I have slowly been weaning my 10-month-old daughter from the pacifier, but recently I’ve noticed she has started sucking her thumb. Since the thumb is a harder habit to break than the pacifier, my thought is to let her have the pacifier. Your 10-month-old is in an in-between stage of development, as she is crawling […]
Touch Benefits
Touch stimulates growth-promoting substances Healthcare providers have long known that babies who are touched a lot grow better, and now there is research to back up this observation. There seems to be a biological connection between stroking, massaging, and grooming infants and their growth. Touch stimulates growth-promoting hormones and increases the enzymes that make the […]
Learning the Right Touch
Massage is a touch you do with your baby, not to your baby. It’s an interaction, not a task. You learn which strokes your baby enjoys and, as if dancing, go with the flow of your baby’s body language. While it is nearly impossible to rub your baby the wrong way, here’s how to learn […]
Newborn’s Swollen Breasts
Because of a surge of breast-enlarging hormones at birth, your baby’s breasts may become swollen, firm, and lumpy within a week after birth. A baby’s breasts may even produce a few drops of milk. These are normal physiologic changes in both male and female babies. The swelling should subside within a few weeks.
Closing Vagina
Closing Vagina Commonly during the first year or two you may notice that the slit-like opening in your daughter’s vagina begins to close. Mention this to your doctor during your baby’s regular checkup. Called labial adhesions , this condition occurs because the sides of the vaginal opening are so close to each other that they […]
The Right Touch: Infant Massage
It’s one of life’s simple pleasures (massage has long been enjoyed by adults), and research is showing that babies grow better and act better when they are on the receiving end of the right touch. Infant massage is a skin-to-skin connection that helps parents and baby better read each other’s body language – without saying […]
Spitting Up
1. Why babies spit up. Babies spit up because they are just being babies. They gulp milk and air, and the air settles beneath the milk in the stomach. When baby’s stomach contracts, like an air gun, the stomach shoots some milk back up the esophagus, and you have sour, curdled milk on your shoulder. […]
Dischargin Eyes
During the first few weeks or months you may notice a yellow, sticky discharge from one or both eyes. This is usually caused by a blocked tear duct . Most newborns’ eyes begin tearing by three weeks of age. These tears should drain into the nose through tiny tear ducts at the inside corners of […]
Protruding Navel
Babies are born with an opening in the abdominal wall through which the umbilical-cord vessels connect with the placenta. When the cord is cut, the stump shrivels up. Sometimes the stump bulges out – other times it stays flat or inverts. Whether it’s an “outie” or an “innie” depends on the individual way a stump […]
Feet
CROOKED NEWBORN FEET A newborn’s bowed legs and feet reflect the scrunched up position of “no standing room” in the womb. The legs are normally very bowed, and the feet turn in. Since the bones were curved that way for many months inside, expect several months of free kicking before the legs and feet straighten. […]
Cutting Baby’s Fingernails
Some newborns enter the world with fingernails so long that they need to be cut right away to prevent them from scratching their faces. Expect your newborn’s nails to grow very fast and don’t be afraid to cut them. If you’re timid about cutting your baby’s fingernails, as many parents are, here’s how to make […]
How to Toddler Proof Your Home
A Room-by-Room Guide Here’s a room-to-room guide to toddler proof your home. Follow these tips to create a toddler-friendly, toddler-safe environment: Living Room/Family Room Cover electrical outlets Secure lamp cords so lamps can’t be pulled down Anchor floor lamps, or remove them Cover controls on the television, stereo, VCR Cushion sharp corners on coffee tables, […]