The First Two Years of Birth

A person that say babies are boring, they haven’t spent too much time watching them. Most people accept the thought that a newborn infant just eats and sleeps, ignoring the complex and their rapid growth.

A typical infant comes into the world with all of its senses: it can see, taste, hear, feel, and smell. However, all of these senses are not yet completely developed. Also, they can move. The muscles, bones, and nervous system are already developed and ready for use. The first duty from the early weeks and months is to learn to use their sensory and motor (movement) abilities, to learn how to use these sensory and use it efficiently. This has to be most remarkable task anyone faces in life. Think about the incredible amount of growth a child most make in its first two years. There are no other period in all of our life will be mark by such massive and speedy development. [...continue reading]

Expecting a Child

Prenatal Development

The fertilization of an egg by a sperm is the start of pregnancy and conception. The first two weeks of cell division, which follow by fertilization, there is little differentiation between the kinds of cells produced. However, after that first two weeks the embryo starts to produce diverse cells and primitive structures that will become the main organs such as the heart, veins, brain, kidney, eyes, liver, and digestive tract. Even though the embryo is less than an inch long, it already develops into a recognizable human form.

By around the 16th weeks the embryo now resembles a human infant measuring about six or seven inches in length. During this period the fetus, as the embryo is now called, starts to move about within the uterus, and the mother can feel the movement.

Right through the rest of the pregnancy, the fetus develops by increasing in size and its complexity. While the basic human structure develops in the first few weeks, the inner organs now grow and setting up the functions once the organs are fully develop. In the third month of pregnancy, the fetus has primitive reflexes; by the end of the fifth month, it can make grasping gestures, blink, suck, and swallow. [...continue reading]

What not to do during pregnancy

Don’t smoke: It’s not good for you and bad for the baby. Get help by asking your doctor on ways to stop smoking.

Don’t eat too much “junk food”: Sugary food, candy, soda, chips and other sweets have little nutrition that’s good for you or the baby.

No alcohol: Even a drink a day might harm the baby. Get help from your doctor if you need to stop drinking.

Don’t take drugs or medications: Not even aspirin without consulting with your doctor. [...continue reading]

Dr. Benjamin Spock

The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, written by Dr. Benjamin Spock’s in 1946, has sold over 25 million copies to date, more than any book (except the Bible) in U.S. history.

In the 1940’s, Dr. Spock advised parents to loosen up the tight scheduled approach to child rising: at that time this idea seemed revolutionary. He advocated considering each child as an individual, that each child’s needs are different from other children. His advice was important in the growth of a more relaxed, but yet more child-centered approach to child rising. [...continue reading]

The Middle East

When the civilization of Egypt developed and prospered, there was another civilization developing its own civilization about 500 miles to the north and east of Egypt. This was the first of a long sequence of Middle Eastern civilizations that had a big influence to the future of art.

Mesopotamia

If you are wondering, where was the beginning of human civilization? The evidence would suggest Egypt, although there were equally strong cases for the Mesopotamia, located in the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia required agriculture in fertile river valleys for their survival. Around 3000 B.C., both civilizations created rich and highly sophisticated cultures. However, that was the only resemblance between these great ancient [... continue reading]