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| Infant - Week #5 |
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Get Weekly Updates on your Child E-Mailed to You
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| Your 5-week-old |
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Time flies when you are having fun, and as your baby enters his fifth week, gear up for a lot of fun! Your little one who up until this time had been spending as much as 16 hours a day asleep is now going to have longer moments of awake and alert time. |
| Get Those Cameras Ready! |
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Whether this is your first or fourth baby, the first smile will make all those sleepless nights worth every second, and this is about time for those smiles to show themselves. Be prepared to capture it on film forever. |
| Tummy Time! |
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Your little one's neck muscles are getting stronger, and it's around this time that your baby will begin to hold up his head for brief periods of time. Your baby will also turn his head from side to side more consistently. Don't forget to change the way he is facing at bedtime! Remembering to do so will help to avoid flat spots on his head. |
| Through Your Babies Eyes |
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A five-week-old baby loves looking at people's faces because typically he is a perfect seeing distance away from the person holding him. Lights, mobiles, and ceiling fans are also incredibly appealing to infants. As far as colors go, at this age babies prefer blacks and whites because they are so contrasting. |
| Shower Power and Closet Clutter |
Admit it...we've all got baby gear EVERYWHERE! If it's your first baby, it's brand new and lovingly set aside and ready to go. If it's a second, third, or, in my case fourth baby, it's stored away and covered in dust, and some of it's never been used. Let's get it out and get our money's worth! Some baby gear that will be useful this week includes:
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| DO try this at home! |
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Reading Out Loud - It may seem silly to read to a five-week-old, but in my opinion it's never too early to encourage good reading habits. A friend of mine mentioned that as a way to spend time with her infant and to get some reading of her own done, she reads her own reading materials out loud to her infant. Finding time for my own personal reading was something that I struggled with, so I thought I would give this a try. While I was in the hospital having Max, I was given a few books as gifts that were gathering dust on my nightstand. I had one of those nights with Max that I thought was going to be open and shut; give him a bottle and he'll fall right asleep. Max drank his bottle like I expected but no such luck on the sleep part; he was wide awake. I decided to give it a shot. I picked up one of my dust covered books, and while snuggling Max, began to read out loud. I read about a chapter and a half looking down periodically. For the first fifteen minutes Max's blue eyes were bright, following me, and seemingly taking in every word I read. The next 15 minutes his eyes got a little glazed over, and he seemed to be slowly fading. Five minutes later I looked down, and he was sound asleep and out for the count! I absolutely loved this and hope to do it more often, at least until Max is old enough to hear age appropriate stories. What a great way to spend time with Max and provide him with some vocal stimulus while getting something of my own done, too! |
| That's Questionable! |
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Q - What does your nightly bedtime routine look like? At this age it is difficult to really have a "bedtime routine," but with four kids four and under I am definitely trying. Typically, my older kids go down around 7:15 P.M. and from 7:15 till about 8:00 I like to spend one-on-one time with Max. This could include tummy time, bath time, or even just hanging out on the couch! After that I give him a bottle; half way through I'll change him, swaddle him tight, burp him, and in dim lights give him the rest. Usually by the time he finishes the rest of the bottle, he is starting to fade a little bit. After he's done, I put him in the swing for about 10 minutes to let him get really close to sleeping and then I move him to his cradle. This way he is learning to fall asleep on his own but with a little help from that magic swing! This whole process usually takes about an hour. |
| Until Next Time... |
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Time really does fly when you're having fun...enjoy every second of this fifth week! |
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