Home : Baby Development : Month 5 : Week 20

Your Baby Development: 20 Weeks Old

How big is your baby?
This week your baby will be weighing around 14 3/4 pounds and measuring 25 1/4 inches if he/she was of average size at birth.

Your baby will be beginning to express him/herself more and more now, and he/she will begin to show more and more of his/her personality. He/She may be quiet and contemplative, active and babbling or physical and constantly moving. His/her body language will tell allot about ho he/she is feeling. He/She may express anger by lowering his/her elbows, staring or pressing his/her lips together. When he/she is fearful he/she may raise his/her eyebrows or have wide eyes.

Hearing plays a very important part in a babys life, and even if his/her hearing was checked at birth you may want to have it checked again.

When you read to your baby you are doing more than interacting with each other. Reading exposes him/her to speech sounds and intonation. Listening to words helps baby to put together the sounds he/she babbles into actual speech.

Baby loves to hear voices, and by now can easily pick out several different voices of people, and may even turn towards a speaker

Baby Development Milestones This Week

Feeding Baby

By the 20th week baby will probably be eating 2 solid meals per day, of cereal made with breast milk or formula, however he/she will still be taking in a lot of breast milk or formula as well with 4-6 servings per day of 6-8 ounces at each serving.

Some parents are concerned about when baby should be fed. Does he/she need a large meal or a small meal? Which is the best time to feed baby?

Nutritionally it doesn't really matter, however, if you are going to introduce new foods in the morning. In that way, if baby has any reaction to the new food, it should wear off before he/she goes to bed. Baby will also probably be hungriest and in his/her best mood in the morning as well which my make it easier to introduce new foods.

Baby Care

Allergy
An allergy is defined as an acquired sensitivity to some substance that doesn't usually cause a reaction. There are a number of different types of allergies which may effect your baby, but we will just look at the most common symptoms to watch for this week. Symptoms that your baby may be having an allergic reaction include:

If you believe that your baby is suffering from an allergy, and you have ruled out a cold or other illness, try to identify the cause. Are you using a new soap, trying a new food, if you are breast feeding is it something which you may have eaten or something in the air. If you think you have isolated the possible cause remove it from the situation, and see how your baby reacts.

If you have any concerns, then you should contact your pediatrician as soon as possible.

Toys and Play

.Just about any safe object around the house can be used as a toy, and you may find that your baby wants to play with the objects which you use on a regular basis. However, if you give baby an object you use, be sure that it is safe for him/her to play with. Useful kitchen "toys" include:

• Plastic spoons
• Plastic jugs and bowls
• Spatulas
• Plastic measuring cups
• Spoons on a ring

Now is also a good time to encourage baby to move, and especially to practice crawling. place him/her on the floor with a few toys he/she likes, just out of reach. Let baby choose the toys he/she wants to play with and encourage baby to move towards the toys. This will help baby to learn to move as well as make simple choices.