Your 25 Week Old Baby – Development, Milestones & Care

Now is when your baby will show signs of trying to move around on her own and probably will also spend a lot of time smiling and chatting with anyone who gives her attention. Your baby is also beginning to associate the sounds she makes such as “da” and “ma” with you and your partner because of the way you respond to her. At this age, you will see lots of changes in your baby as she grows and develops under your loving care.

A 25 Week-Old Baby’s Development

All of this time, you were the one doing everything for your baby. Now, however, she is starting to show signs of becoming independent. She is going to be developing and learning very fast, and as her parent, it is up to you to help and encourage her along the way. At the age of 25 weeks old, your baby’s brain is starting to develop more to recognise more things. She is going to show you signs that she is ready to move on to more solid food and will even be able to roll herself over. Teething can be a huge problem at this age, and if your baby is crying a lot, drooling or has a low fever and swollen gums, this is probably why.

A 25 Week-Old Baby’s Milestones

Each and every month brings a new change in your baby as she steadily grows, observes and learns about the world around her. Here are some of the milestones she is going to reach in this month.

• Your baby is going to learn how to roll over from her back onto her stomach at this age, meaning that you are in for a few surprises while trying to change her diapers. This is something that will be new and entertaining for the both of you, but keep a close eye on her.
• Your little one is going to be very interested in what you say. Babies of this age are learning to associate what gestures or sounds get what response from you. For example, your baby learns that when she cries, she gets your attention; she learns that smiling and laughing makes you smile and laugh and she is also learning what verbal cues you and your partner respond to individually.
• She may begin to repeat a few syllables and will enjoy hearing the sound of it. Encourage her by speaking to her and pointing at the things she finds interesting to help her learn to associate the correct words and objects.
• Most babies are ready to move on to solid foods by this age. If your baby is starting to sit with support and can hold her head steady, then she is most likely going to be able to use her tongue to move her food to the back of her mouth in order to swallow.
• She will be able to pass objects from hand to hand and will be able to “rake” which is basically using both her arms to shovel what she wants towards herself.
• She laughs a lot at this age.

Baby Feeding

Feeding your baby some sort of cereal a few times a day as well as her usual feeding of breast milk or formula is probably what you have been doing all this time; however, it is now time to start weaning her onto more solid food. Your baby will prefer sweet flavours and so start feeding your baby simple and mild tasting vegetables such as avocados, sweet potatoes or carrots. Some mothers prefer to start with the slightly more bitter foods such as green beans just so that their children do not get too addicted to those sweet flavours.

You can try adding some finger foods such as Cheerios or crackers, but be sure to keep an eye on your baby in case of choking hazards, which are bound to happen as she learns how to eat solid food for the first time. Introduce different food to your baby slowly, one each day, and keep an eye out for any allergic reactions.

Sleeping

Here are some sleeping habits your baby will be having:

• 25-week old baby sleep consists of fourteen or fifteen hours of sleep in total. Thankfully, around eleven of these hours are during the night, while the remaining is had as naps during the day.
• Some babies of this age group are ready to drop their third nap.
• Your baby may have disturbed sleep at this age that could be caused by a number of reasons; growth spurts and teething are two such examples.
• Your baby may wake up and end up staying awake in the night if she becomes too engrossed in practising her rolling over skills.
• Like adults, babies also have the tendency to wake up in the middle of the night. The real meaning of “sleeping through the night” is actually when a baby is able to soothe herself back to sleep during one of those wakeful moments and doesn’t need to cry out for you. Some families like to start sleep training their babies from this age.
• Even though your baby is able to roll over now and may enjoy spending time on her tummy, it is best not to put her to sleep on her tummy. Continue to put her to sleep on her back.

A 25 Week-Old Baby’s Care Tips

Here are some tips on caring for your 25 weeks old:

• Some women choose to give their babies water in a feeding bottle from the time they are still nursing. If you have not yet done this, you can use a sippy cup to introduce your baby to water.
• Your baby is going to start crawling and even cruising soon, so you better make sure to childproof your home in order to avoid any unnecessary problems later.
• As your baby is now starting to roll over, consider moving her changing station to the floor instead. This way you do not need to fear her rolling off if you take your eyes off her for a little while.
• Take a professional photo of your six-month-old.
• If she is showing an interest in eating finger foods or even trying to use a spoon to feed herself, let her. Even though this can get pretty messy, it will teach your baby a lot and help her learn how to use a spoon faster.

Tests and Vaccines

It is best to take your baby in for all her check-ups. You can even speak to your doctor about giving her the flu shot as she is old enough to get it. Your baby will be due to having her third dose of PCV13, Hib, DTaP, Rotavirus, Hepatitis B and Poliovirus vaccines when she is taken for her six-month visit. Make sure to schedule her nine-month doctor’s visit.

Games and Activities

There is nothing more than your baby loves more than playing with you. Not only is this fun and gives you time to bond with your child, but this helps in her physical, mental, social and emotional development. Here are some games and activities that you can try indulging in with your baby

Photo Album

All you need for this is a simple photo album that has the plastic that you can slide the pictures into. Put some pictures of you, your partner, your child and other caregivers and relatives. When you sit together, show her the album and let her keep it for herself. She will be mesmerised by all the colourful pictures and may even show excitement as she recognises the faces in the pictures.

Cause and Effect

Your baby is going to be utterly fascinated by almost everything you show her since everything is new to her. Go around showing her what happens when you turn a light switch on and off, encourage your baby to ring the doorbell and you can even try allowing her to turn on the tap (as long as it is the cold one). This will help her to learn how certain actions have certain results.

When to Consult a Doctor

If your baby has not yet started to smile, babble makes eye contact, sit unassisted and does not respond to sounds; you should pay your doctor a visit.

Not every child will grow at the same pace. They each have a way of reaching the milestones at a time when they are most comfortable. When it comes to premature babies, they are a bit more likely to take longer to reach their milestones, but there is no reason why they should not eventually. Raising babies takes a lot of time, effort and patience but with the love and guidance from parents, children are all capable of growing into well-rounded people.