Parent and Baby

Written on April 14, 2008 – 10:34 am | by Staff |

WEEK 6 - How Big Is Your Baby This Sixth Week?

Baby weighs 9-1/2 pounds and is 21-1/4 inches long this week.

Baby Care and Equipment

Six Good Places to Nurse

If you’re like most women, you consider nursing your baby a private interaction between the two of you. However, you may find yourself out and about, with baby screaming at the top of his lungs to be fed now! Here are places where you can breastfeed baby with some privacy.

1. Women’s lounge. This offers some privacy; if someone walks in on you, it’s another woman who is probably not offended if you breastfeed your baby.
2. Women’s restroom. A lounge may not be available, but a restroom usually is. Go into a stall, close the door and nurse your baby.
3. Fitting room. If baby’s crying is getting on everyone’s nerves, including your own, dash into a fitting room for a quick feeding.
4. Your car. Park your car in an area that’s away from high-traffic areas, and feed baby there.
5. A local park. Your park may have picnic tables and benches that are a little removed from the main area. Using your ever-handy baby blanket drape it over your shoulder and baby’s head for added privacy.
6. In a sling. When you carry baby in a front sling designed for breastfeeding, it only takes a minute to undo your nursing top and nursing bra. You can feed baby on the go! The head support provided for baby prevents others from seeing that you are breastfeeding.

Keep Baby’s Head Covered

A small infant loses a great deal of heat through his head, hands and feet. Before you go out in cool or cold weather, cover baby’s head with a cap or warm bonnet. Add a blanket over your carrier for added warmth, if necessary. When you go into a building that is warm, or when the car gets warm, remove the extra cover from baby. He can be just as uncomfortable overheated as he is when he is cold.

Additional Breastfeeding Facts

Feeding is established. By this point in baby’s life, your breast-milk supply has come into balance with your baby’s demands. You’ve established a basic routine, and you’ve discovered what works for you and your baby. You’re still feeding him 8 to 10 times in 24 hours, which will continue for the next month or so.

Suddenly, baby is eating more. You may notice that around six weeks of age, your baby wants to feed more often. At about this time many babies go through a growth spurt. Your baby may need to feed more often because he’s growing right now. Feed him when he is hungry.

Breastfeeding may help brain development. A recent study of more than a thousand children showed that children who were breastfed as babies scored higher on intelligence tests than children who were bottle-fed. It also revealed that the longer a woman breastfed, the smarter the child was! Why? Breast milk contains over 400 nutrients that infant formula does not Omega-3 fatty acids, like DMA, found in breast milk may play an important role in how different parts of the brain develop and communicate with each other.

You’re still feeding him 8 to 10 times in 24 hours, which will continue for the next month or so.

Baby may prefer one breast. Your baby may begin to showal preference for one breast over the other about this time. He may even refuse to suck on the other breast. Researchers believe this is; additional effect of the tonic neck reflex, in which turning the baby head to the side causes him to extend his arm or leg on that side.

Baby’s Bowels

Your breastfed baby’s bowel movements may become more infrequent. He may poop only once every few days.

Watch for changes. Pay attention to baby’s bowel movements.] A change can alert you to a problem. If the amount of baby’s stool-too much, too little—changes, or the stool differs from your child’s normal pattern, you may want to call baby’s doctor. If any change in baby’s stool is associated with a decrease in appetite orfussiness,: contact your pediatrician.

When to contact the doctor. If you notice any blood in the stool, call your doctor or take baby to the emergency room. The most common cause of blood in the stool is an anal fissure, which is a tiny cut or tear in the anal opening

Accidentproof Your Baby Carrier

Nearly 13,000 babies a year are hurt in carrier-seat accidents. Whether you use a car seat or an infant carrier to cart baby around, take precautions to make baby safer. Choose a carrier with a handle that locks securely in place. It should have a seat belt with a crotch-strap restraint. The base must be wide, for stability, and it should have rubber tips or other nonskid material to keep it from sliding. Precautions you can take when using an infant carrier include the following safety measures.

• Always use the safety restraint. Be sure it holds baby securely.
• Keep baby’s hands out of the way when you adjust the handles—you don’t want to pinch his fingers.
• Never place the carrier on a counter, table or piece of furniture unless you are holding it. Place it on the floor, away from sharp edges and corners.
• When you carry it, keep one hand on the carrier handle and the other hand under the base.
• Don’t leave baby alone in a carrier, even if it is placed safely on the floor.
• Be careful when carrying baby in a carrier—avoid making sharp turns and bumping baby.
• Don’t use the carrier when baby is too big or when he begins to squirm and wiggle. He could cause it to fall over.
• If the seat is also a car safety seat, be sure it is correctly installed every time you put it in the car.

Baby Massage—The Back

Place baby on his stomach on the floor or on the bed. Gently turn his head to his right side. Place your right hand on his bottom. With your left hand, move your hand down, in one sweeping motion, from the top of his back to your right hand. Repeat as you cover his entire back.

Is Baby Still Colicky?

Good news—if your baby has been colicky, it often peaks at about this time (6 weeks). It may continue until 10 weeks, but it usually begins to fade gradually this week and will be over soon.

Bottle-feeding Preferences

Soon after birth, your bottle-fed baby was able to discriminate between sugar water and milk. By this week, he is able to express his distaste for what he is drinking. If he doesn’t like what he’s drinking, he will turn his head away from the bottle and may refuse to drink.

Milestones This Sixth Week

Greater Neck and Muscle Control

Baby is gaining more control over his neck muscles. You may notice he shifts his head more often now for a new view of what’s around him. He can hold his head up for a few seconds and may extend his legs when he holds his head up.

Is He Really Smiling?

Yes, baby may be smiling on his own! His first smiles were probably not ones of joy or recognition, but by now they are more social in nature. He has been making facial expressions that look like a smile since birth. When you started responding by smiling back at him, you were teaching him one way to interact. Researchers belie one reason that many of baby’s facial expressions are smiles is to encourage attachment between parent and child. Baby makes a grimace that looks like a smile. Parent reacts by smiling and cooingj at baby. This reinforces in baby that his actions caused a reaction, and he will continue. Soon his smiles will be social, and he’ll smile. you (or anyone else) because of the wonderful interaction it brings.

He Expresses Excitement

You may notice that baby becomes excited in anticipation of regula activities, such as bath time or play time. He may demonstrate this by chortling, cooing or making other noises, while he kicks with his legs.

Vision and Hearing Changes

He is more visually alert now when he is in a sitting position. He’s beginning to associate lying down with sleeping. Keep him uprigr in a semisitting position, for part of his waking hours. He’ll enjoy seeing what’s going on around him.

Loud noises may startle him. He may also look surprised when he hears a sudden loud noise.

What’s happening This Sixth Week?

Introducing the Bottle to a Breastfed Baby

If you find it necessary to feed your breastfed baby from a bottle, keep in mind the following as you help him learn this new skill. It may take time and repeated effort on your part, but you can help baby by using the techniques described below.

• Don’t offer a bottle until breastfeeding is well established. Wait as long as you can, at least until 4 weeks, before offering baby a bottle. Introducing one too soon can interfere with your milk supply.
• Let someone else give the baby a bottle. He associates breastfeeding and breast milk with you.
• Offer the first bottle when he’s not hungry. If you wait until he’s starving, he may be too distressed to eat. If you feed him a bottle when he’s only a little hungry, he’ll be able to deal with it better.
• Introduce the bottle slowly. Drop a little milk on his lips from the bottle, then wait until he opens his mouth before you put the bottle in.
• Your baby may take to the bottle better if you hold him in a different position than when you nurse him. When bottle-feeding, sit baby in a more upright position.
• Don’t lose your cool—be patient. You may need to try feeding by bottle more than once before baby takes to it. If he gets frustrated, angry or upset, take a break and try again later

Baby Hair Facts

If your baby was born with blond or red hair, he probably had very little of it. With blond and redheaded babies, hair goes into a resting phase and is shed before birth. If he had any hair, he’ll probably lose it very quickly, and most of it may be gone by this week.

If your baby was born with dark hair, this shedding phase happens later. Your baby will probably have his hair for a while longer, but be aware that he’ll shed it before long.

Use What Works to Calm Baby

Experts recommend that for the first 8 weeks of his life, do whateve helps calm and lull your child to encourage good sleep habits in him. Walk him, rock him, sing to him or play “white noise” in the background. Try many different things, and use what works best with your baby.

Babywearing May Make Baby Smarter

Babies who are carried in front slings or carriers appear to cry less. Instead of fussing and crying, researchers believe the babies spend more time in a state of quiet alertness. During
this state, an infant is content and receptive to his environment. He may be more ready to learn during these times.

Dermatitis

What it is. Dermatitis is a term used to describe several skin conditions. Symptoms of dermatitis include irritation of the skin with itching, mild swelling, redness, oozing with crusting, scaling 01 thickening of the skin with a shiny surface.

What to do. If your baby has any of these symptoms, try the following measures. Lubricate the affected area with dye-free, perfume-free creams or lotion. Apply cool, wet dressings to relieve itching. Avoid irritants to baby’s skin. Don’t use soaps or harsh shampoos. Use lukewarm water, not hot water, for bathing. Keep baths short to avoid removing natural oils from skin. Dress baby in light, smooth, soft, loose clothing. Over-the-counter medications may be used to relieve symptoms; check with your pediatrician before using them.

When to call a doctor. Call your pediatrician if the rash is persistent and causes your baby discomfort. Call the doctor immediately if signs of infection appear, such as redness, swelling, the area becomes hot to the touch, or if the baby acts ill.

Your doctor may prescribe a topical steroid preparation and other medications to reduce itching. If a secondary infection develops, antibiotics may also be given. In stubborn or severe cas baby may be referred to a dermatologist.

Keep baby safe from gem by avoiding crowded areas. Ask people to look but not touch. If family members friends have a cold, asktht to wash their hands befor they hold baby.

Toys and Play This Sixth Week

Let Baby Enjoy Many Sounds

Lots of babies enjoy toys that play or make various sounds. You may be using a player to play CDs or cassettes of lullabies. Baby enjoys other sounds,too, such as water sounds or the sound of waves, may find cassette tapes and CDs of these sounds. Some toy manufacturers now make toys such as white noise, rain, ocean waves, wind chimes and the tick-tock of a clock.

The Reaching Game

Play this game with baby to encourage him to begin using his arms. When you hold a toy near him, he may arch his neck and crane his head to see it in his field of vision. Move it a little closer, and place it near his hands. Does he reach for it? If not, place one of his hands on the toy. See if he will hold it for a second or two. If he doesn’t hold it try again, but don’t force him.

Gentle Pulling Up Can Be Fun

While baby is lying on his back, grasp his hands and gently pull forward just a little. He will probably flex his neck and lift his head slightly. This encourages him to lift his head and to hold it steady. Make a game of it by singing some rhythmic song as you pull him forward. Be sure you don’t pull him up too hard or too fast.

Your kitchen sink may be just the right size and height for baby’s bath. It’s small enough to make him feel secure, and it’s the right height so your back won’t be strained!