It’s been nearly three months since you gave birth to your baby, and we are sure that these three months must have been a bit tough for you. You must be still getting used to the new routine with your baby, yes even after 3 months. If your baby has turned 14 weeks recently, you will notice certain changes in him. As he grows, he will start showing that he has his own identity! From having a favourite toy to liking a specific song and looking forward to playing a game are all signs of individuality and you will notice these signs in your baby too.
Your 14-Week-Old Baby’s Development
Around completion of three and a half months, your baby will begin to manifest as a person who likes to interact with other people or prefers to spend time with himself. These signs cannot tell whether he will grow up to be an introverted person or extroverted. Some babies prefer a quiet environment – they like to be by themselves or with only a bunch of people while others like to be surrounded by people. Your 14-week-old baby will learn a lot from his surroundings and his brain will process to make sense of it. Certain other aspects of the house will now begin to interest him a lot more and he will be eager to explore the entire space of the house.
Your 14-week-old Baby’s Milestones
Below are a few 14-week-old baby milestones you can watch out for in your baby:
- With an increased awareness of the limbs, your baby might like a particular hand or finger and keep exploring it. Usually, babies are enthralled by their own feet. Since they are unable to see them, they are curious when they lift their feet up high. When your little one lifts his feet up high, he might want to play around with them or put in his mouth.
- The energy level of a baby is high during this time. Your baby will rarely stay still while lying down. He will constantly kick, play with his hands, or blow raspberries.
- Your baby’s back will gain quite some strength by this time.
- His ability to understand that his actions can cause movement or changes in objects will be even stronger now. As with rattles, he will also know to play with the hanging flutes or with mobile screens if they were to lay their hands on one.
- When you bring your face closer to him, he might reach out and touch your face and feel it.
- Your little one’s communication skills will develop too. He will begin to coo and gurgle by this time. Cooing and gurgling are sure to make you smile a lot.
- Your baby will have a better idea of who can provide him with what he wants. So, if he’s hungry, he will start making loud sounds and try to look in your direction.
- If a new person is introduced or a new toy is brought for him, he will take a long time to keep observing and exploring. He may not instantly be comfortable with the new person but he will want to touch her or feel her.
Feeding
Your baby is growing as he should and his schedule must be finally falling into place. But making strict schedules is not recommended if you have a baby. Your 14-week-old baby may want to be fed in the evening too when most of us tend to snack on something or the other. You will have to balance your own needs and the needs of other family members, along with a baby who suddenly wants to latch onto your breast for a quick snack. In such cases, you could keep breastmilk stored separately and engage either your husband or someone in the family to bottle feed your baby while you take care of the household chores. By this age, your baby may even want to play around or be engaged especially during this time. You can take your baby for a quick walk around the park as it will soothe him and keep him occupied.
Sleeping
By 14 weeks, your baby’s sleeping pattern will not have fallen into a predictable schedule. He will wake up at night if and when he feels hungry. As your baby is growing and is trying different activities, he will need more energy, hence he will feed often. Hearing about other babies already sleeping through the night or having predictable sleep times can make you wonder if you are doing something wrong. But you must understand that each and every child has different physiology and different needs. One could want to sleep through the day and wake up at night while the other may remain awake during the day time and sleep through the night. In either case, there should be a period of time when the baby sleeps for a longer duration, which should not be interrupted since maximum growth occurs then.
Tips to Take Care of Your 14-week-old Baby
Here are some tips that you should follow to take care of your 14-week-old baby.
- Your baby might take some more time to be able to do all the things that other babies do. Do not worry about it and let him progress at his own pace.
- Certain babies might seem to depict a change in the colour of their irises. As long as this does not accompany redness in the eye and irritation in the child, it isn’t an infection and is just a normal sign.
- Keep formula milk and breastmilk at hand so that it can be quickly mixed in the bottle and given to your child if you are too busy with something else.
Tests and Vaccinations
Following the previous week of vaccines, in the 14th week, there are another bunch of vaccines that need to be administered to a baby. Get your child administered all the necessary vaccines and on time, as these will keep him healthy and protect him from illnesses while boosting his immunity. The triple vaccine that takes care of diphtheria and polio will be administered too. This is the DPT/IPV/HIB vaccine.
Another vaccine that necessitates its presence is the PCV vaccine, which is at its 3rd time of administering to your child. Yet another one at its 3rd dosage is the rotavirus vaccine, which may be given orally this time around, too. All these vaccines might result in a slight fever in your child which is absolutely normal.
Games and Activities
Your baby’s upper body strength will be developed quite a bit and his neck muscles will be strong too. He may be able to keep his neck upright and look around for a longer time with ease. Hold your baby on the shoulder and fly him around the house while making whoosh and airy sounds. By holding in such a way that he faces backwards, the experience of going in a reverse direction could cause quite a riot and leave him laughing and giggling. If you are a fitness enthusiast and have a gym ball or a large inflatable ball, you can hold your baby and place him on it. Then gently roll the ball in various directions and let your little one sway and move slightly on each side.
Peek-a-boo is always successful with all babies no matter the age. And now that your baby can look around a bit, it is time to take the game to the next level. Keep your baby upright, supported with some pillows, and securely placed so that he won’t roll over. Let him face the hall or the room. You can then use all methods to hide and make sounds, only to pop out from a different corner and surprise him. Bending under the bed or hiding behind the sofa, and then emerging from the door or the other end of the sofa, will seem quite magical to your baby and make his day.
When to Consult a Doctor
As your child will be different vaccines around this time, chances are that he will have a slight fever. Fever is a side effect of vaccines and there is nothing to worry about. However, if the fever lasts long and is more than 100.5 degrees or so, you should consult a doctor. Furthermore, if your child is vomiting, you should consult a doctor immediately.
Also, if your baby has trouble holding things firmly or doesn’t seem to have any coordination in understanding how to hold a small toy or so, get a paediatrician to examine him for any developmental disorder or condition.
From this time onwards, your child will grow physically, emotionally, and socially. His personality will start forming too. Make sure you constantly encourage your child to try out new things. Keep a positive atmosphere at home and your child will be happy!
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