The development of the baby 8 weeks after birth

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Dang Huy Toan - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.
Your baby just turned 2 months. This is a time of rapid change and development. At this stage, the needs of your 8-week-old baby are still very simple and you will realize that as long as your baby is not hungry, gets enough sleep and is changed diapers often, he will feel comfortable already.

1. 8 weeks old baby's sleep

At this stage your baby can begin to tell the difference between day and night. So they will start with sleeping more at night than during the day.
8 week old baby's sleep time can vary but the average baby needs about 14 to 17 hours of sleep a day including three or more naps during the day.
According to statistics, about half of mothers whose babies are 8 weeks old will not be able to sleep continuously during the night, and may even have to wake up or more than five times at night to feed their baby. . Mothers remember that waking up at night and feeding your baby is completely normal. This condition will gradually improve as the baby gets a little older.

2. 8 weeks old baby and baby foods

All of your baby's needs at this stage are mainly milk, either breast milk or formula. However, under ideal conditions, babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.
In case you can exclusively breastfeed your baby, then in addition to the mother eating enough nutrients in the food to ensure that the milk has enough nutrients to meet the baby's needs, the mother should supplement add vitamin D daily (content is about 8.5 to 10 micrograms).
8 week old babies eat milk on average about 720ml to 960ml per day and are divided equally at feedings. The number of times the baby suckles is about 6-9 times.

3. Physical development of 8 weeks old baby

The 8-week-old baby after birth now knows how to control movements, especially head movements. Your baby will also now have better control over their arms and legs and will probably be able to wriggle, wave and kick more gently.
Your baby doesn't have a grasp reflex yet, so they won't instinctively grasp a finger or something but instead they will begin to grasp and remove objects more purposefully .

Monitoring and physical examination of the baby periodically after 6 to 8 weeks is necessary, typically: Checking eyes, heart, testicles (for boys). After that, when the baby is 8 weeks old, he will start giving him the vaccine according to the prescribed schedule. This is an extremely important process to help protect your baby against diseases related to pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hib (Haemophilus Venza b), polio, tetanus and cough pertussis (whooping cough).

4. 8 week old baby's auditory, visual and cognitive development

At this time, children also know to pay attention to people around, especially your face and children will be attracted to brightly colored objects. Whenever you are near them, they will try to look at you and they will also guess which direction the sound is coming from.

5. Emotional development

In the first 2-3 weeks, the baby seems to be quite comfortable, almost the baby just eats and sleeps very well. When children enter the period of 6-8 weeks, everything seems to be turned upside down, they are more irritable, they wake up a lot at night and it is very difficult to fall back to sleep.
At this stage, the baby has developed emotionally, he can recognize his mother through body odor. Likes to be picked up and comforted when babies cry.
At this age, babies' irritability or crying is inevitable even though this is a normal developmental milestone for babies. However, if the baby is crying violently, parents can refer to a few suggestions to help the baby feel more comfortable such as:
Hold the baby in a sling or hold the baby to comfort Can increase the baby's feeding time Bath and baby massage. As a key area of ​​Vinmec Medical system, Pediatrics Department always brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts with:
Gathering a team of leading pediatricians: including leading experts with high professional qualifications (professors, associate professors, doctorates, masters), experienced, worked at major hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108.. Doctors All are well-trained, professional, with a mind - range, understanding young psychology. In addition to domestic pediatric specialists, the Department of Pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) who are always pioneers in applying the latest and most effective treatment regimens. . Comprehensive services: In the field of Pediatrics, Vinmec provides a series of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatric and Vaccine,... according to international standards to help parents take care of their baby's health from birth to childhood. from birth to adulthood Specialized techniques: Vinmec has successfully deployed many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery - skull surgery, stem cell transplantation. blood in cancer treatment. Professional care: In addition to understanding children's psychology, Vinmec also pays special attention to the children's play space, helping them to have fun and get used to the hospital's environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical treatment. Doctor Dang Huy Toan has many years of experience in Pediatrics and Neonatology, especially in pediatric respiratory diseases. Doctor Dang Huy Toan was the former head of the pediatric department at 22.12 hospital and the head of the Department of Internal Medicine at Tam Tri Nha Trang hospital. Currently, he is a Doctor at the Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.
For detailed information, please contact the hospitals and clinics of Vinmec health system nationwide.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

References: parents.com, todaysparent.com

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