Baby Care Service

1 Month Old Baby Welcoming your baby into your family has probably changed your life. Each day is passing in a blur and it will be a challenge to find time to do anything other than attend to your baby’s needs. At 1 month old, babies still want to feed frequently and are unpredictable with their sleeping patterns. Many are still fairly sleepy and apart from short wakeful periods of feeding and being alert, they sleep for at least a couple of hours between their feeds. Feeding Expect your baby to need to feed at least 6 times/24 hours at 1 month of age. If they are breastfeeding this could increase up to 12 times. Try not to control their feeding times too much and let your baby determine how much and how often they want to feed. Unless they have been unwell or were premature, they will be able to gauge when they need to feed and are satisfied with the volume of milk in their stomach. Sleeping Give your baby plenty of opportunity to sleep and be sensitive to their sleep cue...

 Babies come into the world ready to learn everything they can. Their brains are wired to help them understand and make sense of the world. Researchers (Galinsky, 2010) have found, for example, that babies have: Language sense by four months. Babies can pick out patterns of sound from their native language amidst a background of many sounds. Number sense by six months: Infants can tell the difference between a large group and a small group of objects. People sense by six months: Babies can tell who is helpful and who is not and prefer the helpful ones. So how do we keep our babies' young brains active and stimulated without overdoing it? Being ready to learn doesn't mean that faster or earlier is better. In fact, taking time to first connect with your baby enhances her learning potential. Slow down. One of the things that is hardest for most of us in our fast-paced world is slowing down and enjoying these early months and years. Much of what makes a good life...

The first time that your baby gets sick with a temperature can be just as upsetting for you as it is for your baby. But being in the know about what is considered normal, when to be concerned and how you can lower their temperature can help you to be prepared. Here, Dr Daniel Golshevsky, Chief Resident Medical Officer and pediatrician at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, answers parents' most common questions about baby temperatures. What is considered the normal temperature range for a baby? "The normal temperature for a baby is between 36°C and 37.5°C degrees, although this can vary according to the time it is taken, the method of checking and the device used," says Dr Golshevsky. What is considered a high temperature for a baby? Dr Golshevsky advises that babies under 3 months with a temperature of 38°C are considered to have a fever. A temperature of 38.5°C indicates a fever in older babies and toddlers. "A baby's history,...

Facts verified by Dr Scott Dunlop. Because there are many things that can affect a baby’s bowel movements ranging from whether breastmilk or formula is being given through to changes caused by teething or sickness, it can sometimes be difficult for mums to tell when things aren’t normal. Here’s a simple guide to help mums decipher the contents of their baby’s nappies in the first twelve months. First few days after birth A newborn baby’s bowel movements in the first few hours of life should be meconium, a dark green to black coloured stool that is the combination of all the waste the baby has accrued in their intestines throughout the nine months of pregnancy, including amniotic fluid, bile, mucus and discarded skin cells. By breastfeeding soon after birth, the colostrum that a mother produces in the first few days helps the baby to pass this meconium soon after being born, by prompting the baby’s digestive system to start performing so that the bowels are em...

Q: Does my newborn need a bath every day? A: Drop the soap: Newborns don't need a bath every day. In fact, a lot of babies get rashes and dry skin from too many baths. Until your baby's umbilical cord stump falls off, wash her with a soft sponge or cloth instead of putting her in the tub. When the cord has healed, she only needs a bath once or twice a week. After a few months, daily baths are fine (though not necessary), but use a moisturizer as soon as she's out of the tub. --Sharlene K. Johnson

here are two types of contact dermatitis: irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. Find out how to identify and treat both skin conditions and when you should call the doctor.

Fever in infants can be scary, but don't panic, mama! Read all about baby temperature, and find out how to safely treat your child's first fever. Use the right thermometer. Babies younger than 6 months should have their temperatures taken with a rectal thermometer. Because their ear canals are so small, you can't get an accurate reading with an ear thermometer. What is a fever? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that the normal body temperature for a healthy baby is between 97&deg and 100.4&deg Fahrenheit (36&deg to 38&deg Celsius). A fever would be any temperature that rises to 100.4&deg F or above. When to call the doctor? If your baby is under 3 months, you should call his pediatrician immediately. A fever in a baby this young could mean a serious infection. The AAP suggests calling the doctor if a baby is between 3 months and 6 months old and has a fever of 101&deg F (38.3&deg C) or higher, or is older tha...

Is your diet causing gas in your baby? Find out how what you eat may affect your breastfeeding little one. Breastfed babies receive many benefits when they nurse -- all the nutrients they need in the first few months of life, powerful antibodies to help fight against diseases, and a nurturing and bonding experience with their mom. But they also might be getting some extra gas. Gassy Mom, Gassy Baby "It's possible that some of the gas-inducing foods that Mom ingests can also affect her baby," says Jennifer Shu, M.D., an Atlanta-based pediatrician and coauthor of Food Fights: Winning The Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and A Bottle of Ketchup. If mom's breast milk is "gassier" than usual, it could start to surface in your baby within two hours of her last feeding. So how do you identify the offending food? It's not easy. "It may take up to two or three days for food to be completely out of your system,...

Going shopping for new items for your baby? Here are the must-haves (and the don't-needs) to help you shop smart. Around the House Register at a baby gear store and you may be given a list that's even longer than this one. Of course, they want you to buy everything they've got! Try to keep in mind that all you really need for baby is diapers, a place for him to sleep, and a blanket to bundle him in. But we know you're not living in the Stone Age. You need and deserve the accessories that will make your job as parent a whole lot easier. We've listed those as "necessities." Other things that you might appreciate (but which some parents have found to be a waste of money) are listed as "It's nice to have." Items that are merely decorative or not very useful are categorized as "strictly optional." Products that are unsafe appear under "no-nos."

A new study shows that cuddling your baby (early and often!) has huge benefits when it comes to brain development, especially for preemies. Good news for all of us with that one friend or family member who likes to scold us for "spoiling" our babies by holding them too often. According to a new study, you can't EVER cuddle your newborn too much. And in fact, touch is crucial to a baby's development and actually has some pretty major benefits when it comes to brain development. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio observed 125 premature and full-term infants to see how they responded to gentle touch and here's what they found: Premature babies were more likely to have a reduced response to touch than the full-term babies. And the preemies who had more exposure to painful medical procedures were also more likely to have a reduced response to touch. My daughter was a preemie, so this news initially made me sad. But get this:...