3 Month Old Baby Development & Milestones

Yay!! your baby is already 3 months old. This means a lot of exciting things for both you and your baby. By this age most babies sleep through the night, feeds get larger and spaced out. They start to get more social with lovely smiles and cooing in response to your voice. Some babies also start to laugh and babble sometime this month, how cool is that. Finally you can expect to see some set patterns in feeding and sleeping routines mama, phew!! what a quarter it has been and you have done great, time to pat your back.

Your baby is also getting stronger with better muscle strength, hand eye coordination, communication skills - cooing, smiling, laughing, better head control and babbling. First quarter is a milestone even for you mama. You are a pro now at handling the baby, reading cues and might be feeling better both mentally and physically. Some do it fast, some need little extra time and know that everything is normal for both you and your baby so don't fret or beat yourself up. It will get better eventually at whatever stage you are. Let us look at the baby development milestones this month.

3rd Month Milestones:

The end of first quarter marks the beginning of some exciting new milestones and skills. Your baby is transitioning from involuntary movements (newborn reflexes) to more controlled deliberate movements with improved muscle strength, vision and newly developed hand eye coordination, colic usually improves at this stage, improved digestion, reduced spit ups and discomfort. You could also see drooling at this stage even though they may not yet be teething.

Smiling and Laughing

If your baby has not smiled at, would be doing it this month so wait for your hearts to melt anytime now. Most babies also start to laugh after about one month from when they first smile. While many do it even at 4, 5 or 6 months and all is normal, some get to experience this a bit earlier like by end of the 3rd month itself. Be ready to be amazed.

Hand Eye Coordination

Your baby's vision is getting better each passing day and now has also started to move hands in the direction of any interesting objects, toys or things. They also try to reach for anything interesting and can move their hands, hand and eyes in the direction of the object of interest.

Leg Control

Your baby's legs are getting stronger as well. They can now kick their legs both on back and tummy, move them around all in prep for rolling over soon. If you have got a baby gym use it now, all that kicking, lights and sound can be entertaining for both the baby and you. It also could be a good way to tire the baby so it sleeps well.

Head & Neck Control

All that tummy time is paying off, your little one can now hold herself up like doing a pushup on her hands lifting her head for longer durations and even moving head to look around. The neck muscles are getting stronger and you will notice your baby can hold the head up independently time to time without support.

Babbling

Your baby may start making more sophisticated sounds or constant babbles like trying to say something to you. It is a very exciting phase and lots of fun listening to you little bubba babble away. They are still far away from talking but hey the babbles are super cute and equally exciting.

Rolling Over

Anytime now you will notice your baby trying to roll to the side or trying to roll from tummy to back. By the end of third month or during fourth most babies will constantly keep practicing to roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy. While this takes a lot of practice and muscle strength you will notice progress over the weeks till they get pros at it by 5 months of age.

Feeding Routine

Your baby's growing stomach can now accommodate more than it did a month ago. Most breastfed babies can now go longer, up to 4 to 5 hours between feeds and sleep more through the night with few exceptions .

Formula fed babies can drink up to 4 to 5 ounces or around 120 to 150ml and go up to 5 hours between feeds. Their feeding is more predictable and follows a pattern now. Most will sleep through the night with close to no interruptions. While they do get in to a routine remember your baby is rapidly growing and goes through growth spurts at different rates so feed the baby on demand or if they seem hungry. While the above is a reference each baby and their needs are different so look for baby cues and act accordingly.

Your doctor would have recommended you to use Vit D drops, don't stop them until your doctor says so. In most cases it is not until your baby is 1 year old.

Popular Breastfeeding Positions

Sleep Pattern

Your baby may now be sleeping anywhere between 15 to 16 hours a day with mostly 10-11 hours at night and three naps during the day. Your baby can now go 6-8 hours through night without feed uninterrupted.

Keep the naps shorter during the day so that your baby sleeps longer during the nights, while its not forcefully keep the baby up as they could get cranky. Try to engage them in activities like play gym, talking to them are working around them so they follow you with their eyes. Activities that help in development and also tire them out so they sleep better. They now are getting into a predictable sleep pattern, so keep their time and before sleep routines consistent each day so they know when its time to sleep. It will take a few days but you could now gradually train them to follow a schedule.

Related: Swaddling How Why and When

Height & Weight

The average weight for three month old baby girl is around 5.8kg and height of 23.5inches.

The average weight of three month old boy is around 6.4kg and height of about 24inches.

On an average babies grow 2 pounds or around 1kg in weight and about an inch in height each month until 6 months of age. Every child is unique and so is their growth rate so don't be alarmed if they are not close to these numbers as some babies may be above the average numbers and some take longer based on how much they feed, how often they feed, if they had a low birth weight or were premature or had any illnesses. Know that it is normal to fluctuate a little from the normal at this age, talk to your doctor about your concerns.

Fussiness & Colic

Your baby will be doing much better this month and things will only improve from here on. Many babies will get over the colic phase by 4-5 months of age and this marks the beginning of the end of colic, digestive distress and anytime during the next 1-2 months your baby may start to burp on its own after each feed.

2 Month old Baby Development & Milestones

4 Month old Baby Development & Milestones

3rd Month Doctor Visit:

You may not have a scheduled doctor visit at the 3 month mark unless you has missed any vaccinations or got pushed due to any illnesses in the baby. Either way strictly follow the vaccination schedule that your doctor would have shared with you to ensure your baby stays immune to some of the contagious and deadly diseases.