WHAT SHOULD SHE EAT?

Sometimes a mother might not know just when to progress to the next level of food- but it is always wise to offer your baby foods of the next level in small proportions. So for instance, if she is eating mashed, pureed food without problems, then it is time to introduce coarser foods, or foods that are slightly lumpier.

If your baby gags or chokes on her food once in a while, do not get alarmed. She does this because she is learning to swallow, and gags as a normal way to protect herself. Some babies have an over-sensitive gag reflex and may choke easily. But still, if your baby continues to gag often, you could do with consulting your pediatrician. There could be a problem.

You can now start looking at thirst quenchers apart from water, which you can give your baby. Consider these options:
 

• Fruit pieces- contain a lot of water, almost as much as 85%.
• Juice- contains a lot of sugar
• Soda- high in sugar and caffeine.

Soda is not a good option at all, but you can think of giving her fruits and juice. Ask your doctor for other fluid options, apart from breast milk and formula milk, that you will still have to continue, at-least till your baby reaches 1 year.

WHAT WILL SHE DO AT THIS TIME?

At 45 weeks, your baby is cruising along all house furniture like a battle ship! She is moving all over the place, crawling into corners and getting stuck in the process!

She will also keep falling down more often. Minor accidents are the order of the day, but if you keep calm, so will she. For all you know, if you give her a big laugh when she falls or laugh loudly as if it were a joke, she might just repeat the fall to hear you laugh again!

WHAT YOU COULD HELP HER DO!

Your baby’s cognitive skills are really getting sharp now. She can follow simple commands now, like “ get your teddy bear”.  But if you add too many words to the command, like “get your teddy bear and your car”, then it could confuse her. Encourage her with a lot of words, keep calling out the names of common objects . Also help her to identify the various parts of the body now, most babies love calling out the parts of the body. Use the play way method to teach her concepts such as up, down, in, out, etc. Listen to her gurgles as well. She has her own language formed in which she chooses to converse with you. Her language will not be perfect now. It will take her years to perfect the syllables and sounds of languages. Never get into denial mode if she is unable to pronounce certain words. Do not expect her to repeat a word just as it is.

WHAT ABOUT HER SLEEP?

Both you and your baby could benefit from establishing a bedtime schedule, which might include:

• A nice warm bath
• A warm oil massage
• A good meal or feed
• A soothing lullaby
• Reading a favorite bedtime story
• Playing a gentle game
   


Try to follow the same routine at the same time every night. This will get your baby into the habit of being able to fall off to sleep easily.

WHAT SHE WILL WEIGH

She should be steadily increasing her weight, adding some grams every week. Babies grow in spurts, so if she does not gain weight for some time, it is alright. Only if she is looking out of sorts or listless, or keeps crying for no reason, should you really worry. Ask your doctor if you feel something is wrong.

Her weight should be touching the 11 kg mark or over by now.

Calculate Your Kids Weight ?