Babies 3rd month
Jennifer Ann Steinort studied health economics and is a state-approved nanny. She mainly writes on real-life topics, and experiences from working in health facilities and her own family life with three children flow into her work.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The next big development boost is due in babies' third month, especially with regard to communication and motor skills. At the age of three months, your child discovers his hands as toys. In addition, children of this age tend to develop the ability to hold their own heads. Read more about the various developmental steps of your three-month-old baby and how you can support them here.
Babies 3rd month
What can a baby do at three months? Your child's development has already reached a number of important milestones. And also in these weeks it learns new skills. So the first voiced sounds bring variety to the "conversations" with your offspring. A three-month-old baby prefers you as a caregiver and feels safe with you. And there is an important appointment: the first vaccination.
Babies 3rd month - physical development
Your baby is still in the midst of its greatest growth phase. During this time, many children put on a whole kilogram and grow about three centimeters. The average size for babies aged three months is 62 to 68. In the course of weight gain, the shape of your offspring's face has also changed: It is now padded with baby fat, making it softer and rounder.
Motor skills and reflexes
The innate reflexes increasingly make room for practiced movement patterns. Your three-month-old baby is preparing for the targeted grasping with great strides.
The focus is on your baby's favorite toy at the moment: his or her hands. She examines it extensively, moves it and explores it with her mouth to get to know it better. Even if it seems playful, these actions serve a specific purpose. They enable improved body awareness and create the basis for gripping.
Probably the most important achievement in the development of your baby is now head control. In an upright position, your three-month-old baby can now hold his or her head independently. This means that you can now also use a baby carrier. Your baby shouldn't sit alone at the age of three months, however, as the back muscles are still too weak.
Even in the prone position, your baby is now busy with his new abilities a lot. He manages to lift his head and look around. At first it was a real show of strength. Later it works more and more effortlessly.
Don't be surprised if you find your offspring at the other end of the cot after a nap. His stimulated kicking can bring your baby forward a few centimeters in the 3rd month of life.
The development of the senses
A three-month-old baby's eyesight improves again significantly. This enables it to better absorb and process environmental influences.
Even if hearing is already well developed at birth, another maturation process also takes place in the third month of life, which also affects the brain. Your three-month-old baby actively picks up and processes stimuli from the environment in the form of ambient noises. This trains hearing and mental development at the same time.
At the age of three months, your child will also develop what is known as the “6th Sense “- the body perception. This happens through constant movement and preoccupation with the limbs.
The sense of touch of your three-month-old offspring benefits from their curiosity, because your offspring is increasingly discovering the world playfully with their fingers. The mouth remains a particularly important organ for scanning objects. Your three-month-old baby can get a better picture of an object with it than with just your fingers.
The taste also plays a role. Your three-month-old baby has very delicate taste receptors. There is almost nothing in his environment that tastes like nothing. And all of this your baby wants to explore!
Your baby loves everything that tastes and smells sweet. He benefits from the fact that your breast milk changes in the first few months of life. It adapts to the higher energy needs of your three-month-old baby and contains more sugar compounds.
Babies 3rd month - mental development
In the third month of life, a lot is happening in terms of your baby's mental development. The cerebrum increases in volume: Consciousness grows. In return, the reflex movements become less. And your baby already has some memory at three months.
Your three-month-old baby is increasingly taking control of himself, which also enables him to take an active part in family life.
Babies by three months are in a state of "compulsory attention". This means that it is difficult for them to detach themselves from an object. A three-month-old baby can be easily observed by showing him an interesting object. It will literally "stick" with your eyes and is difficult to dissuade from it.
Emotional development
Your three month old baby is fascinated by faces. Now it is not only looking at her, it is now also trying to interpret her expression.
By the age of three months, your baby can express a variety of emotions. Your child can clearly express joy, curiosity, anger and disappointment.
Even if it is not yet in the "stranger phase", your baby will feel particularly safe with you and prefer you as a caregiver. In the case of other, less familiar people, the child can therefore become restless in the arm or even cry in the third month of life. It has fine antennae for unusual touches. In addition, there is a different smell and a different communication pattern than with familiar caregivers.
Does your baby still cry a lot at three months for no apparent reason? Babies are different. While some still have difficulties regulating themselves and switching off in their third month of life, others are already completely relaxed.
Ideally, your baby will fall asleep all alone at the age of three months. If this is not the case, this maturation process will take a little longer. This is completely normal, every child develops at their own pace. In the next few weeks, your child will probably react much more relaxed and adaptable to external stimuli.
Social development and communication
Your three-month-old baby can now be awake much longer and is attentive to his environment. They prefer to interact with you and exchange ideas. Eye contact, gestures, facial expressions and dialogues are the focus of his little world. Your child encourages you to communicate with spontaneous and playful babbling.
You encourage the social development and communication behavior of your three-month-old child intuitively through the so-called nurse language. It is characterized by a high pitch, pronounced speech melody, short sentences and frequent repetitions. In addition to differentiating between ambient sounds, your child can recognize the stress pattern of your voice.
You adapt the individual approach for your offspring depending on the reaction of your child. You can choose the speech melody so that it has either a calming or an animating effect on your children. This creates a unique communication between you and your three month old baby.
3rd month - This is how you support your child in a playful way
You can further support your three-month-old baby's progress by encouraging them through play.
Baby Talk: Now it's time to talk nonsense. Put extreme emphasis on the sentences, repeat short, concise sentences like: “Egg, egg, egg, where is my baby?” Maintain eye contact and imitate the sounds of your child. You will see how happily it joins the dialogue. This exercise increases awareness, a sense of loudness, and social interaction.
Bell ropes: Noises fascinate babies in their third month of life. Bells in particular attract their attention. There are soft bands with bells on them that can be put over arms and legs. Your three month old baby will be amazed to find that he can make the noises himself with movement. This game promotes hearing and body awareness.
Safe head: To strengthen your child's neck muscles and motor skills, position them on their prone several times a day. Sit in front of your offspring. Speak in a high pitch so that he is encouraged to look up at you. Reaching toys or other toys can also pique the interest of a three-month-old baby.
But don't overwhelm your child. After a few minutes it will get tired. Watch for signs such as rubbing your eyes, turning away, or crying behavior. Then it's time to take a break.
Visit to the pediatrician in the 3rd month
This month there is an important appointment: the preventive medical examination U4. The doctor checks whether the baby is developing in accordance with its age - from height and weight to motor and sensory abilities. Vaccinations are also part of this check-up appointment, and your child will receive the first vaccination doses for:
- Tetanus (T)
- Diphtheria (D)
- Whooping cough (pertussis, aP)
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Polio (IPV)
- Hepatitis B (HB)
Your baby will also receive immunization against:
- Rotavirus (second dose of vaccine)
- Pneumococci
You can find more information about when and which vaccinations are carried out in children in the article vaccination calendar
Skin problems typical of babies
Is your child's head covered with a sebum-yellow cuticle? Don't worry, this is what is known as head gneiss, which is caused by overproduction of the sebum glands. It usually disappears on its own within the first year of life.
Do not confuse the head gneiss with the cradle cap, which shows up through reddening, oozing and crust formation on the head. It is common in babies three months old whose diet has been switched to bottled milk.
If the eczema spreads to the face, it is a good idea to take your infant to the pediatrician. You can find more tips on the subject in the article Cradle cap.
Tips for the 3rd month
A stimulating environment: Babies at three months of age need environmental stimuli in order to develop further. Find a good balance between arousal and relaxation. Don't overwhelm your three-month-old baby with too many toys. A few grasping toys are sufficient.
Find peace: Use the baby's sleep times to compensate for their own sleep deficits. Your offspring will benefit from an alert and good-humored caregiver.
Rely on wet nurse sleep: Don't worry about not hearing your three-month-old baby at night when he needs you. Your sleep behavior will adapt to the rhythm of your child. You will wake up even to low noises such as increased movements and whining.
Tags: Baby Child nourishment vaccinations
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