Make the most of your baby's milestones

It's fun find the baby book and look back on all the milestones that 
your darling little one achieved.  The first smile, the first time 
they rolled over, sat up, reached for a toy, said Mama or Dada, or 
took that first step.  The first year is chock full of milestones.  
Babies grow and develop at a rapid fire pace.  It may surprise you to 
learn that a baby's brain grows 175% in the first year alone!  That's 
lots of new nerve cells, synapses and pathways that build the 
foundation for that cutie-pie who started out not even knowing 
how to suck his/her thumb, to a toddler who walks and talks and can feed 
themselves and manages to walk into school and learn their ABC's.  It 
all starts in that crucial first year.

Parents ask me every day about growth and development and one of the 
top questions I hear is what can I do to help my baby learn.  Here's 
the secret, you don't have to spend a lot of money, you don't need 
anything fancy or elaborate.  All you need is........drumroll please:  
Your voice!  That's right, talk to your little one.  Though you may 
feel a little silly saying things like, "Ok, now mommy is going to put 
you in your car seat, so we can go to the grocery store and buy some 
fruit" or "Look at the dog"  or "Here's a little yellow duck swimming 
in your bath with you."  All of this helps your baby learn about his/her 
world, develop language and socialize.  Singing songs, playing peek-a-
boo and patty cake are time tested and work to repeat over and over 
the same words so that your baby can leap to the next milestone.

Studies have shown that one of the best predictors of reading ability 
in elementary school is the number of words children hear when they're 
at home.  So, talk, sing and read to your baby, even if you feel a 
little self-conscious, it pays huge dividends later.