The baby and its development

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

"Baby" - this phrase itself indicates that children at this age are breastfed. For many centuries, there was no alternative to this method of feeding. We althy families found breadwinners.

Artificial feeding became possible only thanks to the achievements of civilization. By habit, formula-fed babies are also sometimes called babies.

Changes in height and weight

In the first year of life, the largest relative increase in height and weight is observed. The weight of the baby can grow more than 3 times. The increase in height is not so striking - from 50 cm to 80. Therefore, the appearance of the child, the proportions of his body are changing. The newborn resembles a frog with thin and weak limbs and a large torso and head against their background. And a year later, a chubby baby walks on strong legs.

Increase in height and weight of an infant is reflected in special tables. It is important to understand that small deviations in one direction or another can be the norm. After all, adultspeople vary greatly in height and weight, why should babies be the same up to hundreds of grams!

It is also important to know that the weight indicator is not steadily creeping up all the time. In the first week after birth, many babies lose weight. This is due to fluid loss, getting rid of meconium accumulated in the intestines, and adaptation to new living conditions.

Psychomotor Development

In the psychomotor development of the baby, huge changes are taking place. A baby both a month old and a year old can seem like an equally unintelligent baby to an adult. Meanwhile, the path he has traveled is comparable to millions of years of evolution. Who is a little earlier, who is a little later, but absolutely all children master typical human skills - speech and upright posture. If a child, by coincidence, grows up with animals, this Mowgli will crawl on all fours and make inarticulate sounds. Walking and talking can only be learned among people. Society is necessary, no doubt. But no less necessary is the physiological readiness of the nervous system and muscles for new actions. Therefore, the child has many stages of development.

Motor development

A baby is born with a set of congenital unconditioned reflexes, such as sucking, grasping, Moro reflex. From one and a half to three months, children usually learn to hold their heads. At about 6 months they begin to sit. In no case should you try to get ahead of nature and seat a child who is not ready for this. Since he is not trying to sit down, his muscles and skeleton are not prepared for this posture, and the rushparents can then negatively affect the posture of the child.

Around the same time babies start crawling. It is important that the baby has an open and safe space where he can practice such a useful skill. Crawling develops all the muscles of the limbs and torso. At about 8 months, the baby can stand, step over the legs, holding on to the edge of the crib or playpen. But most children begin to walk around the year, although some learn to walk 1-2 months earlier.

Speech development

For the first time, a baby announces its existence to the world with a loud cry. The baby screamed immediately or after stimulation, loudly or quietly - these are very important criteria, they characterize his condition at birth. The cries of babies become more diverse over time, enriched with different intonations. According to them, the mother distinguishes whether the baby is hungry, wet or in pain. From 2 to 4 months, the next stage can begin - cooing. The sounds made by the baby become quiet and vaguely resemble a combination of vowels and consonants - g, k, x. Hence the famous "aha". It is not difficult for a baby lying on his back to pronounce these sounds, because they sound when the root of the tongue touches the palate. Cooing may include grunting or gargling. The child trains his tongue and he himself likes that his mouth makes new sounds. From 4 to 6 months, according to different authors, babbling appears. These floating terms should not confuse. First, all children are individuals. Secondly, the transition of a quiet, soft scream into a coo and a coo into babble canbe smooth. How is babbling different? The kid managed to catch that the speech of adults consists of syllables. And now he is already uttering as yet incomprehensible syllables. His “pa-pa-pa-pa”, “ma-ma-ma-ma” may still not contain an indication of dad or mom. The first word usually appears closer to the year.

Infancy in terms of psychology: the formation of attachment

From the point of view of psychology, infancy largely continues intrauterine development. The birth of a child is a great stress not only for the mother, but also for him. The fact is that stress does not always mean a negative event, but any strong shock. When passing through the birth canal, the baby makes no less effort than the mother. He pushes off with his legs and strives for the exit. After that, a sharp change in living conditions awaits him. We can say that this is the first step towards independence. His body has to completely switch to autonomous life. Oxygen and nutrients are no longer supplied through the umbilical cord, and waste is no longer excreted through it.

True, even in the womb, the fetus trains the respiratory, digestive, excretory systems. He makes respiratory movements, drinks and digests amniotic fluid, excretes urine. But still, the vital activity of the fetus and the infant is fundamentally different. Therefore, the close connection with the mother, which is manifested through bodily contact, is important for the baby. Breastfeeding is like the state of a baby in the womb - he is surrounded by warm hugs and again fed through the mother's body. If athe baby is bottle fed, doctors and psychologists advise to hold him tightly to yourself and maintain eye contact. The baby should receive its portion of affection and maternal warmth. The relationship between mother and baby is one of affection. For the formation of a he althy psyche, all children need it. And not just during infancy. Every child needs an adult who is ready to pay attention to him, take care of his physiological needs and give him warmth. Not always this adult becomes a mother. Sometimes, when mom is busy, her grandmother or nanny may be in her place. In this case, the child may become attached to the nanny much more strongly than to the mother. But a busy mother will have to put up with it. In no case should you change nannies like gloves because the child has too warm feelings for them. He needs it. If you want him to love you, try to be with him at least in those moments when he especially needs warmth and affection: before going to bed, during illness, when he is upset.

Breastfeeding

In modern maternity hospitals, the physiology and psychology of babies are taken into account, so breastfeeding begins almost immediately after birth. It is important to properly attach the baby to the chest. The nipple should be deep in his mouth, and the lips wrap around the areola and turn outward slightly. In the first days after childbirth, it is not milk that comes from the mother's breast, but colostrum - a thick and nutritious yellowish liquid. It is quite a bit, but it contains all the necessary substances, as well asantibodies that help pass immunity from the mother. Only after a few days it is replaced by transitional milk - still thick, but already lighter, and then thin and white mature milk. Much more of it already stands out.

Feeding on demand

The long debate about whether to feed on demand or on time seems to have ended in agreement. Doctors admit that if conditions allow, it is best to feed on demand. The body and psyche of the child are still working simply. He still does not understand what it is to wait and endure. If he asks, it means that he urgently needs food. Then regime and discipline will still enter his life, but there is no need to rush things. Breastfed babies usually instinctively know how much milk they need and at what intervals. The body is wise, you can't deceive it.

Over time, the amount of milk consumed at a time increases and the frequency of breastfeeding decreases.

Breastfeeding per month

When a baby is a month old, breastfeeding can vary in length from 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Both are normal. Babies need prolonged sucking at the breast, even if the milk has already run out - this helps the baby relieve stress and feel comfortable. In this case, the baby may suck sluggishly and even fall asleep in the process. There is no need to be afraid for your nipples - if there is no pain and discomfort, they will not be damaged, but milk production will be stimulated. Falling asleep with a breast in your mouth is also not to be feared - this is a natural need, and notbad habit, so it should pass with time.

What else is important to know about a baby per month? The baby is just emerging from the neonatal period and requires careful handling. For example, it is important to properly hold it in your arms. His body should have 3 points of support - the back of the head, shoulder blades, pelvis. This means that you can not throw your head back - the muscles of the neck of the newborn are too weak. In addition, it is dangerous to lift it by the handles.

Complementary feeding

At 6 months, it's time to introduce complementary foods into your baby's diet. You should not rush into breastfeeding with this - breast milk carries all the substances necessary for the baby. At six months, the child's digestive system is actively working, he can sit during feeding and no longer push out food or a spoon with his tongue - the so-called "gag reflex" has already died out. Now the baby can be given solid food. This is where the regimen enters the life of an infant. Meals become five times a day. Children with normal or high weight are given vegetable puree as one of the first products, and babies with a lack of weight start with more high-calorie porridge. Gradually, the child gets acquainted with cottage cheese, meat puree, and yolk.

Do I need to solder more

Can a baby drink water? For centuries, only breast milk served as food for babies - it was not so easy to find clean boiled water. But recently there has been a fashion for additional soldering. It was believed that milk is food for the baby, but not drink, so it must be supplemented with water. Now the WHO isrecommends supplementing babies with water up to 6 months. Why? It is at this time that complementary foods are usually included in their diet. Puree is much thicker than milk, so now the baby is starting to need extra liquid. Prior to this, supplementation carries risks: children are fed from a convenient bottle, and the baby may then lose interest in the breast. Mom's lactation may decrease. In addition, mother's milk helps maintain beneficial microflora in the intestines, and if it is lacking, dysbacteriosis can develop. Drinking water for a breastfed baby is recommended for constipation, colic and transient fever, in which the temperature lasts 2-3 days.

Why is the baby crying?

Why does a baby cry? There are several reasons. The most common is hunger. To determine whether the baby wants to eat, you can by his behavior. He pulls his hands to his mouth, he can suck his thumb. You can check if the child is hungry with the help of a reflex - you need to run your finger along his cheek. The baby will turn to this side and stretch out the lips, getting ready to suck. Sometimes the baby cries because it wants to sleep but is waiting to be comforted. A sleepy child may rub their eyes. The best way to soothe all the same breastfeeding.

But if the cries are sharp and loud, the baby pulls his legs to his stomach and sorts them out, he may be tormented by colic. A baby still has an imperfect feeding habit, so they can swallow air, which can then cause intestinal spasms. To prevent colic, you need to carry the baby in a column after feeding. Alsoit is important to properly apply it to the chest so that air does not enter when sucking, and for mom to avoid cabbage and legumes. They don't just cause gas in adults.

Weaning

How to wean a baby from breastfeeding? This question is of interest to all mothers who are breastfeeding. There is no consensus on when exactly it is best to do this. The spread is large - from a year to 2, 5-3 years. Therefore, the mother remains to focus on herself and the child. Up to 6 months, the only possible food for an infant is milk. Only a mixture can serve as a substitute for it. But even after the introduction of complementary foods, you do not need to immediately quit breastfeeding. The sucking reflex lasts up to a year. In addition, at this time there is a laying of the immune system. How to wean a child from breastfeeding? There are a number of important recommendations. The process should take place gradually - in the child's diet, adult food occupies an increasing place, displacing milk. No need to try to stop feeding at the time of illness or when teeth are being cut. It is not necessary to expose the chest in front of the child - this can provoke him. Feeding before going to bed should be replaced by motion sickness, singing a lullaby. The child still needs bodily contact and affection. Then weaning will occur more gradually and painlessly. It is possible that a breastfed baby will need to increase the portion of food for dinner after breastfeeding, because now the baby will need to sleep after him all night.