Babies 0-1 Year Old

A baby at one month old may already begin to express himself/herself orally, or even begin to smile.  At this stage, it is imperative that parents encourage this communication using his/her “language,” even if there is no understanding.  This signals the baby’s first lessons in communication, and is vital for a baby in gaining confidence in future communications.

Newborn babies do not yet know how to speak, but often express themselves in their body language.  For example, twitchy eyes, ear scratching, or signs of impatience generally signifies fatigue.  Under these situations, try to put the baby to sleep and, after awhile, the baby will develop his/her sleep pattern and you will be able to identify your baby’s body language much more effectively.

Some babies are “night owls”, and prefer to sleep during the day while kicking and screaming during the night.  Admittedly, there isn’t much that can be done for the first two weeks, but subsequently, a baby can be taught to differentiate night and day.  One way to do this would be to intensify activities with the baby during the day, ensure strong daylight, and keep the baby awake during feeding time.  Come night time, do your best to overlook your baby’s desire to play and reduce communications with him.  In time, your baby will understand the difference between day and night and, more importantly, when the appropriate time to sleep is!

Newborn babies frequently throw up their milk, but rest assured this is very normal.  In fact, up to 50% of babies do this, and this occurrence peaks at babies 4 months old.  The reason this occurs is that when feeding, a baby takes in the milk along with pockets of air, which needs to be pushed back out, resulting in small amounts of milk coming out with it.

A baby being able to sit up independently is a major milestone, and usually occurs between 4-7 months, about the same time that he/she can flip himself/herself over.  At around 8 months old, most babies are able to sit comfortably without any support for minutes at a time.  Remember to keep encouraging baby for these little milestone moments, but it isn’t a moment you will soon forget!