Feeding
Cluster feeding at nine in the evening, seen from the sofa
Long stretches of near-continuous evening feeding are common in the early weeks and almost nobody describes them in advance. They…
Nitesh Kujur
Contributing writer, My John Baby
Nitesh writes about development and why milestone charts are ranges.
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10 articles
Growing & Milestones
Milestone ages are ranges, and the ranges are far wider than they look
Almost every age quoted for a first-year skill is the middle of a broad distribution. The width of that distribution is the most…
Feeding
Winding is mostly position and patience, not technique
Every relative has a method and each is offered as the definitive one. What actually varies between babies is how much winding they…
Feeding
Growth spurts get blamed for a great many difficult feeding weeks
The phrase is used to explain any week where a baby feeds more than usual. It is a reasonable shorthand and a much shakier…
Feeding
The first spoonfuls are practice, not nutrition
Early solid food is a skill-learning exercise rather than a meal. Almost every frustration in the first month of weaning comes from…
Growing & Milestones
Tummy time is a slow build measured in seconds at first
Nearly every new parent is told to do tummy time and very few are told how briefly it starts. Expecting minutes on day one is why…
Growing & Milestones
Rolling over arrives without notice, usually somewhere inconvenient
The first roll is rarely observed by anyone. It happens on a changing table, a bed or a sofa, which is why the safety habit has to…
Growing & Milestones
Hand control develops outwards from the shoulder
Babies do not learn to use their hands all at once. Control spreads from the trunk outwards, which explains almost everything about…
Growing & Milestones
Some babies never crawl, and it does not mean anything
Crawling is treated as a required stage and is not one. A meaningful proportion of babies get about some other way and go straight…
Growing & Milestones
Stranger wariness turns up around the time a baby learns faces
A baby who smiled at everyone suddenly objects to your neighbour. It is a developmental step that arrives on its own schedule and…