All about dad
Cuddle, play, love
Did your partner rough-house with your baby
practically from day one? There may be a scientific explanation for his high
jinks. The “love hormone” oxytocin is present in increased levels in both parents
after a baby’s birth, but it triggers different responses, spurring women to
cuddle and men to clown around, a new research in Biological Psychiatry
suggests. So, try not to get after your bubby for winding your baby up – he’s
busy bonding.
Babies can veg out too!
Worried that your vegetarian baby is not
getting adequate nutrition? The fact is, some key nutrients are tricky to find
in non-meat foods. Here’s our list of suggestions, from Child Advisor Dr. Arun
Wadhwa. Consult it to give Baby what she needs:
·
Iron
Vital for: Blood formation and brain development.
Find it: In wholegrains, beans such as soya, or supplements. Iron in
plant-based food is harder to absorb, so vegetarians need more than meat eaters
do. Vegetarian families usually need iron supplementation – babies need iron
drops, and children can be given syrups or tablets.
·
DHA
a DHA powder/ tablets to get the benefits and pass it in to Baby
Vital for: Vision and developmental skills
Find it: Nursing moms can take a supplement such as a DHA powder/ tablets to
get the benefits and pass it in to Baby too, as the only significant food
source is fish. Babies, once they start solids, can get it from DHA – fortified
food, such as yogurt and soya milk.
·
Vitamin B12
Vital for: nervous system development.
Find it: In dairy, eggs, and some fortified foods such as cereal. Else, OTC
tablets.
Smart Shot Strategies
A new research sheds light on ways to help
improve your baby’s response to her vaccinations, and her protection against
disease. Find out how.
Make a p.m. appointment. Long, deep slumber after immunizations can help improve immune
response, and infants sleep more soundly when they get vaccines after 1:30
p.m., says a recent Pediatrics study. If only the morning slot is available,
talk to your doctor about ways to make the process more comfortable for your
baby.
Avoid paracetamol. Although you may be tempted to give your child a dose of medicine to
ease her discomfort, paracetamol has been shown to reduce the antibody response
to immunizations. Instead, try to distract her during the vaccination, and
don’t worry about a low fever post-shot. It’s normal for children to get a
slight temperature, but call your doc if it goes over 100.40F.
Milestones: Baby’s Amazing World
Your sweet pea is born with well-developed
senses that help her adjust to a new and unfamiliar environment. She uses her
eyes, ears, nose, and mouth to learn about you – and everything else around
her.
Erika Silverman will never forget when the
nurse lifted her son onto her bare chest seconds after he was born. “I was
amazed to see Oren go from crying to calm as soon as our skin touched,” says
Silverman, from North Carolina, US. Oren was comforted by inhaling his mother’s
scent, feeling the warmth of her chest, and hearing her voice. “Babies absorb a
lot of information with their senses to bond with their caregivers and explore
things around them,” says Dr. Lise Eliot, author of What’s Going On in There?:
How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. Learn how your child’s
touch, smell, hearing, vision, and taste progress in utero and during the first
year, and how you can help them along.
