How Your Newborn is Growing?
Your baby is one month old today. You have successfully crossed the first most tedious month and by now you already feel like a pro in the baby caring department. You have come a long way from the day you held the pic of 4 week fetus. Your baby is becoming more and more responsive already and you will soon hear those lovely first sounds. By 4 weeks, the baby-grunts, coos and ahhs are on their way. You can encourage the first words of your newborn baby week 4 by talking back and cooing back at him. The baby loves to look at your face and may even try to mimic you. Try sticking out your tongue and watch his reaction. 4 week old baby development shows that babies are more alert and aware of their surroundings. Soon you can expect that first smile.
Newborn Baby Week 4 – Growth and Development
- Feeding: 4 week old baby feeding schedules are getting better. Your baby is growing bigger and sucking more efficiently. The nursing sessions are likely to get shorter as the baby grows. With each passing week, the baby’s tummy also grows and so, it can hold more milk. As a result the duration between feeds tends to get longer. 4 week old baby formula feeding can be done by using a bottle with a silicon nipple. The amount of milk per feed will be 30-50 ml.
- Sleep: Newborn sleep 3 weeks old gradually changes as the baby gets bigger and begins to sleep less. The baby is more alert when awake and you can see him giving a reaction when he sees you in the room. The long hours of baby sleep 3 weeks reduces and you may see your little one play more all through the day with small naps.
- Vision: By 4 weeks, your baby’s vision has improved considerably and if you hang a toy in front of him, he will stare at it. Moving the eyes in the direction of the object is still a few weeks away. He can now see zig-zag patterns and loves to look at human faces. So talk and sing to him holding him close to your face.
- Skin: The skin of your 4 week baby is same as your 3 week newborn. It is still thin and delicate but those zits and red bumps are fading away by the end of the first month and giving way to clearer skin. Oil massaging your baby helps to improve the circulation and keeps the skin moist. White spots called milia are also fading away on their own. The peeling of the skin has stopped by now.
- Urine and Stool output: If your baby produces 6-8 dirty diapers per day it is a good enough sign that he is feeding well. Your little one’s digestive tract is still maturing so he still poops after every feed which is completely normal.
How is Your Life Changing?
By one month, you have also recovered well from the strain of delivery and are ready to step out with your baby. At times, you may experience a back pain which may be similar to the lower back pain early pregnancy 4 weeks. Using a baby carrier is a good idea as it gives you the freedom to move and keeps the baby warm and close to you. You could look for the various options that are available for baby wearing like carriers, wraps and slings. Many online websites give a demonstration of how the baby carriers are to be worn or you could also attend a baby wearing workshop. Your C-section scar has healed but still doctors advise you to carry weights only similar to the weight of your baby (that is 3-4 kg maximum).
Important for This Week – Newborn Baby Week 4
- Vaccination: By the end of the fourth week, you are likely to have a complete baby check up and the doctor will inform you about the vaccination schedule for your baby. Vaccines are given to all babies according to a pre-set schedule at specific number of weeks. The vaccine basically involves injecting a foreign body into the body. In response to this, antibodies are formed within the body. These antibodies provide the baby with immunity specific to that particular disease. You should consult your doctor for the latest vaccination schedule and also learn about their known side effects and their management.
- Pacifier: Your baby will be more active when awake. He has newly discovered his arms and fingers and loves to look at them and wave them in the air. He can also take the thumb to the mouth and suck those little fingers. This is a self soothing mechanism that babies discover when they are in the womb itself. There are many views about giving the baby a pacifier. American Academy of Pediatrics suggests its use as it is known to reduce the risk of SIDS. But you need to be careful about the sterilization of the pacifier on a daily basis. The decision whether to give it or not depends on you.
<<< Newborn Baby Week 3 | Newborn Baby Week 5 >>>
