Lesson 4: Younger Infants - Birth to 8 months
Attention
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to
- Demonstrate knowledge of the developmental milestones of young infants.
- Demonstrate knowledge of interactions with young infants.
- Demonstrate knowledge and explain feeding guidance for young infants.
- Explain the importance of sleep for young infants.
Teaching
Developmental Milestones
Children grow rapidly in their first year of life. Newborns first learn how to suck, swallow, cough, gag, etc and by the end of eight months, they may be crawling around everywhere, drink from a cup with assistance, and uttering a possible first word. Think about what just eight months looks like for you. What were you doing on this day exactly eight months ago? How much have you grown physically, cognitively and socially? How does this compare to all of the progress an infant makes? To break down the year into more specifics for these infants, check out the Developmental Milestones: Birth to 12 Months and focus on birth to 8 months.
Interactions
During this time it is crucial to engage infants by smiling at them, talking to them, and exposing them to the world around them. A lot of times, caregivers miss opportunities to scaffold infant growth because they are attending to the baby's basic interests and needs without consideration for interactions. Infants are learning every second of the day and making hundreds of neural connections. What you do during routine care for infant's matters! For more information, read How to Play with Babies.
Feeding
You may have often heard "breast is best" when it comes to newborns and what they should be eating. There is significant research to support that breastmilk is best suited to provide for an infant's nutritional needs, (with exclusion of some specific medical complications). However, there is nothing wrong with choosing to feed your infant formula. Our job as educators is to promote healthy attachments between the parent and child and create a safe nurturing environment for the infant. Regardless of what the family chooses, we should respect their choice and follow suit. (unless of course the infant is eating steak). The USDA Feeding Infants Guide is a 105 page document that helps caregivers provides best practice for feeding infants. If there is ever a doubt, consulting this resource is your best option. It covers everything from how to prepare a bottle, what and when to feed solids, choking and allergy precautions and sanitary guidelines.
Sleeping
Sleeping is always a topic of interest for families. They may be scared to put their child on their back for fear of them chocking. Or maybe they want their baby to sleep with their favorite blanky or bottle of formula. Sometimes they follow their own mother's advice and you may hear older generations say, "Well when I was a mother, I put my baby to sleep on their stomach and they are fine." Well – to that I answer that research is clear that the amount of SIDS related deaths have dramatically decreased since the Back to Sleep Campaign started in 1994. To learn more read About SIDS and Safe Infant Sleep.
The amount of sleep and routine of sleep are more hot topics. For newborns (0-3 months) 14-17 hours of sleep are needed within 24 hours. For infants (4-11 months) 12-15 hours of sleep are needed within 24 hours. Sleep is crucial to healthy brain development, it effects cognitive growth, moods and physical growth. For more information read the sections about newborn and infant sleep on the Sleep Foundation website.
Assessment
Lesson 4 Quiz
In using the resources in the teaching section as well as the Maine Infant and Toddler Guidelines and pages 53-60 in Developmentally Appropriate Practice, answer the following questions as it relates to developmental milestones, interactions, feeding and sleeping for young infants. Multiple choice and True/False questions are worth 5 points each. Two short answer questions are worth 10 each.
1. Young Infants seek:
a. Exploration
b. Security
c. Identity
d. All of the above
2. Babies learn best:
a. When they are alert and calm
b. Through repetition of actions
c. When they feel safe and secure
d. All of the above
3. True or False. Providing too much environmental stimulation (toys, music, colors, books etc.) can result in excessive stress and hinder healthy brain development.
a. True
b. False
4. Caregivers can support infant self-regulation by:
a. Establishing and encouraging individualized eating, sleeping and playing schedules
b. Creating a schedule that works best for them
c. Creating a schedule that may or may not match the parents schedule set for the child
d. Winging it
5. During the first few months of life infants can:
a. Nod or shake their heads to agree or disagree
b. Respond to simple directions
c. Associate sounds with certain objects and bodily activity
d. Eat food by themselves
6. Play for young infants is about:
a. Toys toy toys
b. Back and forth interactions with the caregiver and sometimes using objects
c. Rolling balls and playing in the sand
d. Leaving them in the playroom
7. True or False – Babies have bad days just like adults
a. True
b. False
8. When a baby needs a break, they will
a. Arch their back
b. Cry
c. Close eyes or fall asleep
d. All of the above
9. SIDS is
a. A sudden, unexplained death of a baby younger than age 1
b. Caused by cribs
c. The result of child abuse or neglect
d. Caused by vaccines, immunizations or shots
10. To reduce the risk of SIDS you should
a. Place the baby on their back to sleep
b. Sleep with the baby in your bed so you can keep checking on it
c. Make sure the infants has plenty of comfort objects to sleep with
d. Just NEVER put the baby on their tummy
11. Tummy time is important because
a. It prevents flat spots on the back of the baby's head and improves motor skills
b. Staring at the ceiling gets boring
c. Prevents SIDS
d. The doctor says so
12. True of False – You should stop tummy time all together if your baby cries
a. True
b. False
13. You can make tummy time more successful by
a. Doing it when the baby is awake and alert
b. Short periods of times at first and increasing with enjoyment
c. Get on the floor with your baby and interact with them
d. All of the above
14. The USDA Feeding Infants Guide can
a. Only be used if you are a participating in a child nutrition program
b. Be used to provide nutrition guidance and best practice
c. Can trump State policies
d. Not be distributed as resources
15. Babies digestive systems are not ready to handle solid foods until:
a. 3 - 4 months
b. 4 - 6 months
c. 5 - 7 months
d. 2 months
16. You should avoid which foods –completely-before the child turns 1
a. Chocolate, honey, raw milk and undercooked eggs
b. Fish, honey, raw milk and undercooked eggs
c. Honey, raw milk, raw or undercooked protein sources and home - canned foods
d. Honey, raw milk, protein sources and canned foods
17. Write a short summary on how to prevent baby bottle tooth decay and how to educate parents on the topic. Be specific with examples.
18. Write a short summary on the importance sleep schedules, routines, environments and amounts. Be specific with examples.