3 Months Week 4

Reading to baby

Reading to your baby even at this young age will pay off. Hearing you read helps your baby develop an ear for cadence of spoken language. Varying the pitch of your voice, using accents and singing will make the connection between you and your baby much more interesting. Find books that have large pictures and bright colours, read or narrate it to her. Sing to her, you can even recite that kindergarten poem that your teacher made you learn. What matters is you giving her attention.

If she loses interest or looks the other way while you’re reading, just try something else and give her time to rest. Take cue from your baby’s response, watch for signals from your baby when you are talking to her. If she is smiling and keeping eye contact, she is saying she wants you to keep on talking.

Protect your baby’s future teeth: Even when your baby is only three months old, you should keep her gums healthy and clean. Gently wipe her gums with a wet, clean, soft cloth every day. The most important thing to remember is never to put your baby to bed with a bottle. And never prop up the bottle at any time. Any kind of drink except water can cause a baby’s teeth to decay, even breast milk and infant formula. Other liquids that cause tooth decay are powdered fruit drinks, soda and juice. Any drink that contains sugar can cause tooth decay when baby gets older.

Your life: handling unwanted advice: Yes it happens to all of us. When you have a baby everyone from the postman, lady across the street and a stranger at a mall they suddenly have an opinion to share, “If you let her suck her thumb, she’ll ruin her teeth”, “she won’t grow big if you don’t start feeding her solids now”, “she’ll get spoiled if you respond to her every cry” {Hello I’m the mother}. Whether the advice is wrong or right it’s the sheer intrusiveness of it all that makes you turn red with annoyance.

How to deal with it? First don’t take everything you hear so seriously. There is no quicker way to undermine your growing confidence than to listen to every shred of information you’re offered by friends, relatives and strangers. Do what you think is best, after all you know and understand your baby best.

Realise the advice is mostly well mentioned. People are drawn to babies. Sometimes they make “helpful” comments simply to have something to say. In response say something noncommittal, like “thanks for your concern” or “I’ll think about that.” A great way to handle grandparents who have their own ideas about feeding or sleep is to enlist a third party: “thanks mom I’ll see what our doctor says”.

Concerns: What is reflux?

Reflux is what happens when your baby's stomach contents come back up into his food pipe (gullet or oesophagus) or even into his mouth. The long name for reflux is gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

Babies get reflux because the muscular valve at the end of the food pipe, which acts to keep food in the tummy, hasn’t developed properly yet. This means that when your baby’s tummy is full, food and acid can come back up. This can cause him to bring up small amounts of milk or even vomit.

During the first year of your baby's life the muscular valve gradually gets stronger and better at keeping food down, so his chance of having reflux decreases. About half of babies will get some reflux during their first three months, but it’s only a real problem for a small percentage of these.

How will I know if my baby has reflux? Your baby may bring up a little milk after a feed or have hiccups. He may occasionally cough after bringing up milk if a little has gone "down the wrong way".

This is normal and as long as your baby is otherwise well, you don't need to worry. Just make sure you always have a tissue or cloth to hand. Both formula-fed and breastfed babies can have reflux.

Should I take my baby to see a doctor? Bringing up a little milk after feeds is nothing to worry about. But speak to your health provider or doctor if you notice any of the following:

• your baby's reflux is happening more than five times a day on a regular basis
• your baby cries excessively after feeds
• your baby regularly vomits
• your baby coughs a lot after feeds

Are there any treatments for reflux? If your baby’s reflux is mild, and he’s still feeding well and isn’t too upset by it, then the following may help:

• try giving your baby smaller but more frequent feeds
• do not lay baby down immediately after feeds, hold your baby upright for up to 20 minutes after each feed
• if you bottle feed your baby, burp him every two or three minutes during feeds

If your baby’s reflux is more severe, see your doctor, who may advise on other treatments.