Upon a woman’s initial visit to the doctor when discovering that she is going to have a baby, she is usually given a due date. This date is typically an approximate, estimated by looking at certain information and coming to a reasonable conclusion. However, it is a fact that only about 4% of women actually deliver their baby right on that due date. It is more often that babies are delivered between two weeks before the target date and two weeks after.
Newborn babies are, in every sense of the expression, the sweetest angels on earth. They need to be cared for gently and lovingly. Typically, newborns eat, sleep, and fill their diapers. Bottles must be cleaned and filled, and ready for the next feeding, tiny clothes must be clean and as soft as fabric softener can possibly make them, and disposable diapers must be within reach at all times, along with baby wipes, washcloths, and spit up cloths.
When a baby is born, the doctors and nurses caring for the mother and child before they leave the hospital will provide helpful reading and suggestions for the pending adjustment at home. Many new mommies are prepared and ready for their tiny bundle of joy, and have lined up lots of help on the home front. Even so, caring for a newborn involves much more than is usually visible on the surface. Questions will arise as unexpected situations pop up, and new parents need to know where they can go for answers.
Newborn sleep patterns vary, as every baby is an individual. One baby may be a terrific eater, gobbling at his or her bottle with as much enthusiasm as their tiny body can muster. Another baby may not be able to stay awake long enough at any given feeding time to drink down even an ounce of formula. Still another might cry through feeding time, eventually crying his or herself to sleep, taking in no nourishment at all. Through all of this, sleep deprived parents are trying to keep their new little one awake, full, and happy.
All of this, however, is normally short lived. Babies grow quickly, and soon parents begin to see their newborn blossoming into a toddler, hitting many milestones along the way, each one even more thrilling than the one before. At an average age of seven months, babies will begin to test their knowledge of sound. They will begin to make noises that, to them, sound like what they have heard coming out of the mouths of those who are around them all the time. They will begin to mimmick what they hear. This is their first attempt at speech, and it just increases from there.
Before long parents find themselves approaching that milestone in a baby’s life that has been dubbed the terrible two’s. Sometimes this happens a little before the age of two and lasts well into the three’s and four’s! Dealing with the terrible twos does not have to be a negative experience. The terrible two’s could involve picky toddler eaters and toddler screaming tantrums. Dealing with the terrible twos behavior patterns can be daunting; however, what is happening is that the child is learning about his or her own behavior, and about the consequences brought on by certain actions. In other words, what will fly with mom and dad, and what will not. Again, as each child is an individual, some approaches to dealing with the terrible twos will work with some children, while others will require a different plan of action.
Part of dealing with the terrible twos may involve toddlers picky eaters. Even at the ages of two and three, toddlers are beginning to express their opinion about their own likes and dislikes. Some even go through a phase where they just do not want to eat. This can be unnerving to many parents who experience a wave of panic at the thought of their child taking in no nourishment at all. However, this is not something that brings much of a reaction from many pediatricians. They know the child will continue to flourish and grow, and will eat again when they are ready. Good references.
