Things to know about 3-month-old baby development

The third month will be an exciting milestone for your baby. Your baby will have a new look and gain many exciting skills during this time. Children will begin to find hands and smile more. 3 months old is also a period when babies have more stable sleep. Let's find out more with SignsSymptomsList through the following article by Doctor Uyen Tam!

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1. Comprehensive development

1.1. body

By the age of 3 months, your baby has gained more than 30% in body weight and 20% in length. With those developments, children begin to experience more changes:

  • Thumb sucking habit : By the age of 3 months, babies can bring their hands closer to their mouths and begin to enjoy this action. Many children find it comfortable to suck on their fingers.
  • Begins to grasp: Baby can use both hands to grasp an object. For example a toy or a parent's hand.
  • Form a preference: Your baby will respond strongly to loving cuddles. Children can feel happy or uncomfortable with anything.
  • Recognizing familiar smells: Children gradually recognize favorite scents or smells of people who regularly care for them. By smiling or moving your limbs more.
  • Raise your head more: Your baby can hold his or her head up at a 90-degree angle. This is also an important milestone from birth to assess the child's psychomotor development. If the baby is developing normally, when placed on the stomach, the baby can raise his head on his own with his hands.
  • Sit with support: when you hold your baby in your lap, he can sit up and hold his head fairly stable.
  • Legs may begin to bear weight: You can test yourself by holding your baby in a “standing” position.

Things to know about 3-month-old baby development

1.2. Brain

  • Increased visual acuity: Although children are still not able to judge distance or near. But can perceive objects from 20 to 38 cm away very clearly. Before that, your child could only track objects by glancing back and forth. Now, the child can track objects with a 180 degree rotation.
  • Increased hearing: Your baby is easily attracted to loud noises. From there, children begin to imitate sounds to create speech.
  • Focusing: When you try to focus on an object that's close in front of you, you may notice what appears to be a "crossed eye". But now, your child should be able to look around without having to look back and forth.

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1.3. Learn languages

At this age, babies are still not very talkative. However, you can support your child's language development by talking to them. Experts suggest that parents should talk, sing and read to their babies from a young age. If you don't know what to say, you can repeat the content or action you're doing at any time. For example, when you change diapers, get dressed, or take a bath. You can let your child listen to language learning TV shows. But children under 18 months should avoid digital media.

The following methods can help your child learn language by:

  • Imitate some of the sounds and noises your baby will make afterwards.
  • Talk about things your baby is seeing or seems interested in.
  • Pay attention to your child when he makes sounds and tries to say or respond to what you say.

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1.4. Things need to notice

If you're a first-time parent, it can be exciting to keep a close eye on your baby's developmental milestones. But you also need to be aware that milestones can be different for each baby. Just because your baby hasn't hit a certain milestone doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. But if you have concerns or notice any of the following, talk to your doctor.

  • Breastfeeding with or without weight gain: By 2 months of age, your baby may have gone through a growth spurt. But you can hardly judge for yourself. Your baby's growth chart at the doctor's office can help you with this information.
  • Not paying attention or still glancing back and forth frequently.

2. Basic knowledge of child care

2.1. Nutrition

By 3 months of age, more than half of mothers will continue to breastfeed. However, as babies get older, there will be more challenges in breastfeeding. Maybe it's because you've returned to work or your breast milk supply is dwindling. You may also have problems with medical conditions that require medication but are not suitable for breastfeeding.

For cases that require medication, you can talk to your doctor to choose safe drugs. In other cases, the doctor may recommend alternatives until the baby is no longer breastfed. And if breastfeeding has to stop, rest assured that formula is also a perfectly healthy option for your baby.

You may hear from a friend or family member that starting your baby on solid foods now will help him sleep through the night. But you need to wait at least another month. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend giving babies anything other than breast milk or formula. The time of weaning can start from 4 months to 6 months of age.

2.2. Sleep

Around 3 months old, your baby can sleep through the night. Lasts about 7 to 9 hours continuously. This means that if your child goes to bed at 7pm, he will probably wake up at 2am. But it's still a more steady sleep than the infancy days. Babies can also sleep 4 to 5 hours more during the day. Can be divided into 2 to 4 naps. You need to pay attention to the signs that your baby is ready for bed. And stop all activities before your baby gets too tired. These signs of drowsiness include:

  • Rubbing your eyes continuously.
  • No longer want to continue playing.
  • Wants to suck even when they're not really hungry.

If you think that letting your child stay up later at night will help him sleep longer in the morning. Unfortunately this is a misconception. Activities that make your baby too tired will disrupt his sleep schedule, causing him to sleep less. Try to put your child to bed as a consistent routine. And put your baby to bed at the same time at night or even naps during the day. This is helpful for both you and your child. You will also get rest while your baby sleeps.

Many parents believe that the child should be moved to a separate room if the child sleeps through the night. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents continue to let their children sleep in the same room. But don't sleep in the same bed. This can last until the baby is at least 6 months old.

Things to know about 3-month-old baby development

2.3. Color of stools

For many parents, it can be a lot of time to change diapers and watch their baby's poop closely. These can provide you with important information about your baby's health. Here are some stool colors you may see in your baby:

  • Green : Means that food is moving quickly through your baby's intestines for some reason. It could be diarrhea, but it could also be normal stool.
  • Yellow : Most breastfed babies have a thick yellow, "seed"-like stool like a mustard flower. Children can go several times a day. This is completely normal.

Although normal stools can vary from yellow to green. But if your child has any of the following stool colors, you should take him or her to the doctor right away:

  • Bright red : Red stools are a sign of bleeding somewhere in the intestinal tract. Or more commonly, a tear in the anus caused by constipation.
  • Black : This could be a sign of bleeding from the stomach or small intestine and has a foul odor.
  • Gray or white : This is a sign that there is no bile in the stool. In addition, the child may have signs of jaundice or yellow eyes. You can learn more at the article " Cholestatic Jaundice: What you need to know in children ".

2.4. Oral teeth

If you notice your baby is salivating a lot. There are two main reasons to explain:

  • This is completely normal in young children.
  • Your baby may be teething. Although if it occurs at 3 months, it may be early teething stage. But sometimes it's still seen in some babies. The first teeth usually start to come in when babies reach the age of 6 months.

You can dress your baby in a bib to prevent infection of nearby skin from excessive salivation.

2.5. Safe for kids

When you need to go to the supermarket and it is very convenient to put your baby in the baby position on the stroller. But this is a danger to the child. Falls from shopping carts are one of the leading causes of head injuries in young children.

You can try to fasten an infant seat to the stroller handle, but that is an action that could result in serious injury. It can even lead to death for your child. Placing an infant on the handle of a grocery cart can cause the cart to tip over and injure your baby.

You can keep your baby safe while shopping by:

  • Put your baby in a baby stroller or swaddle your baby while you shop.
  • Buying essentials on online sites or using a delivery service is more convenient.
  • Make sure to have someone with you to babysit so you can shop more easily.

In the third month, children have begun to learn to follow the words of their parents. Therefore, parents should create conditions and environments for children to develop comprehensively. Changes in children will make the family atmosphere more joyful. 

Dr. Huynh Nguyen Uyen Tam