Your 47 Week Old Baby – Development, Milestones & Care

[47 Week Old Baby’s Development

It is wonderful to watch your baby go from crawling to cruising to walking on her own, which will most likely start at this stage. When she begins to walk, she will tumble and fall often and may be wobbly, but she will persevere by constantly altering her posture, her balance, and her muscle strength. At 47 weeks your baby will also tend to go for ‘grown-up’ toys rather than her own toys, like your mobile phone, remote control or cutlery. This will be because she would have seen you use these items and would want to imitate you. As your baby approaches her first year, her weight will start to go down a bit, thanks to her being a fussy eater and playing around at meal times. This is also the time to start weaning your baby away from a pacifier or a dummy if she uses it often or to sleep. You can instead buy her a comforting new toy or blanket to cuddle while sleeping.

47 Week Old Baby’s Developmental Milestones

Below are a few 47-week-old baby milestones you can expect to see:

• Your baby will be able to sort, compare and categorize her toys
• Your baby will be able to bend and pick up all sorts of objects with her fingers
• Your baby will be able to stand independently or walk
• Your baby will be able to say ‘mama’ and ‘papa’.
• Your baby will be able to say a few more distinct words.
• Your baby will be able to fill and empty boxes or containers.
• Your baby will be able to cooperate when you dress her by holding up her arms and sticking it into the sleeves. She would have started grasping the concept.
• Your baby will have her own unique words for certain things.

Feeding

Solids will become more important in your baby’s diet, but she will continue to breastfeed according to her needs. This is called baby-led breastfeeding. If you plan to breastfeed even in the second year, you don’t have to change your baby’s feeding pattern. During the first year, breast milk is the main source of nutrition for your baby, but as she starts transitioning to eat solid food, breast milk becomes more about comfort for her. Breastfeeding will continue to benefit your baby as a source of food, hydration, comfort, and immune support. The latter is especially important to fight off infections as your baby grows into a toddler, exposed as she will become in a wider environment. Breastfed babies and toddlers are at less risk of getting sick for this reason. They also get a huge part of their daily nutritional requirements from breast milk. So if you and your 47-week-old baby are in no hurry to stop breastfeeding, you can continue for as long as you wish.

Sleeping

Finally, at this stage, you can expect less sleep disturbance in your baby and the start of a more predictable sleeping pattern. It won’t happen fast; your baby’s sleeping pattern is bound to change at first. But she will drop off to sleep more easily and sleep longer before waking up again. You can adjust your day accordingly to match your baby’s new sleeping pattern. If your baby is still starting to learn how to walk, you might see the sleep disturbance continuing for a bit. This is because when your baby starts to crawl, for one month before and three months after, you will see disruption in her sleep. When she starts to walk, the demands will be greater on her system, and she might be up more at night. In that case, you need patience till she grows out of that stage and returns to a period of more peaceful sleep.

Tips for Your 47-week-old Baby’s Care

You can care for your 47-week-old baby in the following ways:

• Start to teach your baby how to help out. Teach her what ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ mean and when to use them. She may not get the idea at first, but it will come gradually.

• Keep talking to your baby and build a connection between objects and names. This is the time to develop your baby’s vocabulary.

• Count stair steps or point out and name fruits and vegetables to your baby when you go shopping so that she can pick up on the names and numbers.

• Ask their opinion once in a while, like ‘which dress do you want to wear’ or ‘what toy do you want to play with’. If she understands, she will point at her preference.

• Try and teach your baby the concepts of wet, dry, hot and cold. This will help with her communication skills.

Tests and Vaccinations

Usually, doctors do not schedule regular medical checkups for babies during this month.

1. Tests

The doctor may take your baby’s blood test if she shows symptoms of anaemia or any other disorder to check if levels of haemoglobin, iron, and lead in her blood are normal.

2. Vaccinations

Between 6-18 months, babies require the third dose of the IPV (polio) vaccine and the final dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine. The influenza vaccine can also be administered on the doctor’s recommendation.

Games and Activities

You can play the following games and activities with your 47-week-old baby:

• You can give your child non-breakable plates and vessels, and she will play with them happily.

• Fill old jars with pasta or dried beans, tightly close them and give them to your baby so that she can shake them and experiment with sound while she plays.

• Give her a bunch of stuff and ask her to sort them. This will help with her dexterity skills.

• Play ‘This Little Piggy Went to Market’ with her fingers and toes. Games involving patterns and predictability can help her develop coordination and motor skills.

• Dance and sing along with your baby to music. Babies at this age love to swing and move their bodies.

When to Consult a Doctor

You can consult a doctor on your 47-week-old infant’s development for the following:

• Older babies are head heavy and thus are more liable to topple and fall when they try to walk. This may result in mouth injuries. If your baby does hit her mouth and bleeding occurs, calm her down and check her mouth. If the injury is small and bleeding stops quickly, nothing is necessary except for a cool compress and a pain reducer. If the bleeding does not stop or a tooth is broken, consult a doctor/dentist for your baby.

• If your baby exhibits an allergic reaction to something which lasts for more than 24 hours – if there is swelling on her face, legs or hands, if she has fever, vomiting or a rash, then consult a doctor immediately.

• If your baby falls down somewhere and you see bad bruising on her head or some other body part and if she is in pain even after a few days, consult your doctor. He will check to see if your baby has a concussion or any possible fracture.

• During this stage, your baby also may experience bouts of constipation. In that case, add more high-fibre foods into your baby’s diet like apples, veggies, oatmeal or dried apricots. You can also give her prune juice in a sippy cup once a day.

Don’t worry; you have made it through the 47^th week. Your baby is at a stage where everything is exciting. Life will just get more fun from now, both for you and for your little one!