Here are the first five of 15 things you need to know about for the well-being of your Baby. These are findings from new scientific research and studies.1. Make sure Baby gets enough sleep
Sleep deprivation causes impaired growth and behavior problems. Your baby needs 14 to 15 hours of sleep per day!
2. Stop smoking and being around second-hand smoke
If you smoke, were exposed to second-hand smoke while pregnant or during breast-feeding, your baby has twice the risk of developing colic. Doctors diagnose colic with the "rule of threes". If your baby cries for three hours a day for a least three days a week for at least three weeks, it's colic.
3. Breastfeed your Baby
Breast feeding reduces the causes of non-cancer deaths -- SIDS, trauma, infection -- in the first year of life by 20%. Let you and your baby's needs determine when you'll quit breastfeeding.
4. Follow American Dietetic Association's daily nutrition guidelines
50% of mom's who don't know the daily nutrition guidelines for children. Learn them and give your Baby a large variety of foods.
Here are some common Nutrition Untruths vs. Truths:
- Untruth: Introduce foods in a certain order.
Truth: Introduce foods in any order you want. The only thing to remember is -- one, new, single-ingredient food (just peas -- not carrots and peas) every two to seven days. Watch for allergies.
- Untruth: You'll know if Baby likes a new food after a few times trying it.
Truth: It takes up to 15 times of trying a new food for an infant to accept a new flavour. Don't give up after two or three times.
- Untruth: Don't feed Baby meat.
Truth: Pureed meat has lots of iron and can be introduced early on.
5. Limit TV watching before the age of 3
The chance of developing an attention problem at age 7 increases 10% for each hour of tv a one- and two-year old child watches per day. They don't learn to entertain themselves without all that visual stimulation.
Tomorrow: 5 More Must Do's for Your Baby
6. Find time to relax
Make the time to relax. It's normal to worry, feel sad, or feel anxious while you're pregnant. But chronic stress and tension, with Dad or Mum, can put your baby at risk of developing asthma, heart disease and diabetes. Unwind for you and your baby's health.7. Watch Baby's fever
Believe it or not, the more fevers a child has in the first year of life, the LESS likely they are to develop allergies. If you're baby is lethargic, vomiting repeatedly or not drinking any fluids, or if there's fever that doesn't respond to medication for more than 24 hours, see a doctor. You should ALWAYS take a baby who is under three months to a doctor if there's fever.
8. Give fluids and use a humidifier for colds
In recent studies, over-the-counter cough syrups didn't perform any better than placebos. Babies responded better and faster to drinking lots of fluids and using a cool-mist room humidifier. If Baby's symptoms get worse or persist, see a doctor.
9. Follow up with jaundice
Jaundice usually isn't serious and most babies get over it in a week or so. But in rare cases it can cause brain damage. If your baby has jaundice at birth, see a pediatrician in the first three to five days of life.
10. Give Baby plenty of iron
Make sure your baby's formula has iron in it. Don't be afraid to feed Baby pureed meat early on in life. Babies who are iron deficient as infants, even when the deficiency is taken care of right away, score lower on cognitive and motor tests.
