infant, newborn development…

Medical experts recommend this detailed explanation.

[ Find Organization | Index Page ]

skull of a newborn, infantile reflexes, developmental milestones, moro reflex, primitive reflexes, in full operation, rooting, sucking, turns head in search of nipple, cheek is touched, begins to suck, nipple touches lips, tonic neck response, left leg extends, infant gazes, left, right arm, leg flex inward, vice versa, palmar hand grasp, infant closes its hand, "grips" finger, plantar grasp, infant flexes the toes, forefoot, babinski, toes fan outward, sole of foot is stroked, moro, extends arms then bends, pulls them in toward body, placing, leg extends, sole of foot is stimulated, stepping, walking, takes brisk steps, feet placed on a surface, body supported, 4 months, primitive reflexes have either already disappeared, in the process of doing so, hand, feet actions begin to come under willed control, by no means fine-tuned, infant, use both hands, working together, to accomplish desired effects, infant is still unable to coordinate the grasp, swipes at objects to bring them closer, infant raises up, upper torso, shoulders, head, arms, lying face down, on his tummy, neck muscles, developed enough, the infant to sit, keep head up, enhanced eye-muscle control allows the infant to track objects, increased acuity of vision allows the infant to discriminate objects from backgrounds, minimal contrast, button on a blouse, the same color, 6 months, infant begins to grasp blocks, cubes using what's, the ulnar-palmar grasp technique, pressing the block into palm of hand flexing, bending wrist in, does not yet use thumb opposition, infant rolls from back to stomach, on tummy, infant, push up, arms to raise the shoulders, head, above surface, look around, reach, objects, able to sit alone, moments initially, up to 30 seconds, 9 months, infant able to sit steadily, long periods of time, infant, pull into, maintain a standing position holding onto furniture, infant, walk holding the hand of an adult, infant learns to sit down, a standing position, 12 months, infant begins to balance standing alone, infant takes steps, begins to walk alone, sensory development, vision, the infant, see objects, a range of 8-12 inches, has excellent color vision, track moving objects up to 180 degrees, prefers faces, hearing, prior to birth, mature at birth, infant prefers frequencies, the human voice, touch, taste, smell, mature at birth, prefers sweet taste, vestibular, inner ear, senses, the infant responds to rocking, changes of position, language development, crying, vitally important means of communication, by the third day of life, mothers, distinguish baby's cry from others, by the first month of life, most parents, tell, baby's cry means hunger, pain, anger, crying also elicits a nursing mother's milk letdown, inherent biological response in most humans to crying insures the infant's survival, crying, in the first 3 months, healthy infant between 1 to 3 hours a day, infants who cry more than 3 hours a day, having colic, colic in infants is rarely, due to a physiologic problem, many experts believe it is associated, excessive gas, in the bowel, inability to digest certain formulas, associated, overanxious mothers, excessive crying, associated, child abuse, regardless, a complex problem that deserves a medical evaluation, behavior, behavior, the newborn is characterized by six states of consciousness, quiet sleep, active sleep, drowsy waking, quiet alert, fussing, active crying, ability to move smoothly, one state to another is one, the most reliable signs of neurologic maturity, integrity, heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, body movements, each state, many physiologic functions, not stable, in the first months after birth, variability is normal, differs, from infant to infant, temperature control, skin color, stooling, yawning, gagging, hiccupping, vomiting, stress, stimulation, periodic breathing, breathing starts, stops again, not a sign of sids, sudden infant death syndrome, infants, vomit after each feeding but have nothing physically wrong, continue to gain weight, develop, infants grunt, groan distressfully stooling but produce soft, blood-free stools, growth, feeding remain good, due to immature abdominal muscles, pushing, does not, require any intervention, sleep/wake cycles, extremely variable, not stabilize, 3 months old, cycles occur in random intervals of 30-50 minutes at birth, gradually increase, the infant matures, by 4 months old, most infants, have one 5-hour period of uninterrupted sleep, breast-fed infants, feed, every 2 hours, formula-fed infants, able to go 3 hours between feedings, periods of rapid growth, feed more frequently, giving the child water is not necessary! an infant receiving adequate hydration, produce 6-8 wet diapers, 24-hour period, teaching the infant to suck a pacifier, own thumb provides comfort between feedings, safety, safety is very important, infants, very important to consider developmental stage, around 2-3 months of age, infant begins to roll over, extreme caution must be taken the baby is on the changing table, consider the following important safety tips, place infant, proper car seat in every car ride, no matter how short the distance, a car seat that faces backwards, infant is at least a year of age, longer, a forward facing car seat, used safely, safest place, the infant's car seat, in the back right passenger seat, vitally important, the driver to pay attention to driving, not playing, the infant, an infant needs assistance, safely pull the car over, shoulder, park, prior to trying to help the infant, not leave an infant alone, siblings, pets, older siblings, seldom prepared to handle the potential emergency situations, arise, pets, gentle, loving, react unexpectedly to an infant's cries, grabs, smother an infant by lying too closely, not leave an infant unattended on a surface from which the child, wiggle, roll over, fall off, use gates on stairways, to block off rooms, not "child proof", -remember, infants, learn to crawl, scoot, 6 months, not drink, carry hot holding the infant, to avoid burning the infant, infants begin waving arms, grabbing, objects at 3 to 5 months, not allow older infants to crawl, walk around, in the kitchen adults, older siblings, cooking, kitchen, blocked off, a gate, infant placed, playpen, highchair, crib others cook, never leave small objects, an infant's reach, infants explore environment by placing everything they, get hands on, mouth, know how to handle a choking emergency in an infant by taking a certified course, the american heart association, american red cross, a local hospital, aware of potential poisons, household cleaners, cosmetics, medications, plants, home, keep them stored up, the infant's reach, use drawer, cupboard safety latches, know the number, keep it posted near the phone, local poison control center, bottle of syrup of ipecac available, in home in case accidental poisoning occurs, remember to call poison control, use ipecac only, directed to, so by the poison control representative, the first 5 months of life, always place infant on back to go to sleep, position has been shown to reduce the risk of sids, sudden infant death syndrome, once a baby, roll over by himself, risk of sids is greatly reduced by the maturation, the nervous system, infant, does not look good, looks different from normal state, the infant is not consolable by holding, rocking, cuddling, infant's growth, does not appear normal, infant seems to be "losing" developmental milestones, 9 month old was able to pull to standing, at 12 months is no longer able to sit unsupported, concerned at any time.