is $5 bucks!! ;-)

amandaa910 - Wednesday, 11 Nov
march, thanks for the advice. it worried me a lot because when i was in the hospital after the birth the nurses told me she should only eat like 2oz... so yeah. shes just a hungry girl lol

jynxxd - Wednesday, 11 Nov
wow reading how much ur LOs eat and weigh makes my monster seem even more like a monster. Levi is a week today and weighs 9lbs 14oz, he's 22 inches long! and eats 4oz - 5oz every 3 - 4 hours. lol

Mrs. Joiner - Wednesday, 11 Nov
I am BF but I am also on the mini-pill. I just started taking it a few days ago and I was wondering if I will or should have a period when I finish my pack. I've never taken any kind of pill BC before so I don't really know what to expect, especially with the BF.

TutuGirl - Wednesday, 11 Nov
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TutuGirl - Wednesday, 11 Nov
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monselena - Wednesday, 11 Nov
Can all you ladies with a myspace account please do me a HUGE favor add simply divine photography to your friends list and then vote for my photo its a school with snow and it says monselena under the caption, I really want to win the $100 free print credit this girl takes awsome pics, but its a little expensaive so Please help me so I can get awsome pics of my little one Thanks in advance www.myspace.com/simplydivinephotography And you can delete her again after you vote please I'am begging for votes

March - Wednesday, 11 Nov
amanda, my first baby ate like crazy. When he was a few days old, the dr said he should probably be eating some amount at a time - i think maybe 2 oz - and I tried that until I realized that the reason he was crying all the time was that the poor kid was starving, and he quickly started getting 4 oz at a time, every three or so hours (so about the same as yours). My son is very big - at 19 months he's now 97%+ at height and 95% at weight. His dad is tall too so it's not a big surprise. Anyway, so I wouldn't worry, with my new daughter I'm totally ready to feed her whatever she wants, if she's as hungry as my son was that's totally fine.

deeyore486 - Wednesday, 11 Nov
When doing a bottle of breastmilk while I am at work, my 3mo old does an oz per hour I am gone. All that changes is how its divided up...when he was younger he did three three oz bottles, eating every three hours. Now, he eats every 4.5 hours and only has two bottles. There are many days where he doesn't finish his second bottle at all.

amandaa910 - Wednesday, 11 Nov
my baby is just shy of 2 weeks.. and she eats like 4oz every 3 or so hours. i feel like thats way too much but her doctor said that if she seems hungry to feed her. is this something that i should worry about??

kp7586 - Tuesday, 10 Nov
Man I tap Nynas back for like 2 mins. and she lets these huge man burps out it is crazy.

SPUDinTHEoven - Tuesday, 10 Nov
allyne7: What do you mean when you say your mom puts Cicely on her head when she burps her? I'm interested in any new burping positions to try @ this point!

allynne7 - Tuesday, 10 Nov
Last comment, I promise! Cicely was 3 weeks on Sunday...she had a Dr.'s appointment for her heart murmur today (no bad news but it's still there so she goes back in 5 mnths) but she is now 21 inches long (19 at birth) and weighes 8.7lbs (was 7.4 at birth and went down to 7.2 but back up to 7.12 at her 1st dr.'s appt). She's a chunky monkey! And she's above average for her length and weight at this age! But I'm 6'1 so I guess she'll be tall as well!

allynne7 - Tuesday, 10 Nov
I do both the lap and shoulder as well but baby prefers to be bounced on my lap. That works best. For the really hard ones my mom puts Cicely on her head and burps her like that about 4-5 times then goes back to burping the normal way and that always works to get the gas out.

allynne7 - Tuesday, 10 Nov
Mini: I wouldn't worry about baby puking...The gripe water was still doing it's job. It tries to get the gas out by any means necessary. Baby was probably sick because he ate too much and it came up with the gas. If your at all concerned call the doc. If it's an issue they'll have you go in.

MiniOface - Tuesday, 10 Nov
jynxxed-I do both lap and shoulder because he refuses to burp! I am constantly trying new positions just to get one burp. I used the Little Tummy's Gripe Water and it says alcohol free so IDK...DS has his 1 month check-up next week so I am definitely going to mention it.

high-lee - Tuesday, 10 Nov
I would have started working out again after about a week because I felt great, but I do the water exercise and she said no baths or anything like that for 6 weeks :( Just a couple more weeks. So I have been taking walks for now. I need to start doing some sit ups or something too!

SPUDinTHEoven - Tuesday, 10 Nov
Kylie isn't quite 2 weeks old yet, or I would try the gripe water. She's IMPOSSIBLE to burp, and she gets frustrated after I try for like 5 minutes and starts balling in my ear. Poor thing! It's driving me crazy cus a lot of times she ends up spitting up when she doesn't burp after a feeding

jynxxd - Tuesday, 10 Nov
I had to use gripe water last nightoo. Poor Levi had a belly ache. Make sure the bottle says alcohol free, the brand I bought still makes gripe water with alcohol so i had to buy alcohol free. I gave it to him after aa feeding, after trying to burp him for about 20 minutes and he was balling. I couldnt calm him down by burping so that when I gave it to him. Your DS may just not be able to handle the gripe water, or it's something more thanjust a gassy tummy. Do you sit him up to burp or on your shoulder? I find sitting him up allows bigger burps:)

kp7586 - Tuesday, 10 Nov
Can't believe I had Nyna 4 weeks ago tomorrow it does not seem like it was that long ago.

MiniOface - Tuesday, 10 Nov
HELP! My DS has a hard time getting gas up so I tried Gripe Water last night after a feeding and it made him puke! I felt so bad =( For those who use Gripe Water, When do you administer it? Before, during or after a feeding? There are no instructions on the box other than the dosage limits.

chellechelle - Monday, 9 Nov
Wow, 4 weeks?! I wanted to start tomorrow! I guess not. Now I'm going to try even harder to get a hold of my doctor...

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