Baby guides
Short articles for this stage, reviewed against AAP and CDC guidance.
TLDRBaby: the few things to know, for busy parents
- Start solids around 6 months, when your baby sits with little support and shows interest. Milk stays the main food for the first year. Read the guide
- Introduce peanut and egg early, around 4-6 months when ready for solids, to lower allergy risk. Read the guide
- Gagging is noisy and normal; choking is silent. Learn infant choking first aid and skip whole grapes, nuts and popcorn. Read the guide
- Keep your baby rear-facing as long as the seat allows, with a snug harness and no bulky coat under the straps. Read the guide
- Babyproof before crawling: anchor furniture, stay within arm's reach near water, and lock up button batteries and medicines. Read the guide
- Sleep varies a lot. Many babies sleep longer stretches by 4-6 months, and no one sleep method is the only right one. Read the guide
- A little behind on one milestone is common. Tell the doctor if your baby misses several or loses skills they had. Read the guide
Sleep 14
- Baby Sleep Schedule by Age: Totals, Naps and Wake Windows (AAP) How much sleep babies need by age, birth to 2 years: total hours, naps and wake windows, from AASM totals endorsed by the AAP.
- The 4-Month Sleep Regression: Why Sleep Changes and What Helps Why baby sleep changes at 3 to 5 months, how long the 4-month sleep regression lasts, what helps, and when it may be something else.
- Baby Sleep Training Approaches Compared by Age AAP, Taking Cara Babies, Happiest Baby, RIE and Ferber, by age.
- How Much Should My Baby Sleep? What's Typical, and When to Ask What typical infant and toddler sleep looks like, and when to ask.
- Why Won't My Baby Sleep? Sleep Pressure, Associations and Choosing a Method A practical troubleshooting view of baby sleep: timing, sleep associations and picking a method you can stick with, safely.
- Baby Bedtime Routine: Simple Steps, Timing and What to Avoid How to build a short, calm bedtime routine for your baby, with step-by-step ideas, timing and tips for every kind of family.
- Baby Waking at 5 am? Causes of Early Morning Waking and What Helps Why babies and toddlers wake too early and practical fixes, from light and noise to bedtime and nap timing.
- The 8 to 10 Month Sleep Regression: Why It Happens and What Helps Why sleep often gets harder around 8 to 10 months, from crawling and standing to separation anxiety, and how to help.
- Cry It Out and Graduated Check-Ins: How They Work, Step by Step How graduated check-ins and full extinction sleep training work, with sample intervals, what research shows and what to expect.
- Gentle Sleep Training: Chair Method, Pick Up Put Down, Fading Step-by-step gentle sleep training methods that keep a parent close, with tips on timing, consistency and what to expect.
- When to Move Baby to Their Own Room, and How to Make It Safe When to move your baby out of your room, how to set up the nursery safely, and how to ease the change.
- Nap Transitions: When Babies Drop From 3 Naps to 2, and 2 to 1 Signs your baby is ready to drop a nap, typical ages for 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 naps, and step-by-step ways to make the switch.
- Night Weaning: How and When to Drop Night Feeds Signs of readiness and gentle ways to cut night feeds for breastfed, bottle-fed babies and toddlers.
- When to Stop Swaddling and How to Transition to a Sleep Sack When to stop swaddling (at the first signs of rolling) and gentle ways to move your baby to an arms-out sleep sack.
Everyday care 7
- Babywearing Safely: The T.I.C.K.S. Checklist and Safe Positioning Babywearing safely: the T.I.C.K.S. checklist, airway-safe positioning, facing in versus out, M-shaped hips and extra care with newborns.
- Teething and First Teeth When teeth come, what helps the sore gums, what to skip, and brushing from the first tooth.
- Babyproofing for Crawlers and Climbers What to secure before your baby crawls and climbs: water, tip-overs, batteries, medicines and windows.
- Car Seat Safety: Rear-Facing First, and When to Switch (AAP) Rear-facing as long as possible, a snug harness, and installation that doesn't move — grounded in AAP and NHTSA guidance.
- Diaper Rash and Baby Eczema: Causes, Care and When to Call How to treat everyday diaper rash, spot yeast, care for baby eczema day to day, and know which rashes need a call.
- Brushing Baby's First Teeth: How Much Toothpaste and Preventing Cavities How to brush baby teeth from the first tooth, how much fluoride toothpaste to use, and simple ways to prevent cavities.
- Sunscreen, Sun and Heat Safety for Babies and Toddlers Sun protection by age, keeping cool in hot weather, strollers and car seats, and heat illness signs.
Feeding 9
- Foods to Wait On in the First Year: Honey, Water, Cow's Milk Honey, water, cow's milk and choking hazards in the first year.
- Growth Spurts, and Shifting Feeds from Night to Day Growth spurt ages and cluster feeding, keeping night feeds dark and brief, and how and when night feeds can shift into the day.
- When Can Baby Start Solids? Around 6 Months (AAP) Starting solids around 6 months: readiness signs, baby-led weaning, gagging versus choking, allergens and iron-rich first foods.
- Introducing Peanut, Egg and Other Allergens to Your Baby When and how to introduce peanut, egg and other common allergens, and the signs of a reaction.
- Baby-Led Weaning: How to Start, Safe Food Shapes and a First Two Weeks How to start baby-led weaning safely: readiness signs, food shapes by age, iron-rich first foods, seating, gagging and a sample first two weeks.
- Purees and Spoon Feeding: Moving to Lumps, Textures and Safer Baby Food Responsive spoon feeding, moving from purees to lumps by 8-9 months, homemade vs store-bought, heavy metals, honey, salt and sugar.
- Baby Suddenly Refusing the Breast or Bottle: What to Do Why babies go on nursing strikes or refuse bottles, and gentle ways to get feeding back on track.
- Does My Baby Need Vitamin D, Iron or Other Supplements? Vitamin D drops, iron, fluoride and B12 for babies and toddlers, and which supplements to skip.
- How to Stop Breastfeeding Gently, at Any Age Gradual and quicker ways to wean from breastfeeding, toddler techniques, and the parent's body and feelings.
Approaches 3
- What Is RIE? Respectful Care for Babies and Toddlers Magda Gerber's RIE approach: caring for babies with respect, and where it differs from the AAP.
- Sleep Training, Breastfeeding and Daycare: What the Research Says What the research says about sleep training, breastfeeding, daycare and more, from Emily Oster's Cribsheet.
- Respectful Care for Babies and Toddlers: What It Is and How to Start Janet Lansbury's respectful, RIE-based care: narrating care, observing first, free movement.
Play and development 12
- Play by Age, Birth to 12 Months (and How an Older Sibling Can Join) Play ideas month by month, and how older siblings can join in.
- Tummy Time by Age How much tummy time a baby needs by age, from the first days to crawling, and easy ways to make it work for a baby who hates it.
- Baby Development and Play: Tummy Time, Milestones and Play by Stage Tummy time, movement milestones and play by stage, from Emma Hubbard.
- Developmental Ranges, Not Fixed Ages Why milestones come in ranges, and when a delay is worth checking.
- Talk to Your Baby Talking, answering their sounds, reading and singing: the simplest way to help language.
- Milestones by Age, 2 Months to 3 Years: What's Typical, When to Check In What most children do by each age from 2 months to 3 years, and when to check in.
- When Do Babies Roll, Sit, Crawl and Walk? Motor Milestones Guide Typical ages for rolling, sitting, crawling and walking, how to help, why to skip walkers, and when to check in.
- Reading to Your Baby and Toddler: How to Start From Birth Why to read from birth, what reading looks like at each age, interactive reading for toddlers, and books versus screens.
- Independent Play for Babies: How Long, How to Start and a Safe Yes-Space How babies learn to play on their own: setting up a safe yes-space, simple toys, how to start, and what to expect at each age.
- Baby Games and Activities for 6 to 12 Months, Month by Month Simple games for 6 to 12 month olds, from peekaboo to roll the ball, that build object permanence, turn-taking and movement.
- Baby Sign Language: When to Start, First Signs and Does It Delay Speech How and when to teach a few baby signs like more, milk and all done, and what research says about signing and speech.
- Fine Motor Skills: Pincer Grasp and Hand Skills From Birth to 18 Months How babies learn to reach, grasp, pinch and stack, typical ages, everyday activities and safety while hands get busy.
Health 8
- Fever, Colds and Ear Infections: When to Call the Doctor (AAP) Colds, fever and ear infections after 3 months: what helps at home, and when to call — including a fever of 101°F or higher at 3 to 6 months.
- Childhood Vaccines: What Happens When, and What to Expect The shots from birth to age 3, what to expect after them, and when to call.
- Baby Choking vs Gagging: Back Blows, Infant CPR and Choking Hazards How to tell gagging from choking, first aid for a choking baby or toddler, CPR basics and the foods and objects to watch.
- Well-Child Visits: The Checkup Schedule From Birth to Age 3 When checkups happen from birth to 3, what's checked at each, and how to make the most of the visit.
- Baby Constipation: What's Normal and What Helps How to tell real constipation from normal straining, and age-by-age ways to soften stools.
- Baby Diarrhea and Dehydration: Fluids, Food and Warning Signs Keeping fluids up during diarrhea, what to feed, and the early and serious signs of dehydration.
- RSV and Bronchiolitis in Babies: Symptoms, Care and Prevention How RSV and bronchiolitis usually go, home care, watching breathing, and the vaccine and antibody shot.
- Baby or Toddler Throwing Up: Stomach Bug Care and Rehydration Step-by-step rehydration after vomiting, comfort and safety, and signs it may not be a stomach bug.
Safety 1
Getting out 1
Behavior 1
Want to go deeper? See the experts and books behind these guides, or the library Cradle answers from.