Your Baby's Development Week by Week

Your Baby and You: Week Forty One

YOUR BABY

Physical Development: Changing eye colour

Most African, Hispanic and Asian babies are born with dark eyes that stay dark for the rest of their lives. However, Caucasian babies (broadly meaning white skinned) are often born with blue eyes that change colour over time. You may have noticed your baby's blue eyes darkening and by now the colour change will probably have slowed right down. They may still change further - in fact occasionally eye colour continues to change into adulthood - but it is most likely that those little eyes have settled into their final (or close to final) colour.

Behavioural Development: Knowing 'no'

Your baby may be beginning to understand the meaning of the word no. This is not the same as obeying it, however! It will be some time before your instruction not to do something is actually complied with, but it is important that you maintain consistency when using the word no. Say it firmly and seriously (without shouting). Laughing or smiling when you say no will confuse their understanding and turn it into a game - whether you want it to be or not. When you tell them no take them away from whatever it is that they shouldn't be doing, or take it away if appropriate. Remember that if you accompany the word no with too much attention then it will encourage them to do it again. Try finding an alternative source of entertainment or something to get their attention to distract them from returning to the same activity.

Social & Emotional Development: Showing recognition

At this age you may notice that your baby is starting to show signs of recognising people or places that you see or visit regularly - particularly ones that they enjoy (such as a grandparent or a place where they play with toys regularly). Embrace this stage of development and encourage their enthusiasm by talking excitedly about going there, use their interest to teach them words such as 'Granny' or 'park' by repeating them frequently and clearly when you are there.

Feeding: The vegetarian baby

It is fine to bring up your baby on a vegetarian diet if that's what you prefer. A varied diet supplemented with breast milk or formula should provide all the energy, iron and protein that they need, but as they get older it can be harder to fulfil all of these dietary needs. Keep up to date on dietary advice for vegetarians and get into good practices of providing your family with a healthy and varied diet as soon as you can.

Care Advice: Always in your arms?

Many mums find themselves constantly carrying their babies around the house. But think about whether you always need to be carrying them. If you pick them up and move them from A to B all the time then they have much less incentive to learn to be more mobile and to achieve things for themselves. What's more, it might encourage them to become more dependent on you for reassurance which can lead to problems with separation anxiety.

Safety Advice

 

Safety Tip - Slides

Your baby probably enjoys coming down slides with a helping hand from you now, and there's no time like the present to start teaching good 'slide etiquette'! Take them away from the end of the slide when they reach the bottom and do not allow them to attempt to crawl or climb back up the slide. Injuries can happen easily when other children come down the slide and hit little adventurers coming up the other way.

Serious ailments: Electric shocks

Whilst electric shocks might not be the first home injury to come to mind when talking about babies, it can happen. Ensure that all plug sockets have appropriate child safety covers on them and that no electric appliance has exposed wiring - check outdoor wiring as well, particularly for sheds and outdoor lighting. If your baby does suffer an electrical burn they should receive medical attention immediately, from either your GP or at A&E. If your child stops breathing after an electric shock then you should call an ambulance and perform CPR until help arrives. You can learn more about CPR here.

THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR BABY THIS WEEK

Activities: Messy play

For many parents, the idea of deliberately making a mess seems ludicrous when they feel like they are perpetually clearing up floors and highchairs anyway. But allowing your baby to play with items sand, pasta or bubbles is really beneficial for their development. Messy play:

  • Encourages their sense of inquisitiveness and exploration
  • Enhances their movement and coordination
  • Broadens their knowledge and understanding of the world around them through discovering different materials, textures and smells
  • It helps babies to develop all their senses

In addition to all these, it's fun too! Messy play can involve a huge range of items that babies of this age find interesting. Always supervise your baby carefully, to ensure that nothing gets eaten that shouldn't be! Here are some suggestions, but you can learn lots more on our messy play pages.

  • Shredded or scrunched newspaper or tissue paper
  • Cotton wool
  • Tinsel
  • Pasta - cooked or uncooked
  • Jelly

ALL ABOUT YOU THIS WEEK

Your Emotions: Struggling to cope with the mess?

Many mothers, particularly those with a high standard of cleanliness and tidiness at home, struggle with the amount of mess a baby can make, both through meal times and play. It is possible to keep a tidy house still, but whilst also allowing your baby to make a mess through their exploration and play. Here are some tips:

  • Use newspaper or a plastic mat under the highchair at meal times if the floor is suffering from repeatedly dropped food
  • Contain the mess produced by certain activities by sitting your baby in a playpen, small paddling pool or a specially designed play tray. The bath is the obvious place for water play!
  • Clear up wet mess straight away, leaving it to dry makes the job a lot harder
  • Plan to give your baby a toy or snack in a safe place near you as soon as an activity draws to an end so that you can clean up whilst you still have them in your sight

Things to do: Head to the movies

When was the last time you went to the cinema? You don't even need to wait until you can organise a babysitter as most cinemas do parent and baby viewings during the week with low-level lighting and reduced volume to make the environment more baby-friendly.


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This internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult a doctor or other healthcare professional.