Baby guide week eleven

Week Eleven

Your baby is now eleven weeks old!

KEEPING RECORDS

Many parents like to keep special keepsakes and memories from their baby's early weeks, months and years, and in years to come your baby will look back on these memories with fascination - imagine how different things will be by the time he or she has children or his or her own! Here are some ideas for keeping memories:

*Start a treasure box. Things you might like to include are the pregnancy test that first told you baby was coming, baby's cord clamp and hospital tags, the first outfit he or she wore, congratulations messages and cards, special photos….. What you choose to store the treasures in is up to you - it could be anything from a carved wooden chest to a plastic storage bin to a decorated cardboard box.

*Scrapbooking - Scrapbooking involves mounting your special photographs onto paper and adding text and embellishments. There is a whole spectrum of scrapbooking, from the basic to the most elaborate, and there are entire websites dedicated to it. If you are interested but don't know where to start, there are some good books on scrapbooking available, as well as a variety of regular scrapbooking magazines.

*Your baby's Well Child book - when your baby was born, you will have been given a Well Child book in which your midwife, doctor and Well Child Provider record your baby's growth and development. It's a great place to find details of your baby's height, weight etc. There are spaces for parents to write, and plenty of notes pages to add photos if you wish. Your baby's development will be recorded in this book until he or she reaches age 4 ½ and has his or her final Well Child check before starting school.

*Baby Record Books - most book stores sell a variety of Baby Record Books, some catering for the first year, others for up to five years, and in a range of colors and styles. A Baby Record Book provides spaces for you to record your thoughts and memories as well as the dates of baby's milestones, and other special things such as baby's family tree, and the meaning of baby's name.

YOUR BABY'S DEVELOPMENT - RELATIONSHIPS

Your relationship with your baby is precious - and so is his or her relationship with you, and with the other important people in his or her life. By 3 months old, your baby is aware of who his or her main caregiver is, and responds accordingly, but also can develop other relationships with people outside of this primary caregiver role. You can encourage your baby to develop these relationships by letting him or her spend quality time with the other special people in his or her life. Special cuddles with big brothers or sisters are important in creating positive sibling relationships. Depending on the age of the sibling, he or she might be able to help with changing nappies, or giving baby a bottle, and even the youngest of siblings can enjoy playtime with a baby brother or sister. Bathtime can be another important time for relationship-building - most babies love being in the big bath with Mum or Dad and this helps develop trust. Even sharing a bath with a big brother or sister (with Mum or Dad helping of course!) is special family time. Bedtime is also an opportunity for Dad to get involved - by reading a bedtime story, giving the final bottle for the night if you are bottle-feeding, and tucking baby in to bed.

Don't forget grandparents too - they have an important place in your baby's life, and depending on your individual circumstances you might be able to think of lots of ways to encourage bonding between your baby and his or her grandparents.