While allowing your toddler to find confidence in his independence is great, instilling good eating habits will be beneficial in the long term (because let’s face it, being a food target is only fun for so long).

Try the following to teach your toddler good mealtime manners:

Encourage family meals

What better way to teach good eating habits, than by letting your toddler learn from you. By eating together as a family, your toddler will be exposed to the way that you and your partner converse with one another and handle your food. Eating together also encourages chatter between parents and children.

Be relaxed when it comes to manners

Before you lose your sense of humour over your toddler’s resistance to eat with a knife and fork, take a deep breath and remind yourself: Your toddler will continue to with her fingers (and make a mess) for a long time. The more you harp on it, the more your toddler will resist it. Let her enjoy the mess, it won’t last forever.

Tempt your tot with food

Use different colours, tastes and textures to make food tempting for your toddler. She is more likely to eat food that is appealing to her. Colourful plates, bibs and cutlery can help create temptation.

Patience, patience, patience

On average, it takes 10 tries for your toddler to accept a new taste. Be patient and persevere – just because your toddler doesn’t like what you give him today, doesn’t mean he will not like it tomorrow too.

The post Tips to help your toddler develop good eating habits appeared first on All4Baby.

As a parent, there are a few things that you can try to soothe your baby’s crying.

It is important to remember that each baby is different and what may work for one colicky baby, will not work for another.

Observing your baby and what he or she likes and dislikes will help you predict if your baby will respond positively to soothing techniques.

Hold your baby

The closeness and warmth of your body might be enough to comfort and soothe your baby (and you, because which parent doesn’t like a good old cuddle).

Modern baby slings or wraps are perfect for this technique as baby can be strapped close to your chest in an upright position.

PS. You cannot spoil your baby by holding him too much.

Distraction might do the trick

In the first few months, babies tend to have a short attention span. Try changing your baby’s environment, showing them their face in the mirror or even just rattling or shaking a toy.

Develop and stick to a routine

Babies (colicky or not) thrive on routine. Teach your baby that feeding, sleeping and playing occur at regular times throughout the day. Your baby might respond better to certain situations if he knows what to expect.

Soothe through movement

Some babies are comforted by movement. This movement could come from gentle rocking, a walk in the garden, being pushed in the pram or a drive around the block.Try to avoid noise and stimulating activities when using movement to calm a baby.

The post Colic in newborn babies: Soothing techniques appeared first on All4Baby.

As your baby develops and grows, these reflexes will gradually start to disappear.

Once they disappear, your baby will be in control of his movements and any arm waving or leg kicking will be voluntary.

The Moro Reflex

This reflex is also known as the startle reflex. The reflex is present at birth, peaks throughout your baby’s first month and will start to disappear at two months.

The Moro Reflex is most often seen just as your baby falls asleep. Your baby will flail his arms as if startled. You can reassure your baby by placing a calm hand on his head or chest which will allow him to fall back asleep.

The Rooting Reflex

This reflex will initially help your baby to breastfeed by having him turn towards anything that strokes his cheek and “search” until he finds the object.

Although the Rooting Reflex lasts for four months, babies get the hang of breastfeeding quickly and will move to the breast without searching in no time.

The Walking Reflex

Babies are born with a natural instinct to step forward. Although your baby is nowhere near strong enough to support his weight, if you had to hold him with his feet touching the floor, he would step forward.

The Grasp Reflex

Ever wondered why a baby grasps anything you put into his hand? The Grasp Reflex is present at birth and fades at approximately five or six months.

While the grasp is strong, you can coax your baby into releasing his grasp by stroking the back of his hand.

The Sucking Reflex

This reflex is linked to the Rooting Reflex and will see your baby suck instinctively on anything that touches the roof of their mouth. The Sucking Reflex stimulates the way your baby naturally eats.

The post Your newborn’s reflexes appeared first on All4Baby.

• Go down for naps at the same time each day
• Feed at the same time each day
• Have awake time in which he or she plays and takes part in activities at the same time each day

Benefits of creating a routine

1. A baby who sleeps well in the day, will sleep well at night. A well-rested baby is a happy baby who is alert and can engage in developmental activities.
2. A baby tends to thrive and has no problem meeting milestones once a routine has been implemented – this links back to a well-rested baby being a happy baby.
3. For you as a parent, a routine helps you to plan your day as you know what time baby needs to eat and sleep.
4. Having a routine makes it easier for other caregivers to step in if you need the help. Plus, because your baby is in a routine, he or she should not react negatively to the change in environment.
5. Toddlers who have been in a routine since baby days are less likely to throw tantrums as they know what to expect out of their day.

A flexible, age appropriate routine will no doubt ensure a happy and healthy baby.

The post 5 benefits of creating a routine for your baby appeared first on All4Baby.

While prior research has found that the timing of our meals can affect our weight, a new study announced this week shows that it can also affect insulin resistance and hormone levels.

Making breakfast the largest meal of the day could boost the chance of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a menstrual problem that affects up to 10 percent of women of reproductive age, to conceive, researchers said.

Women with PCOS become resistant to insulin, which can result in an increase in male sex hormones known as androgens, impairing their fertility.

A research team from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University studied 60 patients with PCOS between the ages of 25 and 39 over a 12-week period. Each subject was told to eat about 1,800 calories per day, slightly below the recommended daily total for women, but with half having their largest meal of the day at breakfast and the other half at dinner.

Findings, published in the journal Clinical Science, found that there were higher levels of ovulation in the group who ate their largest meal, typically about 980 calories, at breakfast time.

Also among the big breakfast eaters, glucose levels and insulin resistance dropped by eight percent, while levels of androgens decreased by 50 percent. Those who ate a larger dinner showed no change.

“The research clearly demonstrates that indeed the amount of calories we consume daily is very important, but the timing as to when we consume them is even more important,” said study leader Professor Oren Froy.

Access the study: http://www.clinsci.org/cs/125/cs1250423.htm

(AFP Relaxnews)

The post Eat a big breakfast to increase your fertility appeared first on All4Baby.

1. Your baby has doubled his or her birth weight.
2. Your baby can sit with support and is able to keep his or her neck steady.
3. When doing tummy time, your baby can fully extend his or her neck and back.
4. He must be able to swallow a teaspoon of milk (breast milk or formula) without gagging.
5. He starts to show an interest when you eat your food.

How old should my baby be?

Between the ages of four and six months – It is in this age group that most babies are developmentally ready to experience their first taste of solid food.

Waiting until after six months to introduce your baby to solids might result in food fussiness as he rejects the new textures offered to him.

A messy affair

From eight months on, eating becomes not only fun, but an extremely messy affair. Be sure to feed baby in his high chair or on a tiled floor so that the mess is kept to a minimum.

When solids become more important than milk

When you first introduce your baby to solids, milk is should still be his or her primary source of nutrition. This means that you will always offer milk before you offer solids. The priority shifts once baby hits the twelve month mark. At this age, baby should not be drinking more than 600mls per day as his primary nutrition should now come from solid food.

What to introduce first?

You can start with any pureed solid food. While it’s traditional to start your baby on solids with a single-grain cereal, there’s no medical evidence to show that introducing solid foods in a particular order will benefit your baby.In fact, the modern trend is to skip the cereal and go straight to veggies, introducing the cereal only at a later stage when baby can benefit from the extra carbohydrates (for example, when he starts crawling).

The general rule of thumb is, veggies first and then fruits (so as to avoid your baby developing a sweet tooth!).

Good veggies to start off with include;

• Butternut
• Sweet potatoes
• Squash

Avo is also being put forward as one of the best foods to start baby on.

The post Give your baby a solid start – tips for introducing solids appeared first on All4Baby.

Break the cycle

• Encourage your baby to finish the feed that you have offered him. However, if he persists in rejecting it, then leave it.
• If he starts fussing before his correct feeding time, try and stretch him until it is time to feed. Stretching can be achieved by offering him a pacifier or distracting his attention with a toy or a change of scenery like a walk in the garden.
• If his fussing leads to full on crying, then offer him a small amount (such as 15 to 20 mls) to satisfy the hunger. Wait until the correct feeding time to offer him the rest of his feed.

Unfortunately, it takes a baby three days to develop a bad habit and a full 21 days to break it. To ensure that you break the snacking cycle, stick to the above guidelines for 21 days (even if your baby ditches the habit in the first week).

A baby that feeds properly and at the correct times is a happier, more content baby.

The post Snacker versus feeder: How to break your baby’s bad habit appeared first on All4Baby.

Colic explained

Colic is simply explained as long periods of crying from an infant that is hard to soothe or settle.

There is no definite explanation for the crying, which makes it very stressful for parents. It is important to note that the incessant crying does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with your baby.

Causes of Colic

Regardless of many year’s of research, the cause of colic remains unexplained. Over the years there have been a few suggestions, but no conclusive cause has been found.  These suggestions include;

• Pain caused by a build up of wind
• An intolerance to lactose
• Your baby’s inability to regulate behaviour

Signs of Colic

The crying episodes usually start at two weeks of age, peak at two months and start to fade at the age of four months.

If your baby has colic, he or she will cry inconsolably for no apparent reason. During these episodes (which usually occur in the late afternoon or evening) your baby might also arch his back, pull her legs up towards her body and have a painful facial expression. For the duration of the episode, your baby will be difficult to comfort.

The post Colic: The causes and symptoms appeared first on All4Baby.

By two years old, your baby should have finished the teething process, having cut 20 milk teeth in total.

Besides the tell-tale sign of a tooth popping up, other signs also give parents the teething heads up.

These signs include;

1. Fever
2. Excessive drooling (yes, they can drool more than they already drool on a day to day basis)
3. Bright red cheeks
4. Acidic and watery stools that can result in a nappy rash
5. More dirty nappies than usual
6. Your baby puts everything in his or her mouth
7. Your baby’s sleep patterns change and he wakes up frequently (this is due to discomfort)
8. Your once happy-go-lucky baby is now a tad miserable
9. Your baby “fasts” and goes off feeds (solids and milk) due to pain and discomfort

The post Is your baby teething? appeared first on All4Baby.