The baby is about to reach their third month when they are 10 weeks old. 10th week brings many significant changes in the baby’s physical and cognitive development. It is more important to track the milestones such as talking, growth, and many more.
A 10 week old develops some schedules which are more predictable. Babies are likely to absorb incredible amounts of time and energy as they develop into the older stages. New born babies are more sensitive and dependent. Careful nurturing will help the baby to reach their milestones as per the age.
This article discusses the 10 week old baby routines and developmental milestones.
10 week old baby’s development and growth milestones:
To make every moment wonderful it is important to know their milestones in advance and help them accordingly. A newborn at this process is in the stage of developing and reaching the milestones that occur in between the birth and three months.
1. 10 Week old baby weight:
The following weight ranges are applicable for the full term infants.
● a 10 week old baby boy weighs between 5.6 to 6.4 kg.
● a 10 week old baby girl weighs between 5.1 to 5.8 kg.
Premature babies are monitored by the doctor with some specialized growth chart and they need special medical attention.
2. 10 Week old baby Physical development:
You may notice the couple of growth spurts by this time and it is the right time to transition from 0 size to the very next size. The initial growth of the newborn baby begins with the head and moves to the other parts of the body. Development of muscles and senses contribute to the physical development of the baby.
At the age of 10 weeks, babies start to kick more with their feet. They learn to roll to the sides and back to the normal position. Babies may take little more time for the complete rolling. Babies start to produce more saliva than they can produce at this stage.
3. 10 Week old baby routines:
Your baby’s actions during this stage become much more predictable. In the morning, babies are expected to eat, play, and snooze for sometimes. Babies follow the same schedule in the afternoon. Babies usually have another nap late in the afternoon and early in the
4. 10 Week old baby Growth Spurt:
At the age of 10 weeks, your baby is likely to develop chubby arms and legs. If they have not yet developed, they will develop soon. You may need to adjust the straps on the car seat, swings or crib to ensure that they are compatible with your baby.
5. 10 week old baby vision:
The babies at this stage can recognize the face of their primary caretaker. The range of their sight still lies between 8-12 inches. Babies may show increase in their attention span. At this age babies gain the ability to gaze at your face for about 10 seconds.
By following some tips, you can stimulate the span of their gaze period to a bit more beyond 10 second. Mount a mobile over your baby’s crib this enhances the focusing skills of the baby. Babies may be able to follow your movements when you move closer to them. Encourage your baby to see your face more while feeding.
A 10 week old baby will be able to see the objects within the range of 8 to 10 inches. Babies usually develop their color vision between 4 to 5 months of age.
6. 10 Week old baby hearing:
It is most important for the babies to be tested for the hearing before 1 month. Full hearing test should be done for the babies before the age of 3 months. Doctors start the treatment by the age of 6 months if they notice any kind of hearing problems. Any family history of hearing problems may put your baby at the risk of hearing problems. Even if the baby has passed the initial screening test, it is more important to look for the general symptoms of the hearing loss:
● You may not recognize the startle reflexes in the baby on hearing louder noises.
● Babies may not respond to the voices of the parents.
Especially, premature babies are at the risk of hearing loss.
Babies may start to turn their eyes in response to the sounds by the age of 6 months. Here are the few milestones of the babies till the age of 3 months:
● Reacts to loud sounds
● Makes soft sounds
● Smiles or calms down when you spoke to them
● Able to recognize your voice
7. 10 week old baby feeding schedules:
Scheduled doctor prescribed feedings are recommended for the premature babies. For the full term and healthy babies, it is best to look at the babies instead of following the clock schedules. This is regarded as the responsive or on demand feeding.
Here are some of the hunger cues that babies exhibit:
● Licking the lips
● Moving the head in search of milk
● Sucking on their blankets and other things around
● Fussiness
Babies are good at taking in enough amounts of milk. Bottle Fed babies are at the risk of taking in more amounts of milk as it involves less effort than breastfeeding. Overfed babies can have frequent stomach pains, or vomit and are at the risk of obesity in their later life.
Baby’s progress on the growth chart is the best indicator to recognize that babies are getting enough and right amounts of milk.
8. 10 week old baby crying:
Crying is the way that the babies communicate with their caregivers. You may notice small cries after putting the baby in the crib, these are the signs that they fail to get into the deep sleep.
The other two reasons that make your baby cry are hunger and the demand for attention. Most often babies become fussy when they are cuddled up by many new people. Other causes of fussiness in babies may include diaper rashes, overstimulation, food sensitivities, and low milk supply.
Certain shaking things can help to make your baby more comfortable.
● Rock your baby gently in your arms
● Get a baby swing
● The smooth or consistent movements may help your soothing baby sleep well.
● Try some soothing noises to comfort the fussy baby.
9. 10 week old baby sleep:
A slight sleep schedule begins for your baby at this stage. Your baby’s sleep schedules depend on the baby routines throughout the day. Active play during the day encourages healthy sleep during the night time.
Babies sleep for 14 to 17 hours a day during this stage. But the frequency between their mealtime may get bigger as their stomach could be able to hold more milk. The period of alertness also grows during this period.
10. 10 Week old baby nap length:
The average night sleep of the babies between 2 weeks to 2 months is 8.5-10 hours and the overall nap length of 6 to 7 hours spread out over 3 to 4 naps.
Limit your baby’s naps and make sure that each nap should not exceed 4 hours. Too long naps may make your baby find it difficult to fall asleep at the night time.
11. 10 week old baby rolling over:
Rolling over is the important milestone for the 10 week old baby. Once the baby starts to roll over, they will work on crawling and sitting.
Most babies start their rolling practice to the sides first. They try to lift their head and shoulders with the help of their arms. Make sure to offer your baby supervised tummy time that helps to enhance their rolling movement and the head lifting.
12. Games and activities for the 10 week old baby:
By the age of 10 weeks babies are likely to develop some strength and begin to understand the 3D space that is surrounding them. Take this development as the advantage and develop some activities for your baby.
● Hold your baby firmly in your hands and make them to fly gently.
● Make some exciting sounds and look at them with excitement.
● Make some funny faces for your baby.
● Use some shiny material and cast its reflections on the wall and if your baby is lying make the reflections on the ceiling. Let these reflections appear and disappear and observe the changes in your baby.
13. 10 week old baby motor development:
Babies usually move their torso, before they learn to move their arms and legs. Motor development includes controlling the body movements and developing the hand eye coordination. By the age of 10 weeks, babies will have matured sucking and swallowing reflexes.
Grasp reflexes tend to strengthen by the end of 10 week as they can hold the pacifiers and small toys firmly.
14. 10 week old baby cognitive development:
It is easy to notice the physical changes within the baby. But, it is not so easy to recognize and understand what’s happening inside their brains.
The parts of your baby’s brain that work to control their bodily movements are all in their place. You little baby knows how to breathe, feed, sleep, and poop. The parts of the brain in your newborn that help them to understand the world around them are still under development. The process by which your baby learns to cope with thought, memory, language, and physical coordination is known as cognitive development.
By the age of 10 weeks, babies begin to smile at the people, start making gurgling sounds, follow the things with eyes, and they are able to lift their heads.
15. 10 week old baby behavior:
Babies exhibit more amounts of energy and excitement when they are awake. Babies are able to raise their head during the tummy time. Babies are likely to develop the strength of the upper body during this stage.
Along with making some funny sounds, babies may start using the saliva in funny ways. Offer your baby some teething tools to help them soothe any discomforts that arise while their first tooth erupts in.
16. 10 week old baby pooping schedules:
You may notice the changes in the newborn baby’s stool as they grow. Switching from breastmilk to formula milk or changing the type of formula can bring the changes in the stool color, amount, and consistency. The frequency of the baby to pass the stools may vary. Sometimes babies may pass the stools once in 3 to 7 days or 10 times a day both are fine. Color the baby poop is the best indicator to ensure the health of the baby. Stool color of the bottle fed baby may vary from the breastfed baby. Infrequent breastfeeding may make your baby to be affected by the constipation.
The stool color and texture of the bottle fed baby and breastfed baby may not be the same. The stool color of the breastfed baby is yellow and loose or sometimes may be curdy or seedy. Formula fed baby’s stool may be firmer than the breastfed babies. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about the changes in your baby’s stools.
If your newborn baby is not passing the stool, take a consultation from the lactation specialist and you need a check regarding the diet, latch, and position.
17. 10 Week old baby health:
The primary goal of every parent is to secure the health of new born baby from infections. Even after the tremendous care little ones are likely to catch up with the cold. Home remedies are not recommended for the cold in babies who are younger than 3 months
Tests and vaccinations play a prominent role in maintaining the health of a newborn baby. If the vaccinations of the 8th week include PCV, rotavirus then there is no need of administering the vaccination at this age.
10 Week old baby care tips & Precautions:
Here are a few tips and precautions that you should take care of your 10 week old baby:
1. Baby massages:
As the babies are about to enter into their third month, they are likely to develop predictable nap and night time sleep. Massage is a great way to start the day of your baby.
It is believed that offering massages may relieve the gas problems, leg pains that are associated with the baby.
2. Baby’s clothes:
Wash your baby’s clothes and blankets regularly. Soak them in hot water for about half an hour before washing the clothes.
3. Offer comfortable room temperature:
It is the most important element to comfort the newborn baby. Make sure that their room is always at the optimal temperature. Dress your baby as per the room temperature and do not overdress your baby in the winter. Dress your baby in soft and lightweight cloth during the summer.
It is good to place the humidifier in your baby’s room to get rid of the dry air.
4. Learn to deal with the colic symptoms in your baby:
One fifth of the babies develop colic symptoms by the time they reach the age of 7 weeks which will last till the age of 4 months. Simple soothing techniques like cuddling and rocking make help to get your baby out from colic symptoms.
If you are breastfeeding mom, soothing tips won’t help. You need to follow healthy diet habits like eliminating dairy, coffee, onions and other potentially irritable foods. Slower and more frequent feedings will help your baby to get relief from the colic symptoms.
5. Vaccines for 10 week old baby:
If the vaccines like hepatis B, DTaP, Hib, IPV, PCV13, and RV are administered successfully there is no need for vaccines at this age.
When to consult a doctor?
Consult your doctor in the following conditions:
● If your baby is suffering from constipation and has fever, then it is a sign of something more critical and requires immediate medical attention.
● If your baby remains unresponsive to loud sounds and noises
● Your baby experiences extreme colic symptoms.
In conclusion, the rate of development is not the same for all the babies. Especially premature babies take a lot of time to reach their milestones. Baby’s healthy growth range at each check up is the best sign that they are receiving enough amounts to eat.