Your Baby Development: 7 Weeks Old

How big is your baby?
This week your baby will be weighing around 93/4 pounds and measuring 211/2 inches if he/she was of average size at birth.

It is at about this time that your baby's physical development stabilizes somewhat, and so he/she should begin to sleep better. Now is a good time to introduce bedtime routines. He/She will learn to settle down and go to sleep.

A routine can include bathing and dressing him/her for sleep, feeding him/her and spending some quiet time. Offer him/her something to help him/her settle, such as a pacifier, but do not give him/her a stuffed toy or blanket at this stage, as baby will still be at risk of SID, (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Baby's senses are becoming more and more developed and you may notice that he/she looks toward an interesting sound or object, and so he/she is now coordinating sight and sound! Baby's eyes can easily track a moving object now, beginning from side to side and progressing up and down. His/Her focus is adjusting as well. Baby will now also prefer to look at 3 dimensional objects as opposed to 2 dimensional ones.

Your baby will also be using his/her mouth to explore the environment each day. He/She will put anything in his/her mouth, including hands, even yours, toys, a blanket and anything else. Baby is using his/her senses- touch, smell and taste- to explore his/her world.

You may also notice how much his/her strength is increasing. By now he/she can probably hold her head up more steadily, raise his/her chest off the surface he/she may be lying on, all of this giving him/her a better view of what is going on around.

Baby Development Milestones This Week

Baby Care

Dealing with Diaper Rash

Nearly every baby experiences some form of diaper rash at some stage. Fortunately diaper rash is not a serious problem, and the best way to prevent it is to change baby's diapers as soon as he/she is wet to keep the skin dry.

The most common form of diaper rash in babies older than 6 months is from the ammonia which forms when bacteria from feces reacts with baby's urine.

Avoiding Burns
One of the worst feelings is to know that you have hurt or allowed your baby to get hurt accidentally, whether sticking him/her with a diaper pin or tugging his/her hair too much. Fortunately serious injury such burning or scalding can be avoided in you plan a head. Here are some important ways you can protect your child from a burn:

• Never carry baby and a hot beverage at the same time
• Never cook with baby in your arms
• Place his/her crib well away from a radiator or heater

It may be a good idea to learn the basics of first aid, to ensure that should anything happen you and your family will be able to deal with it efficiently.

Toys and Play

At this stage you can continue with the games we have mentioned in the previous weeks, and continue to keep your baby involved in your everyday routines.

You can also encourage your baby's language development by simply talking to your baby on an ongoing basis. Describe what it is that you are doing, when your are bathing baby, feeding or even putting him/her to bed.

Take him/her for walks outside and describe the object which you are seeing. You may feel a little silly having a one sided conversation, but it will only help him/her to develop his/her language skills at a later stage.