When your baby is 2 week old, you still adjust to the parenthood. By the time your child reaches the age of 2 months, you will be at the home. What kind of cues and developmental stages are expected from your baby at 2 months?
This is a period during which you can gain a bit of confidence. Your baby’s body also starts becoming compatible with the outside environment.
This article presents developmental milestones in your 2 week old baby. It presents some care techniques to be followed when your baby is 2 week old.
Two Week old baby’s growth:
Week two is an important stage of transition for you as your hormones change after the birth. This is the age where your baby starts to gain weight. Feeding helps the baby to regain the weight that they have lost during the first week.
Your baby is ready to accept little high levels of the breastmilk during this period. Offer the feeding times that are compatible with your growing baby. Babies start to recognize voices at this stage, so make sure to talk with your baby often.
2 week old baby milestones:
Here are a 2 week old baby developmental milestones:
1. 2 Week Old Baby Feeding:
2 month old eat should have as much as they want at this age. The general thumb rule is to offer 12 to 32 ounces of breastmilk at this age. 16-32 ounces of the milk in 24 hours is the ideal range for the feeding babies.
Offer sufficient amounts of milk to your babies for every 2-3 hours.
2. 2 Week Old Baby Vision:
Vision is the most important 2 week old newborn milestone. Your baby’s vision goes from blurry to bright in few months. A 2 week old baby starts recognizing the faces of their caregivers. Your baby will start to focus your face when you smile or play with them.
3. 2 Week Old Baby Sleep:
When your baby moves through 2 weeks, you can start implementing sleep routines. But don’t expect your baby to get adjusted to and follow the sleep routines. This is because their brains are not fully developed. Your baby may take little more time to follow the schedules.
It is tough task to get new born baby to sleep. Babies require lot of swaddling and closeness to put them in sleep. First few months of your baby’s sleep-wake cycles may not be proper and they seem confusing.
4. 2 Week Old Baby Weight:
It is estimated that the average weight of the newborn baby is 3.2 to 3.4 kg. A healthy baby is expected to gain the weight between 2.6 to 3.8 kg.
Baby’s birth weight depends on many factors. They are:
1. The duration of the pregnancy: premature babies are typically smaller whereas the overdue babies are likely to have more weight than the expected healthy weight.
2. Smoking: Mothers who smoke during the pregnancy give birth to smaller weight children.
3. Diabetes: Mothers who have encountered diabetes during the pregnancy mostly give birth to larger weight babies.
4. Nutritional status: Following bad healthy habits and poor nutrition during the pregnancy leads to the low weight baby. Weight gain during the pregnancy, on the other hands leads to larger baby.
5. Family History: Some babies get their weight which is derived from the genetics of their parents irrespective of the nutritious.
6. Gender: on an average, baby girl weighs less than the baby boy.
7. Multiple Pregnancy: A single baby likely to have proper weight than multiple babies in the single pregnancy.
5. 2 Week Old baby Crying:
Crying is the common part of the infant life. From the movement babies born they start crying in order to clear fluid from the lungs. Crying usually starts accelerate at 2 weeks and reach the peaks at 6-8 weeks and reaches normal when they are at the age between 3 to 4 months.
6. 2 week old baby refluxes:
Babies exhibit the symptoms of acid reflux between the ages of 2 to 4 weeks. They reach the peaks at the age of 4 months and begin to settle down at 7 months age. The acid reflexes are known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The esophagus pushes the food or liquid down to the stomach followed by series of sneezes.
Here are a few symptoms of baby reflex:
- Frequent spitting or vomiting
- Sudden and uncontrollable crying
- Slow weight gain
- Baby seems more fussy
7. 2 week old baby remain awake for longer period:
Though your 2 weeks baby sleeps for about 18 hours, they remain more alert and active. Use some hand gestures and cues to soothe and comfort your baby.
8. Colic responses in your new born:
When your baby is crying more than the period of 3 hours continuously, your baby may have colic. There is no particular medical explanation for it. It is more common in the 5-20% of the babies. 60% of the colic conditions will be settled down at the ag of 3 months.
9. Pooping schedule in 2 weeks old baby:
Babies generally experience the pooping schedules same as the one that they had in the first week. If you notice that your baby is passing too few bowel movements, figure out for the signs like swollen abdomen or pain in the abdomen.
10. Losing the umbilical cord:
Studies suggest there is no association between the cord length and weight, length, sex of the baby. After the intense care of the left-over stump of your baby’s belly button, it will get separated from your baby during the second week. Give your baby sponge baths instead of tub during their second week journey.
11. Give your baby some fresh time:
You and your baby might have limited to the home during the first week. Take an opportunity to get out of the house and give your baby some green and pleasant time.
12. Bath time:
A baby will be ready for the bath time by the end of their second week when the umbilical cord falls off. Adopt techniques to ensure the safe bathing for your baby.
13. Thumb sucking reflexes in 2 week old baby:
It is perfectly natural for the new born babies to suck their thumbs. It reflects how they eat, so it good to notice that your baby has figured out at the earliest. Thumb sucking is the self soothing technique that your baby might develop at the age of 2 weeks.
14. Baby’s birthmarks:
Birthmarks in newborn babies may create much anxiety in new parents. There are two types of birthmarks in babies. They are vascular birthmarks and pigmented birthmarks. The former one occur when the blood vessels do not form correctly and the latter one occur as a result of overgrowth of cells that create color of the skin.
15. Baby’s soft spots:
There are two spots that you can recognize on your baby’s head, they are medically called as fontanels. These spots serve two important purposes: They shift and mold the infant’s skull so that it can fit into the birth canal. They facilitate the growth of your baby’s brain during the first year.
The diamond shaped larger soft spot lies on the top of your baby’s head. The second smaller fontanel lies on the back of your baby’s head and it is triangular in shape. The strong have strong membranes around them that help in safeguarding the brain.
Note: Contact your doctor, if you notice depressed fontanel or constantly bulging one. The former one is a sign of dehydration and the later one is a sign of pressure on the brain.
Things that the parents of 2 week old babies aware of:
Here are a few unpleasant experiences that babies develop late in the 2nd week.
1. Fussiness: This is one of the irritable experiences that your child develops at the end of the day. You may notice the changes in the heart rate and sucking patterns when your baby hears a sound.
2. Constipation: Constipation makes the baby to have harder bowel movements. Look for the loss of appetite, crying and observe for any discomforts and feed accordingly. Consult your pediatrician if you notice three hard or dry bowel movements.
3. Postnatal Depression: This is a most common problem that affects more than 1 woman in every 10 women. Symptoms of it may include insomnia, loss of appetite, intense irritability, and difficulty in making attachment with the baby. If this condition is left untreated, this lasts months or longer. Treatment for this kind of depression is counselling or homeotherapy. Don’t let your baby to be affected by your depression.
2 Week old newborn baby care tips:
Here are a few care tips that you should follow for your 2 week old newborn baby:
- The crib or the cradle that your baby sleeps in should be more comfortable for them. Ensure that the gaps are not too wide and the bed should be firm. Decorate the cradle in a simple manner and do not crowd it unnecessarily with toys.
- Sterilize bottles and nipples for the first time use. Every time you feed wah your nipples and bottles with hot water.
- While preparing water for your baby’s bath ensure that the water is not too warm.
- Do not leave your baby alone. You baby monitors in case of need.
In conclusion, every milestone in your baby’s life is challenging for your baby and memorable for you. Ensure to strengthen your bonding in each and every stage of your baby’s development. Don’t be panic with any kind of discomforts in your baby. Make sure to consult your doctor immediately for any kind of abnormal discomforts in your baby.
