The book talks about various issues that make babies unhappy. It is a nice (though not great) read for first-time parents.
- A baby can naturally fall asleep. Hunger for food (milk) and hunger for sensations prevent that.
- Massages are good, but even carrying a baby in a body-hugging baby carrier is a form of massage.
- Steady walking with a baby in your arms is one of the best ways to calm down a distressed baby.
- Sleeping on the back has increased the incidence of head flattening.
- Due to sleeping on the back, the tummy time is even more important. Carrying a baby over your arm provides both tummy time and an amazing sensory experience for the baby.
- Beyond 10 hours a day, any more time spent with the baby has diminishing returns.
- Using a baby carrier while doing chores also exposes babies to the sensory experience of the house.
- White noise machines are not a good idea for babies during sleep.
- The best place for babies to fall asleep is near their parents. During the daytime as well as at night.
- Induced burping is a bad idea. It has little upside, and it interferes with sleep.
- If the baby fails to breastfeed properly in the first few days, it can create negative associations that are much harder to fix later on.
- A baby might cry a lot due to a lack of good gut bacteria. One can fix it by adding Lactobacillus reuteri to the baby’s diet.
- Overprescription of anti-acid medications leads to suppressed acid production, leading to allergies in the long-run.
- Infacol is no better than a placebo in treating colic.
- In the initial days, the baby must gain ~200 grams per week (even 500 grams per week has been seen).
- Cue-based care creates a language of cues between the baby and the parents.
- For the first 16 weeks, babies make inconsolable cries as the amygdala (emotion center of the brain) is not fully developed. As the circuitry matures, the cries go down.
- Boys are usually less developmentally mature at birth than girls.