48 weeks

Behavior and development

How does the baby develop?

At this time, the baby can walk by himself. If your child is not yet able to walk, he will soon start taking his first steps on his own. Don't worry if at this point your child is not yet learning to walk. Some perfectly normal babies can begin to walk until they are 17 or 18 months old.

By the last week of December, your child may be able to:

Stand alone;

Walk steady;

Show that your baby wants something in ways other than bursting into tears;

Play ball (by rolling the ball back towards you);

Can drink water by himself in a glass;

Use your baby's own language (meaningless words that sound like they're talking in a language they make up for themselves);

Reacts to simple requests from mom without any descriptive gestures (eg you can say: "Give me" without having to reach out your hand);

Say 3 or more words in addition to "mama" and "baba".

What do you need to do to support your baby?

Always make sure your baby is in a really safe environment to grow. You should follow safety instructions for your baby and never leave your baby alone without anyone watching. If possible, install surveillance cameras in baby or indoor play areas.

What could be happier than the moment you see your baby walking? You can encourage your baby to walk by standing or kneeling in front of him, holding his or her hand. You can also hold both hands and walk your baby towards you. Like most babies, a baby will take very wide steps with arms outstretched, feet facing out, abdomen facing forward while buttocks sticking out back for balance.

Health and safety

What should mom discuss with the doctor?

Most doctors will not have regular checkups for your baby this month. This turns out to be a good deal, as children this age don't like having to sit still while seeing a doctor. Babies who are anxious about meeting strangers may also dislike doctors, no matter how friendly they are. You can always take your baby to see the doctor if you have any urgent questions that can't wait until the next visit.

Mother should know more?

Chicken pot

Chickenpox has always been one of the concerns of parents with young children. It is best to equip yourself with knowledge about the symptoms of this disease. Always be on the lookout for red spots on your baby's body, especially if you notice them appearing after your child has been in contact with another child who has had chickenpox. It usually takes 10 to 21 days after being exposed to the pathogen for symptoms to appear.

Symptoms of chickenpox

Symptoms of chickenpox include itchy red bumps that develop into pus-filled blisters on a pink base that turn into dry brown crust. These rashes first appear on the baby's body and scalp and then spread to the baby's face, arms and legs. Your child will also appear tired, not hungry and have a low fever.

What should mom do when the baby has chickenpox?

You can consult a doctor if your child has chickenpox. To avoid infection and scarring, help your baby's wounds heal faster by cutting their nails short and keeping them from scratching or poking the wounds to scratch the itch. Mom can also try wearing gloves to limit the baby from touching the wound too hard. You can also help relieve itching by bathing your baby with baking soda or oatmeal and applying calamine lotion to your baby. You can lower your baby's fever with acetaminophen but never take aspirin.

See a doctor if symptoms become more severe. Symptoms of worsening illness include:

Very large sores appear;

The sore begins to appear in the baby's mouth or eyes;

If your baby has a fever for several days in a row;

Your baby's skin is swollen, painful or very red.

Mother's concern

What are the things you need to care about?

In the last week of 12 months, there are a lot of things that you may be interested in, one of which is the cessation of plastic nipples. You may feel it is too cruel to force your baby to give up something he loves, but experts say this is a good time to start teaching your baby to quit latching.

There are two reasons you might want to wean your baby right now. Firstly, the longer the baby latches on to a pacifier, the more difficult it will become to help the baby wean the pacifier. Second, because this is the time when your baby will begin to develop speech, your baby will have less chance to practice speaking if his or her mouth is always on the nipple.

Getting rid of a pacifier can be difficult, so do it gradually: limit the amount of time your baby can latch on during the day and then practice so he doesn't need to latch at night. again. You could also try swapping baby nipples for a stuffed animal or toy to distract your baby.