Bundle of joy – Baby

An infant or baby is the very young offspring of humans. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate (from Latin, neonatus, newborn) refers to an infant in the first 28 days of life (from birth up to 4 weeks after birth, less than a month old).

The term "newborn" includes premature infants, postmature infants and full term newborns. The term infant is derived from the Latin word infans, meaning "unable to speak or speechless."

It is typically applied to children between the ages of 1 month and 12 months; however, definitions vary between birth and 3 years of age. "Infant" is also a legal term referring to any child under the age of legal adulthood.

Care and feeding

Infants cry as a form of basic instinctive communication. A crying infant may be trying to express a variety of feelings including hunger, discomfort, overstimulation, boredom, wanting something, or loneliness.

Breastfeeding is the recommended method of feeding by all major infant health organizations. If breastfeeding is not possible or desired, bottle feeding is done with expressed breast-milk or with infant formula.

Infants are born with a sucking reflex allowing them to extract the milk from the nipples of the breasts or the nipple of the baby bottle, as well as an instinctive behavior known as rooting with which they seek out the nipple. Sometimes a wet nurse is hired to feed the infant, although this is rare, especially in developed countries.

As infants grow, food supplements are added. Many parents choose commercial, ready-made baby foods to supplement breast milk or formula for the child, while others adapt their usual meals for the dietary needs of their child. Whole cow's milk can be used at one year, but lower-fat milk should not be provided until the child is 2 to 3 years old.

Until they are toilet-trained, infants in industrialized countries wear diapers. Children need more sleep than adults—up to 18 hours for newborn babies, with a declining rate as the child ages.

Until babies learn to walk, they are carried in the arms, held in slings or baby carriers, or transported in baby carriages or strollers. Most industrialized countries have laws requiring child safety seats for infants in motor vehicles.

Common care issues

Some of the common baby issues are as follow:

  • Baby colic
  • Bassinet/crib
  • Bathing
  • Cradle cap
  • Day care
  • Diaper rash
  • Infant formula
  • Infant massage
  • Immunization
  • Pacifier
  • Paternal bond
  • Teething
  • Umbilical cord

Attachment in Baby

Attachment in baby is a theory of attachment between children and their caregivers specifically addressing the behaviors and emotions that children direct toward familiar adults.

It is primarily an evolutionary and ethological theory postulating that infants seek proximity to a specified attachment figure in situations of distress or alarm for the purpose of survival.

Attachment theory has led to a new understanding of child development. Children develop different styles of attachment based on experiences and interactions with their caregivers.

Four different attachment styles or patterns have been identified in children:

  • secure attachment,
  • anxious-ambivalent attachment,
  • anxious-avoidant attachment, and
  • disorganized attachment.

Attachment theory has become the dominant theory used today in the study of infant and toddler behavior and in the fields of infant mental health, treatment of children, and related fields.