3-month-old baby developments:

Another incredible experience will start to happen by the age of 3 months. Your baby is now able to show you that he recognizes your face. He turns his head and smiles at the sound of your voices.

Before we start talking about the developments of a 3-month-old baby, we should mention that all babies are unique and meet these developments at their own pace. This article merely shows what your baby has the potential to accomplish and how you can help him do it better.

Vision

By the end of 3 months, they can follow a moving object, are more interested in bright colors, shapes, and patterns. Human faces are one of their favorite things to look at, especially their own or a parent’s face (even at a distance).  She will also start using her hands and eye in coordination.

Hearing

Your 3-month-old’s hearing and vision are improving. Babies this age turn their heads and smile at the sound of their parents’ voices, and they love listening to all kinds of music.

Muscles and Motor Skills

Your baby is already working hard to become more mobile. As her head and neck muscles become stronger, she may soon learn to roll over. This means that you may want to start changing her diaper on the floor. Babies have a habit of surprising their parents with their newfound abilities.

You may also notice your baby waving her arms and kicking her legs enthusiastically. If you hold her up with her feet touching the floor, she should push down on her legs now.

Your baby can also bring both hands together, open her fists, and play with her fingers. She may even use a closed fist to bat at dangling objects.

Cause and effect:

 Before, when your baby managed to bat a dangling toy it may have been by chance, but now they are beginning to learn the basics of cause and effect when they hit something it moves. A baby’s brain makes thousands of connections a second, and you can almost see it whirring as they concentrate on a new skill.

Communication skills

By three months, probably even earlier, your baby will know you’re special. Most likely she will still smile at strangers, especially when they look her straight in the eye and coo or talk to her, but she’s beginning to sort out who’s who in her life, and she prefers some people to others.

Crying is no longer your baby’s primary method of communication. In fact, he should cry for no more than an hour each day. Instead of crying, your baby is starting to communicate in other ways, such as cooing and making vowel sounds (”oh” and ”ah,” for example).

Around this age, your baby might start trying to have a conversation with you. When you talk, he’ll listen, and try to reply. When he’s alone, you might even hear him trying to talk.

Other development

Touching

You’ll find that your baby is beginning to develop more of a sense of the things around her and developing a new sense of touch. You may notice your child trying to reach out and touch things close by. She loves your touch. Stroking, carrying, massaging, lifting and rocking your baby may help her to relax and may even increase her alertness and attention span.  All that skin-to-skin contact not only helps you and your baby bond but is comforting when she’s upset and soothing when she’s irritable.

Sleep

Your 3-month-old’s nervous system is maturing, and his stomach can accommodate more milk or formula. Those changes should allow your baby to sleep for a stretch of six or seven hours at a time, which translates into a good night’s sleep for you. Although some children at this age can sleep through the night (lucky parents!), plenty of babies won’t be able to do that for at least three more months, or even longer.

Social skills

Even with others, your baby is becoming more responsive and engaging, by flashing smiles (social-smile), oohing and cooing. Your baby’s social skills are blossoming. When she’s safely in your arms, she’s likely to be interested in interacting with other people, especially noisy, boisterous children because they’re more active, more amusing to a baby.

She might imitate some of your movements or facial expressions. It feels incredible!

How to help your child develop at this age

Communication skills

Talk to your baby and listen to his reply: by doing this, you’re helping baby learn the basics of language and communication. When you speak or listen, look your child in the eye and make facial expressions. This will help him learn the connection between words and feelings.

Talk to your baby as you play with her, and during everyday activities, such as diaper changing and dressing. By talking, singing, or making noises at her, you’re helping develop her communication skills and encouraging her to express herself. Even a trip to the shops can be a chance to stimulate your baby. As you roam the aisles, point to objects and name them.

Vision

You can read books to them, even the ones designed for older children, as long as it has clear, crisp images and bright colors. They will still captivate your baby. Or you can read poetry, even if it’s Shakespeare. She will still delight her because of its musicality.

Try tying a small soft toy to a ribbon or string and swing it slowly in front of your baby. Not only will they be able to track it with their eyes, but they may also try to take a swipe at it.

Hang a child-safe activity mirror on the side of his crib and you just might get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning while he entertains himself with the reflection of his very own face!

Muscles and Motor Skills

Help develop your baby’s hand-eye coordination by holding out a toy to see if she’ll grasp it. Applaud her efforts and smile. She may need your reassurance since her new skill can be frightening.

While she’s mastering his grabbing skills, give your baby interesting things to hold: lightweight rattles that are easy to grasp, a plastic or rubber ring to hold with both hands, squeaking toys, or soft stuffed animals.

If your baby didn’t like the baby gym last month and voiced their dislike, try again now. You might be surprised. Every toy has its moment

Touching

You can stimulate your baby’s sense of touch using a variety of materials that your baby can play with to further their experiences. Try using fur, tissue, felt, velvet and toweling. Your child will likely try to eat everything, so choose carefully and don’t leave her alone with anything that could come apart in her mouth. Also, you can look for books that make reading a tactile experience.

Hearing

Singing and talking are two excellent ways to help a baby’s brain shift into high gear. Some new twists to try: Use different tones of voice as you speak. When you tell a story or recite a nursery rhyme, insert your baby’s name for a character’s name, so he gets used to hearing it in a variety of tones and situations. Another great way to increase his awareness of the world is to take him on expeditions. Go for a walk and watch him respond with glee as he watches leaves move and birds fly and listens to the sounds of dogs, cars, or just about anything that makes a noise.

Sleep

If you’ve settled on a bedtime routine, add story time in. It would make time pass more enjoyable for both of you and your baby.

Long story short: Play together, sing songs, read books, play with toys, do tummy time and make funny sounds together. Your baby will love it! Playing together helps you and your baby get to know each other and also help him feel loved and secure.

We hope you find this review informative and helpful. Now it’s easier to find appropriate toys and gears for kids. Please let us know if you have any question. We will try to answer it as soon as possible. We also prepared a List of appropriate toy for this group age:

List of Toys for 0-3-month-old babies

 

You can also check our other posts about 2-month-old and 4-month-old baby developments.

2-month-old baby developments

4-month-old baby developments