Your baby is ready to start solids if: She can sit up with a steady head without help She does not push solids out of her mouth with her tongue (tongue thrust reflex) She can swallow She can put things into her mouth She can pick things up using her thumb and finger She seems interested in food (watches you while you eat, reaches for food) She wants to put food in her mouth (turning her head away from the spoon means no!) Your baby is not necessarily ready to start solids if: She is unsatisfied after a feeding She wants to feed more frequently Increased waking in the night Chewing fists These signs that your baby is not necessarily ready to begin solids alone could also be an indication that she is sick, teething, having a growth spurt or experiencing other development milestones. Remember, her 4-month birthday is a major development milestone. At this age your baby may show an increased interest at the dinner table. However, this is not a sign she...

Many families feel that they need to do something to improve their situation so that sleep disruptions don’t last long term. What can I do?  You can wait it out:  Do what works There is no hurry to improve your child’s sleep at this age. It is fine to continue to nurse, feed or comfort your baby to sleep as long as you like. You can always make changes later on and you will not create a life-long sleep problem, despite what you may have heard. Many families find it easy and manageable to nurse or bottle feed their babies until fully asleep or very drowsy and then transfer them onto their sleep surface. If feeding to sleep is not the answer for you, you may have found that carrying, rocking, holding or the motion of the swing, stroller, car or vibrating/bouncy seat does the trick. It is not very difficult to transition out of motion sleep as baby gets older. What if what you are doing is not working for you? This fourth month is challenging for many families....

As if your baby’s developmental milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking weren’t enough, between 4 months (sometimes earlier) and 2 years, your baby is going to get 20 brand new teeth. This means that if your child has trouble sleeping while he’s teething, you may be in for quite a few late nights. There is good news, however! Often, you won’t notice that your child has had a new tooth erupt until he smiles or laughs (or bites you, but that’s a whole other article). In fact, I’ve talked to parents who’ve had as many as 4 teeth erupt at the same time. So how does teething affect sleep? On one hand, it may not change your baby’s sleep at all; but if your child is uncomfortable, you may find that both naps and nighttime sleep become a bit of a fight.   Some indicators that your child may be teething include:   • Low grade fever • Increased drooling • Diaper rash (surprising, but true!) • Increased sucking •...