Congratulations! How’s that with what? With the fact that you endured the first month of your baby’s life. For such a thing they would have to give an order. Or at least some kind of medal. Now you know what it’s like to do more than Guy Yulievich Caesar himself. During this time, the child adapted to the environment, took its place in your family and began to show character. Now it is not sleeping for more and more time. There are certain hints of the temperament of the baby: for example, he can safely spend the waking period in the cradle or, conversely, rush to explore the world that surrounds him. In any case, a tiny person already knows how to signal when he does not like something, and when he is satisfied.
Physical development
The weight of the child in the second month of life increases by about 800 grams, plus or minus 100-200 grams. Here, the indicator that the development of your beloved “klotsochka” is normal, is his well-being: if it is good, everything is going well and there is no reason to worry. During this month, the baby grows up by an average of 3 centimeters.
Motor activity
What would you know, in the second month of life there is the first serious danger to the child. But more on that later.
As the improvement of the baby’s nervous system continues, his movements and innate reflexes change. Thus, the reflexes of the newborn are replaced by gradually acquired conditioned reflexes associated with feeding and microenvironment. Therefore, despite the fact that it may seem to you that the movements of the toddler are still as messy as before, in fact, they already have coordination. This is a kind of rehearsal for the implementation of targeted actions in the future.
The baby’s arms and legs are mostly kept bent. Nevertheless, the further, the more often it, although not for long, straightens, spreading out its legs and spreading out the handles. Metamorphosis also occurs with cams: yes, they are currently compressed, but the grip gradually weakens, and by the end of the second month the palm becomes completely open.
The head of the child is not yet able to independently hold in the position of the body on the stomach. But by the end of the month she will be able to hold it for 15-20 seconds. To help matsyopi train the muscles of the neck, it is recommended to put it on the tummy for a certain time before each feeding: at first — for a few minutes, and then bring it to 10-15 minutes.
Bathing during this period brings noticeable pleasure to the baby, who happily splashes in the water, spraying it around.
And now about the announced danger. The fact is that a new reflex motor activity often causes a child to fall from a height and, as a result, to receive injuries. If this comforts you, all the babies fall at least once. Be vigilant: if the fall did occur, then no later than a day after the incident, show the child to the pediatrician to prevent complications for his health.
Baby’s sleep in the second month
The good news: the second month promises an improvement in night sleep in the baby, and accordingly in its long-suffering parents. But do not rejoice very much, because such an idyll will last literally until the first “colic” — problems with digestion in a child. So catch the moment and try to sleep off properly now. For your information, during this period the child sleeps at night, usually 7 hours.
But there is one “but.” There are also such children who, in the second month of life, love to experiment, and as part of such experiments they turn everything upside down: during the day they sleep soundly, but at night, so to speak, they arrange concerts. Parents of such a baby can only sympathize. And at the same time advise such a life hack: during the day, do not let the child sleep for a long time, wake him up every four to five hours — and then, perhaps, he will return to normal. Be patient, because most likely those few days that you will conduct a special operation “Make a child sleep like all normal people” will seem like the end of the world. May the Force be with you in these difficult days.”
And one more thing. Keep in mind that in the second month it is quite common for children to have glans deformities. This is all due to the fact that she lies in the crib in the same position. Accordingly, so that there is no deformation, you should periodically change the position of the crumbs. Yes, even the crib itself is rearranged from time to time so that the baby has the opportunity to see more of the world that surrounds him. So he will be more interesting.
And if you notice that the baby independently turns the head constantly in one direction, then he goes to the pediatrician: it may be that this is a consequence of traumatic childbirth, the so-called “torticollis”. It can not be crushed in any case.
“Colic” in infants
Even those who have never had children know about “colic”, or at least heard of it. This is something that almost everyone faces. Causes “colic”, or spasmodic pain, in the abdomen in young children excessive accumulation of gases. This, in turn, occurs due to the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract and the processes of its nervous regulation. Add to this the wrong preparation of mixtures for feeding the baby, too active breast sucking, during which the child swallows air, the reaction of the child’s intestines to those products that the mother eats…
How to overcome the “colic”:
- When feeding the baby, make sure that it does not swallow too much air. At the same time try to remain calm at the time of feeding. It is desirable that the room in which you feed the baby was cozy;
- In between feeding, water the baby with drinks based on fennel extract. They are also called by the people “dill water”. Fennel is a useful plant, the fruits of which, as well as essential oil, stimulate the processes of digestion, in particular, increase the secretion of gastric juice and peristalsis, and also stimulate the baby to fart more and, thus, get rid of excess gases;
- After finishing feeding, do not rush to put the baby back in the crib — hold it for a little, just a few minutes in an upright position, leaning it with your tummy to your chest, and putting the head on your shoulder. Ideally, if it is “skin to skin”, since the warmth of the mother, as well as the location of the child in an upright position, induce the exit of the air that the child swallowed back through the mouth, respectively, and the “colic” recede;
- Put the baby in the crib and stroke her tummy clockwise. Thanks to this massage, the air bubbles in the tummy move, spasms calm down, and the contents of the intestine move closer to the exit;
- Take a warm heating pad and place it on the baby’s tummy (as an option , a warm diaper or compress);
- In the case of breastfeeding, watch out for what you eat yourself: coffee, strong tea, cabbage, legumes, an excess of fruits or raw vegetables, as well as laxatives can cause “colic” in the infant;
- Put the baby on the tummy, while giving him a pacifier in his mouth. The baby will suck it, his muscles will strain, and in this way she will massage the intestines for herself.
See also: How to help a baby with colic: 10 tips for parents
If none of this worked, and the child continues to cry, move his legs, spin, then this is something more serious than simple “colic”, and you need to contact a pediatrician.
Hearing and vision of the child in the second month of life
In the second month of life, the visual and auditory analyzers of the infant are improved. You may notice that the child examines your face with interest, watches the eyes of the specks, if you hold them at least 50 centimeters above the cradle, and while walking contemplates the sunny “bunnies”, the movement of leaves on the trees.
At this age, some babies show strabismus. As a rule, this passes without leaving any traces. And the reason for this phenomenon is that the child does not yet fully own the muscles of the face and eyes. In short, no panic.
For your information, in the second month of birth, the baby is, in fact, color blind, since it distinguishes only two main shades – black and white. At the same time, they prefer light colors, as well as moving objects, as well as objects that have no more than two contrasting shades.
The achievement of the toddler is the ability to distinguish between sounds and their source. He no longer shudders, as before, when he hears a loud sound, but turns his head in the direction from which he comes. The child already listens to the conversations of adults and to the music when it is heard.
Perhaps the most interesting metamorphosis is when the child gradually begins to move from single glottal sounds to babbling. So, it already exclaims individual vowels — “a”, “o”, “y”, “e”, “uh”. Over time, having gained experience, combines them with consonants. It turns out something like “ha”, “heh”, “ehe”. And the baby laughs, and this indicates one thing – he is good, happy, and therefore, he is satisfied.
Skin
The skin in infants is much more sensitive than in older children. And it causes its problems, among which is the appearance of diaper rash and sweating.
From about the sixth to the eighth week, rashes appear on the face, neck, chest, and tummy of the child. Mainly in areas of skin folds. This leads to the immaturity of the functioning of the sebaceous and sweat glands, as well as the influence of maternal hormones, which are still “sitting” in the body of the baby.
What to do? If the rash does not particularly bother, the baby feels good, then nothing. Just look at the condition of the skin and do not allow overheating.
“Gneiss” in infants
No, this is not a rapper’s nickname — this is when a specific coating in the form of scales appears on the child’s head, on the parietal area. This trouble arises not because you wickedly cared for the baby’s head, but because of purely physiological reasons. “Gneiss” appears when the sebaceous and sweat glands of the head do not function as they should. In order to get rid of the “gneiss”, half an hour or 40 minutes before the font, you should abundantly lubricate the area affected by the “gneiss”, children’s oil. And just before bathing with a cotton swab, carefully remove the scales from the head. Attention! Never use a comb or tweezers for this procedure!
Communication
Yes, your little cat currently does not know how to speak and understands little, but he already seeks communication. So give it to him. At every opportunity, talk to the baby, play with him, take him with you if you go somewhere on business. Thus, you will lay bricks in the foundation of the formation of the human personality in your child.
Call
The kid, in turn, will also communicate with you. As he can. Screaming. Moreover, this cry can talk about different things. And right now we will help you understand its nuances so that you quickly understand that a small miracle wants to convey to you.
So, if a child, screaming, turns his head, smacks his lips, as if sucking, falls silent for a short time, and then continues his charm, and this concert takes place 20-30 minutes before feeding, then this, as you already understood, is a signal that the baby is hungry.
If the baby screams almost continuously and obsessively, then in this case we can talk about the fact that he suffers a certain inconvenience. Perhaps the diapers have become wet or it is too warm for him, and the extra blanket should be removed or moved to a cooler room.
And there is also a piercing cry, during which the baby sorts out his legs, spins restlessly, releases gases. The reason for this cry is “colic”, which we have already written about above.
Going to the pediatrician
At the end of the second month, it is necessary to show the baby to the district pediatrician on the “Day of a Healthy Child”. Prepare in advance to answer a series of questions from your doctor, including the following:
- Is there enough milk in the chest? (this can be determined by controlling the amount of urination in a child — consult a specialist about this);
- Do you follow the daily routine, including sleep, nutrition, etc.?
- Have there been eating disorders in a child, when exactly and with what were they associated?
It is likely that after the pediatrician examines the baby, you will additionally be assigned an examination and consultation with specialized specialists, for example, an optometrist, a neurologist or an orthopedist.
Even if it seems to you that everything is going great and the baby is developing as it should be, nothing bothers him, still do not neglect visits to the pediatrician. Professional advice never hurts.
Anton Buzko
