What does a three month old baby look like

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.

All About Your 3-Month-Old Baby

Is there anything that could melt your heart faster than a gummy smile from your 3-month-old baby?

Three months is when you may feel like you are starting to hit your stride as a parent and have become accustomed to living with your newest family member.

You may also find yourself confronting the reality that babies grow and change on a nearly daily basis.

This is the age at which your baby may be smiling and cooing, reminding you how great it is to have a baby.

At 3 months of age, babies are gaining more control of their head, hands, and legs, and you may notice them moving them more deliberately. And while they’re not yet mobile, you still need to keep a close eye on them and make sure to put safety first at all times.

You may be amazed at how quickly your baby grows, but that’s normal. After all, they’re still spending a fair amount of time eating and sleeping.

By now, your baby has probably outgrown their newborn-sized clothes, relegating them to the hand-me-down pile, and put on some irresistible baby fat. You may have already moved on to the 3-month or even the 6-month outfits by now.

What’s typical, size-wise, for a 3-month-old baby? On average, baby boys will be slightly larger than baby girls.

You’re looking at an average of about 24 inches (61.4 cm) in length and just a smidge over 14 pounds (6.37 kg) in weight for a baby boy. Meanwhile, a baby girl in the 50th percentile will be around 23 1/2 inches (60 cm) and weigh about 12 pounds and 12 ounces (5.8 kg).

But of course, your baby may be larger or smaller, and that’s OK. Generally speaking, babies tend to grow between 1/2 inch and 1 inch per month during their first 6 months of life. Plus, they’re gaining 5 to 7 ounces per month. So, if your little baby suddenly looks much bigger, that’s because they probably are!

When your neighbor casually asks how the baby’s doing and puts a little pressure on you by inquiring if your baby has started crawling yet, it’s helpful to be knowledgeable about the developmental milestones for a 3-month-old baby.

Social

Everyone loves to make a baby smile, and in fact, social smiling is a 3-month milestone. So, break out your silly faces and best peekaboo game. Some other social milestones include:

having a good time playing with other people
crying or protesting the end of playtime
imitating your movements and facial expressions
becoming more expressive

Motor

At 3 months, your baby may:

raise their head and chest when lying on their belly
open and close their hands
hold their upper body up on their arms when on their belly
kick their legs when lying down
try to bat at objects that are dangling in front of them

This can be a great time to put your baby down on their stomach for a little tummy time to work on these skills. Some babies at this age might flirt with rolling over, so be sure to keep a close eye (and hand) on them.

Other milestones

You may also want to keep an eye out for visual and hearing milestones, such as:

following moving objects
looking closely at faces
recognizing familiar people and objects at a distance
vocalizing vowel sounds, also known as cooing
turning toward sounds or noises
imitating some noises and sounds
starting to use their hands and eyes together

If you’re concerned that your baby’s not hitting certain developmental milestones, be sure to ask your child’s doctor.

Like many new parents, you’re probably dreaming about getting more sleep. You may feel like you can’t even remember the last time you got a full night’s sleep.

It might comfort you to know that your baby will eventually sleep through the night. Although, it might take a while longer for your baby to give you this precious gift.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), babies don’t develop regular sleep cycles until they’re about 6 months old. Your baby may sleep 12 to 15 hours a day, but it’s not all in one long stretch.

Many babies between the ages of 3 and 6 months can sleep for 6 to 8 straight hours at night, which experts consider to be “sleeping through the night.” So your 3-month-old baby may start to give you one good long stretch at night, but they may also wake throughout the night.

Don’t give up. As babies get older, they’re able to sleep for longer stretches. When this happens, you’ll be able to log more Zzz’s yourself.

Is there ever an actual “typical day” with a young baby? Maybe not, but there are some things that you can expect, with some variations.

Your baby will wake in the morning, ready to eat. If you’re breastfeeding, you know the drill. If you’re using formula, it’s time to get that bottle ready.

Of course, your baby will want to eat several more times during the day. Three to 4 hours between feedings is pretty common.

How much will they want to eat? At this age, somewhere between 4 and 6 ounces of milk is a pretty average amount for a formula-feeding.

The AAP suggests that babies in this age range consume 2 1/2 ounces of formula for every pound of body weight. So that’s about 30 ounces of formula per day for a 12-pound baby.

Your baby will be more alert when awake, compared with how they were just a few weeks ago, so try reading a few simple books or singing songs and watch for their reactions.

After some playtime, your baby may be ready for a morning nap. Babies at this age tend to take several naps throughout the day.

You’ll also be changing a fair number of diapers throughout a typical day.

Ideally, you want to change your baby’s diaper every time they soil it to reduce the risk of diaper rash. You might change as many as eight or nine diapers per day, although your baby’s needs may vary.

You may wonder what sort of conditions and illnesses you should watch out for. Cradle cap and diaper rash are both pretty common among babies this age, and they’re usually easy to treat.

While you hopefully won’t have to deal with any serious illnesses or health conditions, even healthy babies may catch a cold or cough, especially if they’ve got an older sibling who likes to get up close and play with them.

A runny nose, sneezing, irritability, and even trouble sleeping are common symptoms.

If you’re concerned, be sure to call the pediatrician. Some reasons that might justify a professional opinion include a fever above 100.4°F (38°C), vomiting, trouble breathing, difficulty feeding or waking up to feed, eye discharge, and a decrease in wet diapers.

At 3 months of age, your baby is not yet mobile. That’s coming soon, so you may already want to be thinking ahead to babyproofing your home. In the meantime, be sure to focus on several other important safety issues, including:

Safe sleep. Your pediatrician has likely advised you to put your baby to sleep on their back and in their own sleep space, which is safer than sleeping on their stomachs. Read up on the AAP’s sleep policy and make sure you’re following all the guidelines to minimize the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Car safety. Always make sure your child is buckled securely into a rear-facing car seat before taking them in a motor vehicle. Double check all the straps to make sure they’re fastened correctly, and make sure your baby doesn’t slump down in the seat.
Choking. You want to keep an eye out on your baby when they’re starting to put things in their mouth. Be sure to move any objects that could pose a choking hazard out of their reach.
Falls. Babies wiggle. It’s just what they do. And if you take your eyes and hands off your baby when they’re on a changing table or bed, your baby might just wiggle off of it — and onto the floor. That’s why the AAP urges you to never leave your baby unattended.
Burns. Turn down the temperature of the hot water at your home so you don’t accidentally scald your baby during bath time. Keep the temperature no higher than 120°F (48.9°C).

Safety note

Sleep positioners and wedges are not recommended while feeding or sleeping. These padded risers are intended to keep your baby’s head and body in one position, but are not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration due to the risk of SIDS.

While 3-month-old babies often have many things in common, the truth is that no two babies are alike. Certain developmental milestones are typical, but not every baby reaches them in exactly the same way.

Some babies sleep better than others, and some babies eat more than others. Your child’s pediatrician can chat with you more about your child’s specific growth and development — and what to keep looking for as your baby continues to grow.

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. The baby peers into the expression of your facial expressions, listens to the tone of your voice, distinguishes the volume of your appeal to him. If you want to change the tone or volume of your speech, he will register it.

What “should” be able to be able to be able to care for boys and girls

10.03.2021

16347

Child development

0-6 months

Author

command Babysleep 9005

BabySleep

Sleep consultants, doctors, psychologists, breastfeeding consultants

In three months of life, your baby has made the leap from a little bundle that mostly sleeps, eats and cries, to a person who smiles at you, recognizes loved ones, coos and very interested in his 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 WHO values: “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.

Natalya 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").

More than a dream

baby-sleep.ru

Height at 3 months (cm)

Boys 9000 ,4 9000.3 9000 9000 9000

Girls
62.8	64.8	66.2
Very low	Low	lower than the average	average	higher than the average		very high
54.9		59 59 59 59 59 ,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 over 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 9000 ,4 6.9 7. 7 8.3 Girls Very low low lower than the average average higher than the average Very high 4.4 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 ,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.
Perform initial manipulations: the baby has “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 begins 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 necessary for healthy babies, but if both you and your baby like it, then massage for 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 to 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.

The baby 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 - Extend your lips with a tube

ooo - make the maximum elongated face and oval of the thunder

5 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 & Feet

Stimulates speech and movement.

Read 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.

Let's clap clap, clap, clap.

Let's stomp top-top, top-top.

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.

See other examples of educational games for a child at 3 months in pictures in our selection.

Toys for a 3-month-old baby

For a 3-month-old baby, toys for concentration and stimulus 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, then 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.