Very occasionally there is some physical reason why a mother can` t feed her baby. Fresh cow` s milk can be given to a baby, but it contains a lot of more protein and minerals than human milk, so it has to be modified by diluting it with water, and sugar has to be added. It is also short on vitamins and it contains almost no iron.

For these reasons it is not now recommended. By the time the baby is about nine months to a year old he can digest fresh cow` s milk but it must be boiled unless it has been pasteurized. Specially-formulated dried milks are now preferred for feeding young babies, but the process by which they are prepared is all important. Until a few years ago it was not recognized that certain proprietary milks could be hazardous for some babies. They contain too high a concentration of phosphate, sodium and protein. According the department of health now recommends that these brands should not be used for babies under six months old.

The department suggests that where breast feeding is impossible, specially modified baby milks should be used. These are made to conform as much as possible to the composition of human milk. It` s unrealistic to attempt to stick to a rigid schedule, much less a four-hourly one, in the first weeks. Most new born babies need more frequent feeding than four-hourly, though overall they may not take any more milk. This disrupting situation won` t last for ever. By about six to eight weeks the baby will have settled himself quite happily to a schedule of five or six feeds a day, at roughly four-hourly intervals.

Some will even allow their mothers a reasonably undisturbed night, with no night feed to break it up. After feeding burping is really necessary. It is only air, not some mysterious gas specially compounded in a baby` s tummy. The air is swallowed as the baby gulps down his feed. To get it up, you can have the baby sitting on your lap, leaning slightly forward against your hand; or hold him more or less upright over your shoulder and rub his back very gently. Protect your clothes as some milk may be regurgitated with the air. Wind is usually worse if the baby is lying too flat as he` s fed. Check also to ensure that he is not sucking on an empty bottle.

By the age of two a toddler will normally be putting to two or three words together and understanding a great deal of what is said to him. Other children of this age chatter quite fluently and can express quite complicated ideas.

If your child is saying nothing intelligible ( to you) or doesn’t` t respond to your verbal communications with him by this age, it would be as well to mention this to your doctor or at the child health center.

Some children develop speech very late, how ever, and catch up rapidly, so failure to talk is by no means necessarily assign of anything amiss, But for your peace of mind, if you think your child` s speech is delayed compared with others of his age, you should seek advice. If he has never been talked to-although this is hardly likely in the case of parents reading. Of course he would not learn to talk, and if he shows other disturbing sign-very withdrawn behavior, repetitive moments or action or slowness in other fields of development for instance his delayed in talking must be investigated.

As we,` ve already seen we discussing the needs of babies, the parents who talk and sing to their children at very possible opportunity are helping in the early stages of language development. It` s just as important to keep this up at the toddler` s stage except that now verbal communication will be on both sides, and that much more rewarding.

Try not to become so distract or bored that you dry up conversation by a perfunctory grunt; in the end, your toddler trying so hard to put his thoughts and reactions into words, will give up. Of course he tends to be repetitive once he can say or do something new he will go on and on in a way that would be quite un acceptable in an adult companion, but his new saying or action delights and never bores him. It` s part of his developing mastery over himself and his environment.

Walks and shopping expeditions can provide a lot of sights and experiences that are worth lingering over and talking about, so try not to hurry them if you possibly can. When you look again through your toddler` s eyes you may learn to notice a new things about the familiar scene that you have been missing.