Your Baby Development: 37 Weeks Old

How big is your baby?
This week your baby will be weighing around 191/4 pounds and measuring 281/4 inches if he/she was of average size at birth.

Your baby may develop new fears at this stage, and may even show fear in things which never bothered him/her before, such as taking a bath or visiting a new place. Don't be alarmed by this, as it is natural. Your baby is becoming aware of his/her surroundings and showing a concern for his/her own well being. One way to help him/her to get over this is to take him/her with you when you go shopping or to new places. With you by his/her side he/she will soon realize that he/she has nothing to fear from these new situations.

Your baby is now more at home with sitting and all that comes with it. He/She can push up into a sitting position when lying down, he/she can lean over and even change positions, and can go from lying on his/her stomach to sitting with ease.

If your baby is crawling by now, he/she will be crawling all over the place. He/She can probably change direction and even turn around when crawling. If you have stairs in your house, then you should always be aware, as they will hold a fascination for your baby.

Either block them off or stay right with your baby when he/she is near the stairs, as if he/she does crawl up them, he/she will not be able to crawl back down.

Your baby is extremely curious about his/her environment, and will want to investigate everything. This also means that his/her curiosity may get him/her into trouble. You may find her emptying a trash can, and then dig through it. You may also want to think about keeping your bathroom door closed, as you will soon discover that the toilet is an extremely fun place to put everything and anything.

Baby Development Milestones This Week

Feeding Baby

Peanut Allergy
Worldwide the number of children who were allergic to peanuts doubled between 1980 and 1994, however, only 1% of Americans have this allergy. Some experts believe that this is because more and more children are being exposed to peanut protein before the age of 3. A child immature immune system may consider the protein harmful and develop antibodies to it, and these antibodies may trigger an allergic reaction.

Researchers have advised parents not to offer their babies peanut butter, or any peanut products until the age of 3 years old. You should also be aware of the following which may contain peanut protein:

• Bakery goods
• Potato chips
• Packaged Cheese and crackers
• Many chocolate candies, not only the peanut varieties
• Chili sauce
• Gravies at restaurants
• Asian, Thai, Chinese and African dishes may use peanut butter or peanut oils

Baby Care

Falls
Falls generally occur most often in young children who are learning to walk, learning to crawl etc. and may lead to bruises, bumps and lacerations. The first time your baby falls hard can be a traumatic experience for you. No matter how safe you make your home for baby she will still have a couple of falls which will lead to bruises.

If your baby does take a tumble, apply cold to the area for the first 24 hours, then apply something warm. All cuts and scrapes should be cleaned straight away. Should your baby get any serious cuts, and may need stitches you should see your pediatrician. If any bruises get bigger or become more painful, speak to your pediatrician as well.

Toys and Play

Seat baby in front of the mirror. With baby watching you in the mirror make different gestures with your hands and face. Wave to baby or stick your tongue out, wrinkle your face, nod your head etc. Baby will watch you and try and imitate your movements and actions.