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Bananas and baby boys?

Scientists at Britain's Oxford and Exeter Universities, who studied eating habits of 740 women during their first-time pregnancies, say that their findings seem to back certain traditional links between diet and gender while disproving others.

"We were able to confirm the old wives' tale that eating bananas and so having a high potassium intake was associated with having a boy, as was a high sodium intake," research leader Fiona Mathews, a specialist in mammalian biology at Exeter University, told the Guardian newspaper.

The researchers said that a higher calorie intake prior to conception can increase the chances of having a son from ten to 11 boys in every 20 births, according to the study published in the Proceeding of the Royal Society B.
Credit: cnn.com/health

How to play with a newborn.

There are three main ways to stimulate your newborn. First, accept that adult company is the best entertainment for him and find different ways of providing it. Park his bassinet or bouncy seat near the hub of household activity, for instance, and encourage everyone to stop by for quick "chats."
Second, understand that being carried provides the perfect vantage point for your wakeful newborn. The rhythm of your movements is as good as a massage or a dance, and the panorama of life that he sees and hears as you stroll through your garden or up the street is as interesting as any movie. So find a sling or a strap-on baby carrier that's comfortable for you and that has good head support for your newborn
Finally, give your new baby lots of different things to look at. One simple way to do this is to move his crib or baby seat from one interesting spot to another. At first, he won't be able to see anything more than a foot away from him in great detail, but he'll nevertheless enjoy the delicate play of shadows your window blinds project onto a nearby wall, a bright curtain gently fluttering in the breeze, and the varied shapes and colors of a big houseplant or an outdoor tree or bush.

Babies like patterns, colors, movement provide them withese and see them stare and gaze all day long.

Credit: Penelope Leach, child psychologist

Encourage your baby to talk

Q: My 1-year-old has started to say two-syllable words such as "ma ma," "da da," "ba ba" and "boo boo." What are some techniques to increase his vocabulary?

A: The best way to encourage vocabulary is to TALK, TALK and TALK some more. You are your baby's best model, and you can help your baby enrich his vocabulary by exposing him to various words and experiences. Walks in the park, grocery shopping and bathing are great activities which are filled with wonderful vocabulary.

As you are walking in the park, talk about the birds chirping, the kids on the swings and the dogs running. While shopping, talk about the fruits, vegetables and all your baby's favorite foods. Name his body parts as you bathe him, and talk about how the water feels warm and the bubbles "pop." As your child grows and learns words, start to teach him synonyms (another word that means the same) for the words he knows. For example, if he knows "big," then talk about how things are "huge." You are all he needs to enrich his vocabulary!

Credit:Mindy Hudon, speech-language pathologist

when teeth come through

• The time when teeth appear varies from child to child.
• Occasionally babies are born with a tooth but these early teeth are usually lost soon after birth.
• Usually the first tooth appears between 6-10 months, but a few babies have no teeth until 12 months or later.
• The lower two front teeth usually come through before the upper ones.
• The teeth usually come through in pairs - one on the right, one on the left side.
• By about 2½-3 years all 20 baby teeth have come through.
• The first permanent teeth (molars in both jaws and the central (incisor) teeth in the lower jaw) begin to come through when a child is about six.
• By 12-13 years, most children have 28 permanent teeth. The last four molars (‘wisdom teeth’) usually come through between 17 and 21 years

Do not use lemon juice on your baby's gums. Lemon juice has a lot of acid and can harm new teeth by dissolving the tooth enamel.

credit:raising children.net

Teaching your baby to anticipate

Most babies become pros at anticipating what's to come by 12 months, but they begin to develop expectations even earlier, especially as they learn cause and effect -- that their actions have consequences. Try these fun games to help:

Take your baby by the hands, count to three, then pull him to standing. After a few times, you'll see him wiggle as soon as you start counting.

Play peekaboo. Part of the fun for your baby is knowing that in a second, you'll pop out from behind your hands.

Sing songs with hand motions. If you always tickle your baby at the end of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," he'll squeal with glee as soon as he sees the spider climb up the water spout.

Credit:Science daily