Reader Response: "I am a new parent of a six month old baby. I am eager for her to start talking. What can I do to help her develop her language skills? Does baby sign language help?"

Learning language is much more than just making sounds. Listening, understanding, and knowing the names of people and things are all part of language development. During this stage, babies also develop bonds of love and trust with their parents as well as others. The way parents interact with their infant will set the basis for how they will interact with them and how they will interact with others.

Here are some things to expect at various ages. Please keep in mind that every infant is different and reaches milestones at different times. If you are concerned about your infants’ development, talk to your pediatrician.

Birth to 3 months

·         Tells you what they need through different cries

·         Can recognize your voice or common noises

·         May become startled at loud noises

·         When you speak they may smile, become quiet, or make noises

3 months to 6 months

·         Repeats syllables and express pleasure or displeasure with their voice

·         May pay attention to music and toys that make sounds and move their eyes in the direction of the sounds

6 months to 12 months

·         Ability to imitate words and say simples words like dada or mama

·         Can understand simple instructions

·         Will turn and look in the direction of sounds

Activities you can do to encourage speech and language development:

·         Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as “ma,” “da,” and “ba.”

·         Reinforce attempts by maintaining eye contact, responding with speech, and imitating vocalizations (for example, raising the pitch of your voice to indicate a question).

·         Imitate your baby’s laughter and facial expressions.

·         Teach your baby to imitate your actions

o    I have found that lots of babies are pros at this. Common actions include clapping their hands, blowing kisses, pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, and itsy-bitsy-spider.

·         Talk as you bathe, feed, and dress your baby.

o    Talk about what you are doing, where you are going, what you will do, and who and what you will see.

·         Identify colors

·         Count items

·         Use gestures to help convey a meaning such as waving your hand when saying goodbye.

·         Acknowledge their attempt to communicate

·         Expand on a single word your baby uses.

o    For example, if your baby says “mama,” follow by saying “Here is mama. Mama loves you. Where is baby? Here is baby.”

·         Introduce animal sounds to associate a sound with a specific meaning.

o    For example, the cat says meow.

·         Read to your child. Sometimes this can be as simple as describing the pictures in a book without actually reading the written words. Choose books that are sturdy and have large colorful pictures. Encourage naming and pointing to familiar objects in the book.

Baby Signing

“Baby signing” refers to the use of visual-gestural signs between hearing parents and their young hearing children with the goal of earlier and clearer communication (Pizer, Walters & Meier, 2007). Whether you decide to incorporate baby signing in your infants’ language development is your personal choice. Although there are several benefits to teaching your baby to sign there is no long-term benefits. However, any time spent interacting with your baby is beneficial. As stated earlier, the practice of baby sign language leads to earlier and clearer parent-child communication. Other benefits include:

·         Reduced frustration on the part of the infant

·         Accelerated spoken language development

·         Improved parent-child bonding

·         Increased IQ

I hope the information provided will be of help and will help you decide whether or not to incorporate baby signing in your infants language development.

-Liz

American speech-language-hearing association. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/parent-stim-activities.htm

Child development. (2011, September 09). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/infants.html

Ochs, A. (2011, Sept 02). Cognitive language development in infants. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/216711-cognitive-language-development-in-infants/

Pizer, G., Walters, K., & Meier, R. P. (2007). Bringing Up Baby with Baby Signs: Language Ideologies and Socialization in Hearing Families. Sign Language Studies, 7(4), 387-430.

Shaken Baby Syndrome

This is something that we have all heard about and know it has negative consequences but what exactly is Baby Shaken Syndrome and why is it so detrimental? Shaken Baby Syndrome is “a type of inflicted traumatic brain injury that happens when a baby is violently shaken” (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2010). Shaking a baby causes their brain to bounce back and forth inside the skull. This causes bruising, swelling, and bleeding of the brain which leads to permanent, severe damage and even death.

Symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome include:

·         Extreme irritability

·         Lethargy

·         Poor feeding

·         Breathing problems

·         Convulsions/seizures

·         Vomiting

·         Pale or bluish skin

Shaken Baby Syndrome injuries usually occur in children younger than 2 years old. However, injuries may be seen in children up to 5 years old. Some injuries of Shaken Baby Syndrome include:

·         Bleeding in the brain

·         Bleeding in the retina

·         Damage to the spinal cord and neck

·         Fractures of the ribs and bones

These injuries can lead to blindness, neurological or mental disabilities that can require lifelong medical care.

Remember Baby Shaken Syndrome is something that can be easily prevented. It is not the baby’s crying that is the problem it is how the parents or caregivers respond to the crying. Here are some helpful tips you can use if you ever find yourself in this situation:

·         Cuddle or stroke your baby

·         Hold your baby close and rock your baby in your arms

·         Wrap your baby snugly in a blanket to prevent arms and legs from swinging and kicking

·         Give your baby something to suck – a pacifier or a clean finger

·         Give your baby something pleasant to look at or listen to such as music, a baby rattle, or a mobile above their crib

·         Give your baby a warm bath

A crying baby can be stressful and exhausting. Remember losing your temper, shouting, or getting rough with your baby will only make things worse. Whatever the situation is, NEVER SHAKE YOUR BABY. If you have reached the end of your rope you could:

·         Put the baby down safely and comfortably in the crib and leave the room for a few minutes

·         Ask someone else to look after your baby for an hour or so

I have posted a link below to my video that demonstrates what happens to a baby’s brain when they are shaken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_PwmtFBXwI&feature=youtu.be

-Liz

References:

Center For Disease Control. (2010, July 07). Heas up:prevent shaken baby syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/sbs.html

Coping with crying babies. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nspcc.org.uk/help-and-advice/for-parents-and-carers/positive-parenting/coping-with-crying-babies/coping-with-crying-babies_wda72901.html

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2010, may 06). Ninds shaken baby syndrome information page. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shakenbaby/shakenbaby.htm

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: Blog Review

I really enjoyed reviewing this blog because it was very informative. This blog is a positive place for parents to visit and find answers to their questions about Babywise. The overall layout of this blog is based on Babywise, a book about raising an infant, this book also presents an infant care program that will cause babies to sleep through the night beginning between seven and nine weeks of age. The overall layout of the blog was very organized and easy to navigate. I did find the content of the blog to be overwhelming at times because of all the information available. I also like how at the end of each post the author recommended other places to visit. My review of this blog includes: if the author met the needs of the audience, if research was aligned with the blog, the applicability of the blog, and the quality of the writing.

1.    The blogs author meets the needs of her audience. The author will publish posts on reader’s request or will answer questions within 2 weeks of being submitted. The author also has a section for reader’s comments or questions. The author does a great job keeping up with the questions and answering them.  

2.        I did not find a lot of research in this blog. It lacked scientific evidence and citations. However, what I found abundant in this blog was the author’s opinions, readers’ opinions, and their life experiences. I also noticed that the author made references to the Babywise book, other parenting books, and related blogs.

3.       The content in the blog is very applicable. New parents can relate to the content of the post and I found a lot of the information provided to be very helpful. The blog gives great advice to parents of a newborn about feeding times and sleeping times.

4.        Overall the writing in this blog is good quality because it is easy to understand. The writer of this blog has a lot of experience that adds to the quality of the writing. Since the author is likable it made me more inclined to actually try some of the things suggested in her blog.

In conclusion, this blog can be very helpful for parents who follow the Babywise theory. I found that this blog targets those parents the most. However, I think those who are unfamiliar with the Babywise theory can also learn a lot from this blog. Initially, I was unfamiliar with Babywise but after reviewing this blog and reading all the wonderful things about Babywise I decided to try it out.  

-Liz

Reference:

Plowman, V. (2007). Chronicles of a babywise mom. Retrieved from http://www.babywisemom.com/

Immunizations and Newborns

It can be hard to decide whether or not you want your baby to get immunizations. I know a few years ago parents were not immunizing their babies because of a research that showed a correlation between autism and immunizations. This research was skewed to show the desired results of the researcher. “There is no evidence that currently recommended vaccines overload or weaken the infant immune system. Infants have an enormous capacity to respond safely and effectively to multiple vaccines” (Gregson & Edelman, 2003). Immunizations are recommended for infants because diseases are far more serious or common among infants.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the infants under six months of age who get whooping cough, 72% must be hospitalized and about 84% of all deaths from Pertussis are among children younger than 6 months of age (2007).  Not vaccinating your baby can put your baby at risk. Immunizations are safe and effective.

Recommended Immunizations for Babies

At Birth:

·         Hep B

2 Months:

·         HepB

·         DTaP

·         PCV

·         Hib

·         Polio

·         RV

4 Months:

·         DTaP

·         PCV

·         Hib

·         Polio

·         Rv

6 Months:

·         HepB (6-18 months)

·         DTaP

·         PCV

·         Hib

·         Polio (6-18 months)

·         RV

12 Months:

·         MMR (12-15 months)

·         PCV (12-15 months)

·         Hib (12-15 months)

·         Varicella (12-15 months)

·         HepA (12-23 months)

Vaccine Descriptions

I know all of this information can be overwhelming so below a short and simple vaccine description is included.  

HepB: protects against hepatitis B

DTaP: a combined vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)

Hib: Protects against Haemophilus influenza type b

PCV: protects against pneumococcal disease

Polio: protects against polio, the vaccine is also known as IPV

RV: protects against infections caused by rotavirus

Influenza: protects against influenza (flu)

MMR: protects against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles)

Varicella: protects against varicella, also known as chickenpox

HepA: protects against hepatitis A

I decided that for my children keeping them up-to-date on vaccinations was essential. I know that not everyone will feel this way and that is okay. I hope you found this basic information helpful. If you have any further questions about immunizations and your baby contact your baby’s pediatrician.

-Liz

Gregson, A., & Edelman, R. (2003). Does antigenic overload exist? the role of multiple immunizations in infants. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, 23(4), 649-664.

Vaccines: Spec-grps/infants/infant immunizations. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/infants/infant-child-imz.htm

Choosing a Pediatrician

It is important to choose a pediatrician before your new baby arrives. Finding a pediatrician is not the easiest thing to do. There are several pediatricians to choose from who are all “committed to helping parents raise healthy children with the greatest possible ease, comfort, pleasure, and success” (Shelov & Pediatrics, 2005). Keep in mind that different pediatricians have different approaches so finding the one that fits your family’s needs is essential. A good way of finding out is to visit each pediatrician and determine which one is best for your family.  Preferably this should be done before the baby arrives. A recent study found that babies who see the same doctor for their first six months are up to twice as likely to receive important health tests before they turn 2 (Hunt, 2012).

 Listed below are some helpful tips you can use when you start looking for a pediatrician:

·         Make sure the pediatrician is licensed to practice. If you see the initials FAAP after a pediatrician’s name, it means they have passed the board exam and is a full fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and they are board certified. These initials can be found on their certificate that is usually posted somewhere in their office.

·         Start by asking other parents you know and trust if they recommend anyone. Your obstetrician can also be someone you turn to for advice. Obstetricians will know local pediatricians that are respected within the medical community. You can also ask for a list of local pediatricians by going to the hospital or visiting the hospitals website.

·         Once you have a list of several pediatricians you wish to consider, contact them and arrange an interview. The front desk staff will be able to answer general questions you may have. Save the more in depth questions for the pediatrician. Here are some questions you can ask:

o   How soon after birth will the pediatrician see your baby?

o   When will your baby’s next exams take place?

o   When is the doctor available? By phone, email?

o   What hospital does the doctor prefer to use?

o   What happens if there is an emergency?

o   Who covers the office when pediatrician is unavailable?

o   How many checkups and immunizations does your baby need?

o   What are the costs of care?

·         After you have completed the interview process decide which pediatrician made you feel comfortable, if you are comfortable with their philosophy, policies, and practice. Most importantly do you feel you can trust them? You should also feel comfortable with the pediatrician’s staff.

I know that finding a pediatrician can be overwhelming. Just remember you are not trying to find the best pediatrician in the world instead you are trying to find a pediatrician that you feel comfortable with and that you trust. I hope that this information will help you when you start to look for your baby’s pediatrician.

-Liz

Hunt, K. (2012). How to select a pediatrician. Retrieved from www.parents.com

Shelov, S. P., & Pediatrics, A. A. O. (2005). Caring for your baby and young child, birth to age 5. (revised ed.). New York: Bantam.

Welcome To Our Blog

We are excited to start our blog. We hope to help new parents on their journey into parenthood. We will be covering a variety of topics with various contributors. Visit us often!