INFANT - RESOURCE UNIT

A. Separation Anxiety
When does it most commonly occur?
Babies can show signs of separation anxiety
as early as 6 or 7 months, but the crisis age
for most babies peaks between 10 to 18
months.
How can I help my baby through it?
Minimize separations as much as
possible

Set up childcare with people your baby is familiar

with.
Let your baby get to know a new caregiver first.

How should I prepare my baby for separations?

Practice at home.
Build in time for your baby to get comfortable.
Always say goodbye.
Keep it light.
Once you leave, leave.
Try a trial at first
B. Stranger Anxiety
Stranger anxiety is a form of distress that children
experience when exposed to people unfamiliar to them.
This started when an infant reaches 8 month of age.
Stranger anxiety is a typical part of the developmental
sequence that most children experience.

How can I help my baby through it?

Start Early. By 6 months, introduce your baby to

other regular caregivers, such as relatives or a
babysitter.

Have a new sitter come early. That way, you can

play together and give your baby time to warm up
to the caregiver before you run out.
Be friendly. Your baby will watch you for cues, so
show her that you like and trust the new person.
Dont draw out your departure. When youre gone
shell soon give up and start playing with the sitter;
prolonging your goodbye will only make her more
upset.
Dont give up. Remember, it may take your baby a
while to adjust to new childcare settings.

C. Teething
One of the more difficult periods in the infants (and
parents) life is the eruption of the deciduous (primary)
teeth, often referred to as teething. The following is a
quick guide to assessment of deciduous teeth during the
first 2 years:

Age of the child in months 6 = Number of

teeth. For example, 8 months of age 6 = 2
teeth at this time

Some children show minimal evidence of

teething such as:
Drooling, gum rubbing, increased finger
sucking, biting on hard objects
Others are very irritable, slightly cranky Have
difficulty sleeping Refuses to eat solid foods
However, an infant with any of these symptoms
has an underlying infection or disease process requiring
further evaluation since these are never normal signs of
teething:
High fevers, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, &
earache
Management
An infant who is teething will place almost any
object in the mouth, so screen articles within the
babys reach to be certain they are edible or safe to
chew.
Because teething pain is a result of inflammation,
cold is soothing. Giving the child a cold teething

ring helps relieve the inflammation (do not freeze

liquid-filled teething rings).
Hard candy may cause accidental choking or
aspiration and should be avoided at this age.
The uses of teething powders or procedures such as
cutting or rubbing the gums with aspirin are
discouraged.

D. Discipline/Limit Setting
Age: Birth to 12 months (and beyond)
How it works: By giving your child as much love and
attention as possible now, you're helping his/her become
a well-adjusted and well-behaved person. That trust
means that in the long run your child will feel more
secure and less anxious, knowing that you take her
wants and needs seriously.
Tool: Lavish love
Age: 6 to 18 months
How it works: You don't have to stand by while your
child does something you don't like. Take the object
away or physically move your baby away from it. Then
give him a safe, less-messy or less-destructive
alternative. Make sure you explain what you're doing to
your child, even if he's too young to really understand.
Tool: Remove and substitute
E. Weaning
Weaning is the process of switching an infant's
diet from breast milk or formula to other foods and
fluids.
Tips for Success:
Wait until your baby is ready.
Continue breastfeeding and formula
Start with soft first foods.
Prep those foods for easy grasping
Consider nutrient intake.
Prepare for messes.
Dine together.
What NOT TO DO
Choose a bad time for meals
Overload on new foods
Rush your baby

Ignore your baby's signals.

Get overly heated or emotional
Give up

F. Nutrition
Food provides the energy and nutrients that
babies need to be healthy. For a baby, breast milk is
best. It has all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Infant formulas are available for babies whose mothers
are not able or decide not to breastfeed..
For a young infant (birth to 6 months)
Breastfeeding
Vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms (g) each
day. This will prevent vitamin D deficiency.
Age 4 to 12 Months (Solid Foods)
Finger foods such as teething crackers, raw fruit or
vegetables can be introduced by 6 to 7 months.
Begin spoon feeding by pushing food to back of
tongue because of infants natural tendency to
thrust the tongue forward.
Never introduce foods by mixing them with the
formula in the bottle.
CerealStart at 4 to 6 Months of Age
Rice cereal is usually introduced first because of its
low allergenic potential.
Fruits and VegetablesStart at 6 to 8 Months of Age
Avoid fruits and vegetables marketed in cans that
are not specifically designed for infants because of
variable and addition of salt, sugar, or
preservatives.
Offer fruit juice only from a cup, not a bottle, to
reduce the development of early childhood caries.
Limit to 4 oz per day or less.
Meat, Fish, and PoultryStart at 8-10 Months of Age
Avoid fatty meats.
Prepare by baking, broiling, steaming, or poaching
Eggs and CheeseStart at 12 Months of Age
Serve egg yolk hard boiled and mashed, soft
cooked, or poached.

G. Sleep/& Activity
Sleep needs and habits vary greatly among
infants, but most require 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night
and one or several naps during the day. The total daily
sleep is approximately 15 hours.
Guidelines:
All infants should be positioned on their backs for
every sleep (including naps) until they can roll over
Soft materials, even if covered by a sheet, should
not be placed in the crib under a sleeping infant.
The sleep area should be kept free from dangling
cords, window- covering cords, or electrical wires.
Certain expectations for sleeping through the night can
be made for each age-group in infancy:
From birth to age 4 months, an infant will wake to
feed at night from 0 to 3 times. Because breast milk
is digested faster than formula, breast-fed infants
commonly will wake up to feed more frequently
than bottle-fed infants.
At ages 4 to 6 months, infants are beginning to be
capable of sleeping (without feeding) for 6 to 8
hours at night. Infants may awaken during this
sleep period but should be able to calm themselves
and return to sleep.
Most infants are naturally active and need no
encouragement to be mobile.
H. Dental Care
Once teeth erupt, all surfaces should be
brushed with a soft brush or washcloth once or twice a
day. Water is preferred to toothpaste, which the infant
will swallow (and if the toothpaste is fluoridated, the
infant may ingest excessive amounts of fluoride). The
most important time for children to receive fluoride is
between 6 months and 12 years of age.
Dont put an infant to bed with a bottle at night
or at naptime because pooling of carbohydrate-rich
fluids (including breast milk and formula) or other
sweetened liquid around the infants teeth can cause
decay. If an infant must be put to bed with a bottle, fill
the bottle with water only.
I. Immunization

The decline of infectious diseases during the

twentieth century is because of the widespread use of
immunization for preventable diseases. Although many
of the immunizations can be given to individuals of any
age, the recommended primary schedule begins during
early infancy and is completed during early childhood.
HepA (HAV)
HepB (HBV)
DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis)
IPV (inactivated poliovirus)
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
Varicella
Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
J. Play
Play is an integral part of the socialization process.
From birth to age 3 months, infants enjoy having their
body parts touched and moved and looking at objects
with contrasting colors. They develop the ability to
grasp objects and move them, so rattles are great toys at
this time. Play must provide interpersonal contact
and recreational and educational stimulation. Infants
need to be played with, not merely allowed to play.
K. Injury Prevention
General
o Choose babysitters carefully and explain and
enforce all precautions when sitters are in charge.
Falls
o Place a gate at the top and bottom of stairways;
do not allow your infant to walk with a sharp
object in the hands or mouth.
o Raise crib rails and make sure they are locked
before walking away from the crib.
o Do not leave a child unattended in a high chair;
avoid using an infant walker near a stairway.
Drowning
o Do not leave infants alone in a bathtub or
unsupervised near water (even buckets of
cleaning water).
Suffocation
o Allow no plastic bags within infants reach; dont
use pillows in cribs.
Poisoning

Never present medication as a candy; buy

medications in containers with safety caps; put
away in a high cabinet immediately after use.

Burns

o
o

Test warmth of formula and food before feeding

Do not smoke or drink hot liquids while holding or
caring for an infant.

Animal bites

Do not allow an infant to approach a strange dog;

supervise play with family pets.