17 weeks

Behavior and development

How does the baby develop?

By the first week of the fourth month, your baby can:

Raise head 90 degrees when lying on its stomach;

Laugh out loud;

Know all the basic sounds of the mother tongue;

Say simple words like "mama" and "baba" but don't really understand the meaning;

Watch for objects 15 cm away and moving 180 degrees from side to side.

What do you need to do to support your baby?

To support your baby, encourage your baby to practice speaking by having him look in the mirror or imitate his expressions and sounds. You can also react when your baby makes a sound or tries to say something to help him realize the importance of language and better understand how we communicate.

Health and safety

What should mom discuss with the doctor?

Each doctor will have its own way to check the baby's health. General physical tests, as well as the number and type of assessment techniques and procedures performed will vary widely. But you can anticipate and consult your doctor about the following issues for your baby's health check:

Tell your doctor how you and your baby should be living with your family, about eating, sleeping, general development, and how to take care of your baby if you plan to return to work;

The doctor will measure the baby's weight, height, head circumference and review the baby's condition since birth.

What should mom know?

Ear infection

Ear infections are also known as acute otitis media. It happens when viruses or bacteria and fluid get stuck behind a baby's eardrum. The infection will cause swelling, pain and often a fever. Ear infections are very common. More than half of babies will get it before they turn one year old.

Symptoms of this disease include:

Anorexic. Because ear infections can cause pain when chewing and swallowing;

Strong continuous twitching in the ear;

Fever from 38oC to 40oC;

Sudden changes in temperament, accompanied by a cold. Pressure in the ear can hurt your baby, especially while lying down (such as when he's eating or lying in bed) and irritates him;

Ears discharge, which may be yellow, white, or even reddish in color;

Diarrhea. Because ear infections are usually caused by a virus that affects the digestive system.

Oddly enough, ear infections usually go away on their own after a while. However, doctors will prescribe antibiotics to prevent the ear infection from worsening and make the baby more comfortable. Your doctor may also prescribe acetaminophen to relieve pain and fever. Your baby's illness usually gets better within two days of starting the medicine.

To prevent ear infections:

Keep your baby away from cigarette smoke because cigarette smoke can weaken the immune system;

Continue to breastfeed your baby. Research shows that breastfed babies are less likely to develop ear infections;

Make sure your baby is fully vaccinated, especially pneumonia and flu, to reduce the incidence of ear infections;

Limit use of pacifiers, some studies suggest that use of pacifiers can lead to a higher risk of ear infections;

If your baby goes to kindergarten, consider switching to a smaller nursery. This will reduce your baby's exposure to germs that can make ear infections worse.

Baby support

At this stage, if your baby is not able to sit up on its own, you need to support your baby when you observe that he or she slips or falls aside. Although you should not try to hold the baby because the baby's neck and back are not fully developed. But when the baby reaches 3 or 4 months old, you support the baby from many different positions because he can hold his head well without falling.

In addition to changing positions, sitting up will help your baby see further. Instead of just looking up into the sky or around from inside a stroller, a sitting baby will be able to see passersby, shops, houses, trees, pets, buses, cars and socks. also other great things around the baby. Baby will play longer when only able to lie down. So when the baby sits, the baby will play in a shorter time and you will be less strenuous.

Baby is too chubby

Unlike being overweight in adults, the baby's chubby shape is not necessarily due to diet. Instead of trying to lose weight for your baby, you need to slow down your baby's weight gain. As your baby grows taller and more active, he will be less chubby and become more slender. Some of the following tips may help if you are concerned about your baby's weight:

Only feed your baby when he is hungry;

Adjust the diet if necessary;

Give your baby water, non-caloric drinks;

Do not feed your baby early to encourage her to sleep all night. Not only is it ineffective but also leads to overweight in young children;

Re-evaluate your baby's diet;

Get your baby active. If your baby is barely moving, encourage her to move more.

Mother's concern

What are the things you need to care about?

Mother's breast refusal

It is unusual for a baby to temporarily refuse to breastfeed and there is almost always a special cause. The most common causes are:

Mother's diet: if you find that certain foods make your baby reject you, avoid eating until your baby is weaned;

Babies with a cold: when babies have a stuffy nose, they cannot suck and breathe through their mouth at the same time, and of course, they prioritize using their mouth to breathe;

Teething babies: although most babies don't have teething until they are at least 5 or 6 months old, some babies start to teething earlier. Usually a baby will grow one or two teeth in the first four months. Breastfeeding puts pressure on swollen gums that make your baby feel pain;

The baby has an earache;

Baby is missed in the mouth;

Milk flows slowly. When the baby is hungry, the baby will lose patience if the milk comes out too slowly;

Maternal hormones change. Newly born women produce hormones that change the taste of milk and cause the baby to refuse to suckle;

Mother is stressed;

Baby is preparing to the time to wean.

In the meantime, the following methods might be helpful:

Do not try to replace your baby with another milk;

Try expressing milk in a bottle;

Try feeding your baby at different times. Even if your baby repeatedly refuses to breastfeed, it is likely that the baby will feed again after a while;

Begin to practice feeding your baby solid foods.

If your baby continues to refuse breastmilk or if accompanied by other symptoms of illness, talk to your doctor for more detailed advice.

Baby rolling uncomfortable when changing diapers

If your baby cooperated with each diaper change in the past, it will become harder and harder to change later. The discomfort and constraints of wearing diapers make diaper changing difficult. The trick is: Change quickly by having everything ready before you put your baby on the changing table. Also, create more sounds to distract your baby, such as sounds from cell phones, music boxes or a favorite baby toy to hold. You can also distract your baby with a song or talk with your baby long enough for you to finish changing the diaper.