Everything is getting bigger this week – Baby has gained back any weight he might have lost after birth, and probably a bit more than that, too. And as he gets bigger, so does his stomach!
This means that he can eat more at each feeding, so he can start to wait a little longer between each feeding, and waiting a little longer between each feeding can mean not waking up as often, which could mean longer stretches of sleep for you both. And if he isn’t sleeping soundly for slightly longer periods yet, it’s only a matter of time, as he just keeps growing bigger and bigger.
Even when he isn’t hungry, you may have noticed that Baby likes to cry, and though you’ve probably been trying every strategy in the book to get him to calm down, you might find that simply letting Baby suck on something – his thumb, a pacifier, your thumb – will do the trick. Figuring out your parenting style is all about trial and error. Baby might cry right through 7 different lullabies, but you can bet number 8 will have the magic. Or 9.
It could take some time.
If Baby’s umbilical stump has fallen off, it may be time for Baby’s first extracurricular activity – tummy time! Tummy time is as simple as it sounds – just let Baby lie on his stomach for a few minutes every day. Baby’s definition of “exercise” is a bit different than ours, and just by lying on his stomach and wriggling about, he can start to build some strength to one day realize that seemingly impossible dream of lifting his shoulders off of the ground. Shoot for the stars.
Baby is already seeing in much brighter color than he was at birth, but he is definitely still getting the hang of his quickly-expanding visual abilities. For example, his eyes are still figuring out how to work together, so it may sometimes look like he is looking in two directions at once, or he may sometimes look cross-eyed. Both of these are perfectly normal, and, unless there’s a direction that one of his eyes always seems to turn, it’s nothing to worry about. Before you know it, his eyes will be working together like peanut butter and jelly.
Milestones
- Responds to loud sounds: This might not be the best one to test out, as a newborn’s ears are quite sensitive, but if you start the vacuum cleaner reasonably close to Baby, you can expect him to have a reaction. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be to grab a broom and help out.
- Attracted to faces: Newborns can’t see far ahead of them, but they are often attracted to faces that come within their range of visibility. And don’t worry – Baby likes your face best of all.
