Let Your Toddler Help
Keep your toddler busy and help them feel a part of caring for their new sibling by enlisting them as your special helperyou may even get some actual help out of the deal. While a toddler can’t take on complicated or direct baby care tasks unsupervised, they can accomplish many small jobs.
For example, ask your toddler to grab a diaper, rattle, or burp cloth for your babyor to get you an apple or granola bar. They could have them sing a song or do a dance to entertain the baby. You can have them help you pick the baby’s next outfit or help you softly pat them dry after a bath. Including your toddler in these tasks helps them feel useful and competent, teaches them new skills, and keeps them by your side.
Introducing Baby To Pets
If you have a dog or cat at home, theyll probably be aware of a change during your pregnancy or when you set up the nursery.
Allow your pet to sniff the new baby furniture and accessories. Play recordings of baby noises for them so they can become used to the noises.
After baby is born, bring something with the babys scent, such as a blanket or item of clothing, for them to sniff. Theyll recognize the smell later when you bring the baby home for the first time.
Its important to always supervise your pets interactions with the baby during the newborn stage. Never leave your baby alone in an area where a pet has access. A pets attempts at welcoming a new family member may not be safe for a small baby.
If your pet is being overly friendly or aggressive, try to find positive ways to redirect their attention away from baby. That can help reduce feelings of jealousy or resentment.
Speaking And Language Activities
1. Read any novel aloud.
2. Recite the ABCs with different accents.
3. Sing Adele or your some of your favorite songs.
4. Sing nursery rhymes and lullabies.
5. Walk around the house and point out your favorite keepsakes.
6. Touch and recite body part names, such as leg, arms and toes.
7. Have a pretend conversation about the weather.
8. Read baby books like youre a stage actor.
9. Imitate her noises.
10. Say his name over and over.
11. Make meals with her watching you and recite the recipe a la Julia Child.
12. Talk to him when he cant see you, like when hes in his crib and youre in the bathroom.
13. Take turns making noises. You coo, wait for her to make a noise, you make a different noise.
14. Tell fun and interesting stories about family members.
15. Repeat sounds she makes and add words.
16. Answer him when he calls out.
17. Recite the names of family members.
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Activities For Hand Movement
18. Flex and extend her hands.
19. Clap his hands to the beat of your favorite song.
20. Touch his hands to his head.
21. Cross-body touch with her hands.
22. Help her hug a stuffed animal.
23. Let him hold your finger.
24. Use a textured glove to touch his hands.
25. Touch his hands to different objects.
26. Touch her hands to your lips while you move them.
Months: Put Together A Puzzle
Simple wooden puzzles are great for children starting at one year of age, and they help to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness, Moreno says. Start with puzzles with just a few pieces and chunky wooden handles, since the handles are easier for small, chubby hands to grasp than regular puzzle pieces.
Good to know: If you dont want to invest in high-quality puzzles, check your local library. Many libraries offer puzzles for check out, or allow patrons to play with puzzles in the library.
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How Much Do Newborn Babies Sleep
A newborns schedule can feel unpredictable. Newborns will sleep an average of eight to nine hours in the daytime. They may sleep up to another eight hours total at night. But this wont usually be for the same stretch of time.
Newborns also have very small stomachs. Theyll need to get up about every three hours to eat until around 3 months of age. Once theyre a little older, theyll be able to go longer between feedings.
Some babies will sleep through the night starting at 4 months. Others wont sleep through the night until later. Your pediatrician is your best resource for letting you know how often your newborn will need to be fed throughout the night as they grow.
Fun Facts About Newborns
Get to know your new little one! Here are 10 fun facts about newborns:
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Breastfeeding And Caring For Newborns If You Have Covid
Although we still have much to learn about the risks of COVID-19 for newborns of people with COVID-19, we do know these facts:
- Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 compared with nonpregnant people. Pregnant people with COVID-19 are also more likely to give birth early.
- Most newborns of people who had COVID-19 during pregnancy do not have COVID-19 when they are born.
- Some newborns have tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after birth. We dont know if these newborns got the virus before, during, or after birth.
- Most newborns who tested positive for COVID-19 had mild or no symptoms and recovered. Reports say some newborns developed severe COVID-19 illness.
See the latest data on birth and infant outcomes among pregnant women with COVID-19.
Reducing The Risk Of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
SIDS is rare, so do not let worrying about it stop you enjoying your baby’s first few months.
Putting your baby on their back to sleep, in a cot in the same room as you, for the first 6 months is one way to reduce your baby’s risk even further.
Not smoking during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and not letting anyone else smoke in the same room as your baby, will also help protect them.
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+ Years Old Toddler Tips
Did you know?Children learn better when they are taught how to behave well instead of being scolded for behaving badly.
- Ask simple questions and listen to the answers. Encourage your child to talk: What is this?, Where is the window?, Which ball is bigger?, Would you like the red cup?. You should see your childs growing interest in interacting with you and responding to your questions.
- Read stories to your child and ask questions about what you see in the book. You should notice your child memorizes and tries to repeat what you read.
- Help your child learn to count by asking how many and counting things together. Your child will make mistakes at first, but learn from repeating things many times.
- Offer your child circles and other shapes cut from coloured paper to compare and sort. She should be happy to try sorting things and will learn how to match and make relationships between different objects, colours and shapes.
* Sources: Steen, The Evolving Brain: The Known and The Unknown, 2007 Dekaban, Annals of Neurology, 1978.
Enroll Your Toddler In A Preschool Program
Maa Hoo / Stocksy United
Even if its only a part-time program, bringing a new sibling home can be the perfect time to enroll your toddler in preschool. Not only will it give the parents one-on-one time with the new baby, but it will also give your toddler something special that is for big kids only, providing them with age-appropriate activities, peers, and teachers dedicated to their needs.
You might consider having your toddler start preschool a few months before your due date in order to give them time to transition to their new schedule before the baby arrives. Alternatively, time their first day to a few weeks after your delivery so that they won’t be starting school at the exact time you bring the baby home, which may feel like too much at once for both you and your toddler.
Also, spacing their start date a bit away from your delivery may lessen your toddler’s association of going to school with the arrival of the new baby. Ideally, this timing will help temper any feelings of jealousy that may arise and prevent your toddler from feeling shunted off in favor of the baby.
Make a big deal during pick-up, ask questions about the day, and hang up works of art to show your toddler how proud you are of your preschooler.
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Myth No : Let Them Cry A Little
When your baby cries — and the typical infant will cry about three hours a day in the first three months, more if they have colic — it isn’t because they are trying to manipulate you. They haven’t learned how to do that yet. They are crying because they are hungry, tired, lonely or plain uncomfortable, and that’s their only way of letting you know.
“A spoiled child is one that’s manipulative, but babies don’t learn until they’re about 9 months that they can cry to get you to do something for them,” says Dr. Barbara Howard, assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on psychosocial aspects of child and family health.
What Is My Newborn Learning
Play is the chief way that infants learn how to move, communicate, socialize, and understand their surroundings. And during the first month of life, your baby will learn by interacting with you.
The first thing your baby will learn is to connect the feel of your touch, the sound of your voice, and the sight of your face with getting his or her needs for comfort and food met.
Even at this young age, newborns are ready to learn about the world around them. Your newborn loves to look your face. Newborns can recognize and respond to mom or dad’s voice by looking alert and becoming less active. The baby may try to find out where the sound is coming from by looking around and turning his or her head.
Encourage learning with smiles, soothing sounds, and gentle caresses. When you smile and talk to your infant, your face and the sound of your voice will become a familiar source of calm and comfort. Your little one will learn to associate you with nourishment, warmth, and a soothing touch.
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Record Your Babys Move:
Each moment with your baby is unique and shall never come back, so make sure you capture them.
- Record your babys special moments through pictures or videos.
- Use different accessories and props to make it entertaining for your infant.
- Make him or her wear special clothes, try a different hair style. Your baby will thoroughly enjoy the attention.
How To Give Your Newborn A Sponge Bath
Make sure the room is warm, without drafts. This means a room temperature of about 75 degrees. Then, gather all equipment and supplies in advance.
One very important thing is to never take your hands off your baby.
Never take your hands off the baby, even for a moment, Dr. Orosz says. If you have forgotten something, wrap up your baby in a towel and take them with you.
To give the sponge bath:
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Essentials For The Hospital
The hospital may provide some items like:
- a few newborn diapers
- swaddle blanket
- samples of formula if youre bottle-feeding
Youll want to have an installed rear-facing car seat. In the United States, hospitals wont let you leave with your baby without a rear-facing car seat, even if you arent driving home from the hospital.
Youll also want to have the following:
- baby blanket
- formula, bottles, and sterilizing equipment, if you plan to bottle-feed
You dont need to bring a breast pump to the hospital. If the hospital wants you to pump breast milk, theyll give you access to a hospital-grade pump during your stay.
If you want help learning to use your own pump, you can bring it along.
Caring For Your Newborn At Home If You Have Covid
If you are in isolation for COVID-19, take the following precautions until your isolation period has ended:
- Stay home to separate yourself from others outside your home.
- Isolate from other household members who are not infected, and wear a mask in shared spaces.
- Have a healthy caregiver who is fully vaccinated and not at higher risk for severe illness provide care for your newborn newborn .
- Follow recommended precautions if you must care for your newborn before your isolation period has ended.
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Newborn Sleep Survival Guide
Sleep Close to Baby Being close to his mother regulates a baby’s heart rate, immune system, and stress levels and makes breastfeeding easier, says James McKenna, Ph.D., director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “It also keeps the baby in lighter phases of sleep so he can practice arousing and going back to sleep, which is good in case of any problems, such as sleep apnea.”
It may also be linked to a decreased risk of sudden infant death syndrome . A bedside or freestanding bassinet is a good option. Various experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, advise parents not to sleep with their babies because of the danger of suffocation.
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Day vs. Night “Encourage him to switch,” says Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., associate director of the Sleep Center, Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night’s Sleep . “At night, keep the lights low and move slowly when you feed him. Be boring. Make sure he gets bright light in the morning, and keep him as busy as you can during the day. Make noise. Play with him.” In other words, during the day, be interesting.
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2. Dealing with Crying
3. Baby Fevers