Appendices
Quick references to return to when you need them: emergencies, fever, growth leaps, the milestone tracker, and key terms.
Emergency Quick Reference
Call emergency services immediately for any of these. Do not wait, and do not search the internet first.
Call emergency
- Stops breathing or gasps
- or blue lips or face
- Unresponsive
- will not wake or respond to voice or touch
- Seizure
- jerking, stiffness, or loss of consciousness
- Fever in a baby under 3 months
- 38 C or higher, go to the emergency room now
- Severe dehydration
- no wet nappies, dry mouth, crying without tears, listlessness
- A significant head injury
- a fall from a height or a blow with vomiting or drowsiness
- Severe trouble breathing
- ribs pulling in or unable to feed
- Severe allergic reaction
- swelling of the face, lips, or throat
Fever and Illness Decision Chart
Use a digital thermometer. In babies under three months, a rectal temperature is most accurate. This chart guides you, but the doctor makes the final call.
What to do when
- Under 3 months
- any temperature of 38 C or more: emergency now
- 3 to 6 months
- temperature of 39 C or more: call the doctor today
- Over 6 months
- judge the child, not the number alone
- Fever with a rash
- especially a rash that does not fade under pressure: see a doctor
- Fever lasting more than 3 days
- see a doctor
- Fever with a normal, active child
- watch fluids and rest, then check with a doctor if unsure
- Fever with severe listlessness
- a child who will not play, feed, or respond: doctor now
The Leap Calendar (Weeks 0-104)
Growth leaps, widely known as The Wonder Weeks, are windows when the baby’s brain grasps something new, so he becomes clingier and fussier before settling. Dates are approximate and vary by child.
The ten leaps
- Leap 1 (week 4-5)
- The world of sensations
- Leap 2 (week 7-8)
- The world of patterns
- Leap 3 (week 11-12)
- The world of smooth transitions
- Leap 4 (week 14-19)
- The world of events
- Leap 5 (week 22-26)
- The world of relationships
- Leap 6 (week 37)
- The world of categories
- Leap 7 (week 46)
- The world of sequences
- Leap 8 (week 55)
- The world of programs
- Leap 9 (week 64)
- The world of principles
- Leap 10 (week 75+)
- The world of systems
Dad's Milestone Tracker (0-24 Months)
Milestones are ranges, not deadlines. A few weeks early or late is normal. See a doctor if your child misses many milestones for his age.
Key milestones
- 2 months
- lifts head briefly, social smile, tracks a face
- 4 months
- rolls, laughs aloud, grasps objects
- 6 months
- sits with support, reaches, starts solids
- 9 months
- sits alone, crawls or scoots, responds to his name
- 12 months
- stands, takes steps, says one meaningful word
- 15 months
- walks well, points, follows a two-step request
- 18 months
- pulls toys, says 10 to 20 words
- 24 months
- runs, climbs stairs, joins two words
Glossary of Key Terms (Arabic & English)
Terms you will meet in the clinic and across this guide.
Terms
- Colostrum
- the first, antibody-rich milk
- Jaundice
- yellowing of skin and eyes, common and monitored
- Reflux
- milk coming back up after feeds, usually normal
- Colic
- intense, repeated crying with no clear cause
- Teething
- first teeth coming through, with drooling and irritability
- Weaning
- moving from milk to solid food
- Separation anxiety
- fear when a parent leaves, starting around 6 months
- Food neophobia
- refusing new foods, common in the second year