Becoming Sociable At three months of age, your baby is really beginning to take her place in the world. She actively seeks the attention of those closest to her, smiles and vocalises to communicate her pleasure. But as her social world expands, she faces the challenge of predicting other people’s behaviour and this can sometimes make her anxious.

Your baby’s growing social awareness.  At three months, your baby smiles in response to other people’s smiles, and may even vocalise her pleasure at seeing people she recognises. She is growing more social by the day. She has learnt to differentiate between those close to her, and may show her recognition in the facial expressions and the sounds she makes. Babies tend to behave differently towards the various important individuals in their lives, adjusting the way they attract and hold attention accordingly. As your little one matures, learns more about the world and settles into routines, she may find new experiences more difficult to deal with. She has been getting used to her parents and other family members and, to some degree, can predict their behaviour. She knows what to expect from her main caregivers, but strangers are a different story. So don’t be surprised if your little one seems unsure and fusses when she now meets a new person. This is perfectly normal. The more alert and communicative your baby becomes, the more her social world expands. And, as a result of this, she faces new challenges on a daily basis. Be patient, and if you feel she is overwhelmed or over-stimulated, take her aside for some quiet time away from the hustle and bustle of the visitors.

Are you ready with all your baby must-haves? Have you shopped til you dropped and ticked off all the items on your list? Or are you still baffled by babygros and cotton cellular blankets?

Shopping for your newborn A FEW MUST HAVE’s Time for a little shopping trip. You may think it’s a bit too soon to be worrying about baby’s wardrobe, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Your baby may arrive earlier than expected – so best not leave everything to the last minute and prepare a shopping list. Here’s a list of items you will need for your baby’s early days. How many items you end up opting for will, to some extent, depend on how much washing you are prepared to do!

• Newborn nappies
• Cotton wool
• 2 or 3 soft, baby-sized towels for bath-time
• a bath thermometer
• Muslin squares (always useful to mop up baby dribbles or leaking milk!)
• A well-fitting mattress for the cot, moses basket or carrycot you plan to use at first.
• Several cotton cellular baby blankets (so that you can easily adjust the number of layers covering your sleeping baby to prevent overheating – remember a folded blanket counts as two layers).
• Several cotton sheets
• 6 or so front-fastening cotton stretchsuits, babygroes, or all-in-ones
• 6 or so cotton body vests (long and short-sleeved with poppers)
• 1 or 2 cardigans
• A few pairs of socks or booties
• a couple of cotton hats
• 2 pairs of scratch mittens
• a baby shall or small pram blanket for baby’s journey home.
Don’t go overboard with your shopping list for your baby’s wardrobe. Baby items are designed to be irresistible, especially to impatient mums-to-be, so it’s Best to stick to your shopping list. But remember that your newborn will quickly outgrow his clothes, and you may also receive many more items as baby gifts after the birth. Buy the basic essentials now, and get the rest when you need it. You’ll have a much better idea of exactly what is useful once your baby has arrived and you have embarked on the exciting new job of caring for your newborn.