Week 12: Twelfth Week of Your Baby
Week 12 – How Big Is Your Baby This Twelfth Week?
Baby weighs 12 pounds and is 23-1/4 inches long.
Baby Care and Equipment
Pets and Baby
You may have a pet that was your “baby” until your child was born. When you bring baby home from the hospital, it means a lifestyle change for your pet, too.
Your pet is sensitive to routine, so making changes slowly, before baby is born, may be easier on your pet. During your pregnancy,try the following.
- Decrease the time you spend with your pet— you’ll have a lot less time after baby’s birth.
- Change and adapt your pet’s feeding, exercise or play schedule in the weeks before baby’s birth.
- Make any changes in where your pet will be kept. If baby will be in your room and your pet has slept there, move your pet’s sleeping site to another location so it will become familiar.
- Evaluate your dog’s obedience training. He should respond to basic commands.
- Expose your pet to other children when possible. It can be a shock to an animal to be confronted with a small baby. A baby’s crying and other reactions can startle or frighten an animal.
- Put out baby’s things, such as the bassinet or crib and the changing table. Let your pet smell everything.
- Keep pets off baby furniture and out of baby’s room.
- Give your pet an area that is all its own and off-limits to baby.
Introducing your dog to baby. After your baby is born, before you bring him home, have someone bring home a piece of baby’s clothing. Let your dog sniff it. This enables your pet to become familiar with baby’s smell.
When you bring baby home, go into the house alone to greet the pet. Put your dog on a leash before you bring your baby in, then sit in a chair with baby in your lap. Cover baby’s head with your hand to show your pet you are protective of this new addition to the household. Don’t put your baby on the floor. Don’t hold baby over your dog’s head—it might encourage your dog to jump up. Speak to your dog in a normal voice, and pat him for reassurance. If your dog displays any aggression, such as growling, flattening his ears or putting his tail down, remove baby immediately. If your dog seems OK with baby, let it sniff him.
Never leave baby unsupervised around your pet, even if everything seems all right. You don’t want to create an unsafe situation in which baby could be harmed.
Don’t let your dog lick your baby—it’s not sanitary. A dog’s mouth is filled with germs.
If your dog shows unacceptable behavior, say “No!” If he backs off on his own, praise him. If he doesn’t, remove the dog from the room. To be on the safe side, keep your dog on a leash for the first few weeks around baby.
After 3 or 4 weeks, if all seems to be going well, you can begin to include your pet in your daily routine. Let him follow you around as you care for baby. Give your pet attention when baby is present, not when baby is asleep or in another room. In this way, your pet will accept baby’s presence and not see it as a threat. If your dog walks well on a leash, take him with you when you take baby out in the stroller.
Introducing your cat to baby. Cats can be unpredictable. It’s best to keep a cat away from baby when possible. Let the cat watch from a distance. If it shows any signs of aggression, such as biting, nipping, growling, raising hair, spraying, flattening its ears or pointing its tail down, remove the cat in the area. If the cat slinks toward baby, it is a sign of aggression, so do not let it near the baby. Reward your cat for any positive actions, such as staying off furniture or away from baby.
Old or young pets. A puppy or kitten has a lot of energy. Handling a young pet can be a challenge. You may have to allow, extra time to spend with it.
If your animal is fairly old, a change in routine could cause other problems. If your pet has enjoyed the run of the house, for example it may take time to train it to stay out of certain areas. Your pet may also be jealous of the time and attention you give the baby. You have to set aside some time alone with your older pet.
Dealing with Unwanted Advice from Others
Your mother may tell you you’re starving your child. Your mother-in- law may advise you to let baby cry “for his own good—you’ll spoil him if you pick him up all the time.” If you’re like most new parents, you may wonder if what other people tell you is true. You may doubt your own instincts.
Everyone means well. They’re not saying you’re a bad parent. They have baby’s best interest at heart. Much of the advice they share with you was acceptable when they were parents. Today we know that some of that well-intentioned advice isn’t best for baby.
If you are given unwanted counsel, don’t get upset or angry. Follow your own plan for rearing your baby, and trust your instincts.
Thank your helpers for their advice. Use what you think is acceptable, and ignore the rest.
Does Classical Music Make Baby Smarter?
Recent studies have debunked the idea that a child who listens to classical music may grow up to be smarter and to do better in math, which researchers in one study reported some years ago. Researchers now believe there is no correlation between listening to classical music and brain development. However, the soothing sounds of classical music might help calm and settle a restless baby. Listening to classical music could be enjoyable for baby and you!
Milestones This Twelfth Week
Baby Can Lift His Head
Your baby’s strength and body control continue to increase. He can lift his head easily now. When you hold him, he may push away and look over your shoulder. He turns his head when lying on his stomach.
His Vision Sharpens
By this time, baby’s vision is becoming sharper. Now when you ho him, he can see details of your face, such as your eyebrows and lips. He’s becoming familiar with your facial features and those of others in the family.He’s beginning to distinguish among family members. You notice that his face lights up when he recognizes you. He’s also better able to track objects and can follow them as they move through his field of vision. Move a brightly colored object in a circle in front of him. Watch his eyes track the movement!
Baby Notices His Fingers
Your baby may spend a lot of time watching his hands. He enjoys watching his fingers move. He may grab one hand with the other or suck on his fist. He wants to touch anything he can reach. If he drops an object he’s holding, he doesn’t search for it.
Baby’s Sleep Needs
Your baby sleeps about 15 hours a day—10 hours at night and two or three naps during the day. The time he awakens in the morning may depend on the time of his last feeding the night before. Some babies wake up at about the same time every morning, no matter when they last ate.
Infant carrier Seat
When choosing an infant carrier seat for baby, make sure it has a wide, sturdy base to keep it from tipping over and causing a head injury.
Baby’s Sleep Cycles
By this time, your baby’s sleep cycles begin to resemble those of an adult. He passes through cycles of deep sleep and active sleep (REM). Both stages are critical to his physical and mental development. Human growth hormone is released when the child is in deep sleep.This sleep stage is required for physical growth. Active sleep is believed to be necessary for the development of learning and memory.
What’s Happening This Twelfth Week?
Baby’s Soft Spots
Soft spots on your baby’s head enable his head to grow. The soft spot at the back of the head should be closing about this time. The large one at the top of baby’s head takes longer to close. He’ll be about 18 months old before this spot hardens completely.
It’s OK to touch these soft spots, just be gentle. If a soft spot sinks in or bulges, or becomes hard before it should, call your pediatrician. He or she may want to see baby.
Begin Thinking about Babyproofing Your Home
It won’t be long before baby is moving around. Think now about babyproofing your home. In the following weeks, we go into detail about things to do to make your home safe for your baby. This discussion applies to what to do and how to do it.
Some people believe that nothing around the home should be moved or put away. In this way, baby learns what he can and cannot touch. Other people believe that anything baby might reach should be moved so you never have to say “No” to baby.
Consider taking the middle ground. You don’t have to put away everything that baby might touch. That’s no fun for you, and it’s boring for baby. You may want to put away some of your valuable, breakable or dangerous items, or at least place them out of reach for a while.
Baby will explore as he becomes mobile, so put only what isi for him within his reach. Sooner or later, your baby has to learn “h Let him learn this lesson on expendable objects that won’t hurt hin Everyone is happy: Baby expands his horizons without destroying your most prized possessions.
Bronchiolitis/RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)
What it is. Bronchiolitis is a lung infection that occurs primarily in the winter and spring months. It is rare in children older than 2 years. It begins as a cold, with nasal discharge and mild fever. Gradually the baby develops increasing respiratory distress, with rapid breathing, coughing, irritability and possible wheezing. He may also have episodes of apnea. See the general discussion of apnea in Week 2.
What to do. Use a cool-mist humidifier in his room. See Week 13 for information on humidifiers. Give him lots of fluids. Keep baby quiet. Depending on baby’s age, acetominophen may be given to ease discomfort and to reduce fever. Keep baby away from others because the virus is easily spread by hand-to-nose or hand-to-eye contact.
When to call the doctor. Contact your pediatrician if baby’s coughing increases, he wheezes, breathes more than 70 breaths a minute, or if the skin between and underneath the ribs is pulled tail with breathing. Notify the doctor if baby’s skin becomes blue or gr, he is extremely irritable, he has apnea spells or is very listless.
In some cases, baby will be hospitalized and given mist therapy combined with oxygen. He may be given an IV if he cannot eat. X-rays may be taken to check for pneumonia. In severe cases, a ventilator may be used to assist and to control breathing. An antivir agent may be given to your baby, but its use is controversial and expensive.
Club foot
What it is. Clubfoot, also called talipes, is a term that applies to any number of foot deformities. Most are present at birth (congenital), although one type of clubfoot may occur after infection with polio.
When present at birth, clubfoot is either an inherited condition or is caused by the positioning of the fetus in the uterus. It is more common in boys than girls. Symptoms of a clubfoot vary, depending on the part of the foot involved, and include
- heel and foot turn outward
- heel turns inward
- foot is extended
- arch is exaggerated
- foot points down, turns inward and curls under
What to do. Your pediatrician should recognize the disorder when the physical exam is done after birth. Medical treatment is necessary to correct the deformity. Your doctor may advise stretching exercises, massage, physical therapy, splints for day or night, or casts. A positive attitude on your part during physical therapy is very important.
The goal of treatment is to correct the problem. If left uncorrected, it prevents normal walking. The deformity is not painful, but it may be uncomfortable when treatment begins. Your doctor may recommend surgery if the noninvasive treatment methods described don’t solve the problem.
Toys and Play This Twelfth Week
Your baby loves to reach for and swat at objects. He’s beginning to grab at things. Introduce your baby to a gym toy if he’s at this stage. Objects are firmly attached to a bar that hangs above baby’s head. Your baby will enjoy looking at the colorful objects and may take a swipe at them. As his muscle control improves, these bright toys help him develop eye-hand coordination. He’ll quickly lose , interest in the objects if they are beyond his reach.
Push-ups
Help baby increase his upper-body strength by placing him on his stomach with his arms stretched in front. Shake a rattle above his head to encourage him to look up. Then shake the rattle below him so he looks down. Do this a few times so he moves up and down.
Baby’s Kick Toy
Baby is using more than his hands as he becomes more active. He likes kick toys, too. Baby can activate some toys to make noise orto flash lights when he kicks them.
Make baby his own kick toy. Attach a rattle or bell to baby’s ankte with self-adhesive cloth tape. When he kicks, he’ll delight himself with the noise he makes! Don’t leave baby alone with this toy.
Little Piggies Go to Market
It’s time to introduce your baby to some of the fun interactive gar you remember from your own childhood. Babies love “This Little Piggy Went to Market.” Sit baby on your lap, or lay him on the floe Say one line of verse as you gently wiggle each toe on his foot. As you say or sing the last verse, run your fingers up baby’s body, tickling him lightly.
Hand-Puppet Playtime
Hand puppets are fun, creative toys. Your baby will enjoy explorir a puppet with his eyes and his hands. Puppet play with baby encourages his visual, verbal and motor development. You can buy simple hand puppets. Or you can make one by sewing two washcloths together on three sides. Add a simple face with a permanent marker. You’re ready to play!