Develoment FAQ: 0-6 Months

When can I expect my 5 week old baby to smile at us? I am sure he does smile but my mother dismisses it as wind. At times I feel he does look at me knowing who I am but no smile shows so maybe he is not really sure who we are yet.
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3.

Matthew, who is three and a half months old, seems unable to hold anything in his hands yet. He has plenty of rattles and toys, but drops them soon after we have put them into his hand. Nor does he look for a toy once it has fallen to the floor. Is this normal? When will he be able to play with toys by himself?
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How can I get my baby to sit alone safely? Even with cushions on the floor, I am afraid she will topple and hurt her head. Do I wait until she is ready?
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I keep being told I should give my 6 week old son some time on his tummy each day. Why is this and how will it help him? When I tried this with him he looked really uncomfortable. I thought babies were always supposed to be on their backs.
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5.

I am a mother of 15 week old twins and it seems to me that they get bored quite easily. I spend most of the day trying to amuse them and hold and cuddle them. When I leave them to amuse themselves I feel a great sense of guilt and feel like I should be entertaining them. I need your advice, what do babies of this age need? Constant attention or can I leave them for a few hours a day on their backs or in a bouncing chair? When I say alone I mean I would always look after them but if I can be free to do some other tasks that would be helpful.
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I have been following the CLB routine from birth with my 15 week old daughter. I have had to adjust the 10.30pm feed to keep her up for an hour as you suggest which is working and now finally she is sleeping though for the last week. (I intend to follow your advice and cut the time down that she’s up)

But for the last two weeks she is very fussy and nearly crying all the time. I cannot put her down for five minutes which is not normally like her. I have tried to get her more interesting toys and a new door bouncer. I tried to change her formula (onto cow and gate Omneo Comfort in case she was getting tummy upset ) this didn’t work she ended up with almost water poo after two bottles so I put her back on SMA white. I’ ve changed her bottles to tommiee tippee health check to reduce any wind , she is teething and I am giving bonjela( the banana favored one only when I really need to ) but nothing has worked and she is becoming more and more wingy every day. I am coming to the end of my tether and got very upset today. She is eating and sleeping, I just don’t know what to do.

My daughter feeds at 7am 6ozs, 11am 6ozs, 2.00pm 6ozs, 6.00pm 5ozs, 7pm 3ozs, 10pm 4ozs, 11pm 2ozs. She takes 2ozs of pear juice at 4pm.

My daughter naps at 9-10am, 12-2.00pm. She settles to sleep at 7pm.
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My daughter is a very grumpy baby and seems to cry more than other children I see. She is almost 17 weeks now and spends little quiet time with me or on her own. She needs quite constant attention and holding, rocking, talking, singing, playing etc. I don’t mind doing any of this as she’s my first baby and I have a lot of time to spend with her.
She goes down with small amount of fuss for naps but after ten minutes is asleep and sleeps from 6.30pm to 6.30am most nights. She loves her food so I have little to complain about.
I do get regular smiles and the rare giggle. I just want her to be happier. Am I doing something wrong or is there something else I could be doing to help? She doesn’t seem tired except at night after bath time and before feeding. She can’t be hungry as drinks she 2 8oz bottles at least as well as breast feeding.
She hates any fuss and screams when getting dressed, getting a coat and hat on, being put into a car seat or a pram. She just seems angry most of the time when other babies I see at baby massage class lie down laughing and gurgling, my daughter disrupts the class with crying and leaves her mum looking inadequate and embarrassed.
Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

My daughter breast feeds at 7am and 2.30pm and has 8-9ozs of formula at 11am and 6pm.

She naps at 8.45-9.30am and 12-2.00pm. She settles at 6.30pm and sleeps through to 6.30am.
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Our son is 16 weeks old and is, for most of the time, a very grizzly baby. He grizzles most of the day and for most of the time doesn't really seem to want to play. I thought things had changed when he reached 10 weeks as for 3 blissful weeks I had the most contented, smiley, happy baby I could ever ask for. Then it just changed right back and he has been grizzly for the last 3 weeks. I have done nothing different in the routine and am finding things so difficult. Especially when I meet other mums with gorgeous happy babies and mine is just grizzling the whole time!

When I go in to him in the morning I am greeted with huge smiles which continue whilst I change his nappy. I then feed him his milk at 7.15am which he drinks (we were struggling for a couple of weeks to get him to take more than 5-6oz at each feed but he seems to be back on track taking 7-8oz). He is then happy enough for about 10mins on my lap but if I put him under his play gym the grizzling starts and he rolls over and sucks his thumb or just carries on grizzling!

The same happens after each sleep - he wakes all smiley and loves the nappy change (although he cries when I wash and dress him at 8am) and takes his milk well but refuses to play alone, only plays happily with me for a short while, won't be happy sitting in bouncer chair watching me do chores or be played with and is generally grizzling most of the time. He is starting to want to sit and stand a lot more and right from birth he has always had good head control so I try to spend time doing that with him which he seems happy to do but only for 10mins max. I try tummy time every day but he gets upset after about 2-3mins.

He always seems tired even though he sleeps well and the last couple of days he hasn't been sleeping great at any of his naps - I can hear him grumbling on and off or chatting or moving around the cot. But this is only recently - he was still tired looking and grizzly even when he slept well.

Also over the last couple of days he has cried on and off from 5.30pm onwards until bedtime at 7pm. My husband baths him slightly later than you recommend at 6.20pm as he likes to do the bath and does it when he gets home but we think my son is so tired by then he just cries and cries. This is only a recent problem and I am surprised as he sleeps for 45mins at 4.15pm. So surely he can't be tired? If we give the bath at 5.45 or 6pm what do we do with Max for the rest of the time as he will be upset till milk and then he only takes 10mins to drink it.

I just feel exhausted trying to find ways to keep my son entertained and I don't know how to get him to play for longer than 10mins by himself. Why does he wake all smiles and then for it to change after about 15-20mins? Is there such a thing as a grizzly baby? Should I stop trying to solve it and just accept that my son is like that and hope it will get better as he gets older and can do more?

Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated as am feeling so down about it all. Can’t stop wishing for that lovely happy baby I had for 3 weeks and totally enjoyed.

My son takes 6-8ozs at 7.10am, 10.45am and 2.30pm. He takes 1-2ozs water at 4pm, 5.15pm 5.5ozs, 6.45pm 3ozs, 10.30pm 3.5-4.5ozs. He weighs 15lbs 14ozs.
He naps at 9-9.50am, 12-2.15pm and 4.15-5pm.
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I have 5 month old twin girls. They were born 2 months prematurely.
While one daughter is quite easy and self entertaining, the other is very active and wants to be carried around all the time. I know that they are different babies with different characters but I am worried about my daughter as she starts crying the moment or after 10 minutes she is put on the play mat or the cot to play. I have tried sitting beside her and play with her with the toys but doesn't quite work.
How can I make her learn to play on her own for longer periods? Is it ok to leave her cry for a while so that she can break the habit?
I need advice on that issue desperately; it's getting harder and harder with her.
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3.

At Christmas time we are going to Australia, from the UK for three weeks. My twin girls will be 10 weeks when we leave. I have tried very hard to follow the routines and I am not only petrified that about the flight, but also scared that they will get off the routines. How is it best to do this travel? I am thinking about not going!
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When would you recommend having our second child? Is there an 'ideal' age gap? Our first baby is now five months old.
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I am expecting my first baby in a few weeks. I know the days will be busy but want some ideas of how to keep the memories of the first year in an interesting way, which we can look back on and maybe pass onto our child.
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