Congratulations! Your baby is finally past the age of one. It’s hard to believe that one whole year has passed since he was born. Each baby is a unique human being. They travel their journeys at their own speed – some faster than others. As your baby is slowly moving into the second year of his life, he will go through some more developmental changes. You can now introduce different types of foods or reintroduce foods that he previously disliked. His sense of taste will be developing, so try different spices and cuisines. Your baby might also point at literally everything he sees and asks ‘What’s that?’ in his adorable baby lingo. It is a time of great curiosity for him as he gets to know the world.
During this time, your baby’s eating as well as sleeping habits may change. Children between 12 to 14 months start actively having dreams in their sleep. These dreams can sometimes startle and wake up your child. During such moments, you should comfort him until he falls asleep again. At this stage, your baby, now a toddler, will be fast developing his personality. His language skills will be developing at a fast rate and he may be soon able to communicate with people who don’t understand his gestures or know that ‘wah’ means water to him. Physically, if he is a wobbly walker now, he will soon graduate to being able to run, jump and dance. His concept of self will also grow stronger, making it easier for him to interact with strangers or play with other toddlers. But he will always want your love and support -that will remain unchanged.
Below are the 52-week-old baby milestones you should be watching out for:
Now that your baby is over 12 months old, you can slowly wean him away from infant formula and the bottle. Your toddler should now be eating a wide range of foods, and milk should be his secondary form of nutrition. You can start reducing his dependence on the bottle by gradually replacing his nighttime feed with milk or water from a cup. Your toddler will be a picky eater at this stage, so keep offering him a variety of healthy meals. Don’t pressurize him to eat more than what his appetite can take, and keep snacks and junk food away from his diet. You may worry that he is not eating enough; don’t worry. As long as he appears to be normal, he’s fine. Consider introducing cow’s milk into his diet during the weaning process. If you do, make sure you give him only pasteurized whole milk, as growing children need the extra fat and cholesterol whole milk has.
At this stage, your baby may not be sleeping for long stretches through the night. One of the biggest interruptions in a baby’s sleep in the second six months is the development of crawling. Sleep disruption one month before and up to three months after crawling is typical, research suggests – your baby will have a total of 23 weeks of ‘fussy periods’ in his sleep throughout his first year of life! This is due to the mental and physical development, growth spurts, and mobility progress your baby experiences. Not to mention, teething. On an average, 12-month-old babies should have eight primary teeth by their 1st birthday. Eight more teeth will come by his second birthday, which means that more teething pain at night, and more disturbed sleep for you and your toddler.
This is how you can care for your 52-week-old baby.
Your toddler should have the one-year checkup with his paediatrician around this time.
Your doctor will measure your baby’s height, weight, and head circumference to track his growth and will ask you questions on his diet, sleep habits and behaviour.
Your toddler will most likely need boosters at 52 weeks for vaccinations he has already been given in the past one year. These include vaccine shots for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hib, Polio, influenza, and DTaP. He will also need the first doses of the MMR and chickenpox vaccine.
Below are some games and activities you can play with your little one:
In your 52-week-old infant’s development, consult your doctor if you ever notice the following:
As parents, the first year with your baby is a huge transition, and it can change your life in ways you could never have imagined. Congratulations on reaching a year of parenthood – it’s a great achievement!