Baby Milestones- Week By Week What should they be???

Question

Just curious about what kinds of milestones I should be on the lokout for with my newborn. I know thew vary from baby to baby, but there should be some site that lists many of them. I know the biggies like walking, talking, etc. But what about how much they should eat daily, how ofetn, how many dirty diapers a day, weight gain, when they can take juice/solid foods, etc? Thanks for the info in advance! :0)

Answer 1

Like you said, it varies with each child, however, my grandchild's pediatrician said things like eyes focusing on you when you speak can start as early as two days old. You can clap or sing sitting by the child and watch for him/her to turn towards the sound of your voice. A child can usually distinguish mom and dad's voices by a week or two. Of course babies sleep alot, but when awake you should watch for alertness and interactions with you. A baby as young as 3 weeks can smile when they hear the voice of the one who takes care of them.

The doctors all said she should eat about every two hours (2-4 ounces) at first and increase as she grows. They also told us to look for 8-12 wet and soiled diapers a day, depending on her intake. As long as the babe is gaining weight, it does not matter how much. If your ped thinks the weight gain in not enough, they will add supplements to the babe's diet.

We were told by the ped to start introducing foods as early as 3 months, but my daughter was afraid of food algeries so she waited, then WIC told us to wait until 7 months to introduce rice cereal, which is the easiest on the child's system. Then add a new food/juice every three days and watch for any allergic reaction. If there is none, add a new food/juice. Of course if the child doesn't like it, then you try different foods/juices.

I think around 8-9 months after you have tried different baby foods and had no reaction, it is ok to start giving tastes of table foods like mashed potatoes, mashed boiled carrots, our doctor even suggested giving her cherrios to suck on. Again, watch for any allergic reaction.

Your pediatrician should have some books or website information for milestones. When my daughter was pg, there were mutiple parenting classes offered in the community for little or no cost. Look for pregnacy testing centers and see what they offer. Also, the hospital where you had the baby should offer classes and give you a book on baby milestones.

What ever you learn from your baby, know that that little bundle of heaven is a gift. Keep her close to your heart. (as anyone can tell you do because you are looking for information) Good Job!!!

lifting you on eagle's wings,
lily

Answer 2

I think you're confusing milestones (see first URL in sources section below) with daily life...

Babies nurse whenever they are hungry for as long as they need to. If your baby cries, just nurse her/him; you'll know immediately if that's what is needed. In the early days, 12-15 times a day is about *average* for nursing frequency, but babies vary greatly.

After the first few days, babies will have at least 5-6 really wet diapers per day and usually 2-5 bowel movements. After about 6 weeks, some babies only have one (huge!) bowel movement once every several days (up to 2 weeks or longer). Some will continue to have many small ones per day. And some will have one or two large ones.

Babies also gain weight differently. There are brand new growth charts available now that are the most accurate ever. They are, in fact, the *first* ones that have ever been based on a population of babies that is known to be well-nourished. See second reference below.

Answer 3

when i found out i was pregnant i bought the pregnancy "bible", as many expecting moms do...."what to expect when you're expecting".
at the same time i also bought "what to expect the first year and i think it was another one like what to expect from a toddler....

so, if you found the what to expect pregnancy book helpful, then i highly recommend the "first year" expect book!

also, your pediatrician can clue you into a lot of these things about eating, diapers, foods, etc.....
also, check out the parenting magazines!!! like parenting, parents, babytalk.

AND finally, i recommend registering at all the "baby" websites. like, gerber, enfamil, pampers, huggies...any you can think of.
i have a friend who did that and not only does she get loads of coupons for their products, but she gets weekly and monthly newsletters sent to her email concerning her baby's age group. the newsletter are based on the due date she entered when she registered. so, when her son was almost 2 she got a newsletter on "bullies". this helped her identify that her son had the signs of a bully. so, now she can go about trying to correct that behavior!

have fun learning all about your little one!!!

take care!

Answer 4

get the book "what to expect when expecting, the first year"

there are 3 of these books, one for when you're pregnant, one for the first year, and one for the toddler years.

they can be found at any book store or on the internet.

they are such a blessing! they tell you everything that your baby should be doing, every question you can possibly have...the answer is in there.

trust me, money well spent!!

Answer 5

Your fortunate, sounds like a strong toddler there. No, maximum children are unlike that with the sleeping difficulty. some children arent even that strong at sleeping. My 1st became suitable. She hardly ever cried, loved to sleep & slept via the nighttime at 4weeks. My second complete oposite-under no circumstances stops crying, wakes each and every nighttime to eat, hates to sleep.

Answer 6

i used parenthood.com when my daughter was that age.

we also had this book
http://www.mrdad.com/father/firstyear.html

it's geared more towards helping the dad deal with what his child and wife are going through but it's funny and alot more interesting a read than all the other books i've seen on developmental milestone.

there is also a toddler one and a pregnancy one.

Answer 7

Sign up with www.babycenter.com they will e-mail you the milestones to look out for by each month and give you tips on toys and games to encourage each milestone that may be coming up.

Answer 8

HI,

These sites offers a wealth of info on the subject:

http://www.babycenter.com/growthchart/

and

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/index.html

Best wishes!

Answer 9

get this book my daughter just loves it What to Expect the First Year (Arlene Eisenberg, Softcover)

Answer 10

http://parenttoparentofga.org/roadmap/diagnosis/diagnosisinfantmilestones.htm