Isn’t it a bit hard to believe that your tiny little baby is already three months old now? Single-handedly she has managed to transform your life and has given it a new meaning altogether. Not only is she growing at a rapid pace but springs so many surprises every single day. You will be completely glued to every single milestone your little one achieves since it provides a reliable graph of your child’s growth. To understand infant development at 3 months in a better way, read on to find out the various parameters mentioned in this article.
At three months in its new world, your baby has now grown in length and seems larger too. Shopping for a larger size of baby clothes will become a priority for most mothers as your visibly-round baby won’t seem to fit in new-born clothes anymore. Indian summers, however, can spare you these expenses as a nappy and a soft singlet can be the perfect attire for your baby. Remember that your baby will grow in weight and length, so make sure you use all those clothes you’ve bought instead of saving them for later.
Below are some of the weekly developments your baby goes through:
Your 12 week old will be sleeping more and wake up only once or twice, and there is a pattern emerging slowly but surely. Make sure your baby sleeps for a few hours during the day as this will help her to sleep well at night. Her eyes will be well-coordinated, and depth perception will be better too. If your baby seems like squinting, take your doctor’s advice since it could mean vision issues later.
A steadily improving vision helps your child to track movement up to 20 feet and makes her perceptive to colour. It is the right time to give your baby a whiff of fresh flowers or a sweet-smelling fruit. She will turn her head towards music and other interesting sounds. At week 13, your baby will learn the use of her hands to pull, grab and grip at things near her, your hair included. Her motor-skills and hand-eye coordination will get better when she enters week 13. Shrieking sounds will be common at this stage, and you will often find your little one cooing to herself.
Your baby’s world is now at its fullest, colourful glory as she can now differentiate between hues and bold colours. Her world is suddenly a new one with fresh and vibrant colours being infused into it. She will begin to respond more enthusiastically to your presence in the room and give a more pronounced reaction to your voice. She will smile more when she spots another baby in her favourite storybook and will love to stare into the mirror. She may probably not understand that it is her image she is looking at, but she will love the kid who is smiling back at her.
Expect your little infant to roll over. This is a major milestone for her, though she will need support to come back to her original position. As the neck and abdominal muscles grow stronger, she will do the back-to-belly flip, but that is still some time away. Help your baby to strengthen these muscles by propping up pillows behind her or by adopting a slightly-upright position in the stroller. Expect a few cries during the night when she attempts to roll over, and gets stuck doing so. It is best to put your baby on her tummy as early as possible so that she gets used to it.
Adults can always communicate to the doctor when they are afflicted with a disease. With a 3-month-old baby, this is obviously difficult. However, they have another way of communicating with people: crying. Always be on the lookout for unwarranted crying. If this is followed by weakness and reduced mobility, take them to a paediatrician immediately.
Your baby’s development at three months will revolve around three areas viz. physical, cognitive and emotional. These milestones will signify the baby’s growth and can be measured accordingly.
Your bundle of joy will surely live up to this moniker at 3 months and announce her presence in the house with squeals and high-pitched sounds. Her sounds of delight will keep the entire household on its toes as she will try out newer (and not necessarily pleasant) vocal skills. Your baby may be slightly scared of her own voice so ensure your feedback is a positive one that says those sounds are okay.
If you want to know what activities to do when your baby is growing up, check the following ideas for a great time with your child:
Follow the below-mentioned tips to keep your infant healthy and safe during this period:
By month three, you and your baby will have managed to create a fairly-settled feeding routine between yourselves. Your baby’s skills at feeding will have improved dramatically, and your ability too will have improved tremendously. As a mother, you will now be able to distinguish between your baby’s hunger cry and the cry that has boredom written all over it. Your baby’s sleep duration will increase so you will find a bit of relief if you are breastfeeding. If your baby is bottle-fed, expect the sleeping hours to increase slightly earlier.
Typically, your 3-month-old will sleep for 14-15 hours in the day, which includes the short naps during the day and night-time sleep. Since night-feeds have reduced to a minimum, expect your child to sleep for 4-5 hour stretches. This happens because your baby’s nervous system is maturing, which allows her stomach to accommodate a larger quantity of milk or baby food. However, don’t just expect her to sleep throughout the night just yet; you will still need to be available on-call for feeds a couple of times.
Parenting is a hands-on learning experience for most, although a bit of support from experienced and well-meaning friends and relatives is useful. Here are a few tips to go through this phase with ease:
It is important to understand that every baby will have his/her own development speed and milestones may come early or late. Your apprehensions about your baby’s growth are justified but can be easily put to rest. Keep a watch on the developments and report any abnormal activity to your doctor as that’s the best way of going forward.
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