Fortunately, cats are fairly adaptable. While they may not like changes, they are generally able to make the transition smoothly as long as they still feel secure, safe, and attended to.

One of the first things you should do several months before the baby comes home is set up as much of the baby furniture as you can. That way, you can begin to establish which areas are off limits to the cat long before the baby arrives. Otherwise, the changing table, crib and bassinette are going to look like a great new place for Fluffy to catch a catnap.

There are several ways to train cats to stay out of certain areas. If you don’t want to use the old fashioned spray bottle, you can place several strips of Scotch tape, sticky side up, in the crib, bassinette, and other “baby areas” where you don’t want the cat to be. It only takes a few times for the cat to figure out that he isn’t welcome in those places.

Another thing you need to do for your cat before baby comes home is to establish a safe place for him to eat and sleep. This should preferably be high enough off the ground that your little one won’t be able to reach it when she starts crawling and walking. Admittedly, this won’t happen until several months after baby is born, but you want the cat’s “secure place” to be established long before baby becomes mobile-preferably before you even bring baby home. Start putting your cat’s food, water, and toys someplace the baby won’t be able to reach.

Of course, it’s better if you have someone else change the cat’s litter while you are pregnant. And you’ll want to make sure the litter box is placed somewhere that the baby won’t be able to reach. It’s also recommended that you take your cat to the vet and make sure his vaccinations are up to date. This is also a good time to consider declawing your cat if you haven’t done so already.

When you bring the baby home, let the cat introduce itself. Sit somewhere comfortable with the baby and call the cat to you. If the cat is hesitant, don’t force the issue. It may take several hours, or even days before your cat warms up to the idea of a new baby, but given time, your cat will come over and examine the new arrival. When he does, reward good behavior with a treat. Even if the cat doesn’t warm up to baby right away, make sure you give him some attention, too.

Newborn babies’ tummies are only large enough to hold enough breast milk or formula to keep to keep them satisfied for a short time. When babies wake up, they should be fed. Suckling comes naturally to babies, and they should not need much encouragement to start feeding, whether they are breast or bottle fed.

If a baby hasn’t eaten in four hours and resists feeding, it’s usually because baby is either sick or isn’t getting any milk when she tries to feed. In either case, it’s a good idea to get your pediatrician on the phone and start asking about how long you should wait before bringing your baby in.

If baby is not interested in eating, check her temperature. If she is running a fever over 100 degrees, call your pediatrician and take her in. Many times a lack of appetite is caused by an infection in baby’s body. Like adults, babies often don’t feel like eating when they feel sick. Unlike adults, however, babies cannot go long without eating before developing more serious problems.

Generally missing one feeding is not cause for major alarm. If, however, your baby refuses more than one of her normal feedings, you will want to take her in to see the doctor. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your baby’s health.

Sometimes breastfed babies will “refuse” to eat simply because they aren’t getting anything when they try to suckle. Most of the time, this problem can be fixed with a few changes in the way you approach breastfeeding. Your pediatrician should be able to suggest the changes you need to make. She may also recommend a lactation consultant or coach.

Don’t be discouraged if you experience problems breastfeeding your baby. You’re not alone by any means. Most breastfeeding problems are relatively easy to solve, and you will find that your baby is happy to latch on and eat when she starts getting the milk she is looking for.

What many people aren’t aware of, however, are the many health benefits breastfeeding offers you, as the mother. In addition to the knowledge that you are making the best possible decision for your baby, breastfeeding is known to offer the following health benefits to you:

• Breastfeeding can help you lose weight more quickly. The very process of lactation consumes 500 calories per day. To burn that many calories by exercise, you would need to jog for an hour or walk for over 2 hours.
• Breastfeeding helps delay the onset of ovulation, which can help you put more space between your children naturally.
• Breastfeeding women have only 25% of the incidences of osteoporosis than women who have never breastfed a baby.
• Breastfeeding women are considerably less likely to suffer bone fractures later in life than those who have never breast fed.
• Breast feeding reduces the risk of certain cancers, particularly ovarian, uterine and breast cancer.
• Breast feeding saves you a considerable amount of money. When you add the cost of formula, bottles, and other associated accessories, it can add up to a pretty penny. By feeding your baby the way nature intended, you save yourself all of these costs.
• Breastfeeding women are less likely to deal with postpartum depression or the “baby blues.” Although breastfeeding does not guarantee that you will not experience some post partum depression, it significantly reduces the chances.
• Breast feeding can increase your sense of bonding with your baby. There is nothing more intimate than a mother feeding her child.
• Breast feeding mothers are less likely to deal with anemia. Studies have shown that the longer you breastfeed your baby, the more you will benefit from the iron your body produces.

Clearly, there are as many benefits of breastfeeding for you as there are for your baby. When you think about it, it makes it a pretty easy choice. While there is no shame in formula feeding if your circumstances dictate that you have to, it’s much healthier for you and your baby to breast feed.

Oral defensiveness generally shows itself with a baby’s refusal to take the breast or bottle, and an aversion to having anything else in her mouth. It is believed that the reason many babies (especially those who have been treated with ventilators or Naso-gastric tubes) develop oral defensiveness is because they experience a sensation like choking when anything is placed inside their mouths.

If your baby shows signs of oral defensiveness, or refuses to take anything into her mouth for an extended period of time, missing more than one feeding, consult your doctor. There are several therapies she may suggest to help your baby start eating properly again.

One thing you can try yourself if your baby is refusing to take the bottle or the breast is to simply hold your baby close, preferably with skin to skin contact, and offer the breast or bottle. Don’t force the issue; the last thing you want to do is to compound the problem by making feeding more unpleasant for your baby than it already is. In most cases, your baby’s hunger will overcome her hesitance to put anything in her mouth and she will eat. When she does, do whatever you can to make it a pleasant experience for her.

When you do consult your doctor, she might recommend a feeding therapist. In most cases, these therapists will work with you and your baby to help your baby realize that the bottle or breast is not something to be afraid of, but something to receive nourishment from.

One of the things babies and toddlers with oral defensiveness often do is spit milk or formula out or vomit rather than swallowing. A therapist will work with you and your baby to help her figure out that if she swallows, she won’t have the unpleasant feelings she is experiencing from having something in her mouth. The goal is to help baby start to view oral feeding as pleasant again. In most cases, it doesn’t take long before your baby will gradually start feeding for longer periods of time again.

As early as three months old, you should be able to start training your baby to sleep at night. This doesn’t mean that she’ll sleep through the night right away, of course. Frankly, her tummy isn’t developed enough to sleep for more than four hours at a stretch until she’s at least 4-5 months old.

Still, you can start the process at about three months old. Training your child to sleep at night basically boils down to helping her want to sleep at night. You may think that’s easier said than done, but it really isn’t in most cases. The real trick is to make night time as uninteresting as possible, while making daytime fun and exciting for baby.

When your baby is first born, she really doesn’t have much interest in anything beyond eating and sleeping. When she’s hungry or otherwise uncomfortable, she’ll cry, but other than that she really doesn’t interact much with the world around her. As she gets older, she becomes more aware of her surroundings.

By the time baby is three to four months old, she will begin to show some interest in what’s going on around her. When she wakes up to eat, she will want to check out her surroundings. If they are interesting and stimulate her, she’s not going to want to go back to sleep.

Your best bet for night time feedings is to put a rocking chair in a dark or dimly lit place where there aren’t many distractions. Feed baby in the dark if you can do so confidently, or keep the lights dim if you find that you need some light. If you don’t have a dimmer switch on your lights, consider using a night light or some other dim light source.

Limit your interactions with baby at night time to feeding her, burping her, and soothing her. Don’t interact with her in any way that might suggest that this is a good time to be awake. This isn’t a good time to play with baby. Save that for the daytime. Even if baby shows that she wants to play, hold her gently, rock her, and otherwise soothe her. She will eventually fall back to sleep most of the time.

By contrast, make sure that baby has plenty of your attention and interaction during the daytime. When she wakes up from a nap and the sun is shining, take some time to play with her after she has eaten. Before long, your baby will associate daytime and light with time to be awake and have fun, and night time with time to relax and go to sleep.

When baby first comes home, this can include a few minutes of tummy time. When it is safe to do so (usually 6 weeks after baby is born), you should start exercising yourself. Children learn a great deal by watching their parents, and if baby sees you exercising, she is more likely to develop a positive attitude towards exercising herself.

During tummy time, lay your baby on her stomach on the floor. This should be done when baby is awake, of course. Never lay a baby down to sleep on her stomach, as this has been shown to contribute to the risk of SIDS. Ideally, you should lie down on the floor with your baby. Typically, babies will kick, move their arms and try to raise their heads when they are on their tummies. All of these things help baby to develop muscles.

From the time baby is about one month old, you can help her exercise by laying her on the floor on her back and offering your fingers to her. Most babies at that age will grip your finger in their hands. When baby has a good grip, lift your hands to flex her arm muscles. Make sure that you don’t actually life baby off the floor, but bring her arms up as high as you can without picking her up.

Another exercise you can do with baby, starting at three or four months is the “bicycle” This is similar to the adult exercise. You lay baby on her back, grasp an ankle in each hand and gently push and pull her legs in a round motion, similar to pedaling a bicycle. When you’re done, baby will typically continue kicking her feet. Encourage her to continue doing so, as this helps build muscles she will need later for crawling.

When baby is 5 months old, you can lay her on her back and encourage her to grip your fingers like you did when she was an infant. Now, however, you can pull her all the way up to a sitting position. Make sure baby has a good grip on your fingers, though. Alternately, you could hold her wrists.

As baby starts crawling, and later walking, make sure that you have plenty of space for her to explore. Try to give them plenty of clean floor space to move around on and let them go. Most babies of that age will get plenty of exercise if given the opportunity to explore their surroundings.

You will receive advice about everything from what kind of baby supplies to buy, how to discipline your child (as if a baby could understand discipline anyway), how to handle night time parenting, and any number of other aspects of taking care of your baby. Much of the advice you receive will be contradictory, even when experts are giving it.

Of course, there are some things which are widely accepted. The vast majority of experts agree that breastfeeding is best for your baby if you are able to do so, especially during her first six months. It is almost universally agreed that you should lay your baby to sleep on her back to prevent SIDS. Your baby’s pediatrician will have the latest information on what is believed to be best for your baby, and she will usually be right. You should always follow your doctor’s advice.

The Internet can be a great place to get parenting advice, but be careful what sources you use. If something sounds really unusual, ask your pediatrician before trying it. Whether you seek parenting advice on the Internet, in books, or anywhere else, your best bet is to get as much advice as you can. Usually when several sources are giving the same advice, there’s a reason for it. Often that reason is because the advice works.

One thing you’ll want to remember (and possibly gently remind others) when people are giving you advice about how to take care of your baby is that she is your baby. Trust your instincts when it comes to incorporating other people’s advice, and ignore advice that doesn’t work for you, unless it comes from a qualified medical professional.

On the other hand, remember that most people who give advice are only trying to helpful. Even if you don’t want the advice, you’re generally better off staying pleasant, especially if the one giving advice is someone you’ll have to live with for a while(like a mother in law).

One of the best ways to give yourself some exercise while also providing a great experience for your baby is taking your baby for a walk. The exercise is great for you, and the fresh air is good for both of you.

One of the first things you should do, preferably before you actually have the baby, is choose a good stroller that is comfortable for you. There are many different kinds of strollers, and They’re not exactly one size fits all. Things you should consider when choosing a stroller include where you will be using it (on a sidewalk? In the mall?) and how well it fits your height.

Small umbrella style strollers are great because they store away easily and don’t take up much space. But unless you’re on the shorter side, you don’t want to bend over and push them for any significant amount of time.

Your best bet is to find a stroller with adjustable handles so that you can set them at a comfortable angle. Ideally, you should be able to stand up straight while you are pushing baby’s stroller, rather than having to stoop down or hunch your shoulders.

If you are planning on using your stroller on the sidewalk, it’s best to use a walking or jogging stroller. These strollers are typically larger and have three wheels which resemble bicycle tires. The larger tires allows you to push the stroller over uneven surfaces better without jostling yourself or the baby.

Of course, even with a jogging stroller, you should try to keep to relatively level surfaces. Too much bouncing around isn’t good for you or the baby, especially when you are first starting out and baby is only two or three months old. Try to find a smooth sidewalk. If the sidewalks in your neighborhood aren’t well kept, consider driving to a park and walking there.

One of the nicest things about taking baby for a walk is that it is an activity which can be enjoyed by the whole family. Mom and dad can take turns pushing the stroller. Older kids might even enjoy taking a turn at taking baby for a walk. If you have another toddler, you can always put him in a double stroller with your baby. Or, if you prefer, your older child can walk along with you.

Here are the various stages of motor skill development in the first year:

• Newborn. A newborn’s movements are mostly reflexive. Sucking and rooting reflexes, for example, help your baby to breastfeed. During this time, your baby may start a grasping reflex, in which she grabs at an object placed in her hand. The startle reflex is evident at the newborn stage. Your baby will also probably experience the “tonic neck” reflex – where your baby turns her head one direction, and the arm on that side straightens while the arm on the other side of her body bends.
• One to three months. This stage of motor skill development in the first year is characterized by your baby getting some control of her motor skills. She will probably roll over, lift her head up when lying on her belly, and maybe even prop herself up on her arms. She’ll kick her legs in preparation for crawling, too.
• Four to seven months. During this stage, your baby will begin to roll over. He’ll reach out for objects and grab them. He may begin the skill of passing an object from one hand to the other. Many babies will crawl during this stage. He’ll likely be able to stand, as well.
• Eight to twelve months. This is the end stage of motor skill development in the first year. During this time, your baby will be able to get up onto all fours. He will probably sit up, stand, bounce and crawl. Many babies will also walk at this stage.

Of course, every baby’s stages of motor skill development in the first year will vary. Talk to your health care provider if you’re concerned that your baby is not developing at the pace you think she should.

Perhaps the best thing you can do to get rid of diaper rash is to switch to cloth diapers. While cloth diapers have somewhat of a stigma for being inconvenient, there have been changes made which make them nearly as convenient as disposables for most people. More importantly, babies in cloth diapers are significantly less likely to contract a diaper rash.

Studies have shown that babies in disposable diapers are a full seven times more likely to get diaper rash than those in cotton diapers. The reason, quite simply, is that the cotton cloth is more breathable than plastic diapers.

If you do choose to use disposable diapers, consider using the paper based kind instead of plastic diapers. While these don’t breathe as well as cotton cloth diapers, they are significantly better than plastic disposables and are less likely to cause diaper rash.

Regardless of what kind of diapers you use, make sure you are changing your baby often. Ordinarily, you should change a diaper every 3 hours, or every time your baby has a bowel movement, but when your baby has diaper rash you will want to change her more often.

Many disposable diapers advertise that they are able to hold more moisture without leaking. This is fine, but it’s still not a good idea to leave a baby in a wet diaper. Babies who wear a diaper for too long after wetting often contract diaper rash. On top of that, it just isn’t sanitary. Once you’re aware that your baby has peed or pooped in her diaper, go ahead and change her. Yes, it will cost you more in diapers, but your baby will be less likely to get a diaper rash.

If your baby does get a diaper rash, use a diaper rash ointment with zinc oxide. This will soothe her skin and help get rid of the rash at the same time. You also might consider letting baby lie naked for a little while between diaper changer so her bottom can air out.