What to Expect: the First Year by Heidi Murkoff & Sharon Mazel

Author:Heidi Murkoff & Sharon Mazel [Murkoff, Heidi and Mazel, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

iBaby

Has your smartphone already become your baby’s toy of choice? Does she coo over YouTube – or babble up a storm in answer to the talking heads on TV? Does he giggle with glee when a swipe of your iPad makes images flash and icons dance? In a world where a handheld is hardly ever out of arm’s reach, it’s hard to keep your little one from becoming wired by wireless. But is all of that exposure to electronic media good for your tiny techie? Check out the answers here.

The high-intensity baby. You probably noticed it right at the beginning – your baby outcried every other newborn in the hospital ward. Her louder-than-average crying, the kind that can frazzle even the steadiest nerves, played on a loop when you got home . . . and hasn’t stopped. You can’t flip a switch and turn down the volume on your baby, of course, but turning down the volume of noise and activity in the environment may help tone your little one down a bit. Also, you will want to take some purely practical measures to keep the noise from bothering family and neighbours. If possible, soundproof your baby’s room by insulating the walls with insulating board or padding, adding carpeting, curtains and anything else that will absorb the sound. You can try earplugs, a white-noise machine or a fan or air conditioner to reduce the wear and tear on your ears and nerves without totally blocking out your baby’s cries. As the amount of crying your baby does lessens in the months ahead, so will this problem, but your little one will probably always be louder and more intense than most.

The negative or ‘unhappy’ baby. Instead of being all smiles and coos and dimpled joy, some babies just seem serious all the time, even grumpy. This is no reflection on a baby’s parents or their parenting skills (unless, of course, depression or other issues in the home are leaving the baby emotionally or physically neglected), but it can have a profound impact on them. They may find it difficult to bond with their unhappy baby, and may even stop trying.

If nothing seems to make your baby happy, check with the doctor to rule out any medical explanation. Then do your best (and it won’t always be easy) to be loving, caring, nurturing and, particularly, happy around your baby, secure in the knowledge that the grumpiness is just his or her temperament at work. Chances are that as your baby learns other ways of self-expression (besides crying), the general unhappiness will diminish, though he or she may always be the ‘serious’ type.

In the meantime, you may find it helpful to seek support and coping strategies from other parents who have a chronically unhappy baby, as well as to turn to the doctor for help (and possibly, to a developmental paediatrician or an early childhood behavioural specialist).

Before you decide that your baby is definitely one of the challenging ones, consider whether the extra

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