Baby Care Encyclopedia

When your baby was a newborn, she probably fell asleep for an hour or more soon after the first feeding of the day. Not so the three- to six-month-old, especially if she is healthy and well-rested. The baby's increased alertness and sociability will make her more of a companion as you go about your daily routines. As long as she is awake, she will be looking for more stimulation and engagement with you. No longer can you park her in a playpen or crib and expect to be undisturbed for more than a few minutes at a stretch. Unless there is something interesting to look at and handle and, preferably, someone to look at and handle things with the baby will get bored and issue some protest. This doesn't mean you have to entertain your baby and neglect everything else. Just keep the baby close to you, in an infant carrier, strapped into an infant seat or propped up in a stroller, while you do the normal things, stopping every now and then to visit and, when the baby seems restless, providi...

Some babies eagerly consume all new foods, while others who generally shy away from all kinds of new experiences shun their first solids. Often, it takes some experimenting on the part of both the parents and the baby to diversify the baby's diet and feeding patterns. The task may be easier if you: ?  Avoid introducing new foods when the baby is not feeling well. ?  Do not force the baby to eat any food she seems to dislike particularly. Rather, give up this food temporarily and try to introduce it again at a later stage. ?  Offer new foods in tiny amounts, no more than a teaspoonful at a time. ?  Let the baby suck a little food off your finger if she seems to dislike the spoon. Elimination Most babies also begin to have fewer, more regular bowel movements, although breast-fed babies may continue to have more frequent movements than bottle-fed babies. Don't be alarmed if the baby goes longer between bowel movements or seems to strain to have movements after solid foods ...

Before the age of four months, solid food may actually be harmful to babies. Early introduction of solids may increase the chance that the baby will develop food allergies, and it may prevent the baby from getting enough calories to grow properly. At around six months of age, though, babies can no longer get adequate nutrition from milk or formula alone. From this point on, they need a greater variety of foods for proper growth and development. Certain changes in a baby's feeding behavior signal a readiness to begin solids. These changes, which appear between the fourth and sixth months, include the development of a more mature sucking pattern in which the gums move up and down, and the appearance of drooling, which makes it easier to swallow solid food. The baby's tongue no longer reflexively pushes food out of the mouth, and coordination of the tongue and swallowing muscles is improved. Even babies who have experienced all these developments, however, may resist solid food at fi...

Because they are growing, babies need more calories and nutrients per pound of body weight than adults. In the third month of life, babies require 50 to 60 calories a day per pound of body weight. In the fourth to sixth months, the calorie needs are reduced slightly, an adjustment babies make automatically. In general, though, there's no need to worry about letting your three- to six-month-old get fat and there's little indication that a roly-poly six-month-old has a greater than average chance of growing into an overweight child or adult. Continue to let the baby take the lead in deciding when she has eaten enough, and weight should take care of itself. The best way to tell when a baby is hungry is to observe her behavior. Younger babies cry, clench their fists, and tense up their bodies when they are hungry; four-to six-month-olds show hunger by grasping the bottle and drawing it to the mouth or reaching with an open mouth for the bottle or nipple. The baby's response to being ful...

Many nursing mothers wonder whether they should start replacing some breast feedings with bottle feedings during this period, with the eventual goal of weaning the baby entirely. Your decision about when and how to wean your baby should be based on your own desires, as well as on practical considerations, such as the need to return to work. Some pediatricians recommend the introduction of an occasional bottle perhaps one a day as soon as the mother's milk supply is well established. That way, the mother can be separated from the baby for more than a few hours at a time should the need arise. In addition, a baby who gets used to a bottle early in life can give up breast feeding more readily later on. It's important to emphasize, though, that there is no single correct approach; whatever choice the parents make, the baby will be fine. If you do decide to taper off breast feedings, the process may be easier if you do it gradually. The mother will be less uncomfortable from breast eng...