The First Six Months
It is important to keep a balance between what you see and feel
today and what is happening over the long term. If your baby is
in generally good health, her behavior patterns may change from
day to day or week to week, sometimes suddenly.
Overall, however, this first year is a steady arc of growth in
the baby’s size, strength, and cognitive ability. Your baby will
experience more growth and development in her first year than in
any other 12-month period of her life. Keep that in mind as you
go through the sometimes confusing starts and stops of everyday
baby care.
There are many books and other resources available that give more
detailed information about infant development, like Your Baby’s
First Year: Week by Week by Glade B. Curtis and Judith Schuler
(Perseus, 2000) and What to Expect the First Year by Arlene
Eisenberg, et al (Workman, updated regularly). You can also use
online resources like
www.babiesonline.com/babysfirstyear/ to
track her changes.
Joe Kelly’s The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Being a New Dad includes
month-by-month information on what you may be doing, thinking,
and feeling as a new father.
For example, around month three, your baby will start responding
to your voice, feel, and smell, so be sure that you are around enough.
Talk to the baby. She’s a very willing (and non-critical)
listener, so tell her about what happened at work today. Try not
to use “baby talk” because it’s a very hard habit to break. Go
ahead and make silly sounds, but use your normal “adult” voice
when speaking to her.
It is never too early to start reading to her. Reading helps
stimulate her brain and lets her hear more of your voice. Reading
is also a great chance to cut loose with your inner performer,
doing character voices and sound effects. I guarantee that she
won’t make fun of you (yet)!
As time passes, and you get into a child-care rhythm, your
thoughts may turn to sex. As during the pregnancy, however, you
and your partner may not always be in the same intimacy rhythm.
That’s okay—be patient, and remember the first law of parenting
with a partner: communicate, communicate, communicate.
Adapted from
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Being
a New Dad by Joe Kelly and used by permission.