Congratulations, your beautiful baby has finally arrived.  It’s exciting, wonderful, overwhelming, and exhausting all at the same time.  Soon you’ll find your rhythm.  You’ll get to know your baby’s cues for feeding and sleeping, what each different cry means, and which sounds are worrisome and which sounds aren’t.  Until then, here are a few pointers. (...)

When the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that babies sleep on their back to prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), there was a sharp rise in the problem of flat heads in babies. More babies were sleeping on their backs and their heads were getting flat as a result. Since sleeping babies on their backs (...)

Two months is a fun age; your baby is finally smiling at you interactively. It isn’t that your baby couldn’t smile before, it’s just that your baby’s vision has improved so dramatically in the past few weeks that he or she can see you well enough to consistently smile back at your funny faces. Your (...)

Four months is a fun age. Your baby is becoming more and more interactive. He or she may make squealing noises and even laugh at you. If you’re lucky, your baby may even start sleeping through the night by 4 months of age. Most babies do that blessed maneuver somewhere between 4 and 6 months (...)

There are few things more frustrating for a parent than a kid who can’t sleep. Exasperated parents come into my office everyday stating that they’ve tried everything and STILL they can’t get their child to sleep. The child is exhausted and ornery. The parent is exhausted and short-tempered. Everyone is in desperate need of a (...)

Six months is the golden age of infancy (in my humble opinion). Your baby is old enough to sit on his/her own, is content if you set him/her on the ground with some toys for a few minutes, won’t crawl away (yet), sleeps through the night, and is smiley and responsive; it’s all around—golden. Safety (...)

Nine months is the age of exploration. Your infant is, for good or bad, mobile. Your baby is discovering that he or she can finally get to things of interest and is trying to reach everything. Your baby is learning to communicate and interact with the environment. Safety Car: The car seat should be in (...)

One year is huge milestone. There’s usually a big party, a face full of cake, lots of pictures, and it’s well deserved. You’ve all come a long way. As you look back at the first year and all of your baby’s “firsts,” it seems like it’s all gone by in a blink. You can hardly (...)

Fifteen months is age of exploration, activity, and curiosity. Your baby is walking now, starting to talk, and developing a mind of his or her own. With these newfound skills, there often comes resistance to being fed, dressed, diapered, and going to bed. Setting safe limits becomes key. Safety Car: Use a Convertible Car Seat (...)

Eighteen months can be a challenging age of balancing a child’s growing independence and confidence with his or her limited ability to communicate. This leads to frustration and temper tantrums that are typical for this age. Patience, consistent boundaries, gentle transitions, and improving verbal abilities will help significantly during this time. Safety Car: Use a (...)

It is not true that two is terrible. In fact, most parents report that by the time their child is turning two, things are getting easier. Two year olds are finally able to articulate their wants and desires. They can tell you what is going on in their little minds, and that is a beautiful (...)

Two and a half year-olds are fun. They are energetic and capable and doing much more physically. They have mastered the concept of “me” and “mine” and are often trying to get you to watch with phrases such as, “look at me!” As their vocabulary continues to grow exponentially, many parents feel like they are (...)

Three-year-olds are self-determined individuals with a good sense of right and wrong. They understand that they can influence the world around them and have discovered the art of talking their way out of a situation. It’s the delightfully funny, yet tiresome age of “why, why, why.” SAFETY Car: Use a Convertible Car Seat in the (...)

Four is one of the best ages in terms of kids. Four year-olds are perfectly articulate, have wonderful imaginations, want to learn, say the funniest things, generally desire to please, and still accept what you say as fact. SAFETY Car: Use a Convertible Car Seat in the back seat of the vehicle Important Note: As (...)

Going to school is the major milestone for 5 year-olds. It is a time of great excitement, fear, and change for many 5 year-olds. Every child demonstrates different levels of school readiness. In addition to formal education, children learn important social skills. SAFETY Car: Whether you are using a convertible car seat (this is the (...)

“What can I do?” is the pressing question for 6 year-olds. They are continuously testing what their bodies can do, “How fast can I run?” or “How far can I kick this ball?” Their coordination and, consequently, confidence is improving. They want to be independent, but do not consistently make good decisions. Be warned, 6 (...)

This age is a welcome reprieve for most parents. Kids this age are settling in socially and emotionally. They are getting good at self-regulation and can follow instructions well. It is a delightful age in childhood. Safety Car: Use a booster seat in the back seat of the car (I prefer the booster style with (...)

Kids this age have a good sense of self. They tend to be confident and hopeful. They have friends, interact well with others, and have good relationships with family. They are just beginning to seek the influence of those outside of their home to form opinions and new ideas. They will often have a “best (...)

One of the most common questions I get is, “Does this need stitches?” Here are a few tips that might help. (Note: When I say “stitches,” that simply means the wound needs closure by a doctor — see types of closures below).  Wounds that need stitches are: Gaping open. If a wound is in a high (...)

Eleven and twelve year-olds are often referred to as ‘tweeners,’ because they are between childhood and teens. I always find it an interesting age in my well child exam. Some kids this age are completely prepubescent and some are well into puberty. Some have great relationships with their parents, while others are well on their (...)