The Eighth Month

This chapter describes the development of the fetus in the eighth month of pregnancy. This month, as the author’s family plans a baby shower for her, she contemplates what a newborn might need. This is a difficult task, she finds, as newborns have unique personalities right from the beginning of life, with different styles of reacting to the environment and different needs. The chapter is devoted to discussing infant temperament and how individual differences in temperament shape a baby’s personality from birth into the preschool years, predicting whether the infant is likely to be shy or socially outgoing as a child. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how different parenting styles might fit best with different infant temperaments and what a parent might do to help a potentially difficult newborn.

The Fifth Month

This chapter describes the development of the fetus in the fifth month of pregnancy. After discovering that her fetus was inconveniently sleeping through an important ultrasound, the author discusses the science of infant sleep, why fetuses and newborns sleep so much, and the potential importance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for a fetus’s developing visual system. She then discusses at length various sleep-related issues relevant to infancy, including the controversial issues of co-sleeping (whether parents should do it and why), and an in-depth description of the research on sleep training and its potential short term and long terms effects on infants.

The Fourth Month

This chapter describes the development of the fetus in the fourth month of pregnancy. As the author learns the sex of her own baby, she explores a discussion of gender and sex throughout development. Specifically, she addresses the development of sex organs prenatally and how biological sex should be differentiated from the construct of gender using examples from the animal literature to illustrate how sometimes even biological sex can be determined by environmental circumstances. The chapter also includes a lengthy discussion of the development of gender concept and gender identity in children and how parents’ expectations might affect the development of gender-stereotyped behavior.

Conception

This chapter discusses the science and biology behind getting pregnant. As the author faces difficulty in conceiving her own first child, she describes the science of conception, ovulation, and why the small ovulation window might make it difficult for any woman, regardless of age, to become pregnant. She goes on to describe the added difficulties that might come with having a baby in your 30s and some surprising benefits that having a baby later in life might impart. The chapter includes a lengthy discussion of genetic screening and potential interventions for women who have difficulty conceiving.

The Eighth Month

This chapter describes the development of the infant in the eighth month of life. In the eighth month, the author’s son is showing signs of separation anxiety for the very first time, clinging to his mom and dad in new or unfamiliar environments. The author points out that separation anxiety is generally taken as one of the first signs of attachment. She goes on to describe attachment and research on different attachment qualities between an infant and his or her caregiver. She discusses the factors that lead to an insecure attachment style, with a focus on the effect of institutionalization on children’s attachment.

The Third Month

This chapter describes the development of the infant in the third month of life. After being warned by her pediatrician that her son has a flat head from sleeping on his back, the author discusses the common newborn issues of plagiocephaly and torticollis, how these diagnoses became popular, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and how back sleeping might slow the development of motor milestones. She goes on to describe the development of infants’ motor skills like sitting, crawling, and walking, and the factors (including back sleeping) that might affect the timing of motor milestones. She concludes with a discussion of potential intervention strategies for babies with plagiocephaly.

The Second Month

This chapter describes the development of the infant in the second month of life. As LoBue continues to struggle through her son’s colic, she describes important strategies that parents might take to soothe their babies. She focuses on the importance of touch, including strategies like carrying and swaddling. She goes on to discuss the perceptual development of the infant, what newborns see, and their early developing attraction to human faces. She concludes with a discussion of the warning signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it relates to perceptual development and the controversial issue of vaccinating.

The First Month

This chapter describes the development of the infant in the first month of life. The chapter is centered on the difficulties of the newborn period, focusing on postpartum depression, crying, colic, and the science behind the benefits of breastfeeding. As the author faces her own difficulties with each of these issues, she offers practical recommendations for how a new mother might cope with the difficulties of the newborn period. The importance of asking for and accepting help and support from family and friends is emphasized, as is the need for self-care.

The Sixth Month

This chapter describes the development of the fetus in the sixth month of pregnancy. As the third and final trimester approaches, the author is distinctly aware of her pregnancy with her growing size and the fetus’s forceful and distinct movements. She describes the fetus’s kicking behavior and a variety of reflexes that are fully developed in the fetus by the sixth month of pregnancy, including rooting, sucking, and grasping. She goes on to discuss the appearance of newborn reflexes at birth and why these reflexes disappear in the first few months of life, using detailed research on the stepping reflex as an example. She concludes by discussing other important newborn screening tests, including the APGAR and PKU testing.

The Third Month

This chapter describes the development of the fetus in the third month of pregnancy. As the author faces the inevitable lifestyle changes that come with being pregnant, she discusses the dangers of various teratogens (i.e., toxins) for the developing fetus. Specifically, she discusses the effects of over-the-counter drugs, alcohol, smoking, maternal stress, anxiety, and depression on a fetus. Relatedly, the timing of how these toxins might affect a fetus is discussed, stressing the importance of development in the first trimester, when most of the important anatomy is forming, using the classic examples of spina bifida and the harmful effects of thalidomide.