that there is strain on your relationship
•Wondering when menstruation will resume.
•Swing Baby from side to side in a sheet hammock.
•Lie Baby on a big pregnancy ball and roll her forward, backward and sideways.
•Place various types of coloured paper and plastic in net bags and dangle above her play area, cot or pram for visual and tactile stimulation.
Month Six
MILESTONES
Delightful as your baby is at this stage, he might become very frustrated with life. He can conceive of things he would like to do, and can see things he’d like to reach but just isn’t able to! This is a demanding phase for parents who need to help Baby attain goals but should not automatically do everything for them: they need to use this energy to develop their abilities. Soon Baby will be able to crawl and then life will be easier again. He will drop one object in preference of another, ‘rake’ interesting objects closer, sit with support, stand firmly if you hold him and start gripping things between his fingers.
BABY GAMES
•Bounce Baby around on a pregnancy ball,
•holding securely around the waist.
•Rattles of various kinds still provide listening pleasure. Fill light but secure containers like small plastic bowls with a variety of things like seeds, beans or marbles. Let Baby rattle these around and be enraptured by the different sounds.
Months Seven and Eight
MILESTONES
Your baby may have developed a sudden shyness of strangers or people she does not see often. This is because babies now become quite aware of themselves as separate from others. Baby will bang objects on a table, reach for food from your plate and quite enjoy being the centre of attention. She can, by the eighth month, manipulate objects between index finger and thumb, and will offer these to mom, but won’t let go. Most parents expect their babies to sleep and eat in a far more adult fashion by now. This could mean that you are in for a time of confusion and unhappiness if your expectations are not met. Moms especially see failure of a baby to sleep through as a sign that they are doing something wrong.
BABY GAMES
COMMON CONCERNS
Read more about these elsewhere:
•When will Baby crawl?
•Use of walking rings
•Suitable foods for this age
•Upsurge in colds and blocked noses
•How to strengthen Baby’s immune system
•Frustration and crying in Baby
•Is Baby stimulated enough if cared for at home?
•Resistance to car seat.
Blow air through flaccid lips directly onto her tummy. This ticklish sensation, and also the noise it makes, will produce squeals of delight!
•Play aeroplanes with your baby. Hold Baby securely and fly her around the room or garden, occasionally twirling around and going up and down. Stop if her enjoyment is tailing off, but this is one that Dad’s strong arms can cope with for quite a while, to the great delight of their babies, who will soon show that they want more.
•Place objects just out of Baby’s reach. This will amuse and challenge your growing baby, as he tries to reach the object of his desires. Do not let this game carry on to the point of frustration, but rather help him to achieve his goal. He will radiate satisfaction, which will give him courage to try harder next time.
Months Nine and Ten
MILESTONES
At nine months your little charmer might suddenly become quite clingy. See this as a compliment! You have helped him to considerable independence and he needs to touch base with you to reassure himself. This phase will soon pass if you do not force it. Baby may well be quite mobile, keeping you on the run and helping you get your daily exercise! Crawling might start any time now and Baby starts pulling himself up against furniture. Baby will sit securely and can turn without toppling. It is clear that she understands quite a lot of what you say and will also give you objects she has been holding. By the end of ten months most babies will hold out an arm or foot when you want to dress them. Read to her regularly, recite rhymes and show her pictures in books.
BABY GAMES
COMMON CONCERNS
Read more about these elsewhere:
•How much formula milk is normal?
•Nighttime feeds
•Babies who don’t like lumps in food
•Care of a baby’s teeth
•First visit to the dentist
•Attachment to bottles or dummies
•Renewed separation anxiety
•How long is Baby able to concentrate and amuse himself?
•Run a feather up and down his arms and legs and on his tummy. The exquisitely light touch of a feather can give a baby goosebumps of pleasure. Note that if he doesn’t like this sensation, it might be an indication that he will profit from firmer body massage.
•Rattles of various kinds still provide listening pleasure and will help with hand-eye co-ordination. Fill light but secure containers, such as small plastic bowls with a variety of things like seeds, beans or marbles. Let Baby rattle these around and be enraptured by the different sounds.
Months Eleven and Twelve
MILESTONES
You probably cannot believe that Baby’s first year is almost over! As you look back you will have realised that learning the art of relaxation is paramount to successful parenting and that you are the one with the best interests of your baby at heart. If you have learnt to trust your instincts you will have given Baby the best possible start in life, whether or not you have always done what is regarded as correct. You will love listening to the way your baby’s speech develops: by a year they make conscious, determined use of sounds, and about two to three words have repetitive significance. Babies love to wiggle through small spaces, throw objects on the floor to elicit a response and might start walking any time from now and fifteen to eighteen months.
BABY GAMES
COMMON CONCERNS
Read more about these elsewhere:
•When will Baby walk?
•How to wean a baby at a year
•When to introduce cow’s milk
•Baby’s small appetite
•Speech development
•Bilingualism
•Bumps and bruises
•Why does Baby still not sleep well?
•Baby’s strong will
•Crawling games provide loads of fun. Cut biggish cardboard boxes into tunnels and make a bit of an obstacle course for your crawler. Call to him from the one side so that he feels encouraged to make his way through to you. Also encourage in and out under tables and chairs and up and over objects not too high. This is fun learning at its best!
•Play telephone. Invest in a toy telephone and, while you talk into the receiver