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.

However, as Pampers® Institute expert and educational psychologist, Tshepiso Matentjie says: “Play and interaction with parents is important for brain, social, physical and emotional development in babies.”

Pampers® has come up with a solution to this dilemma. By making use of the items that you already have in your home, and your Pampers® Active Baby-Dry nappies, you don’t need to buy toys for your child to be able to play and learn.

Nappy changing time provides you and your child with some uninterrupted bonding time. The new Pampers® Active Baby-Dry nappies feature a host of new characters – the Pampers® Buddies. Use the Buddies to teach your child colour, animals and texture.

Here is another idea of how to make a toy from household items:

What you need:

• 1 paper towel roll
• Extra cardboard
• Food colouring, wrapping paper or paint for decorating
• Scissors
• Rice
• Sticky tape
• Pencil

What to do:

1. The first step is to decorate the paper towel/ toilet paper roll.

(If you are painting it ensure that you wear old clothing. Place old newspapers on your work station to protect the area)

• If you are using normal paint: paint the roll on the outside area and wait for the paint to dry.
• If you are using food colouring:mix the food colouring with a little water and use like paint.
• Ensure to paint the extra cardboard too.

(If you choose to cover the roll, glue the wrapping paper/ magazine pages  onto the roll ensuring that there is extra paper on the ends.)

2. Take the extra cardboard and draw around the end of the roll to make
   a circle (A). Now, draw a bigger circle around this circle (B).
   (See diagram alongside)
3. Cut out the bigger circle then cut slits to the middle circle (see red
   lines alongside) – taking care not to cut too deep.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 so you have 2 circles
5. Tape one circle to one end of the roll –making sure that it is secure.
6. Pour enough rice into the roll that a sound will be produced when
   shaken.
7. Seal the other end of the roll the same way you did the other
   side. (If you are using wrapping paper, fold the ends in and
   seal them with sticky tape.)

The post Homemade baby toys: A rattle or shaker appeared first on All4Baby.

The first half year of her life has been a busy one and she has achieved some major developmental milestones.

During the sixth month, baby continues to widen her vocabulary and makes a variety of pre-speech sounds. This includes laughing, squealing and chuckling when she is excited and screams of annoyance when she is irritated or angry.Your baby not only babbles in response to you, but also to amuse herself.

She has also realised that every action has a reaction, and knows that if she puts her arms out she will be picked up. From now on, everything that your baby is able to grasp at will land up in her mouth for further exploration. She will also pass an object from hand to hand and may even pick another object to compare it to her initial finding.

It is at this time, that your baby will also start to differentiate between the people that she knows and strangers. While she still may exhibit friendliness to a stranger, you will notice by her body language that she is slightly uneasy.

Your six month old baby will;

• Start to put her hand on your breast or the bottle and pat it gently
• Respond appropriately to the tone of your voice
• Turn her head to where your voice comes from
• Reach for objects that are up to 30 centimeters away
• Bring her foot to her mouth when lying on her back
• Chat using repetitive syllables
• Track a moving object from one side to the other

The post What to expect from your baby at six months appeared first on All4Baby.