A
baby first communicates by acting happy, angry or surprised. It does this by changing the tone of its
murmuring, gurgling and crying and by using body language. They can only clearly see to a distance of
20-25cm (8-10”), at 5 weeks after its first growth spurt this increases to 30cm
(1ft). It reacts well to music and
bright colours (red, black and white together hold their attention best). Newborns are sensitive to smells and flavours
and temperature changes, reacting sharply to pungent smells and preferring
sweeter flavours. A baby experiences
their world in terms of boredom, hunger, hot, wet, tired or tastes good. It cannot, like adults, distinguish between
its senses.
A
baby will go through these phases at certain times during the first year.
§ 1. Clingy at 5 wks, 8 wks, 12 wks, 15 wks, 23 wks – [roughly]
§ 2. Uncomplicated
§ 3. Happy
§ 4. Irritable
behaviour (cries more often, sleeps less, is clingy and more demanding, eats
less, more fussy etc.)
Those
phases indicate the baby is having a growth spurt. Something changes in their brains which
enables the baby to perceive things differently. The clingy periods can last
from 1 day up to 7 days. They need lots of hugs at this time.
Imagine
what it would be like to wake up and suddenly find yourself on a strange planet
where everything was different from the one you were used to. You can’t say I’ll eat something and I’ll
feel better or I’ll shut my eyes and it’ll all go away. You would try to find something to attach to
or hold on to where you feel safe. This
is what babies do when they have their first growth spurt. Babies become clingy and possibly more
demanding as they have a need to attach themselves to the mother to feel safe.
After
the growth spurt the baby will start noticing shapes and simple patterns for
the first time. Like the slats in their
cot, they may start to recognise their arms and legs. It will look at things
longer and more often, is more aware of being touched, of smells, may smile for
the first time or smile more often. From
a physical perspective the baby may vomit, burp and choke less, breathing more
regularly. The baby becomes less jumpy
and expresses their likes and dislikes more often.
Each
big change is unique – babies learn a new kind of perception which allows it to
learn a new set of skills. When a baby
is happy and content, this is the calm before the storm.
Some
babies are born with pyloric stenosis (an over tightening of the passageway
between the stomach and the gut). This
causes projectile vomiting and can be fixed with minor surgery).
8 Weeks
Another
big growth spurt happens around this time, between 7 and 9 weeks a storm
gathers. The baby might cry more often,
become more demanding, loses it’s appetite, sleeps badly, can start sucking its
thumb and demand more and more of your time.
This is another period where the baby is feeling different and needs
something safe to cling on to.
The
baby starts to notice lights, shadows, its own body appendages – fingers, toes,
patterns and motifs. A personality
starts to emerge now and the baby becomes more adept to expressing its own
preferences. It will hold its head
upright when its very alert and consciously turns its head towards interesting
things. Will start to consciously kick
its legs, roll around, wave its arms and allows people to pull them into a
sitting or standing position. It ‘toys’
with its face and pulls all sorts of faces and experiments more with its voice.
At
10 weeks there’s a breather, a lull period
where baby is content and happy.
11-12 Weeks
The
baby will enter another new world. It
goes from being a puppet like Pinocchio into a ‘real boy’. The circumference of its head increases. It
will attempt to use its body more, communicate more, exactly when your baby
does what depends on its preferences and opportunities available to it. The baby develops an interest in a variety of
things and responds to people more. This
child will suddenly gain its place in the family unit.
13-14 Weeks
A
lull period.
19 Weeks
18-20
weeks – another growth spurt.
The
baby’s ability to understand the world around him becomes more developed.
Amazing eh! Who knows this stuff. It was from a book I read called Why They Cry.
Every new mother should read this book. These stages are all predictable within 1-2 weeks.
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