Your 29 Week Old Baby – Development, Milestones & Care

By this time your baby is well-acquainted with her surroundings and can respond to basic external stimuli like sound. But that’s not all; you might find a situation where she can be a tad bit demanding with her requests and will make no qualms about letting everyone know it. Are all these normal? Below we shall guide you through what it is that you can expect from a 29 week-old baby.

A 29 Week-Old Baby’s Development

You can expect a 29-week old baby growth spurt which can be seen to switch into full gear. This can be on different counts. The most prominent of these are the milk teeth making their presence felt to the world. Your little one could have as many as three tiny teeth jutting out. You may notice that more often than not, they are a little crooked and not in perfect alignment. This is not a cause for concern as these self-correct over the course of time. Through regular practice, their hand-eye coordination is also likely to have improved dramatically. Additional, all that is crawling that you’ve put her through has paid off, and you will notice that her legs are much stronger than before.

But it isn’t just physical developments that you notice during this time. Firstly, she is likely to grasp the meaning of simple words such as yes and no. Don’t be surprised if she responds to them in verbally. However, this response may not be the most refined in some instances. Secondly, you can you can expect her to develop moods such as happiness and sadness based on the circumstances. Lastly, their awareness of the environment around them would have expanded and would be able to differentiate between day and night.

A Twenty-Nine Week-Old Baby’s Milestones

Some of the baby milestones that you can expect your baby to have completed include:

• With a strong muscular system, they would be in a position to not only sit upright but stand up as well. This standing up, however, is limited to being able to do the same only with your support. While there may be some prodigies who may have mastered the art of standing without any help, it is unlikely that they can walk or even cruise at this time.
• Their vocabulary is basic and may even be felt as non-existent to some observers. However, you would not be wrong if you realised that what seems to be mindless baby babble is a language in itself. This means that your baby is well on her way to start to communicate with you in the near future.
• A 29-week old baby being fussy isn’t exactly a milestone in itself. However, it does indicate that they are learning the concept of distances between them and the mother. There are largely two ways that parents go about this. While one believes that letting the baby cry it out will help them attain independence, others say that an immediate response will have long-term benefits as the child feels emotionally grounded.

Feeding

By this time, your baby is already grown up for the most part. Weaning her away from breastmilk is almost coming to an end and for some, already over. You may already be giving her a steady diet of purees which are easy to eat and digest. However, now is the time to go the extra step of offering finger foods. These include healthy and easy to consume options like steamed vegetables. You can lay out a couple of foods out in front of your baby and let her decide which taste suits her palette. One thing to be remembered before going ahead with this is that kids during this age still have a strong gag reflex. This action can sometimes be confused for choking so; please bear this in mind while feeding your kids.

Sleeping

For a 29 week old baby sleep can sometimes uninterrupted for long periods of time. However, there are instances where broken sleep is very much in the cards even during this time. Some of the reasons include

• Teething: As your baby begins to grow their milk teeth, the may experience pain as a consequence of it. This will obviously affect their sleep cycle and can lead them to stay awake at night.
• Night feeding: While many babies may no longer need night feeding, there are a couple who would still insist on this. This is normal, and you must gradually wean the baby away from this.
• Physical developments: As your baby grows at a rapid pace, the brain gets affected. A study, for instance, showed that when a baby learns to crawl, it affects their sleep cycle deeply.

A 29 Week-Old Baby’s Care Tips

• Avoid using baby walkers for your little one. Though it may seem as though it is helping them, this assistance is illusionary. In fact, it is counterproductive as it prevents her from fully using her muscles which leads to poor development and, in turn, delayed walking. Another problem that is associated with baby walkers is the probability of causing accidents. Babies get very curious during this stage, and the wheels attached to make the device accident-prone. For instance, a baby walker may let the baby venture to close to the stairs unassisted and lead to an unfortunate accident.
• A 29-week old baby is likely to be enamoured by just about anything that they can get their hands on. Expensive china, porcelain dishes and crystal glasses would evoke a special interest in them and may lead to them unwittingly breaking or damaging the same.
• Ensure that you lock all the low-level cupboards and drawers that contain valuable or poisonous items within your baby’s reach. Do not underestimate the dexterity of your baby when it comes to using their hands.
• Due to teething, there can be a case of mild fever for your baby. If it is controllable, instead of going to the doctor, you can try feeding them some cold foods to give them relief.
• Cover all electrical outlets so that they do not receive any current. This can be done by using some scotch-tape to cover them up.
• There will be numerous instances where you may be forced to say “NO” as they get increasingly active. While this is not an issue, continually saying no to them may lead them to start resenting the word or even ignoring you completely. Instead, you can try distracting them which can build their curiosity while making them stop whatever it is that you wanted them to stop.

Tests and Vaccinations

Some of the standard vaccinations that need to be done during this time include:

• DTaP
• Hepatitis B
• Hib
• Rotavirus

For testing, you can get a tuberculosis test done if one or more members of the household have active tuberculosis.

Games and Activities

1. Swimming

Did you know that babies love to swim? They can start as early as 6 weeks and are great at it. It helps to improve balance, muscle coordination and overall muscle development. However, parents may be hesitant and rightly so. There are a few things that can be done to put you at ease. Firstly, make sure that you take your baby only on a warm day. They are sensitive to temperatures and anything below 29 degree Celsius may lead to shivering. Secondly, put them in the water only for 10 minutes at a time which can later be stretched out to 30 minutes. The moment you see them shivering, bring them out of the water and dry them up with a towel. Bring a warm bottle of milk which you can feed them.

2. Find the ball

This is a simple game that can be played indoors and helps in improving visual recognition. Take a ball that your baby loves and hide it within the vicinity. The hiding spot should be simple, and she will be thrilled the moment she spots the ball!

When to Consult a Doctor

• Has a very high temperature and shows no signs of subsiding.
• Your baby exhibits no emotions or expressions towards known people.
• Does not talk much and stays aloof rather than being playful or active.

So, these are some of the basics that you need to know when it comes to a 29 week-old baby’s growth and mental development.