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40-week-old baby – Making sense of the 9th-month growth spurt and the truth behind how music helps accelerate baby development at large.
Your baby's forty weeks after birth
A 40 week-old baby is expected to develop language skills at a quick pace as compared to their early weeks. Therefore, parents must now learn to express themselves to their baby in a conversation that will encourage them to also speak and build their vocabulary at this age.
Not only that, the baby this week will undergo a whole lot of development and achieve major milestones this week with regards to their personality. So much so that the baby learns to either start smiling at everyone they meet, enhancing their social skills, or/and be shy. The baby might also learn to stand on their own without any support of the furniture. To know more about the baby at 40 weeks, read on!
Your 40-week-old baby's development and physical growth
Let us now understand what happens with the little one in their forty-week after birth in terms of baby’s development in the forty-week after birth.
Your baby's weight:
The weight of the baby now could be anything between 18.2 lbs to 19.10 lbs. However, if the baby weighs anything less or more make sure to contact your doctor at first.
Your baby's sleep:
- With regards to sleep time, the 40 weeks may experience sleep disruption that results due to changes and different developments, including mental and mobility development. The major cause is perhaps the pain of the tooth eruption that disrupts the sleep cycle
- You can expect them to be frustrated and fussy with eating habits as they are not to sleep as required. Therefore, parents are expected to be calm and patient the most this week. But, once the teeth erupt, they will be able to experience some relief
- The infant may need you to carry them until they could forget about the discomfort and go to sleep. Adding on, babies might cling only to their mothers during this stage
Your baby's diet:
- During this week, water bottles and sippy cups tend to be most attractive for babies, nonetheless, they will get most of their hydration from breastfeeding
- However, parents must encourage their baby to drink from a cup post each meal
Your newborn and 40-week-old baby's health
A 40-week old baby or ten months is acquiring major milestones, including the doctor’s visit. Here’s what you can expect from the visit to the baby’s doctor:
Tests:
In the doctor’s visit, expect a blood test to help determine the levels of iron, hemoglobin, and anemia in your baby.
Vaccination:
The baby might get a shot of the measles vaccine and the fifth dose of oral Polio drops during this week
Postpartum baby tips: Week 40 after birth
A 40-week old baby this week is acquiring milestones including strengthening arms and legs, proper standing position, growth spurts while they are still undergoing the eruption of teeth resulting in imbalanced sleeping patterns. Here are a few more things that you can expect from your 40th weeker this week:
Your baby's physical development
Here are a few physical developments that the little one will develop in this week:
- Expect them to be able to roll back a ball when you roll it towards them
- Will be able to stand without support for a short period of time
- Will learn new words and will be able to say ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ clearly
- Will be able to pick small objects
- They will probably learn and enjoy their own sippy cup instead of a milk bottle
- Will learn enough to gesture using their tiny hands
- Will be able to sit back from a standing position
Your babies games that will help them develop certain skills
Here are four games that you can play with your baby during your binding sessions that will also help in developing a few skills:
- Peek-a-boo
As the baby grows, they tend to face separation anxiety. Peek-a-boo is one game that will help them get over it and help them understand that even if you are not physically present even if they can’t see you.
- Clapping Hands
This helps encourage your baby and also helps them develop and coordinate their hand movements.
- Eyes, Nose, and Mouth
This is where you ask your baby to point out where their eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears are. It helps them learn a few names of different body parts.
- Dance and Sing
While the baby is exploring the house with their newfound ability to walk from one place to the other without falling, dance and singing would further encourage their mobility.
The parents after childbirth of a 40-week old baby: What is happening and what to expect in their forty-week after giving birth?
Here are a few tips for our parents to help them simplify their journey with their 40th-week old baby:
Keeping yourself and the baby calm in this tiresome week
- With this late babyhood time, the baby will tend to develop more anxieties about injuries and will end up crying more often including the mom crying.
- Therefore, it’s important to rather focus on the positive things about your baby right now. This includes meeting milestones, the ability to go where they wish to, developing their own personality, and are able to express themselves with clarity. Make sure the baby feels loved and secure.
- You, on the other hand, can appreciate the good times, get in the habit of writing gratitude journals, and record one or two things a day, or try new recipes.
Understanding your baby's health and the urgent need of a doctor
Listed below are a few instances where parents must consult a doctor regarding their 40-week old baby during this week:
- Seek the guidance of a doctor in regards to the baby’s feeding, sleeping patterns, safety, and development routine in this and the next month.
- Consult your doctor to confirm or add to the baby’s diet. This could include fish, meat, egg whites, and citrus.
- To know when you must start weaning your baby off breast milk or the baby bottle.
Understanding your baby's development in music and videos
Parents can now purchase musical toys or instruments for their 40-week old baby like maracas, a tambourine, a xylophone, and egg shakers. This will help stimulate the little one’s music development.
On the other hand, if a 4o weeks old baby is interested in dance, opt to get them dancing videos that will help encourage the little one to follow and sync the music and dance as per the video. This also helps the baby to develop hand and eye coordination, music sense, and be interactive in nature.
To Conclude
At 40 weeks, a baby learns to stand on their foot for a longer period without the support of any furniture and also learns a few new words. The week is seen as an interesting one but has one major development that turns into a task for both, the parents and the baby per se.
This is the reason the parents and kids need a calming spirit and need to be supportive at both ends. Perhaps, learn to take breaks when needed, write a journal, listen to good calming music, and help the baby divert their minds from the pain caused due to the tooth eruption.
