The 36-week mark signifies a lot of development taking place in your little one. From crawling to sitting and observing his surroundings, your baby will start getting accustomed to his surroundings and relish new experiences every day. As his emotional, physical, motor and cognitive development take place all together at the same time, you’ll notice him accomplishing major milestones. Here’s what you need to know.
From developing the fear of staying alone in a room or separation anxiety to being surprised from bumping into things or exploring the nuances of cause and effect, you will notice a 36-week old baby growth spurt pretty soon. Stay prepared for napping on the go since your little one will be dozing off unexpectedly and be ready for making changes to your lifestyle and schedule. You’ll need to be flexible and adaptive at this stage. From feeding to napping, playing and taking your young one out for some fun, this is the time they learn a lot and develop rapidly. Whether their growth is slow or fast, here are a couple of development milestones you have to watch out for. Read on below to find out.
Watch out for the following milestones since they’re likely to occur during this stage. As always, there are no fixed rules, and these are common milestones. Results may vary from baby to baby-
Stick to the old adage of ‘Parents Provide; Children Decide’ where feeding is concerned. You may at first find it frustrating to notice that your baby is no longer enjoying the old foods he ate before this stage. This is because some novelties become routines for them and it’s important to switch things up. Give him a mix of solids, purees and mashed foods for added variety and let him decide what he wants to eat and how often he wants to. You may notice surges or fluctuations in his appetite, and this is because he’s simply busy exploring and moving around. Eating becomes a second priority but still a priority nonetheless. Don’t force your little one to eat what he doesn’t want to and let him explore his appetite mindfully since this leads to encouraging and developing healthy eating habits.
Teething will also start taking place, and since it’ll be in the process, your baby may give preference for softer foods over hard solids every now and then. Ensure that you provide him with a plethora of options to explore tastes and textures. These could include crunchy carrots, sweet apples and soft oats. If you’re concerned about getting enough nutrients, then don’t worry. As long as you keep providing him, he’ll keep eating and meeting his dietary requirements automatically.
Breastfeeding will continue up to his first birthday and make sure not to give your baby cow’s milk since his digestive system won’t be ready for it until then or anytime soon.
Your 36-week old baby sleep patterns will be cranky at this stage. Most babies enter the phase of ‘junk sleeping’ where they suddenly drift away to dreamland before dinner or fall asleep while playing. Your baby’s daytime naps may be divided into two parts now, and you won’t be noticing any routine sleep patterns anytime soon. Consider co-sleeping with your little one and have safe bed-sharing practices to ensure he feels comfy and gets sound sleep. If you’re having trouble settling your baby after waking up, then let him roam around and play his heart away until he gets tired enough for a snooze. Establish rhythmic sleeping cues like rocking the cradle/pram or moving the baby carrier in a gentle and rhythmic way to encourage drifting to sleep. Babies like listening to brown noise and sleep music too at this age before transitioning to bedtime (or naptime).
Your baby won’t be needing any vaccinations at this age (unless he missed a few during the first six months) and where tests are concerned, they’ll be pretty generic in nature. Your baby’s paediatrician may ask your little one to demonstrate crawling on the floor, show off his pincer grasp and assess how he moves, grabs, plays and more. You’ll be asked questions about your babies are eating and sleeping patterns so far as testing goes which is why to make sure to keep a note of all that before taking him/her to the paediatrician.
There are mainly two games and activities you can try at this age to nurture observation, hearing, and sensory development. They are-
Consult a doctor if-
Your baby may even begin walking, talking a bit or crawling masterfully at this age. Sometimes things develop at such a pace that it feels there are developmental delays or too much of growth spurts when in reality, everything’s fine. Be patient where feeding and settling your little one to sleep are concerned. Really, all it takes is a little time since he’s growing and exploring and as a parent, the best thing to do is stay flexible and accommodative of new perspectives.