Wednesday, February 16, 2011

16 weeks

 Noah seems like he is itching to crawl (or walk)... he loves picking his head up and kicking and pushing his legs around
Here is what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;
Researchers believe that your baby can now understand all the basic sounds that make up his native language. Between this time and 6 months of age, your baby will develop the ability to make some vocal sounds, which means you may hear the words you've been dreaming about, namely "ma-ma" or "da-da." While child development experts say it's too early for your baby to connect those sounds with you and your partner, that won't make hearing them any less exciting. You can encourage your baby's attempts at communication by mirroring or imitating his expressions and sounds. He may try to imitate you now, too. Say "baa" and he may try to say it back. Reacting when your baby makes noises or tries to say something will help your baby learn the importance of language. It'll also help him better understand cause and effect. It's great for his self-esteem, too. He'll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference. Expand on what your baby says and try to give it meaning. For example, you can say, "Yes, that is a ball!" Soon, his "ba" will become "ball."

For the first four to six months of life, your baby gets all the nutrients he needs from breast milk or formula. Still, parents are often eager to start their babies on solid food. It's true that your baby's digestive tract is more developed now and his tongue-thrust reflex is starting to fade, so it seems a logical time to start feeding him some solids, such as pureed baby food or cereal. But there are good reasons to wait, too. Starting solids later may cut down on possible allergic reactions, and ensures that breast milk or formula won't get crowded out of your baby's diet. And if you're hoping that eating solids will help your baby sleep through the night, studies have shown that you can't count on that happening. The debate over when to start solids continues. If you're unsure about when to introduce them to your baby, talk to his doctor.

Noah's new favorite activity is hanging out in his jump seat

Each week Noah continues to get more "grabby" and reach for and grasp more items.  He's also starting to move those items directly to his mouth to suck/ chew on.  He loves to flap his left arm up and down, and frequently hits himself in the head while doing it, sometimes with whatever rattle he's holding while flapping his arm around.  He is now big enough to enjoy his jump seat and loves standing in it.  When I read books to him he loves to bat at them and slap them with his hands.  Now that we've had some nice weather we have had a chance to break in the jogging stroller that we got for him and take him on some jogs and walks around the park.  He loves being outdoors.


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