A GP or health visitor will discuss your baby's vaccinations with you. These are offered at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks and 12 months old, and before your child starts school.

As you introduce your baby to simple, short words like "cup" and "ball," hold up the object to show that it's related to your speech. Read colorful picture books to your baby. Point to the pictures, and name simple objects to reinforce their early speech development and model the importance of language and reading. Practice using short words and then pausing. This will allow your baby to respond with their own baby talk and encourage the give-and-take interaction that's needed for adult conversation. Our specialist maternity day assessment units are for women who require additional care, monitoring and treatment during their pregnancy and after birth. Your baby will also have a hearing test soon after birth. If you have your baby in hospital, this may happen before you leave. Otherwise, it will be done some time in the first few weeks in your home, at an outpatient clinic, or at your local health centre. Some women may need extra support with a particular issue such as breastfeeding. Women may also want information or support about any problems that their babies have. Remember when an issue is raised the first thing you should do is find out how much the woman already knows and what she is already doing – many times she is doing the right things and just needs reassurance. If there are problems which she identifies, follow the counselling procedures you have been practising to help her identify possible solutions. Together with her, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of solutions and put together a plan of action that she feels she is able to carry out. Right from the start, baby talk should be a two-way street. By imitating your baby, you'll send an important message: what they are feeling and trying to communicate matters to you.Parents and carers have the right to be involved in planning and making decisions about their baby's health and care, and to be given information and support to enable them to do this, as set out in the NHS Constitution and summarised in NICE's information on making decisions about your care. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Practice Bulletin No. 145. Antepartum fetal surveillance. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;124:182-92. doi:10.1097/01.AOG.0000451759.90082.7b Before baby arrives, you should discuss whether or not you will be returning to work after your maternity leave is over. You’re going to want to look at your projected spending and weigh that against your savings, along with all other sources of income besides your own. Wash bottles thoroughly with soap and water. Then, disinfect the bottles and equipment used to make formula. To learn how to wash and disinfect, see HealthLinkBC File #69b Feeding Your Baby Formula: Safely Making and Storing Formula.

Parents may give their baby infant formula for a variety of reasons. Store-bought infant formula made from cow’s milk is recommended for most formula fed babies. Offer infant formula until your baby is 9 to 12 months of age. Antibiotic-impregnated intravascular catheters for reducing the risk of late-onset neonatal infection Growth spurts are also common at both the 2- and 4-month stages, which may cause your baby to eat more than normal. While every baby is different, it’s important to keep this in mind and to follow their hunger cues.

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Fact: Babies form a secure attachment with only one person – the person who spends the most time caring for them. However, they can bond or connect in a loving way with all those people who take care of them. However, cluster feeding may also continue during this time. During periods of cluster feeding, feeding sessions may become shorter and more frequent, and they may also become irregular. Without proper rest, a baby cannot be calm and alert and ready to engage with you. Babies sleep a lot (often 16-18 hours a day in the first few months), and their sleep signals will come more often than you might expect. Often, babies who are overtired can act hyper-alert and move frenetically. You might mistake this energy for an invitation to engage, but really, it is your baby's way of saying that naptime should have been 30 minutes ago. Related: Unhappy In Marriage After Baby? 11 Things You Can Try to Fix It 6. Cleaning & Babyproofing Your Home