Your three-month-old baby development.

It’s fulfilling and fun to watch the baby you had only given birth months ago grow healthy without any serious issues aside the occasional illnesses and feeding issues. Now your baby is three months old, and you can’t help but wonder what this new month will be like for your baby. Well, there is only one fact here, it will be a great month of learning more about your baby and watching her meet all those developmental milestones.

She would have a total step up from being a dependent baby who once bothered about feeding and sleeping, to one who is fascinated about herself and the world around her. If you are not prepared, most of the developments will catch you by surprise. But bear this in mind, your journey with your three-month-old baby would be liberating.

By three months, your baby should have a schedule to help you plan your day effectively. You should also expect the following milestones this month:

Motor skills

Your baby will let go of some reflexes which she had from birth to the previous month.1 She should have a stronger head control by this time that helps her stay steady when holding her upright. Her upper and lower body strength should have improved by this time making it easy to lie on their stomach and stretch out their legs at will.

She would be able to raise her head and chest with ease during tummy time. She would also use her arms to lend support to her upper body while lying on her stomach.2 Her hand is also more flexible during this month which means that she can now open and close her palms, bring them together, grasp a toy for some seconds, and put her hand into her mouth.

She would try to gain balance on her feet by pushing them down whenever it touches the floor. Kicking her legs and waving will be a few of her numerous hobbies.

By this time, she would also learn to roll over since her elbow joints, knee and hips are now stronger.3 You may want to stop changing her diapers on a high surface such as the changing table. It will be best you do so on the floor so that she doesn’t roll over.

Bedtime

Remember those days when you could hardly get two hours of straight sleep? Well, things are about to get better with your baby. Her stomach is now able to store more milk, and she does not need to wake up every two to three hours for feeding. At this time, she can sleep during the night for six or seven hours at a stretch with little or no interruptions.4 This is the time you will want to try out the sleep training you’ve been hearing.

When your baby wakes up during the night and cries, you don’t need to run to her immediately. Wait for some minutes to see if the crying will stop without your intervention because if you keep running to her this month, be prepared to do it for a long time. 5 If she cries for a long time, then you can go to feed and change her diapers before placing her back to her crib. The idea is to fit her into a schedule and let her know that night time is bedtime.

Senses

With their improved head control, your baby can swiftly turn her head whenever she hears the sound of your voice. She would also love to listen to songs playing around her. Her hearing is improving and so is her vision. She would love to look at your face, staring right back into your eyes. It is also easy for her to recognize her toys or people close to her aside from you.6

She would also love bright colors and feel attracted to toys with bright colors. She will also try to imitate some sounds she probably heard from you, so get prepared to teach her more. She would also become obsessed with her newly discovered hands and would spend time looking at them. Her fingers would become something she enjoys touching.

Communication

This stage of development brings your baby out of her world into the outside world waiting for her. She would begin to smile, not only to you but others who she sees around.7 She would also move on from being a “crybaby” and spend less than an hour crying. You will hear more sounds from your baby which indicates she now prefers to communicate her needs through talking and not crying. Cooing and babbling become part of her communication with some vowel sounds.

You should initiate a conversation at this time to make language skills easier in the future.8 Try describing everything you are doing while with her; it could be changing her diapers, feeding her, loading the washing machine and so on. She would also imitate some of your facial expressions9

When to call your doctor

Your baby should meet certain milestone by the time she turns three months old. Note that every baby develops at their own pace. But when your baby does not smile, respond to noises especially loud ones, track movement and reach for toys and other objects, your doctor needs to know about it.

Also, if your baby still crosses her eyes, doesn’t babble, cannot support her head, and is yet to realize she has two hands, you may need to pay a visit to the pediatrician.

Conclusion

Your baby’s sense of touch will also improve during this period as she would love to touch things around her. You can help her develop more in this area by providing soft materials for her to touch and play. Things like fake fur tissue, towels would do the trick.

You should also try to initiate more contact between the both of you as it will help with bonding. She also loves your touches and is becoming more aware of them by this time. Continue with the skin-to-skin contact, stroking, rocking, massaging and so on to help her stay calm and relaxed.