What should a baby be able to do at 3 months?

At three months, the child already knows a lot. He has the most joyful gift for mom and dad - a smile. A child can smile a lot and happily, and even laugh. What else can your baby in 3 months?

Baby development at 3 months

Crying is no longer the only method for a child to communicate with parents and others. He already knows how to roar, smile widely and even laugh. So the child shows his attitude to the world and his happiness because he lives. Did you know that neonatologists who deal with babies observe more than 70 types of smiles in their three months of age? If a mother loves her child and is attentive to his needs, she will also be able to distinguish between these kinds of smiles.

See also: Baby 3 months What are the physical parameters of a child from one month to three, and what should a child be able to do?

If the child is unhappy, he may already cry more harshly. Shout, express your displeasure. A child at 3 months can already hold the head for quite a long time, lifting it up. He already knows how to raise shoulders, chest, and lying on his stomach.

Children in three months (though not all) learn to roll. This helps them board the playpen or crib. They can kick a toy and then have a big laugh if the toy rings. Babies at 3 months like to listen to how their father or mother read them poetry or sing songs.

Baby at 3 months: motor skills

A child at this age exhibits innate reflexes well, such as a startle reflex. You probably notice that the strength of your child’s neck is also increasing. When you hold a child in an upright position, he already holds his head well. Three-month-old children can lift their upper body, helping themselves with their hands, while keeping their heads up.

If you are following your child, you should notice some early signs of hand-eye coordination. The cams of your child at 3 months can already open and close, the child can quickly grab a toy or rattle and pull it into his mouth.

Parents should be aware that in three months the child can put on weight at 800 g per month. And its growth also increases very quickly - up to 2.5 cm per month. If you have a boy, the volume of his head at 3 months reaches 41 cm, and the volume of the breast is 41 cm on average. In girls, the volume of the head and chest is slightly less — about 40 cm. The central nervous system in a three-month-old baby continues to form.

His bones continue to grow and harden. Therefore, the child still needs to be treated very carefully so as not to break them and not move the fragile joints. Therefore, the baby can not swaddle tight. It is also impossible to plant it in advance, especially for girls whose pelvic bones can move from the anatomically correct place.

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Feeding a three month baby

Do not listen to advice that a child should be given solid food as a complementary food at three months of age. It is not so - at least a few more months must pass before the baby reaches six months.

Of course, it is very difficult to determine how much milk a baby sucks on breastfeeding. But it is worth knowing that the rate of the baby in three months throughout the day - up to 850 grams of milk. At the time it will be a portion of about 120-140 grams. You can determine the rate of milk for the child and yourself: just divide the weight of the child by 6 (the number of feedings). You will receive the amount of milk in grams, optimal for your three-month baby.

Between feedings, it is necessary to withstand about 3 to 3.5 hours. At the same time, it is necessary to include vitamin D in the child's diet - this will enable the bones and skin of the child, as well as his hair and nails, to develop better.

A child in three months - how much and when to sleep?

Your baby's nervous system becomes stronger in 3 months, the stomach stretches and can hold more mother's milk. But now the child can sleep less than in the first months after birth.

If your child wakes up in the middle of the night, wait about 30 seconds before heading in to him. Sometimes babies at 3 months old can cry for a few seconds and then fall asleep again - without any influence from their parents. When you rush to the child at the first sound, you can wake him up instead of the baby falling asleep on his own.

If the screams in the middle of the night do not stop, you should go to your child’s room to help him. Feeding and changing diapers should take place in the dark, if possible, and then put the baby back in the crib. In the end, your child will realize that night is just for sleeping.

Your child’s daytime sleep schedule should also be calm - without loud noises in the room. Most 3-month-old babies sleep between one and a half and 2 hours each day. The total number of hours of sleep in a three-month-old child is no longer 22, as in the first month after birth, but up to 17 hours.

The third month of a child's life: sight and hearing

The hearing and vision of your child at three months is gradually improving. Children of this age turn their heads and smile to the sound of the voices of their parents, they also like to listen to all kinds of music.

Your child will continue to pay heightened attention to bright toys. This is because sharp contrasts are easier for him to see. Persons are still very exciting for him. Look at your child and he will also look into your eyes. Your child will also gaze at his reflection in the mirror.

The third month of child development: communication with the outside world

At three months your baby is becoming more and more unique. It is this stage that the child psychiatrist Margaret Mahler is called “shading” when children come out of their shells and begin to react to the world around them. Part of this process of withdrawal involves communicating with people and smiles of pleasure, among the medical community better known as social smiles.

In the third month of life, crying is no longer the primary method of communication for your child. 3-month-old babies can already cry for no more than an hour in the aggregate throughout the day. If crying exceeds this “norm” or seems too long for you, consult your pediatrician, as this may be a medical problem.

Instead of crying, your child begins to communicate in other ways, such as cooing and pronouncing vowel sounds ('' O '' and '' a '', for example). Involve your baby in conversation, responding to these sounds when you are together. Say: “I'm going to replace your diaper” or “It's dinner time!” Your child will admire the sound of your voice and follow the expression on your face when you speak. Eventually, he will begin to form his own sounds and his own gestures. Talking is a great way to connect with your three month old baby.

Walking with the baby in 3 months

Walking with a three-month baby is a very good idea. They temper him. Fresh air benefits the lungs, skin, and cardiovascular system. It is desirable to walk at least 6 hours a day, even if the weather outside is not very warm. That's just at a temperature below minus 10 degrees, you should not walk - the baby can catch a cold. But the carriage with the baby can be rolled out on the glazed balcony or loggia.

The sun's rays are very useful for the child, since the skin, when they are exposed, actively begins to produce vitamin D. And this vitamin is the prevention of bone diseases and such a dangerous disease as rickets. The sun's rays are very good protection against anemia. Outdoor walking very well protects the child’s immune system. But there is a nuance: the child can not be kept in a draft and under direct sunlight. This can lead to a cold in the first case or to burns - in the second.

The third month of child development: missing stages

Each child is unique and necessarily different from other children. Do not be alarmed if your 3-month-old baby skips some of the stages, especially if he was born prematurely. However, do not disturb your pediatrician if your child has not done the following things in his three months:

• Does not respond to noise.
• Does not follow people or objects with a look.
• Not smiling.
• Not laughing

How to play with the baby in three months?

1. Show your child bright toys at a distance of 25-30 cm from the eyes. Move the toy right-left-up-down. Let the child watch the toy with his eyes. So he will train the focus of the eye and eye muscles.
2. Buy toys that make sounds: jingle, rustle, squeak. Move these toys left and right of the child and let them make sounds. The child will learn to pick up the sounds. You need to ask him: “Where is it ringing?” Of course, a baby at 3 months will not be able to answer you, but will catch the general information and tone that an adult is saying.
3. Give the child toys in his hands so that he can hug them with his fingers. So the child will train the hand, fingers, improve his grasp reflex. It is better if the toys are of different shapes, but such that the handle of the child can embrace them. So he will get used to take something handles.
4. Train your baby's legs. At three months, babies still have hypertonicity of the extremities. If you put the baby on a hard surface and take it under the handles, supporting it, it will touch the legs, like when walking. Shift the child from the back to the tummy and vice versa, and then he will train the muscles of the back and neck.

A child of three months requires even more attention and care of parents. And they, in turn, do not need to know that a child should be able to in three months to help him in development.

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