Babies grow and develop at different rates

Babies are beautiful blessings and each one of them are unique and individual. To tell parents what their babies should be doing at each stage, to me, is only suggestive. They are nothing more than guidelines of what the average baby does at each stage. Unfortunately these guidelines stress new parents out because their baby may appear to be below average.

I recently gave birth to a beautiful girl, who is now 5 months old. She is growing and developing quite rapidly. I have bought numerous child rearing books that I have found very interesting however, I do not swear by any of these books. I take the good ideas that they give and try to implement them. The best advice that I have received so far is to listen and watch your baby. It is amazing how quickly you can begin to read your child and know what the problem is when they are fussy.

This advice is very helpful when playing with your child and trying to stimulate them. My daughter is very active and loves to play, but she will always let me know when she has had enough. She has a different type of cry when she is getting tired and as long as you listen to how they are reacting, your child will develop very quickly.

Stimulating your child is essential to their development. If you let your child sleep all the time, or if they are inactive all the time, of course they are going to develop slower than a child that is being stimulated.

Of course what I am saying is only a helpful suggestion. All babies are different and are therefore going to react differently to each situation. I am a very low stress mother and am very fortunate to be able to stay home with my daughter. I try to help her develop at every waking moment. Helping a child to develop also means just spending time with them. Interacting normally with a child also helps them develop skills. We don’t have a lot of high tech toys, because I believe that the interaction between parent and child is of the utmost importance especially in the first few months of life.

When a child feels safe and loved they will also respond to that and venture out more because they have the confidence early on to do so. Babies are very adventurous and curious by nature so letting them explore is the ultimate key to a child’s development.

Keep in mind with all the helpful suggestions that friends, family and baby books have,but ultimately no one knows your child like you. So in the end let common sense prevail and you will have a happy baby that develops at their own pace