Babies continue their development and growth after birth, and there are many changes in the 2nd month of a baby’s life.
At 2 months, your joy is still a newborn, and you can notice both physical development, intellectual development, and motor skills.
Let’s discuss some of the important aspects of2-month-oldd babies.
2-Month-oldd Baby’s Development
2 months old baby”s weight is between 9 to 12 pounds on average, with boys usually having more weight than the girls, according to statistics.
The physical development of a 2-month-old baby is experienced in all parts of the body, and the baby can begin to control his fingers and hands, touching, holding, and grabbing things around him.
Also, in the second month of life, newborns can see clearly and give their parents their first conscious smile.
Your 8 weeks baby should be active, and there are some hyperactive babies at 2 months. You should always consult your pediatrician if there’s a concern about your baby’s development.
Also, at 2 months of life, you begin to forget your sleepless nights, frequent diaper changes, sore nipples, and hours of carrying that little screamer around.
Normally, your baby does not crawl or have teeth at 2 months, and you should not expect this development until after 3 months.
2-Month-old Baby Routine
The movements of arms, hands, and legs are also becoming more targeted in the second month of life.
Raising their heads, looking at the people they’re familiar with, being happy to see their parents when they appear, and wearing a smile when you get close to them or attempting to carry them are common skills of a 2-month-old baby.
These skills can also help you to understand your 2-month-old baby intellectual development.
At 2 months, your baby looks at his hands often, he grabs them consciously, and no longer reflexively as was the case in the first month of life.
2-Month-old Baby Play Activities
Once your baby reaches 8 weeks (2 months), he would become more active in daytime.
Since there are more motor skill activities, you should allow your baby to have both structured and unstructured play activities under your guidance.
As a parent, you should explore this period to spend much time with your baby; at least 1 hour with your baby.
You can also start buying children toys for your baby. Baby’s toys are age sensitive, therefore, you should buy toys that are designed specifically for 2 month old babies.
Colorful rubber phones, cuddly toys, Tummy Time Toys,electronic keyboard etc, and objects that are colorful but soft are also suitable for playing.
These can be, for example, fabric balls, soft rattles, or even simple plastic pot scrapers from the kitchen.
Even if the baby is not yet able to hold onto the objects himself, he will look at them with interest and follow the movements of the hand that is holding these objects.
2 Month old Baby Sleeping
Sleeping through the night is still out of the question, but the baby will already have longer periods of sleep over several hours.
A 2 monthold baby should sleep for at least 14 hours daily since it’s important for their development.
At 2 month, the REM sleep pattern is already changed, and your baby can spread his sleep all through the day.
Your baby can now eat better, and sleep longer. For example, your 2 month old baby can sleep without eating for 4 to 5 hours.
However, you should try to feed your baby at most 4 hours interval, and if your baby is asleep, it’s not bad to wake him to breastfeed or bottle feed if you’re not doing exclusive breatfeeding.
2 Month old Baby Feeding
A 2 month old baby continues to take milk as his/her food, either breastmilk or formula.
At some point in the middle of the second month, breastfeeding mothers in particular have the feeling that the baby is no longer properly fed.
In fact, between the sixth and eighth week, the little one craves more food.
This is due to a development spurt that trigger more demand of nutrients to support the baby’s development, and this is never a cause for concern.
Normally, supply and demand have become harmonized within three days at the latest and everything is running smoothly again.
At this period, you should be able to offer at least 4 ounces of milk to your baby at 3 to 4 hours interval all through the day.
Babies who are fed on formula can either be fed more often or switched to the next higher level.
Constipation is also common to 2 month old babies that already on full formula feeding.
At 2 month, you should still expect your baby to have between 2 to 4 bowel movements daily either you’re on breastfeeding or bottlefeeding.
2 Month Old baby Care
- You can continue to bath your baby twice daily with lukewarm water as relative to the weather.
- Use only baby products on your newborn: cream, comb, perfume etc
- Clothing is very important, continue to use the cap, socks and gloves when needed everyday.
- If your 2 month old finds it difficult to drink, either a few drops of breast milk should be put into the nose before a meal or special nasal drops for infants should be used.
- If possible, nasal drops should not be given over a longer period because they dry out the mucous membranes of the nose too much.
- Saline solution, on the other hand, can be given for several days until the runny nose improves. Special nasal aspirators help to free baby’s noses from secretions.
- Give attention to your baby (especially when he cries), talk to him, cuddle him and play with him.
- Motivate your baby to do things, and ensure he’s safe at all times.
- Also take note of the vaccination schedule, and comply
