When a newborn appears in a family, a mother, especially one who has given birth to her first child, has many questions. How to care for a newborn, how a child develops up to a month, what he should be able to do - this is not a complete list of everything that caring parents want to know about.
Baby development: first week of life
How much does a newborn sleep? The total daily sleep time in an infant in the first week of life is normally 20 hours, and every 2-3 hours of sleep is replaced by small intervals of wakefulness. The baby wakes up only for feeding. The breathing of a newborn during sleep can be even and calm if his sleep is deep, and if the baby twitches his arms and legs in a dream, breathes irregularly, then the sleep is superficial.
By the end of the first week of life, the child can already distinguish the aroma of milk from all the smells surrounding him and turn his head in the direction from which it comes. This can be either the mother's breast or a bottle of formula.
The infant understands whether the milk or formula offered to him tastes sweet or bitter.
A newborn can hold his gaze on objects near him, but only for a short time.
During sleep, the child may smile and involuntarily move his legs or arms.
In order not to be frightened, parents should bear in mind that the breathing of a newborn is three times more often than that of an adult, moreover, it is irregular and shallow.
Baby development: second week of life
When the baby reaches the second week, he must fully regain the weight with which he was born. The weekly weight gain should be 150-200 g.
How to develop a baby per month? You can teach the baby to hold the head, laying it on the tummy for this, but this can be done only if the umbilical wound has healed.
Within a few seconds, the baby can observe a bright rattle or a moving object.
A sharp sound will make the child flinch and blink, he will listen and stop crying.
Physiological jaundice may persist until the end of the second week of a child's life.
Baby development: third week of life
What should a child be able to do at this time? In the third week of life, the baby can already take a small object or the parent's finger in his hand. He is also able to look at the face of an adult by looking into the eyes.
Lying on his stomach, the child tries to raise his head and lift his chin from the surface.
Now, quite consciously, he turns his head in different directions, while lying on his back and looking at the world around him.
The process of a child's development in the third week is obvious: he revives in response to a gentle speech addressed to him, moves his legs and arms, looks for a speaker.
The total sleep of a three-week-old baby is 15–18 hours; in one feeding, he is able to suck up to 80–100 ml of breast milk or formula.
Baby development: fourth week of life
Weight gain in newborns in the first month of life should be about 600-800 g, and in height - 3 cm.
What can a child do at this age? He holds the head for a few seconds while lying on his stomach. The baby already clearly knows the mother's voice, recognizes the taste and smell of breast milk or formula.
It is at this time that the child begins to smile at a gentle address to him, he is able to focus his gaze on the face of the speaking person, and also learns to distinguish the intonations of the speech addressed to him. In response, he makes sounds.
A baby at 1 month old can follow an object only if it moves horizontally.
During the first month of a child's life, you must remember to receive his birth certificate, which is issued at the registry office or at the MFC. To do this, you must have the passports of both parents, a certificate of the birth of the child, which was issued at the hospital, as well as a marriage certificate.
