Your Baby Week 14
Can you believe that your little one has already begun his fourth month of life? He is probably babbling and talking to you with long open vowel sounds, like ahhh or ooooh. He may also be strong enough to do a teeny, tiny push-up that lifts his chest up off the floor even if only for a few seconds.
You may also notice that he has begun to notice when you are gone and he may even cry when you leave the room or are out of sight. And his smile may be becoming bigger and better every day!
Mr. or Miss Wiggles...
As your infant grows stronger and stronger each day, you may find it increasingly difficult to keep them still during diaper changes. Some changing tables have straps, which are great for keeping your little one safe, but if you don’t have this option, it’s best to get down on the floor or place them on the center of large surface, like your bed, for a wiggly, but safe diaper change. Remember, as your baby gets stronger and wigglier, it's extremely important not to leave them alone, even for a second, when they are on a changing table or any other raised surface!
Choosing Safe Toys
Now that your baby is most likely shoving anything and everything into his mouth, it’s important that the toys you give him are safe. Below you will find some tips on selecting safe toys for your infant.
- Adhere to age guidelines. If a toy says three and up, steer clear until they are older.
- Be aware of safety recalls. The website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has information on infant toy recalls at http://www.cpsc.gov.
- Check for choking hazards. Button size plastic eyes on stuffed animals and other small parts can be deadly. A good rule-of-thumb…if any part of the toy is small enough to fit inside a toilet paper tube, then it is too small for your infant to play with.
- Be wary of sharp corners!
General Safety Tips
Now that your baby is getting closer to crawling, have you...
- put medicines out of reach?
- locked all cabinets with cleaning products?
- put together a first-aid kit?
- put non-slip pads under your rugs?
- put plastic plugs in all your sockets?
- secured any trailing electrical cords that your baby could become caught in?
- removed all tablecloths that your child could eventually reach and pull on?
- purchased safety gates for the tops and bottoms of your stairs?
