I realized the other day that when I was reading to my son, he’d kind of just sit there and hang out. He wouldn’t really react to what was going on, he was just looking.

Then we got this new book, Bear Snores On, and I started making funny voices for the characters (when I say funny, I mean talking in a British accent. It’s just about the only impersonation I can do). When the Bear woke up, I’d make all sorts of grumbly, cranky, angry noises I imagine a bear would make if he were woken up from his hibernation (hope I didn’t ruin the book for you).

Now, every time I make the noises, he makes them along with me. Which got me to thinking, shouldn’t he be doing this with all his books? He loves to read, but it seems like we were missing out on so much more fun.

So I pulled out an ABC book with lots of pictures. I started asking him where the apple was, where the butterfly was, where the cat was, and so on and so forth.

The first few times, nothing. But imagine my surprise when I asked him where the butterfly was. He pointed and said “butter.” I was floored.

So now I try to make reading as much a two-way, fun activity as possible. It’s much better to explore and imagine things when you’ve got a fun playmate to do it with along the way.

About a month or so ago, my son became a real person. Before, he’d make sounds and gestures pretty indiscriminately. He could imitate us, but it felt like he was living in his own alternate reality.

But then one day he started pointing at things. He started asking “What’s that?” He still makes lots of babble talk, but there’s a flow and rhythm to it. You can talk back to him, he’ll think a moment, and then say “blah da ma!”

He’s also learning to ask for things by reaching out his hands and whining.  At this stage, how you interact with your toddler is key for helping them learn associations between words and objects in the real world.

When your toddler asks for something, encourage them to say the name of it. When my son reaches for some of my pasta, we say “Would you like some pasta?” The response is usually “Mas-tah” or something even further from the word. But like I wrote before, mispronounciations are O.K.

They’ll quickly learn that to get something they want, they need to ask for that object. And toddlers seem to want everything, so he’ll learn tons of words just by being himself.

Encourage your toddler to use his words rather than just letting him point and whine. It’ll do wonders for his vocabulary.

What are you going to do when your little boy discovers that he’s a little boy?

Regardless of the way you feel about touching your private parts, having a son or daughter that walks around in public with a hand down their pants isn’t really socially acceptable.

The most important thing to remember right now is that your baby isn’t doing it because it’s sexual, they’re doing it because they’re learning about their body.

They touch their belly, face and feet right now too. You just don’t think twice about it.

So how do you get them to stop touching themselves in public without setting up sexually unhealthy behavior?

At the age of 12-18 months, disciplining or reasoning with them isn’t going to work. Use the distraction tactic.

My son always tried to “go downstairs” when we were changing his diaper or when we were giving him a bath. i.e. when he’s naked. We always gave him a toy or something to hold while we changed him. All he ended up doing was putting the toy down there too.

Our daycare actually came up with this tip. They sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” anytime they change the kids. And they use their hands to make a rolling motion while they sing it.

It’s perfect. My son sings along with the song and he makes the motion. He’s engaged enough to forget about touching himself down there. And since he heard it seven or eight times a day, it’s officially the first song he remembers and can sing a few lines to.

Once your toddler gets older, a different tactic probably needs to get taken. I’m not there yet, but if anyone else has experience on how they handled this sometimes embarrassing situation, sound off in the comments.

Do it Every Day
The most important thing you can do for your baby early on is getting him into a teeth cleaning routine. It’s especially important to do it at night, so try to work it into the pre- bedtime schedule.

Use a Soft Bristled Brush
There are plenty of kid’s toothbrushes out there. Our dentist recommended the Oral-B Stages Stage 2 Toothbrush for Little Kids because it’s extra gentle on his gums and mouth. Our son seems to love the tickling sensation of the bristles. He loves to grab on and gnaw the end of the brush. We can sometimes get a giggle or two when we brush his teeth.

Use Toothpaste Without Flouride
Your dentist might say different, but ours recommended not using a toothpaste with flouride in it. You can usually find tubes of kids’ toothpaste with the other toothpaste or in the baby aisle of a drug or grocery store.

Brush Teeth and Gums
Even though your kid might only have a few teeth, be sure to brush the gums. Plaque and bacteria can build up back there too. Brush in small circles on the front and back of any teeth that have come in, and be sure to give the chewing surfaces TLC as well.

Eat Well
The daily diet is just as important as the way you take care of your baby’s teeth. Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle. And if they’re drinking anything but water in a sippy cup, make sure it’s gone within 30 minutes.

Sweets are O.K. in moderation, but try to keep them reserved for mealtimes. Your baby should be getting plenty of calcium anyway, but this mineral is extra important for healthy teeth.

We fell behind on the first dentist appointment because we moved from Detroit to Chicago while my son was approaching the 1 year mark, but today we finally got him in for his first dentist appointment.

Even though your kid might have only three or four teeth, they should get into the dentist around their first birthday. They won’t get a cleaning, but they’ll get a “lap-to-lap” check-up. This means you’ll hold your baby on their back while the dentist inspects the teeth they do have and the rest of their jaw to make sure everything is developing correctly.

Your baby’s first set of teeth, even though they aren’t fully developed, are all in their jawbone at birth. Most babies get their first teeth around six months old, but some don’t get them until 12 or 14 months. The full set should be there by the time they are three years old.

The teeth typically come in from the center and then outward, which makes the molars the last teeth to make an appearance. These are also usually the worst from a teething perspective, and can come in with a low-grade fever and diarhea.

To help soothe your baby’s gums while their teeth come in, you can give them a bag of frozen veggies or fruits to gnaw on. We use the Fresh Food Feeder with some frozen bananas or strawberries and our son loves it.

The dentist will probably also recommend you use a non-flouride toothpaste with a nightly brushing routine. I’ll cover brushing, flossing and dental care the next tip.

They’ll also check for bottle mouth and other signs up decay. Bottle mouth can be caused by putting your baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice. Something I didn’t know was that it can also be caused by letting your baby drink from a sippy cup of juice or milk all day as well.

Just like putting them to bed with a bottle, it keeps their teeth continually bathed in sugary liquid, which can eat away at their enamel. If you do give your baby milk or juice in a cup, make sure it’s gone in thirty minutes. Or you can give your baby a glass of water and let them suck away to their heart’s content.

 Do Brain Building Toys Make Babies any Smarter? on Yahoo!

The study concludes that brain development before 3 is inconclusive. Thanks, but this should make parents feel a bit better about not rushing out and breaking the budget on every ‘genius’ toy out there.

If stimulation is the key, there are plenty of other things out there that are free. A public zoo and funny faces come to mind. Use your imagination.

Remember the 72-hour diet I blogged about for when your baby has the stomach flu? The first 24-hours involve giving your baby Pedialyte or Gatorade exclusively to help them stay hydrated while they get through the worst of the vomiting/diarhea.

An important thing to remember if your baby is vomiting - anything you put in will probably come back out. More than likely, on your carpet, furniture and clothes.

Pedialyte makes a clear, unflavored versions of their products. See where I’m going with this?

You can make things easier on yourself if you buy the clear version of Pedialyte. Sure, there will still be a sticky, disgusting mess, but you won’t have to be reminded of it for another few years by a big stain in the middle of your floor.

We gave my son purple Pedialyte and red Gatorade while he was vomiting, and we’ve got the stains on our floor to prove it. Just another thing to keep in mind when you’re out shopping for your baby’s diet while he’s sick.