14 weeks

Behavior and development

How does the baby develop?

Your baby now loves to touch you. In fact, touch plays a very important role in children's growth and development. All skin contact not only helps you and your baby bond together, but also helps you to comfort your baby when he is upset or irritable. Babies can also wave their arms and kick their feet. As your baby's hips and knees become more flexible, they'll kick their feet harder.

By the second week of the third month, your baby may be able to:

Laugh out loud;

Raise your head 90 degrees while lying on your stomach;

Shout when excited;

Hold your hands together;

Laugh naturally;

Follow the object at a distance of 15 cm and move 180 degrees from side to side in front of the baby.

What do you need to do to support your baby?

Help your baby develop touch by exposing your baby to different materials, such as artificial fur, felt and cotton. At this age, babies can put anything in their mouths, so choose carefully and do not leave your baby alone to avoid putting objects in their mouths.

Babies can bunch their hands together while stretching and holding their fingers. Encourage your baby to coordinate eyes and hands by holding a toy to see if he or she can get it. When you touch your baby like gently blowing or massaging, holding your baby on your side or kissing your baby's nose, these actions will help your baby relax and make him more attached to you. It can even make your baby more alert and help him focus his attention longer.

To do these simple massage steps, place your baby on a warm, flat surface, a blanket on a mat or a soft mat. Put baby oil or vegetable oil on the palms of your hands, rubbing hands together to heat the oil and palms. Make eye contact, sing or talk to your baby as you begin to massage your baby.

Pay attention to your baby's reaction. If your baby does not show interest, try a lighter or stronger massage, or simply stop. Many babies just need to gently stroke.

Health and safety

What should mom discuss with the doctor?

Most doctors won't schedule a routine checkup for your baby this month. But you can always call your doctor if you have any questions and can't wait for your next visit.

Mother should know more?

Missed a dose of vaccination

If your baby has missed a shot (eg tetanus, pertussis, polio vaccine), you don't need to worry. The doctor will inject additional shots the baby has missed. No matter how often your baby has a fever or a mild cold, he or she can safely and effectively continue vaccinations. Consult a doctor if your baby has:

High fever or any other illness;

Immune disorder, weak immune system or the baby taking drugs that suppress the immune system;

Epileptic;

Convulsions;

Steroids overdose for more than two weeks in the previous three months;

Serious reactions to the previous shot such as fever of 40 degrees or higher, convulsions, fainting or fainting.

Premature babies and infants weighing less than 2.5 kg should be vaccinated according to their term, unless directed otherwise by the doctor.

Nutritional supplement with cow's milk

Cow's milk is a great drink for both children and the elderly, but cow's milk does not contain the nutrients needed by babies. Because it contains more salt and protein than breast milk or formula, cow's milk is not good for your baby's kidneys.

Cow's milk is also lacking in iron. The ingredients of cow's milk are different from breast milk and formula. In addition, they may cause mild intestinal bleeding in a small number of babies. So, if you are planning on supplementing your baby with milk other than breastmilk or formula recommended by your doctor, wait until your baby is one year old to start doing this.

Have less bowel movements

It is not uncommon for many breastfed babies to start passing less stools during the day, even once every few days between one and three months of age. The reason is that as the baby gets older, he eats more food, his digestive organs have to digest more than what he ate, but eliminated less.

Breastfed babies may have more bowel movements than usual. This is also nothing out of the ordinary. Breastfed babies rarely experience constipation. Frequent bowel movements are not a sign of constipation, we will know if the baby is constipated or not when the baby's stool is hard and difficult to escape from the body.

Mother's concern

What are the things you need to care about?

Put your baby to bed

Many mothers often try to keep their baby from sleeping while nursing or try to wake up their baby while they suckle and sleep. You should put your baby on the bed while still awake so that later on, when he wakes up, he or she can sleep on its own without using a breast or bottle. It is more practical if you wait until your baby is 6 to 9 months old and has fed less to teach him to sleep without a breast or bottle. And when your baby gets used to this, he will be able to fall asleep quickly after weaning. However, whenever the opportunity arises, put the baby down for a moment. Cuddle, feed your baby or sing a lullaby to make them sleepy and make it easier to fall asleep.

Share a room with your baby

During the first or second month, you will be extremely busy taking care of your baby. You will have to feed your baby, change diapers, and pet him day and night. Some parents let their baby sleep in the same room so that they can take care of their baby in a more convenient and comfortable way. But if you don't plan to let your baby stay in the same room indefinitely, move your baby to a private room once your baby has passed a period of frequent nighttime feeding needs (usually around 2-4 months. ). After this time, letting your baby stay in the same room will create the following problems:

Baby sleep less. When you share a room with your baby all night, you will try to hold your baby up to comfort him whenever he cries. This can disrupt your baby's sleep. What's more, babies often make a lot of noise while sleeping. It is very easy for most babies to get back to sleep within a few minutes without comforting. So if you pick up the baby as soon as the baby groans softly, you may inadvertently wake him up and disrupt his sleep.

Parents lack sleep. The reality is that you will need to pick up your baby more often at night if you let your baby sleep in the same room and that means you will sleep less.

Parents rarely have time to cuddle each other.

Leaving your baby in the same room for long periods of time can make it harder to put your baby to sleep separately later.

If your baby has to share a room with another baby in the house, the sleeping arrangements must depend on the two babies' sleeping habits. If either or both of you tend to wake up at night, you will struggle for a while until the babies learn to sleep while the other is still awake. You can divide or split the bedroom to reduce noise to create a private space for older babies.