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As parents,nothing is more beautiful than watching your baby grow. From a newborn to a 31 week-old baby, every single milestone is momentous. Every step, every crawl and every laugh can create a deep sense of love and attachment with your little one.
It can be challenging to be parents but thanks to help and resources you can now help your baby grow and develop into a happy and healthy individual.
A 31 Week-Old Baby’s Development
By 31 weeks your baby has grown a lot right in front of your eyes. The growth will have seen exponential when compared to when you as a parent first got your newborn home. Your baby will have started having pureed solid food, making sounds, trying to crawl and constantly keeping you busy with their enthusiasm and energy.
You can document this growth in pictures and videos and keep up with his/her antics by playing games, aiding their cognitive growth and ensuring they get healthy and nutritious meals.
A Thirty-One Week-Old Baby’s Milestones
Your 31-week old baby would have developed cognitive, emotional, physical milestones. Every day will be new as your child will be unlocking a new milestone keeping in line with his/her development.
By this age, your baby should be able to achieve the following milestones
- Sit without support
- Smile often and at a lot of new things
- Play peek a boo or hide and seek
- Pick up objects with his/her fingers and hold it firmly
- Make different kinds of sounds to indicate different things.
- Probably be able to crawl or move forward a bit
- Imitate speech sounds
Feeding
As a mother depending on whether you are working or staying at home, you may be deciding on breastfeeding schedules and feeding for your baby. It can get very taxing to plan when to start breast pumping and also to ensure your baby starts having a bit of solid food. Breast milk meets all the required nutrients for a growing baby especially in the first year so if you are planning on breastfeeding till 12 months then make sure you are preparing a schedule to meet the different feeding sessions.
It is important to remember that while you have introduced solid food to your toddler, it can only supplement the breast milk and not replace it until almost 2 years. If you are working, it can get demanding to breastfeed, and you might be tempted to cut down so prepare a schedule so that your 31-week old baby will not be fussy and get proper nourishment.
If you have also introduced formula milk to your baby, then you can create a schedule to ensure that you give a mix of breast milk, formula milk and solid foods. Take a cue from your baby and keep feeding until they decide to wean off the breast milk.
No matter what your feeding style is it’s important to always offer milk especially breast milk to your baby first before solids so that he/she can get complete nutrition
Sleeping
Your 31-week old baby sleep will take a critical turn in the coming months. Your baby has now started to develop likes and dislikes and have a level of independence that will continue to grow stronger.
With large developmental leaps in combination with teething and increasing mobility, your toddler will have quite a few disturbed sleep. Your baby may become more tired easily due to the challenging phase of his/her life. Your baby may be having trouble sleeping at night, and it’s important to minimize the distractions in order to bring order and ensure a sound sleep for your baby. Usually, if your baby has woken up due to some discomfort or movement, it helps to breastfeed him/her back to sleep.
A 31 Week-Old Baby’s Care Tips
No matter how exhausted you are at this stage, your toddler will bring you immense joy with his/her energy. A 31-week old baby growth spurt will amaze you and keep you entertained.
Here are a few tips to keep your toddler in the best of health and happiness
- Start introducing various vegetables and fruits to your toddler in variety forms i.e. pureed, mashed or finger foods
- When it comes to sleeping, start creating a routine to ensure they fall into the habit of sleeping soundly
- Encourage curiosity
- Play games whenever you get time with them to improve bonding
- Ensure that you are giving adequate amount of breast milk balanced with solid foods
- Start introducing different types of toys to develop their cognitive abilities
- Be patient and understand if and why your baby is being upset
- Create a positive environment at home so that your baby is getting good attention
- Smile and laugh often with your 31-week old baby
- Keep a diaper bag ready with toys, extra diapers, feeding bottles, tissues and extra underwear handy
- Identify your baby’s personality traits and nurture any talent that you notice
- As important it is to care for your baby it is even more important to take care of yourself as parents so if your baby is taking a nap, take a nap with him/her
- As parents take little breaks and help each other out to care for your little one
Tests and Vaccinations
Getting your baby vaccinated is the best way to protect them from serious diseases and illnesses which can also be life-threatening. Consult with your paediatrician and ensure that you as parents do all the tests and get the vaccine for your 31-week old baby. Your child will have to get hepatitis B (3 shots) DTap (6 shots), Hib, Polio, Rotavirus, measles, mumps and rubella. Your doctor may also recommend Hepatitis A, HPV, Varicella, Pneumococcal and Meningococcal shots for your baby. Some of the shots help protect your baby from dangerous viruses. The first and most important shot to get is the Hepatitis B which guards against Hepatitis B virus which damages the liver.
When you go to the doctor’s office make sure you measure your baby’s growth, get a thorough physical examination and a review of the medical history to ensure that your baby’s development is on track.
Games and Activities
Enjoy the time with your toddler and start playing some games with them to enhance the bonding experience. Since your baby will get curious and start to pay attention to his/her surroundings during this age, start introducing different elements in their environment to keep them entertained.
As parents, the easiest game you can play at home with no toys is peeked a boo. Whenever possible play this game with your baby. In addition, you could also take a string toy and get your baby to follow the toy by gently tugging on the string. Your baby will crawl to get to the toy thereby enhancing his/her motor skills.
Another simple game you can play with your toddler is to clap. Clap your hands together, and your baby will start mimicking you. You can even start singing some nursery rhymes to them as at this stage your baby is starting to recognise sounds and make associations. Another great game for your toddler is hiding his/ her toy and encouraging them to find it. Usual hiding spots can be under the blanket so that your baby is delighted when he/she finds it
When to Consult a Doctor
Staying alert and watching your baby’s growth is important to ensure you contact your doctor at the right time. If your baby is in a lot of pain due to teething and is unable to sleep for days, then it is time to consult the doctor. If your baby has reddish watery eyes, then after observation does consult a doctor. If your baby’s regular pattern is disrupted in any way due to diarrhoea, high fever or any unusual symptoms which you can see physically its time to consult a doctor. If your baby’s poop has blood in it, then make sure you call your doctor. If your baby has chest retractions, flaring of nostrils, heavy or noisy breathing, then he/she maybe having respiratory distress. If your baby has dry lips and mouth, then he or she could also be dehydrated. It is important to consult a doctor and be prepared for these scenarios.
Make sure you also keep a routine check-up in place for vaccinations so that you can regularly visit your paediatrician.
Enjoy this time with your baby as from now on your baby will get more and more intuitive, curious and imaginative. Before you know it your toddler will soon be a one year-old, so make the most to ensure a happy and healthy baby.
