AgeMarks › By age
The first month
Gross motor
- Not strapped in for more than an hour
Pram, high chair, bouncer, carrier: no more than an hour at a stretch (travel excepted). Floor freedom builds the moving body.
Language
- Serve-and-return talk
Respond to every sound, look and gesture with words; the single strongest language builder.
- Sing every day
Songs, rhymes and lullabies — free, calming, face-to-face language time. Honest note: rhythm links to language, but proof is thin.
- Two languages? Feed both daily
Rich input in each language every day; mixing is normal, milestones count words across both, and bilingualism slows nothing down.
Self care
- Baths: 2–3 a week is plenty
Daily bathing dries baby skin; wash face, folds and the diaper area between baths. A nightly bath as a loved ritual is fine too.
Feeding
- Breast milk or formula on demand
8–12 feeds a day in the first weeks; only milk until around 6 months.
Sleep
- Night waking is still normal
Most babies still wake at night at a year and beyond. A short, quiet, boring response gets everyone back to sleep fastest.
- Newborn sleep: 14–17 hours a day
In 2–4 hour stretches; no schedule yet — follow hunger and sleepy cues.
Health
- Hepatitis B — dose 1 (birth)
Given in hospital within 24 hours of birth; if missed, at the first Tipat Halav visit.
- RSV antibody (nirsevimab / Beyfortus)
One dose protects the first RSV season. Hospital for most; babies born Apr–Jul get it at Tipat Halav; missed doses given Aug–Mar.
- Vitamin D drops daily
400 IU every day from birth to 12 months, breastfed or formula-fed.
- Confirm newborn screening results
Hearing screen and heel-prick (metabolic) test are done in hospital; make sure both are done and results received.
- Newborn hearing screening
Done in hospital before discharge. If it was missed or needs repeating, arrange it in the first weeks.
- Watch for jaundice in the first days
Yellow skin or eyes is common in the first week. It is checked at every early visit and usually passes on its own.
- Tipat Halav: first visit (1–2 weeks)
Weight/length/head, feeding check, jaundice, hearing-screen follow-up, safe-sleep and vitamin D guidance.
- Back to birth weight
Babies lose up to 10% in the first days and are usually back to birth weight around 10–14 days.
Safety
- A smoke-free home and car
No smoking indoors, in the car, or by anyone holding the baby — including vapes and hookah.
- Safe sleep every sleep
On the back, own flat firm surface, no pillows/bumpers/loose blankets, room-share without bed-share, smoke-free.
- Rear-facing car seat, every ride
Israeli law: rear-facing at least to 12 months; best practice: until the seat's rear-facing limit (usually 2–4 years).
- Bath and water safety
Never leave a child alone near water, not even for a phone call; a few centimetres are enough to drown.
- Never a child alone in a car
A car reaches 50 °C in minutes. Put your bag/phone in the back seat; a routine check every time you lock the car.
- Under 6 months: shade, not sunscreen
No direct sun at all: shade, canopy, thin long clothing and a brimmed hat; sunscreen only as a last resort on tiny exposed spots.
Play & learning
- Background TV: off
A screen on 'in the background' shortens toddler play and cuts parent–child talk in experiments — off unless someone is watching.
- Tummy time every day
Short, frequent tummy sessions while awake and watched; total 30+ minutes a day by 3 months.
- Read together every day
At least one book a day from birth, in your strongest language; keep reading aloud well past the age they can read alone.
- Fresh air every day
A daily walk, yard or balcony time — an old custom with gentle logic (daylight, movement, calmer parents), not a tested prescription.
For the parent
- Protect the parents' sleep
Split the night into shifts so each parent gets one unbroken block of 4–5 hours.
- Register at Tipat Halav
Choose the nearest station, register, and book the first visit for the second week.
- Register the baby with the kupah and choose a pediatrician
Registration through Bituach Leumi/kupah; pick a pediatrician close to home and save their clinic hours.
- Learn about crying peaks and never shaking
Crying peaks around 6–8 weeks and can last hours; a plan for the hard moments prevents shaken-baby injury.