Farndon - Super bright baby : 50 things you really need to know

With many thanks to Early Years Professional Olga Nakston for her invaluable advice and ideas.

NOTE TO THE READER

This book and its contents are not intended as a substitute for personal medical advice. The reader should always seek professional medical advice in all matters relating to health, especially in respect of any symptoms that may require diagnosis. While the advice and information in this book is believed to be accurate and true at the time of going to press, neither the author nor the publisher or packager can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made.

John Farndon

New York London

2014 by John Farndon

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The arrival of a new baby in the world is, for parents, one of the most amazing experiences imaginable.

Even though you know that millions upon millions of people go through the same thing every year, it seems miraculous. And thats exactly how it should be. Your baby is your own very special gift and because of that you will know instinctively what is right for him or for her in a way that is far beyond any book to advise.

Yet it can be daunting. You want the very best for your children. You want them to grow happy and bright, and face the world with joy and the ability to make the most of their potential and then you realize that its all up to you. Suddenly the prospect of being the best possible parent can seem just a little bit unnerving, and thats where this book aims to help.

This book gathers together 50 of the most important ideas from scientific and childcare experts on child development. Covering the period from late pregnancy to two years of age, these ideas will give you a grounding in the relevant neuroscience and psychology that are important in helping your child to develop healthily, happily and perfectly able to meet lifes challenges with confidence whatever they are.

Whats interesting is that all the experts agree that the most important thing in terms of brain development and physical and emotional wellbeing is that your baby is truly loved and cherished. This book shows you how and why this is true, and why its so important to acknowledge that ultimately, youre the expert on your own child. Every baby is unique, and your job is to nourish that individuality to its fullest potential. This book will give you the skills and knowledge you need to help your child become a truly super-bright baby.

Its important to eat well during pregnancy, to ensure that your body can supply all the nutrients your baby needs to develop and maximize her growing brains potential. By the time she is born, your babys brain will have grown more than 100 billion neurons.

Before you start to worry too much about your eating habits, though, just relax. Becoming stressed about what you should or shouldnt eat can actually be more harmful to your developing baby than any amount of dietary deficiencies. So allow yourself to be flexible about what you eat and when.

In essence, all you really need is a normal balanced diet to give your babys brain a good start in life in the womb. This means plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day, some calcium-rich dairy foods, a few helpings of lean meat, fish, chicken or legumes, and some carbohydrates, such as bread, rice or pasta. If you eat a reasonably healthy diet already, simply keep an eye on your fat intake, raise your carbohydrates slightly and eat a little more fruit and vegetables than usual.

Extra carbohydrates are necessary because your body needs extra energy to carry a baby. Just how much extra depends on your normal weight and fitness, but its likely to be about 1520 per cent a boost from, say, 2,000 calories a day to 2,300. Bear in mind that although youre eating for two, the second person in the equation is only around the size of a pea during the first trimester. During the third trimester, as the baby approaches birth weight, youll need to boost your intake to around 2,500 calories a day.

Your body needs up to a third more protein than usual to provide the growing baby with the nutrition necessary for brain development. If youre a vegetarian, think about increasing your intake of protein-rich foods such as legumes, soy, quinoa, couscous, nuts and seeds. Pregnant women also need additional iron (from things like beef, dried fruit and soy) to build red blood cells, especially in the later months. Youll need lots of calcium and vitamin D in your diet (from cheese and milk) to build your babys teeth and bones, and plenty of water, because your blood volume goes up 50 per cent when youre pregnant.

Some foods and nutrients are thought to be specifically important to brain development. Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, sits at the top of this list. A babys brain and nervous system starts developing in the first few months of pregnancy with the growth of a groove of neural cells; these curl round to form a tube that will become the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid plays a key role in developing the genetic material for neural cells, and if this is deficient in early pregnancy, the neural tube may not develop properly, and can this lead to brain and spinal cord abnormalities such as spina bifida. You can obtain folates naturally by eating green leafy vegetables, asparagus and fortified cereals, but as the level of folic acid is critical in the first six weeks of pregnancy, doctors recommend taking a multivitamin supplement that includes 0.4 mg of folic acid.

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Found great recipe for salmon stuffed with spinach and cream cheese. Delicious! And good for baby! #yummymummy