3 Months

Now that Baby Dragon has reached the 3 month mark we are no longer counting weeks.  Milestones are recognized by month.  This month our big focus is on language development.

Here are some things you can do to help your learning baby get the most out of each experience. 

• Talk

As posted in the last two baby blog posts talk, talk, talk to the baby.  But now maybe kick it up a notch.  Narrate what you are doing.  Point to things and give the name or color.  When you go on walks talk about the things you see.  Now more then just singing and talking pointing and describing things.

I have to admit sometimes I feel silly doing this because Baby Dragon doesn't respond and doesn't understand but it will help her later.

According to my research baby's will store the information they get now for when they are ready to speak.  They may not know what it means now but when all the talking now will help them connect the dots later.

• Cuddles

At this point in development baby knows how to let you know she is happy or sad. 

She knows when she coos and smiles you know she is happy.

She also loves cuddles! 

Contact, touch, cuddles all make baby feel comfortable. At this point she craves your touch. You will notice when she is uncomfortable she wants to be close to you. To keep encouraging cuddles keep up the skin to skin. And not only mom. Daddy can loose the shirt and cuddle too!

• Standing

It is suggested that this month you help your baby bear weight on their legs.  Pretty much support them while they stand.  Another good way to do this is the saucer.  At this point their little legs should reach the bottom of the saucer and they can attempt to put their weight on their legs on their own.
There are other products out there that you can use for this as well, such as those bouncers that you put in a doorway.  I don't have one of these but I imagine it would be great for standing practice.

Baby's love standing because they get a new view of the world this way.  My little one loves it because she is closer to our faces when she stands.  We aren't looking down at her we are more eye level.

Also, I have noticed that around this time in development babies will soothe faster, easier, or top fussing all together when you stand holding them.

So I looked it up.

Babies are used to the swaying motion of the womb.  When they are in utero they fall asleep to mommy moving around.  Which is why baby slept during the day and was active at night (for most pregnancies).  After birth they are no longer constantly swaying or moving because the world isn't constantly moving, it is mostly still.   As adults we don't move when we sit.  But when we stand we rarely stand still.  We sway, walk, or bob.  This is what the baby is looking for, movement.
If your arms are looking for a break you can always try a swing to satisfy this movement urge for baby.

• Grabbing

Around this time baby is grabbing and reaching a lot more.  Almost anything they can see they will want to touch, grab, and put in their mouth.  If you haven't been worried about small things laying around now is the time to start making sure the floors are baby safe!  Babies seem to find the smallest things we don't see.


This is also the time babies start reaching for people they want to be close to.

• Discovering

It wasn't so much in the articles I read but I find that Baby Dragon is discovering a lot about her surroundings this month.  She has found her toes and plays with her feet a lot.  She also looks around more and observes and watches things.  When she is playing she is noticing cause and effect and attempting to cause changes.  Watching her discover is fascinating to me.  

When she is sitting or cuddling she really studies her blankets or boppy patterns and gets excited when she sees patterns she likes or recognizes.  It is a fun stage :)

• Rolling over

Now that baby has had months of tummy time she is closer, if not already, rolling over.  If baby is not rolling over yet you will notice that they favor one side to roll onto and they stay there.  Try to get baby to roll over by holding toys slightly out of reach for them to reach for causing them to finish rolling.  

My baby girl does not roll over yet.  Although she has the position down for crawling and pulls her legs up under her body.

Enjoy these weeks with your growing baby!