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By two weeks of age your baby
will probably have regained most or all of the weight that he lost in
his first week. In the next few weeks you can expect your baby to look
at your face, startle with loud noises, lift
his head and begin to smile spontaneously. He may even begin to
recognize familiar objects and sounds. If using a pacifier, try and
restrict its use to when your baby seems to need the self-comforting
behavior of sucking.
Avoid using
it every time your baby cries (it is usually better
to pick and hold your baby to comfort him when he is crying) and to be
safe, use a one-piece commercial pacifier and do not hang it around
your baby's neck. Remember that all babies are unique and they have
different temperaments. Many are quite and calm and have an easy
temperament. Others have a difficult temperament and may be very
active and or sensitive and get fussy easily (and may need more
structured and less stimulating environments to stay calm). Or your
baby may have a temperament that is described as being slow to warm
up, being quite and shy and slow to adapt to new things and he may
need to be slowly introduced to new things. Try and keep your babies
temperament in mind as you react to her needs.
Sleeping
 Your
newborn will spend most of his time either sleeping or eating. He will
probably be eating every two to four hours and sleeping
between feedings. At first, wake your baby for a
feeding if he is sleeping for more than four to five hours. Later, if
he has good weight gain, you can let him sleep as long as he likes. He
will probably not begin to sleep through the night until he is three
to four months old.
Disciplining Your Infant
While children
at this age don't misbehave intentionally, once they are about six
months old and are becoming more mobile, they may
begin to do things that are dangerous or
disruptive. The best way to deal with these behaviors is to try and
distract them with a different, safer activity. As they get older you
will need to set limits and discipline them at times. It is probably
better to try and reward and praise good behavior to reinforce it,
rather then having to change bad behaviors. Always remember to be
firm, consistent, calm and loving in whatever discipline methods you
choose. Temper Tantrums Temper tantrums are a way for your child to
express feelings of anger or frustration. They usually increase when
children are hungry, tired or ill and you should try to help them cope
with these situations. You should try to ignore attention-seeking or
demanding tantrums and avoid situations that you know will lead to a
tantrum (including changes in their regular daily schedule). If you
can see that your child is getting overly frustrated and that a
tantrum is coming, you can try to distract him and shift his attention
to something else. Help your child to realize that temper tantrums
don't work are not going to help them get out of doing things that
they need to do. Remember to praise your child when he controls his
temper and cooperates with what you want him to do and set a good
example for your child by remaining calm and not getting fired-up or
out of control.
Healthy Habits
Keep your baby
from large groups of people or other sick children to minimize his
exposure to infections. Know signs of
illness: fever (call us right away if your baby has a temp over 100.4
before he is 2-3 months old), decreased appetite, vomiting,
irritability, and lethargy. You should begin to clean your child's
teeth by wiping them with a moist washcloth or a soft child's
toothbrush. Also, do not put your child to sleep with a bottle, since
the sugar in the formula/juice will pool around their teeth all night
and cause cavities.
Passive Smoking
Children that
are exposed to parents that smoke have been shown to have more
problems with allergies and asthma, have higher rates of SIDS (
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and more ear and upper respiratory
tract infections and it is therefore important to raise your child in
a smoke free environment. See your doctor for tips/medicines to help
you stop smoking. It is not enough to simply smoke outside or in
another room from your baby.
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Infant
Care