Development of a three month old

Baby Development: Your 3-month-old

Written by Stephanie Watson

Third Month Baby Milestones: Motor Skills

Those innate reflexes -- such as the startle reflex that your baby displayed during the first couple of months -- should be fading or gone by now. You’ve probably also noticed that baby’s neck strength is improving. When you hold them upright, you should see very little or even no head wobbling. Three-month-old babies also should have enough upper-body strength to support their head and chest with their arms while lying on their stomach and enough lower body strength to stretch out their legs and kick.

As you watch your baby, you should see some early signs of hand-eye coordination. Your baby’s hands can open and shut, come together, swipe at colorful dangling toys, briefly grab a toy or rattle, and go straight into the mouth.

Third Month Baby Milestones: Sleep

Your 3-month-old’s nervous system is maturing, and their stomach can accommodate more milk or formula. Those changes should allow your baby to sleep for a stretch of six or seven hours at a time, which translates into a good night's sleep for you.

If your baby does wake up in the middle of the night, wait about 30 seconds before heading into the nursery. Sometimes, babies will cry for a few seconds and then go back to sleep. When you rush in at the first sound of fussing, your baby won’t learn how to fall back asleep on their own.

When the cries don’t stop and you do need to go into your baby’s room in the middle of the night, stick to the essentials. Feeding and changing should be done in the dark, if possible, and then it’s right back into the crib. Eventually, they will get the idea that nighttime is for sleeping only.

Your baby’s daytime sleep schedule should also become more routine by now. Most 3-month-old babies take a few naps of about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day.

Third Month Baby Milestones: The Senses

Your 3-month-old’s hearing and vision are improving. Babies this age turn their heads and smile at the sound of their parents’ voices, and they love listening to all kinds of music.

Your baby will still prefer to look at brightly colored toys. That’s because sharp contrasts are easier to see. Faces are absolutely fascinating to 3-month-old babies. Look at them and they will stare back into your eyes. Your infant will also gaze intently at their own reflection in a crib mirror.

Third Month Baby Milestones: Communication

At three months, your baby is becoming more of a unique human being. This is the stage that child psychiatrist Margaret Mahler referred to as ''hatching,'' when babies come out of their ''shells'' and begin to react and relate to the world around them. Part of this hatching process involves interacting with people and smiling for pleasure, otherwise known as social smiles.

By the third month, crying is no longer your baby’s primary method of communication. In fact, 3-month-old babies should cry for no more than an hour each day. If the crying exceeds this, or seems excessive to you, schedule a visit with your pediatrician, because reflux or another medical problem may be behind the tears.

Instead of crying, your baby is starting to communicate in other ways, such as cooing and making vowel sounds (''oh'' and ''ah,'' for example). Engage your little one in conversation by responding to these sounds and narrating what you are doing when you are together. Say, ''I’m going to change your diaper now,'' or, ''It’s time for lunch!'' Your baby will listen raptly to the sound of your voice and watch facial expressions as you talk. Eventually, they will start forming their own sounds and making their own gestures. Having conversations is also a great way to bond with your baby.

Your baby also needs to learn to develop close and trusting relationships with others. Let them get comfortable being held and talked to by someone else while you're around.

Third Month Baby Milestones: Missed Milestones

Every baby is a little different. Don’t be alarmed if your 3-month-old misses a milestone, especially if they were born prematurely. However, do call your pediatrician if your baby hasn’t done the following things by three months:

Responded to noises
Followed people or objects with their eyes
Smiled
Reached for objects

Tips for Your Baby’s Third Month

A number of experts offer advice on parenting, particularly on how to get your baby to sleep through the night. Listen to the advice, but trust your instincts. If letting your baby cry it out (the Ferber method) doesn’t work for your baby and it goes against your beliefs as a parent, don’t do it.
At 3 months, babies should still sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome.) Keep soft bumpers, stuffed toys, blankets, and sleep positioners out of the crib. Never put your baby down to sleep on a couch, chair, waterbed, or cushion. And don't let your baby sleep in a stroller, swing, or bouncer for extended periods of time -- unless it's the only way they'll sleep.
You might hear from a friend or family member that starting your baby on solid foods now will help them sleep through the night. But you need to wait at least one more month. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend that babies eat anything but breast milk or formula until they are between 4 months and 6 months old.

Your baby's growth and development - 3 months old

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By 3 months, your baby will have formed a strong attachment to you. They will respond to you with lots of smiles, and might even talk back to you in their own way. The worst of the crying should be nearly over, and you can really enjoy your baby as they grow into their own little person.

Your 3-month-old

By the time your baby is 3 months, the fontanelle (soft spot at the back of their head) should have closed. There will still be a soft spot on top of their head. It might seem as if your baby’s head has grown faster than their body. It’s normal – the body will soon catch up.

You will still be getting disturbed sleep at nights, but from 3 months many babies start to ‘sleep through’ (which means sleeping for 5 or 6 hours at a stretch at night). But don’t worry if your baby isn’t doing this – they are all different.

Understanding baby growth charts

A growth chart helps you and your doctor keep track of how your baby is growing.

What can your baby do?

By now your baby will be starting to experience emotions and communication. They will respond to different expressions, know your voice and will turn to look for you when they hear you. They may start laughing out loud and look around them in wonder – especially at their fingers and toes.

They will smile at strangers, but they definitely know who their parents are by now. Their brain is growing fast and they will start to recognise people by sight and smell as well as by their voice.

They will be gurgling a lot and trying to respond to you when you talk to them. Their sense of touch is also becoming more sensitive and they will be able to pay attention to things for longer.

From now on, your baby will start to reach out for objects as the muscles develop in their arms and hands. They will try to put things in their mouth, although they can't quite coordinate their hands and eyes yet, take a long look at objects and shake or rattle them.

Physically, your baby will have better control of their head movements and will start to hold their head up when they’re sitting up. When you give them tummy time, you might notice they roll from their front to their back, lift up their head or push up their chest with their hands.

They will be waving their arms and kicking their legs strongly. If you hold them upright with their feet on the floor or your lap, they’ll probably push down on their legs.

A lot of the time, if they are near a dangling object, they will bat at it with closed fists. However, they can also open their fingers to grasp an object and they will be better coordinated, so they can bring their hands together.

How can I help my baby develop?

This is the time when the foundations of language are built. Talk and read to your baby as much as possible. It will help them learn how language works and how conversations go back and forth. Respond to your baby with words or with different noises, to encourage them to express themselves.

Choose baby books with large, bright pictures. It doesn’t really matter what the words are, it’s the sound of your voice that counts. Point to things around your baby and tell them the names. If you live in a bilingual home, it’s OK to use both languages to describe the world to your baby.

You can help your baby to develop the muscles in their neck and back by dangling a toy in front of them when they’re on their tummy. Or offer a toy to them to help them learn to grasp it. Stimulate their sense of touch by stroking them with different materials like fur, felt and tissue. Cuddles, massage and moving them through the air will all help to calm them down.

Development problem signs

Babies develop at a different rate. At 3 months, talk to your doctor or maternal child health nurse if:

they aren’t smiling by 8 weeks
they don’t calm down, even for a little while, when you pick them up to comfort them
one side of their body seems to be stronger than the other
they’re still holding their fingers in a tight fist
sudden noises don’t startle them
they aren’t feeding properly
they’re floppy or stiff

Where can I go for help?

If you are worried or would like to discuss any issues with your baby’s development, speak to your doctor or child health nurse.

Speak to a maternal child health nurse

Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.

Sources:

Raising Children Network (3-4 months: baby development), Women's and Children's Health Network (Milestones: Children 0-4 years), Raising Children Network (2-3 months: newborn development), Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (Developmental milestones and the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards)

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Last reviewed: October 2020

Bonding with your baby
How your baby learns - birth to 3 years
Your baby’s growth and development – first 12 months
Understanding baby growth charts

This information is for your general information and use only and is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes.

The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care. If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional.

Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, this publication or any part of it may not be reproduced, altered, adapted, stored and/or distributed in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Healthdirect Australia.

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what “should” be able to be able, features of caring for boys and girls

10.03.2021

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Child development

0-3 months 9,0003

Article

Babysleep

team Babysleep

Sleep consultants, doctors, psychologists, breastfeeding consultants

In the three months of life, your child has made the leap from a small bundle that mostly sleeps, eats and cries, to a person who smiles at you, recognizes loved ones, hums and is very interested in your own hands! It's only the beginning! But for now, let's take a closer look at what awaits the parents of a three-month-old baby.

Baby's crisis calendar

In this article:

Baby's height and weight at 3 months
Skillful hands: developing hand skills at 3 months
Baby's physical development at 3 months
Baby's mental development at 3 months
Baby's massage at 3 months
Speech development
How to play with a baby at 3 months
How sleep and child development mutually influence each other

All children are different. Even twins often have different rates of development. Any tables and norms can only serve as a guide. Hardly anyone can feel a child better than a mother and know what and when he needs.

Height and weight of a child at 3 months

These tables were developed by WHO specialists during a multicenter study of the height and weight of boys and girls around the world. The study is based on measurements of growth in full-term infants who are breastfed at least up to 6 months.

The tables show the values for WHO: “very low” - 1 percentile, “low” - 5, “below average” - 25, “average” - 50, “above average” - 75, “high” - 95, “ very high” — 99.

Child's height at 3 months

During the third month, children grow by 2-3 cm on average.

Natalia Trofimova

Senior sleep consultant, pediatrician childbirth and birth weight, type of feeding. It is optimal when the height and weight indicators are in the same column-corridor (“medium”, “low”, “above average”, etc. ) or in neighboring ones. The attention of the pediatrician is required when both indicators are in the extreme columns, or the difference between the corridors of values is 3 or more (for example, weight and height in the first percentile corridor is “very low” or weight in the first is “very low”, and height in the fifth is “higher than average"). 9More than a dream Boys Very low low below the average average above the average Very high 56 ,4 62.8 64.8 66.2 Girls Very low low below the average average above the average high Very high 54.9 56.3 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56. 56.59 56A 9008, .8 61.2 63.3 64.7

Baby weight at 3 months

During the third month, children gain an average of 800–900 g in weight. But the gain can be either more or less than the average value. It is definitely worth showing the baby to the doctor if he adds less than 125 grams per week.

Shulamith Volfson

Pediatrician with more than 18 years of experience

“It is worth remembering the difference in the gains of breastfed and artificially fed children. Babies on IV add smoothly, in the first six months, 600–700 grams each. But babies on breastfeeding up to 4-6 months can sometimes even gain up to 1.5-2.5 kg per month, and this is absolutely normal, in the second half of the year such a “dumpling” will definitely get slimmer.

More than a dream

baby-sleep.ru

Baby's weight at 3 months (kg) Boys Very low Low below the average average above the average high Very high 4,89 5. 2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2EV ,4 6.9 7.7 8.3 Girls Very low low below the average average above the average Very high 4,4, 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.EP ,8 6.4 7.2 7.8

Skillful hands: developing hand skills at 3 months

Three months is the time when a baby develops conditioned reflex movements. He can hold objects put into his hand for up to 10 seconds and will definitely pull them into his mouth. Attempts (increasingly successful) begin to shift the rattle from one hand to the other. When sucking, his fingers move vigorously and rhythmically. The child freely swings his arms, but does not yet fix his eyes on them and does not follow them.

Physical development of a child at 3 months

3 main skills of a three-month-old baby:

Lying on your stomach, lift yourself up and lean on your forearms.
Roll over from back to side, and later from side to stomach.
Make initial manipulations: the baby “found” his hands and is very interested in them, and when feeding, he can support the bottle or breast.

If by the end of the fourth month the baby does not do this, contact the pediatrician. But a slightly increased tension in the flexor muscles of the arms and legs at this age is the norm and is called physiological hypertonicity.

At 3 months, many reflexes of the neonatal period fade away: the Moro reflex is almost absent, the grasping reflex is greatly weakened, reflex crawling has disappeared, as well as automatic walking and the support reflex. If these reflexes persist or you notice asymmetric movements in the baby, you should contact your pediatrician.

Most often this month, mothers are worried about:

Regurgitation

During the first 3–4 months of life, regurgitation is observed in 65–70% of children at least once a day. This occurs due to the increased pressure of food on the esophageal sphincter immediately after eating. Spitting up is normal at this stage of development, it usually goes away on its own as the child grows up and usually does not require additional diagnosis and treatment. Read more about regurgitation in our article.

Mental development of a child at 3 months

After the third developmental leap, the baby begins to perceive mild changes in sounds, light, movements. Previously, the baby only hit the toys, now he can already feel them, take them in his hand, examine them, shake them, listen to what sounds they make. In the world of a child, everything takes on a new meaning.

The kid recognizes his loved ones, not only his mother, but also other relatives. He is very emotional: he reacts to smiles, communication with animation, and when left alone for a long time, he cries. He is curious, carefully examines his mother's face, his own arms and legs.

Conditioned reflexes are formed in the baby: at the sight of the mother's breast, the baby calms down. Short-term memory is already showing itself. And the baby begins to pronounce sounds with different intonations.

And although the next developmental leap is called a four-month leap, it starts already at 3.5 months, so during this period the baby may become more restless.

Baby massage at 3 months

If you decide to add daily massage to baby care, then from 3 months, in addition to stroking, you can introduce a new technique - rubbing. It differs from stroking only in intensity: when you run your palm or fingertips over the baby’s skin, it shifts slightly.

We remind you that massage is not a necessity for healthy babies, but if both you and the baby like it, then massage to health, and remember that it is better to do this:

40-60 minutes after feeding or immediately after sleep;
at 20-22°C;
talking affectionately with a child;
when the baby is in a good mood;
when there is at least 45 minutes left before bedtime (the last half an hour before bedtime is best spent in less exciting activities).

And to make the massage more interesting, you can accompany it with play rhymes ( Rain waters the grass - lightly tap on the back with the tips of relaxed fingers, The wind shakes the tree - lightly rock the baby, putting his hands on his shoulders, etc.).

Development of speech

An important part of the development of speech is the ability to perceive it. A three-month-old baby quickly finds the face of a speaking person with his eyes. When adults talk to each other, he turns to them and smiles.

A child can respond to speech addressed to him with sounds and even syllables! At 3-4 months, he goes from cooing (pronouncing long vowels) to babbling (repeating syllables like ma-ma-ma, ha-ha-ha ).

He tries to imitate the speech of adults. You can support this natural process by playing a simple daily game with your baby.

Lean over him so that he can see your face well, smile and start pronouncing the vowels, articulating them exaggeratedly:

AAAA - wide open your mouth

IIII - smile broadly, showing your teeth

UUUU - stretch your lips with a pipe

OOOo - make the most elongated face and stroke of the mouth 9000 9000 9000. grimaces, this will push him to imitate you.

How to play with a 3 month old baby?

Game 1. "Where is Masha's nose?"

The baby gets used to the sound of his own name and learns the names of the parts of the face.

“Where is Masha's nose? Here it is the spout "- lightly touch the tip of the spout, tap with your index finger on and around the spout.

“Where is Masha's forehead? Here it is the forehead "- with the thumbs of both hands we make several light movements from the center of the forehead to the temples.

“Where are Masha's cheeks? Here they are cheeks ”- with light tapping of the fingertips, draw three lines on the baby’s cheeks from the nose to the ears, moving from top to bottom.

“Where are Masha's ears? Here they are ears ”- with index and thumbs we draw along the ears from top to bottom.

“Where is Masha's mouth? Here it is the mouth ”- with index fingers we make circular movements around the child’s mouth.

Game 2. Hands and feet

Stimulates speech and movement.

Recite poetry while moving the child's arms and legs:

Where are our hands? Here are our pens!

Raise the handles, lower the handles.

We bend the handles, we unbend the handles.

Where are our legs? Here are our legs!

Our feet run along the path -

Top-top-top, top-top-top.

Hand clap, clap, clap.

Let's stomp top-top, top-top with our feet.

Game 3. "Fingers-family"

Develops fine motor skills and auditory perception.

Read poetry, gently massaging each finger of the baby:

This finger is a grandfather.

This finger is a grandmother.

This finger is daddy.

This finger is mommy.

Well, this finger is me.

This is my whole family.

Repeat the exercise several times, changing the baby's arms.

Other examples of educational games for a child at 3 months in pictures, see our selection.

Toys for a 3-month-old baby

For a 3-month-old baby, toys for concentration and stimulation to grasp are relevant. Educational rugs are perfect, where the baby can play not only lying on his back, but also on his stomach - rising on the handles. Rustles, rattles, jingles are still interesting to him.

How sleep and child development influence each other

Babies at 3 months sleep 15-17 hours a day, of which 10-11 hours are at night, and during the day - 4 naps lasting from 40 minutes to 2 hours. Read more about the night and daytime sleep of a three-month-old baby in our service: "A child's sleep month by month."

At about 3 months (+/- 2 weeks), babies' sleep patterns change from light to deep, followed by REM (dreaming phase). During this period, sleep may worsen.

BabySleep FAQ this month

Mom:

“My daughter is almost 3 months old, lately her daytime sleep has worsened (20, 30, 40 minutes with constant pumping). Laying down (still motion sickness) also became unbearable. I try to observe the time of wakefulness, but all the same, the baby is constantly hysterical in her arms and does not want to "sick" in any way. With what it can be connected?"

Consultant's answer

Polina Markelova

Head of Counseling Department, Top Sleep Consultant

You need to start from the time of wakefulness: the first part of it is quite active (to make the baby tired) and quiet 15 minutes before bedtime. In a calm environment, it is easier to notice signs of fatigue. Sleep resistance can be related to being awake for too long or being too short or not active enough.

How BabySleep can help

If the baby has confused day and night, does not sleep for more than 20 minutes, falls asleep for a long time (often with tears) - do not wait until it becomes completely difficult, seek help from a sleep consultant while the problem is still not fixed - sign up for a one-time conversation or arrange an assistance package with accompaniment.

#growth spurt#mommymassage#baby play

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3rd month of life.

What should a child be able to do?

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Baby in the arms of an adult in an upright position already in able to follow the toy for 30-40 seconds, turn the head to 180 degrees. It actively follows a stationary or moving object, the face of the adult talking to him. But eye movements are still poorly coordinated.

Many babies can squint with their eyes, which is natural at this age. K 4 month it disappears. Especially well the baby is entertained by mobile toys, which swing easily and smoothly in the air. It is important that the toy has a few clear details. The ideal distance to the toy is 30-50cm. Most toddlers love round objects and their favorite color is red, which is memorable since the time of intrauterine development.

By the end of 3 months, lying on his tummy, the baby already knows how to lean on his forearms and raise the head for 2-2.5 minutes.

This position provides the baby with new development opportunities! He is interested looks around and perceives the world around him from a different angle. More complete the mobility of the head is a great neurological achievement for him!

At 10-12 weeks, the most mobile babies begin to roll over from their back to tummy.

During this period, the so-called “hull stability” develops, which is the basic prerequisite for the first voluntary movements of the child and basis for independent activity.

While the baby is still most often lying on his back, because it is from this position that then it will be most convenient for him to sit down.

By the end of 3 months, the baby begins to feel more and more of his body. Take a closer look at him - he lies directly on his back, but at the same time his nose, chin, sternum, the navel and pubic bone form a straight line. And he plays with his hands in front of his face, examines his fingers, legs bent and slightly pulled up to the navel.

The complex of "revival" in response to the speech addressed to him is clearly expressed.

The baby is very actively looking for the source of the sound with his eyes, smiling in response to your smile. This smile is already called "social" because it occurs in response to on a human face. This is a huge step crumbs in the field of interhuman relationship!

At the end of 3 months, the Moro reflex should disappear in the baby (it consists in symmetrical abduction of the upper limbs with extension of the fingers, followed by adduction of the limbs and flexion of the fingers. ).

Note that now, with sudden exposure to light and sound, your the baby will not incoherently twist arms and legs. Playing with pens, baby bends the legs at the same time.

At 8-12 weeks, the grasping reflex also disappears. The baby has a conscious random grip.

From about 10 weeks, the baby begins to play enthusiastically with his hands, swipe with fingers. He tries to hold on to the toy, tries to touch something. with your own hands. This creates a connection between vision and action. Of course the baby is not immediately be able to grab the toy himself. He will gradually learn this.

With the support of the baby under the armpits, he already confidently leans for 45-60 seconds. about firm support with the feet of the legs bent at the hip joints.

The baby responds well to sounds.

If you gently take the baby in your arms and talk to him, he will be very study your face carefully.