Today’s Tip - Zebra’s Stripes by Gabby Goldsack is a great book for infants
It’s got everything you could ask for - bright, contrasting colors, sturdy, carboard pages and a simple story with some unique dialogue that’s easy for babies to pick up on and anticipate. And it’s got a fuzzy front that babies love to touch. My son is in love with this book. We’re going to buy the rest of the set.
Classic Jef on April 30th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s tip - Keep active play smooth and controlled
Once your baby starts holding his head up more, he may enjoy getting tossed up in the air or bounced on a knee. This is fine, but keep the movements smooth and controlled and don’t do anything that jostles his neck or causes sudden, abrupt movements. His neck is still developing, and a sudden change could damage his spinal cord. Also, sharp movements could also detach one of his retinas, causing blindness.
Classic Jef on April 29th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - Don’t consume undercooked meat while you’re breastfeeding.
With the summer grilling season upon us, I took extra care making my wife’s burger. She ususally doesn’t like much pink in the center, but I had to make sure there wasn’t any, because eating raw or undercooked meat can contaminate your breast milk.
Classic Jef on April 28th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - It’s normal for bowel movements to slow down around 2 months old
As they get older, babies become more regular with age. Rather than pooping 5 or more times a day, they’ll reduce their production to once a day or even two days. You’re infant isn’t constipated (unless they’re acting as if they’re in pain, in which case you should call your pediatrician.) Enjoy changing less diapers and having the topic of your conversation become something other than baby bowel movements.
Classic Jef on April 27th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - Put your baby down when he’s still awake to foster good sleep habits
It sounds nearly impossible if you have a baby that screams his head off when you put him down to bed without him being asleep already, but if you don’t train them now, you’re setting yourself up for a difficult time later. If you can avoid it, don’t put them to sleep in the car, in your arms, while nursing, etc. Put them down, if they scream, let them cry it out for a few minutes, return to calm them down and assure them everything is ok. Put them back down still awake, and repeat. It may take a bit, but it’ll be ten times easier now than it will be later.
Classic Jef on April 26th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - If your baby throws up after eating, he may be getting too much food
The challending thing about babies is that you can never tell what they want or need, because they only have one method of communication. So they can never say “I’m full” when they’ve had too much to eat.
Sometimes, they keep on sucking even though they’ve had enough. And it doesn’t take much milk to overfill their bellies. If you burp your baby and he throws up some of his food, try stopping every half ounce or so. If he doesn’t latch back on to the nipple or just gums the rubber without really sucking, he may have had enough. If he’s still hungry, he’ll let you know soon enough.
Classic Jef on April 25th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - To help unclog a blocked tear duct, massage the side of your baby’s nose with a clean finger
Our baby’s eye is always goopy and filled with crust, and our pediatrician told us he has a blocked tear duct. Nothing too serious, but it could take up to 9 months to correct itself. To help, take a clean finger with short fingernails and rub towards the blocked duct along the side of his nose. Do this twice a day regularly and it should speed up the unclogging process.
There are also eyedrops your pediatrician can prescribe to help with the eye goop.
Classic Jef on April 24th 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - Encourage your baby to touch and feel as many textures as possible
Now that he’s getting older, your infant is probably grabbing on to things. Place fuzzy, slippery, smooth, rough, rattles, stuffed animals, etc. into his hands and let him try to grab on and play. It’ll encourage gross and fine motor skills in his hands.
Classic Jef on April 23rd 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - Choose a bedtime for your baby once he starts sleeping through the night
Up until this point, you might have had a floating bedtime for your infant, based on when he was hungry, if he needed changing, etc. Now that he sleeps for 8 or so hours, you can pick a bedtime, and you don’t have to necessarily wake him up to feed him. If he’s sleeping, let him lie.
Classic Jef on April 22nd 2006 in Year 1
Today’s Tip - Get your baby vaccinated at his two-month appointment
It’s nearly time for the two month appointment. Along with checking your babies physical development (height, weight, head circumfrance), ears, throat, eyes, and overall health, your pediatrician should recommend vaccinations for your infant. He should be due for vaccines against:
While he’s getting the shots be sure to stay near, he’ll need comforting. Afterwords, you should expect your baby to be more tired and fussy than usual, maybe for a day or two. A fever is also a possibility, but if he gets above 102.5, call your pediatrician. The injection site might also be red and irritated, but if it becomes bumped up, call your pediatrician.
Give your baby infant tylenol before the appointment and it may make the shots easier to take. After the shots, give him the recommended dosage of infant tylenol every four hours if he develops a fever.
DIPHTHERIA - Diphtheria is a very serious disease. It can make a person unable to breathe or cause paralysis (unable to move parts of the body) or heart failure. About one in every 10 people who get diphtheria die from it.
TETANUS - Tetanus (lockjaw) can occur after a cut or wound lets the germ into the body. Tetanus makes the person unable to open his or her mouth or swallow,and causes serious muscle spasms. In the United States, tetanus kills three out of every 10 people who get the disease. Those who survive have long hospital stays.
PERTUSSIS - Pertussis (whooping cough) may be mild or serious and is easily passed from person to person. Pertussis can cause spells of coughing and choking that make it hard to eat, drink or breathe. The coughing can last for weeks. Pertussis is most dangerous to babies under one year old. Babies with pertussis are so sick that nearly half must go to the hospital. About one baby in 100 with pertussis either dies or is left with permanent brain injury. Serious illness is less likely in older children and adults.
HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAETYPE B (Hib) - Hib disease is caused by an infection spread by coughing, sneezing or close contact. Hib disease can cause a swelling of the brain that can lead to developmental disability, hearing loss, weakened sight, or speech problems. Before a Hib vaccine was available, Hib infected one of every 200 children before age five. It is most dangerous for babies under age one.
POLIO - Polio is a very dangerous disease. Some children and adults who get a serious case of polio become paralyzed (unable to move parts of their bodies). Sometimes polio may make it difficult to breathe without the help of a machine. In some cases, it can even cause death.
PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE(PCV7) - Pneumococcal disease is a serious illness that is responsible for about 200 deaths each year among children under five years old. Children under two years old are at highest risk for serious disease. It is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. Meningitis is an infection of the covering of the brain.
Classic Jef on April 21st 2006 in Year 1
