Your 14 Week Old Baby – Development, Milestones & Care

Has it been 3 and a half months already? All the past phases of your little one’s life might seem like a blur given the rapid progress and development that is occurring with him. As he starts growing up, he will start showing signs of having his own identity, too. From having a favourite toy to liking a specific song and looking forward to playing a game are all signs of his individuality starting to emerge little by little.

14 Week Old Baby Development

Around completion of three and a half months, your baby will begin to manifest as a person who likes to interact with other people a lot or prefers to spend time with himself. This personality depiction might not necessarily be a precursor of being an introverted or extroverted person when he grows up. But it could help you manage his expectations in a better way. Certain babies like to be in a quiet environment, by themselves, or with only a bunch of people. Others like constant engagement, an entire family, and so on. He is taking in and learning a lot from the environment and his brain is processing it all to make sense of it. Other aspects of the home will now begin to interest him a lot more and he will be eager to explore the entire space of the house.

Fourteen Week Old Baby Milestones

• With an increased awareness of the limbs, your baby might develop an attachment to a particular hand or finger and keep exploring it.
• Most of the times it is the feet since your baby barely manages to see them. So when he lifts the feet up high, he will want to play around with it or put it in his mouth.
• A 14 weeks old baby weight in kg is generally around 6kg to 7.5kg, depending on the previous growth and gender of the child.
• The energy levels are quite elevated and your baby will rarely stay still when lying down. Constant kicking, playing with his hands, and blowing raspberries will keep happening.
• Their backs will have gained quite some strength and some babies might be able to keep themselves upright, once they’ve made to sit straight with some support.
• Their ability to understand that their actions can cause movement or changes in objects will be even stronger now. As with rattles, they will also know to play with the hanging flutes or with mobile screens if they were to lay their hands on one.
• Bring your face closer to him and he will want to reach out and touch and feel it even more than before.
• Their communication skills will develop quite a lot, too. Making sounds and chatting with other people will begin to develop.
• At the same time, your baby will have a better idea of who can provide them with what he wants. So, if he’s hungry, he will start making loud sounds and try to look in your general direction.
• If a new person is introduced or a new toy is brought for him, he will take a long time to keep observing and explore. He may not instantly be comfortable with the new person but he will want to touch her or feel her.

Feeding

Your baby has grown up quite a bit and there might be some schedule finally falling into place. Be it, breastfed babies or bottle-fed babies, adhering to strict schedules might still not be a one hundred percent possibility. Around this age, your 14-week old baby feeding might have an addition of an evening feed, when most of us tend to snack on something or the other. You will have to balance your own needs and the needs of other family members, along with a baby who suddenly wants to latch onto your breast for a quick snack. In such cases, you could keep breastmilk stored separately and engage either your elder child or enlist someone to help you with feeding your baby while you take care of other chores or prepare dinner. Furthermore, your baby might want to play around or be engaged especially during this time. It is best if your spouse is around so that your baby can be taken for a nice bath and a quick walk around the park, which can soothe him and keep him occupied, while you can finish up other activities.

Sleeping

Around this age, your baby would have grown up quite a bit, such that the cradle may not be spacious enough and a bed might seem a better option. Such changes might have to be undertaken and it is highly recommended that the baby and the mother continue to sleep in the same room at this age, too. Your 14-week old baby sleep patterns might still be far away from falling into a predictable schedule. There might be occasional nighttime awakenings that necessitate feeding or simply patting your baby back to sleep. This is all a result of the increased growth that your baby is going through and uses up quite a good amount of energy. Hearing about other babies already sleeping through the night or having predictable sleep times can make you wonder if you are doing something wrong. It is necessary to understand that each baby has a different physiology and different needs. One could want to sleep through the day, the other might keep waking up every now and then. In either case, there should be a period of time when the baby sleeps for a longer duration, which should not be interrupted since maximum growth occurs then.

14 Week Old Baby Care Tips

• Your baby might take some more time to be able to do all the things that other babies do. Do not worry about it and let him progress at his own pace.
• Certain babies might seem to depict a change in the colour of their irises. As long as this does not accompany redness in the eye and irritation in the child, it isn’t an infection and is just a normal sign.
• Keep formula milk and breastmilk at hand so that it can be quickly mixed in the bottle and given to your child if you are too busy with something else.

Tests and Vaccinations

Following the previous week of vaccines, in the 14th week, there are another bunch of vaccines that are necessary to keep your baby healthy and protect him from illnesses, while boosting his immunity.

The first of those is a repetition of the triple vaccine that takes care of diphtheria and polio. This is the DPT/IPV/HIB vaccine. Previously, a separate dose of IPV would have been given prior to two months or so.

Another vaccine that necessitates its presence is the PCV vaccine, which is at its 3rd time of administering to your child. Yet another one at its 3rd dosage is the rotavirus vaccine, which may be given orally this time around, too.

All these vaccines might result in a light fever in your child which is absolutely normal.

Games and Activities

Now that your baby’s upper body strength has developed quite a bit and the neck muscles are strong too, he may be able to keep his neck upright and look around for a longer time with ease. Taking advantage of this, you can play around with him by turning him into a superman or just make it a rollercoaster ride of sorts. Hold your baby on the shoulder and fly him around the house while making whoosh and airy sounds. By holding in such a way that he faces backwards, the experience of going in a reverse direction could cause quite a riot and leave him laughing and giggling uncontrollably. If you are a fitness enthusiast and have a gym ball or a large inflatable ball, you can hold your baby and place him on it. Then gently roll the ball in various directions and let your little one sway and move slightly on each side.

Peek-a-boo is always successful with all babies no matter the age. And now that your baby can look around a bit, it is time to take the game to the next level. Keep your baby upright, supported with some pillows, and securely placed so that he won’t roll over. Let him face the hall or the room. You can then use all methods to hide and make sounds, only to pop out from a different corner and surprise him. Bending under the bed, or hiding behind the sofa, and then emerging from the door or the other end of the sofa, will seem quite magical to your baby and make his day.

Consult A Doctor If

With various vaccines being administered around this time, slight fever is bound to take place. However, if the fever lasts long and is more than 100.5 degrees or so, which is combined with your child feeling listless or vomiting or so, it is necessary to contact your doctor immediately.

Also, if your baby has trouble holding things firmly or doesn’t seem to have any coordination in understanding how to hold a small toy or so, get a paediatrician to examine him for any developmental disorder or condition.

Along with physical growth, this is a time when your child’s emotional and social growth starts taking place as well. The little seeds of his personality are sown around this age and they grow to create a personality that is completely unique to him. Make sure the encouragement for doing things well is consistently present and keep a fun-filled positive atmosphere at home to have a great upbringing.