Hot answers tagged infant
50
I have been working (programming) from home for 6 years now and have 3 children (7, 5, 2). It is certainly possible, but I think the most important thing is a home office.
An office with a locking door is essential. I always work in my office with the door shut. If I have a conference call or really need to put my head down I will lock the door. Every now ...
45
This was a difficult decision for us, as well.
I was convinced that circumcision was the wrong choice for us (despite my upbringing teaching me that all boys should be circumcised), but my wife was hesitant, for exactly the same reason you cited.
I did some research, and we were surprised to find that circumcision rates were much lower than we had ...
40
I personally saw no benefit to circumcising my son.
My reasoning:
Being Different
There's three schools of reasoning often used here. 1: "The son should look like the father." and 2: "Locker room teasing" and 3: girls don't like a guy with a foreskin
The son isn't going to resemble the father (size wise, hair wise, etc) until he's 15+ and at that ...
32
What most of the answers imply but don't out and out say which should be made absolutely clear is that if you're the one caring for the child (as opposed to just being in the house at the same time as the child and the other parent/nanny/carer) it's close to impossible in the long term. Generally the workable situations people talk about assuming another ...
23
Toddlers happen to be "designed" with the right height and mass that they very rarely injure themselves when falling from their own height. Mostly what you need to worry about is them falling from higher than their own height, like from furniture or stairs, falling onto something sharp, or something heavy falling on them. Most of the falls you are worrying ...
22
Establish a routine
Yes, it's a Supernanny favourite, but we've found that a consistent routine (even printed out and stuck to the wall in vibrant colours) helps children to understand the wake-play-eat-play-bedtime-sleep cycle.
The biggest challenge to introducing a routine is when the children rail against it. This requires a lot of patience and ...
22
Yes, the more interaction you and your wife have with your child, the better!
Babies are learning at a phenomenal rate, and the more stimulus they receive, the more they are able to pick up about the world around them.
Studies have shown that there is a link between parents reading to young infants and reading habits:
Shared book reading at 4-months was ...
21
Newborns cry because they need attention. Rather than learning patience, research indicates that not responding to their cry increases their cortisol levels as well as placing a child at risk for poor emotional attachment with adults. There is also the risk that your child is in pain or sick and needs your prompt attention. Here is an article that further ...
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In most cases, drinking less than 300mg of caffeine a day will not affect your baby. Even if your child is extra sensitive to caffeine, the effects aren't serious, and they will go away if you eliminate caffeine from your diet.
Newborns tend to be more sensitive to caffeine than older babies. They can't break it down very quickly, so it can build up in ...
17
Remember that quality is more important than quantity!
I think it can be a bit easier to go overboard with toys for infants and toddlers, due to the volume you may receive from adult friends during baby showers and early birthday parties that may be more geared towards your family and friends than the baby's friends.
Some toys naturally become favorites (a ...
16
I doubt you'll find anything approaching a firm and accurate answer. This depends so much on the surroundings, particular child, etc.
For a general guideline, Mayo Clinic suggests that a child is likely to
Say a few words by 12 months
Say 8 to 10 words by 18 months
Use simple phrases and know 50 words by 24 months
They also offer some advice for aiding ...
16
You might try a little "cry it out".
At about nine months, we figured it was time for baby to learn how to sleep through the night. So rather than rushing in to comfort baby immediately, we'd wait 5 minutes after our baby began crying, then go in and comfort baby and let baby know Mom and Dad are there, then leave. Next time it happens, wait 10 minutes, ...
16
My Indian parents had my sister and myself in a makeshift hammock-like swing called jhoola, that hung from the ceiling. The problem, of course, is safety. However, the benefits are that it provides a womb-like experience (very snuggly, adapts to baby's shape) and baby can be rocked in its bed.
I always understood the existence of cribs as a safety reason ...
14
I find that my 4-week-old will calm down differently for me vs my wife. My theory is that my wife smells like milk, so if he's hungry, nothing but mom will do. Other times, he can get agitated if mom is holding him but not feeding him - but he has no expectation of food from me, so he'll be calm for me.
His older brother, now two years old, used to calm ...
14
You didn't specify how you put him to bed, so here are a few suggestions. I think the infant will feel abandoned if you just put him down without a word, and then simply remove your hands, and then leave the room. I don't imply that you do, but it's a contrast. Have you tried to:
Make soothing sounds ("sssshhhhh...") before, while, and after you put him ...
14
First off, you will argue. That's normal; that's part of being in a relationship, as I'm sure you've figured out. Having a child will only add stress to the relationship, so that means you will have arguments. Especially when you go on car trips together (close quarters for extended periods), visit relatives, etc.
Here's the thing: The way that you argue ...
14
Firstly, if you're really worried for any reason or even have a shadow of a doubt take her to a doctor.
Generally babies and toddlers aren't injured in falls as they have softer bones and don't tend to tense up while falling until they've experienced the pain of a few falls. Unless your baby is showing pain or a side effect from the fall such a losing ...
13
Don't expect anything. Having 5 kids, I'm well on my way towards having my own statistical sample. :-)
15 yo boy - started saying words at 1 year, could speak well before 2.
5 yo boy - pretty much only grunted and pointed at things until over 2 yo then started talking in near perfect sentences. He is now an eloquent speaker in 2 languages.
3.5 yo boy - ...
13
There's been no research that I know of connecting early sign language learning to speaking sooner or better in general. However, learning sign language can make a huge difference in diagnosing speech disorders early enough to treat aggressively and successfully.
By age 3, my son couldn't even say "mama" or "papa". After checking his hearing, oral muscle ...
13
Seems unsafe to even try anything like that. I recall our hospital had a whole bunch of things they said not to do with pacifiers that pretty much all revolved around the notion of "don't do like your grandmother did." (if you look at old pacifiers, you'll see they have 4 holes, two on each side... those were for tying ribbon behind the baby's head to keep ...
13
The biggest problem we have with our baby monitor camera is coverage, even placed in the corner of the room and way up to get a good vantage of the room, you'd have to have 3 or 4 of the darn things to actually cover every place in the room where something bad could happen.
To be honest, I think a lot of it comes down to trust. A friend of mine used to be a ...
13
Newborns are really totally helpless and completely rely on their parents for all their needs. They usually only cry if they have some need to be satisfied (hunger, diaper, sleep, or even company). Don't let your newborn cry without reason. Newborns and infants cannot learn patience the way you seem to indicate, and letting them cry for too long might ...
13
I'm not a doctor too, just an engineer, but:
60 dB can not damage your hearing. 85 dB for 8 hours a day is a safe limit for adults, and 60 dB is very very far from that.
If you use the white noise for couple of tens of minutes, it is hard to believe it will cause any stress or psychological damage. I think any continuous noise is bad, if it is too loud ...
13
The love of a parent is infinite, but the time is not. In my humble opinion, you should be thankful for every moment where he does not crave your undivided attention. If you're lucky, he will learn that it's okay to be awake and still remain calm and quiet - I wish my kids knew that.
As long as you have plenty of activities with him during the day, don't ...
13
DA01's comment is what I would suggest as well.
You feel more experienced with babies, and from the sound of it I would agree with you. I've got two main thoughts for you:
1. Show, don't tell
Of course -- sadly -- this requires that they accept your offer of assistance to the parents. I think I wouldn't specifically ask for permission to do things "your ...
13
The key here is Don't Read Books You Don't Enjoy.
Peter: [reading a review of a boxing match in a hushed, storytelling way] The champ caught Smith with a savage left hook...
Michael: What are you reading her?
Peter: [responding to Michael in same tone] It doesn't matter what I read, it's the tone you use. She doesn't understand the words ...
12
Based on my own recent experiences with international flights with a toddler:
Duration:
A 2-hour flight is rarely a problem; even in the worst scenario it's not long enough for you to lose your mind :-) I have no experience with longer flights with infants but I think 4 hours are still within reason, while 10 hours (transatlantic) could be a bigger ...
12
The biggest risk is that the baby won't drink it. If your baby is content to drink cold milk, then it is perfectly fine.
I couldn't find any online resources from medical professionals discussing it, but I did find that you are not alone in your situation :) Lots of other mothers have had this same dilemma, and many in that discussion shared that they ...
12
First off, I really like your motivation. My daughter is 6.5 months, and we don't have many toys for her (her toys could probably all fit in a grocery bag), but I am already thinking we have too many.
I was talking to a friend of mine with 8 kids, and I think she has the right idea. She told me that she didn't go and buy special things for her kids to ...
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