A 6-week baby may create various sounds, not just crying. Babies tend to express themselves through coos and lip movements. By this period, during the second or third month, some changes in the baby’s tummy time are also common, as you may see that she is now able to push her own body upwards with her arms. You can be sure to find more developmental surprises and it would be best to take it slow and help her to explore her recently acquired abilities as a baby.
How Is a 6 Week Old Baby Developing?
By week six, most babies gain around 500 grams to 1 kilogram. Each child’s weight varies and if you don’t notice much weight gain, do not to be too concerned. It would be best to look at your child’s weight gain from their first few weeks to a month to be able to give you a better idea of her development.
Your baby might develop a better sense of recognition and prefer your company to those of strangers. Those random kicks and astonishing coos will definitely show off more often if the baby sees you or anybody that she recognizes.
At this stage, you might also prepare your camera for you will have the chance to see her beautiful smile. Smiling is an early communication tool between the child and her parents. It is a way for them to articulate what they like most especially as speech and language skills have yet to be honed.
Watch this video to learn more about a 6 week baby’s developing:
How to Take Care of a 6 Week Old Baby
At six weeks of age, your child will undergo several breakthroughs. This is the time when your world revolves around the baby and as you go through the weeks, it would all be just a blur of activity from birth until this stage, so it is best to relax and enjoy each moment with your baby. These moments of bonding will bring you a sense of contentment and delight as well as make each day of your life as a parent a more memorable one.
1. Feed Your Baby Properly
If your baby is breastfed, your baby will be demanding less feeding than during her first few weeks. Along with the decrease in demand, your baby would have a more predictable feeding pattern throughout the day. If you have been breastfeeding with just one breast during the first few weeks, your baby may now prefer to use both sides during some of her feeding sessions.
On the other hand, if your baby is into bottle feeding, the case will be opposite. The baby’s level of demand will be higher as they undergo a growth spurt. While the suggested daily feeding volume at 5 days old to 3 months is 150 ml/kilogram of body weight, do not worry if your child consumes more or less than this. In order to see your child’s growth pattern, have a nurse measure your baby’s weight and have this plotted onto a growth percentile chart.
2. Sleep Pattern and How to Cope with It
There are some cases that your baby may not be getting enough sleep. According to research, a 20-minute sleep cycle is more common at six weeks. In order to get better sleep patterns, avoid nursing, feeding or rocking your baby to sleep. Instead, place your baby into her crib awake and allow her to soothe herself to sleep.
While in the crib, it may be safer to let your baby sleep on her back, but do allow for some tummy time as well during the times she is awake to strengthen the baby’s upper body as well as her neck. At six weeks, some babies will not be used to getting some tummy time, and a few minutes of this position a day may be sufficient.
3. Don’t Worry Too Much about Their Crying
A 6 week old baby may become more sensitive to certain things, or be more wakeful as well. Some research shows that babies may become over stimulated and crying is simply the child’s method of communicating discomfort, hunger, sleepiness and even boredom.
Each parent owns his or her trick to calm down the baby, with many options to rock, cuddle or sing to their child. The baby needs to feel safe and secure since they cannot control their emotions and are reliant on their parents for reassurance. It may be frustrating to not be able to discern why your baby is crying, especially when all factors such as hunger, tummy discomfort, and sleepiness have been ruled out. Seek the support and help of a family member or your spouse in order to put your own self at ease.
4. Create a Musical Environment
It can be really helpful to sing your baby a lullaby song or even play your favorite music at six weeks to help hone her sensory development. Any kind of music will do, and you will discover that your baby is going with the flow with whatever song choice you prefer. Your baby will react with kicks, coos and arm movements if she likes what you are playing.
Other times, your child may even appreciate natural sounds like the sound of the clock ticking or even ocean waves. It helps to vary sound patterns as this develops the auditory preferences.
Although it is tempting to play music around your baby often, it also helps to have some “quiet time” as well. You may risk over stimulating your child which may manifest in her actions: crying, tensing up, looking away or being irritable.
5. Always Stay Clean
As a parent of a six week old child, you would already have mastered changing diapers, bathing and of course the general hygiene. While this can be too much of a routine or be too mundane, it is very important and you should also enjoy and have some fun by doing these.
Now you know all about caring for a 6 week old baby.
