Lifespan
At 0 months:
ARDA sleeps virtually all of the time, only waking when hungry, cold, or wet. He usually drifts back to sleep toward the end of the feeding.
You talk quietly to ARDA during the feeding, making sure ARDA sees your face a great deal of the time.
You try to wake ARDA up for some parent-baby interaction time. You dance gently around with him in your arms, and talk or sing out loud.
You figure that ARDA needs the sleeping time for brain development so you don't disturb him.
A
At 0 months:
After only a week with ARDA, you can already feel a hormonal connection. When ARDA cries, you begin to lactate!This will increase if you choose to breast feed, but it will die off gradually if you do not.
You want ARDA to be active and curious about his environment, so you:
deck out ARDA's crib with the latest baby gear, including black and white mobiles, rattles, etc.
talk to, hold and interact with ARDA whenever he seems interested. You figure you are the most interesting and complex "toy" in his environment.
give ARDA a lot of audio stimulation, including talking to him, singing to him, and listening to music.
B
At 0 months:
Will you breast feed ARDA?
Yes, ARDA will only be breast fed.
Yes, but we will supplement with formula.
No, we do not feel it is necessary.
A
At 0 months:
ARDA took to the bottle/breast within the first day or so, and was feeding heartily within the first week. He has been gaining weight a little ahead of the normal charts.
You are worried about ARDA building up too many fat cells, so you schedule the meals and measure the amount he has, making sure it is consistent from day to day.
You let ARDA's hunger be your guide, and feed him on demand and until he is satisfied each time.
You are pleased by this progress, and try to establish six regular feeding times each day. You try to achieve this by delaying meals or speeding things up a bit to hit closer to the target times.
A
At 3 months:
You notice that
ARDA sleeps virtually all of the time, only waking when hungry, cold, or wet. He usually drifts back to sleep toward the end of the feeding.
You talk quietly to ARDA during the feeding, making sure ARDA sees your face a great deal of the time.
You try to wake ARDA up for some parent-baby interaction time. You dance gently around with him in your arms, and talk or sing out loud.
You figure that ARDA needs the sleeping time for brain development so you don't disturb him.
A
At 0 months:
After only a week with ARDA, you can already feel a hormonal connection. When ARDA cries, you begin to lactate!This will increase if you choose to breast feed, but it will die off gradually if you do not.
You want ARDA to be active and curious about his environment, so you:
deck out ARDA's crib with the latest baby gear, including black and white mobiles, rattles, etc.
talk to, hold and interact with ARDA whenever he seems interested. You figure you are the most interesting and complex "toy" in his environment.
give ARDA a lot of audio stimulation, including talking to him, singing to him, and listening to music.
B
At 0 months:
Will you breast feed ARDA?
Yes, ARDA will only be breast fed.
Yes, but we will supplement with formula.
No, we do not feel it is necessary.
A
At 0 months:
ARDA took to the bottle/breast within the first day or so, and was feeding heartily within the first week. He has been gaining weight a little ahead of the normal charts.
You are worried about ARDA building up too many fat cells, so you schedule the meals and measure the amount he has, making sure it is consistent from day to day.
You let ARDA's hunger be your guide, and feed him on demand and until he is satisfied each time.
You are pleased by this progress, and try to establish six regular feeding times each day. You try to achieve this by delaying meals or speeding things up a bit to hit closer to the target times.
A
At 3 months:
You notice that