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3rd Month Guide
3rd Month Guide
 Physical
Development and Appearance
During the third month, your baby will begin to
appear less like a newborn and more like a baby. Usually, during
this month, babies can hold their head up for long periods, and
even roll from front to back while lying down. Babies usually begin
smiling and laughing during this month (sometimes a little earlier,
but the regular smiles usually start appearing during this month).
Weight can vary greatly during this month, especially between formula-fed
and breastfed babies. This is because breastfed babies tend to gain
more weight during the first 6 months than formula-fed babies do.
Then, formula fed babies will gain more during the second 6 months
than breastfed babies (as a general rule).
During the third month, your baby will recognize
you, your voice, and her own name. She can see much farther and
much more clearly now, being able to see who a person is and hear
someone talk to her from across a room.
Care for Baby
- Skin care—during the third month, a baby’s
skin is a lot less sensitive than it was in the first two months.
This is the time when you will be able to put cuter clothes on
your baby that aren’t as comfortable as those she had to
wear earlier, and lotion isn’t usually as big of a necessity
at this point. Although, most parents still put lotion on their
baby every day at this age, to not only keep skin soft, but also
to make baby smell good.
- Head care—most babies have overcome
their cradle cap by this time, while others may still be dealing
with it. If your baby still has a dry scalp problem, it is best
to ask his pediatrician whether you should continue what you are
doing, or if they have any other recommendations. Most doctors
will say that there is nothing to worry about with it, and you
will just have to wait until it goes away.
At this age, while you don’t have to support your baby’s
head as much, you will still need to be careful of the soft spot.
Keeping small children away from baby’s head can prevent
many unnecessary injuries.
- Bathing—bath time is a lot more fun
during this month than either of the previous two. At first, you
have to bathe your baby using only a sponge, and then, even when
you have moved up to a regular baby tub, your baby is still not
used to the water and will likely scream during most bath times.
By this age, though, your baby may have learned to enjoy bath
time, which can make it more fun for parents as well.
You can play with your baby in the bath now by teaching him to
splash the water, taking care to not splash the water in his eyes.
Your baby is beginning to gain more control over his muscles during
the third month, so he may even begin copying you and splashing
the water, as well. Since your baby is likely smiling now, you
may get to experience smiles the entire time. However, you should
be forewarned that once your baby has begun to love bath time,
he may very well cry when it is time to get out.
- Diapers—while you have probably discovered
which type of diaper you like best at this point, those needs
may begin to change as your baby becomes more and more active.
As she begins to move around and roll, the diaper can get situated
incorrectly and not protect as well. If this happens, it may be
time to try a new kind.
Despite your best efforts, your baby may have developed a diaper
rash by this point, as well. Aside from applying the proper medicines
and preventative ointments, you should let your baby go without
a diaper as often as you can. If possible, you should let your
baby air out right after every diaper change. Allowing her to
do this can help prevent future outbreaks, as well as heal up
any she may have.
Your baby will need diaper changes a lot less often now, possibly
half as many as you had to change when your baby was first born.
Even though your baby will probably not need a diaper change after
every feeding, you should still check her diaper. This is an excellent
way to check her very often, and it can prevent diaper rash. If
your baby seems to be constipated, you should start treating it
with baby fruit juice, such as apple juice or one of the baby
juice blends that contains prune juice. Babies often love these
and they can help cure constipation without the use of medicines,
suppositories or trips to the doctor.
- Sleep—the sleep schedule of a baby during
the third month is almost always better for parents than the two
previous. While some babies still will not sleep totally through
the night, many will most of the time. Most babies will still
take three naps, or even four, during this month, but the naps
will slowly become shorter, and the nights will slowly begin to
consist of more sleep. Many parents say that, by the time their
baby is three months old, they will sleep through the night. Out
of the parents who say their baby does not yet sleep through the
night, most only wake up for one, or possibly two, feedings. Even
though this isn’t as wonderful as sleeping all night, it
is better than four feedings. To help get your baby to sleep more
during the night, you can wait until he is as sleepy as possible
before laying him down for bed. While you may have to deal with
a cranky baby for a short time at night, it can help in the length
of time that he will sleep.
You should continue to lay your baby on his back or side during
this month, even if he can turn his head while sleeping on his
stomach. To let him enjoy the pleasure of stomach-sleeping, you
should let him take supervised naps this way if he prefers it.
Then, at night, you should go with his preference of side or back.
- Eating—the third month can be both difficult
and easy when it comes to feeding your baby. This is because,
while you still don’t have to feed solids yet, which makes
it easier, your baby likely wants some. Usually, when your baby
is around the third month, he will start fussing when it is mealtime.
This is because he smells the food or he sees everyone eating,
and he wants to eat, too. While it can be a pain to have to feed
your baby a bottle every meal while you watch your own plate of
food get cold, just remember that you only have one more month
until he can have solids.
Experiences
- Illnesses—to prevent your baby from getting
sick, you may feel that you should keep her away from all public
places, and away from other children. But, this is not always
a possible or practical idea. You may need to place your baby
in daycare, and it is difficult to keep your baby indoors all
the time. Instead, you should definitely keep your baby away from
knowingly sick people, and have everyone wash their hands before
holding your baby. This can at least temporarily ward off most
illnesses.
- Toys for this age—this is the age in
which a slight leap in kinds of toys can be made. While it is
still best that toys be soft so that baby doesn’t bonk himself
in the bead and actually get hurt, much more will actually interest
your baby. You can give him toys that he actually has to reach
for or swat to make noise, and more. The baby swing often becomes
very popular at this age, as well as bouncy seats. Bouncy seats
can be great whether they are the kind that vibrate and play music,
or simply bounce. Many baby toys list ages on them so that you
know approximately when your baby will be able to play with it.
This, of course, varies but it is an excellent guideline to use
when trying to decide if your baby is old enough for certain types
of toys. The age guides listed on toys are also listed so that
you know what toys are safe for what ages.
- New abilities—by the end of the third
month, many babies will begin rolling from front to back, and
even possibly from back to front. Some babies do this in the opposite
order, but most learn one way first, and once it is mastered,
they will try the other way. If your baby has yet to really roll
over, you can help him learn by slowly rolling him over. Front
to back is usually easier to learn first because of the leverage
he can use from the floor. One of the best things a baby will
learn during the third month is to smile. Babies will often smile
several times a day, possibly just because they hear your voice
or see your face. Some babies will even start to laugh a little
at this age, and most babies are making noises all the time now.
Babies in the third month will often watch their parent’s
mouths when they speak and try to form their lips to make those
noises. The first noise that a baby most often makes is “gaa”
although this can vary from baby to baby. This will slowly develop
into a variety of sounds until your baby can actually form words.
- Parents—this age is often a turning
point for parents. The baby has morphed into a little being with
his own personality by now, and this is totally different than
the way it is up until this point. For the first two months, it
most newborns are the same—they have the same needs and
wants, and they are very basic. During the third month, however,
babies begin to show their own personality. Some babies will be
more active, some will be more laid-back and mellow. Some babies
are content with doing one thing for a long period of time, while
others want new and different things to do for entertainment.
By now, you know all of your baby’s cries and what they
mean (although there are still likely to be times when you can’t
figure out what is wrong with your little one).
If you have been suffering from post-partum depression, you may
be feeling better on your own by now without the use of prescription
drugs or therapist intervention. If you haven’t, however,
it is very important that you seek help at this time.
So many things happen during this month that it can fly by rather
quickly. You will want to be sure to take as many pictures and
video tapes as you can so that you have all these special moments
on record. It is hard sometimes to think of these little details,
but you will regret not having them later.
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