First Year Baby: Three-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

It's finally the third month and you are moving towards the end of the first trimester with your baby. So, what can you expect to see from your three-month-old now? Besides smiling more and using his hands on objects, you can anticipate more growth and development as below. Three-Month-Old Developmental Milestones In Different Aspects 3-Month-Old Sleep At his third month of life, your baby may start to sleep through the night for around 10 hours. Additionally, he would also sleep for five hours during the daytime which include three naps in between. To help your little one to sleep better and longer, try to stick to a consistent routine. This is when you put your baby to bed at the same time at night and also during naps. Image credit: Motherhood Story 3-Month-Old Feeding Since you have been feeding your baby for the past two months, you would now be able to identify when your baby is hungry. So, here's how much a three-month-old baby should eat. If you are feeding your baby with formula, he should have five to six ounces for six to eight times a day. If you are breastfeeding your baby, he should be breastfed for every three to four hours. During this month, your baby should only consume breast milk or formula. No water is needed. Your baby has the adequate amount of nutrition he needs from the breast milk or formula. As we look into constipation and diarrhoea in the two-month-old developmental milestones, we should not leave out another issue where most of us face after feeding our baby: the spitting up. It happens because the feeding passes into the esophagus. Worry not, it is very normal and common among infants. This is also known as the baby reflux. While spitting up after a feeding is one of the common symptoms in baby reflux, you can also look into these symptoms to determine the presence of reflux. Image credit: Motherhood Story If you're concerned whether your three-month-old is suffering reflux without spitting up, you can refer to the symptoms of the silent reflux. This is when the feeding reaches the back of the throat and irritates our babies. If you notice baby reflux in your baby, you can be rest assured that it will resolve itself just before his fourth month. You can equally try out these methods to prevent baby reflux. burp your baby more frequently during your feeding hold your baby upright for 10 to 15 minutes after each feeding or sit him in a stroller or carrier handle your baby gently after each feeding and avoid movement-related activities. Key Milestones in Growth Here's the average weight and height that you can expect from your three-month-old baby. Weight: Around 5.85 kg for a 3-month-old baby girl and 6.39 kg for a 3-month-old baby boy Length: Around 59.69 cm for a 3-month-old baby girl and 61.47 cm for a 3-month-old baby boy While your baby experiences growth spurt at the current month, you will notice that your baby is more likely to use his hands and fingers more. Key Milestones in Skill Development and Senses Key Milestones In Movement Can lift his head 90 degrees and shoulder when lying on tummy Rolls to side Opens and shuts hands Bats at objects Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands Around this age, your baby loves playing with objects. He will reach out to grab things such as rings and rattles and shake them. He might even put them into his mouth to learn about them. He would also love to move around and he might probably show you rolling from his tummy to back. Thanks to all those tummy time during the past two months! To further enhance his movement and motor skills, let's add a twist to the tummy time. Image credit: Motherhood Story Key Milestones In Five Senses Watches faces intently. Can laugh out loud. Vocalises when he's talked to. Imitates some movement and facial expressions. Knows parents' face. Visually follows a person who is moving across a room. Enjoys playing with others and might cry when the play stops. By his third month, your baby is having rapid development in his senses. He's now working very hard to communicate with you. Whether it's making eye contact with you or smiling more often when you are around, make him happier by talking with him! In addition, your baby is more likely to imitate what he hears and sees. Thus, make sure what you say and do is what you expect to hear and see from him. Supporting Your Baby In His Three-Month-Old Developmental Milestones Incorporate these exciting ideas while you are spending your time with your three-month-old: Include different tones of voice when you are talking. Choose baby books with large and bright pictures and read to your baby. Listen to your baby's reply whenever you talk to your baby. Take more baby photos. Speaking of taking photos of your baby, you can equally take beautiful baby photos as long as there's natural light. Here are some tips for getting a top-notch shot of your three-month-old: Image credit: Motherhood Story Get Excited While Keeping Track of the Three-Month Developmental Milestones While your three-month-old baby is growing rapidly, you should be in the present moment whenever you are with him. Instead of sticking strictly to the developmental milestones, make him smile more with interesting interactions and activities. And let's look forward to the next trimester of our baby! For more interesting stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!

Family Planning by

Family Fun By Sunway Malls

Motherhood Panel of Experts

More Stories

Becoming A Stepfamily? Here is Advice