He enjoys being held and talked to. You can use feeding times, bath time and changing time to talk to him, sing to your 3 to 5 months baby and look into his eyes. Hopefully, you are not still wondering how to bathe a baby. He can make eye contact and can even read your facial expressions. He can respond to your smiles by kicking.
He can also be very friendly even to strangers because he is enjoying the interaction. In addition to his head, he can lift his chest when lying on his tummy. He has also started discovering that some of the body parts are his and will spend a lot of time playing with his fingers and toes when lying on his back. He can hold objects briefly in his tiny hands.
He can open and close his hands and when aided can sit upright. From around 5 months, he will be able to roll over. This means you need to observe extra caution regarding leaving him alone unattended. He will push down on his legs when his feet are placed on a firm surface but this doesn’t mean that he is ready to stand on them.
Pay attention, if your 0 to 5 months baby doesn’t seem startled by loud noises and can’t follow moving objects with his eyes.
If the baby doesn’t fold and unfolds his legs or seems uninterested in his surroundings, talk to your healthcare provider.
How your life is changing.
If you are one of those women who get to enjoy long lustrous hair during pregnancy, you will notice that you are losing huge amounts of hair. There is nothing you can do about it but worry not; your hair will soon go back to its normal growth cycle. If you also had that perfect glowing skin, you may experience skin break-outs in the few months following delivery. Health and beauty tips won’t help just give your body time to get back.
The good news is that those tiger stripes across your belly will start to fade.
If you are light-skinned and experienced skin discolouration on your face, these too will start to go away.
Your healthcare provider has declared you fit to resume sex after pregnancy and birth but some women have difficulty getting back onto that horse. You may be feeling unattractive because of your changed body or your partner may be finding it difficult to see you that way. Either way, the most important thing is that you speak openly about it. Be patient with each other and talk about your fears.
Tip: “Breastfeeding is not a form of contraception. I imagined that as long as I was breastfeeding, I could not ovulate. I conceived my now one-month-old daughter when my son was five months,” shares Eunice.” Kuya is a mother of two from Kitengela Nairobi.
Medical Professionals recommend that you use it as a form of family planning only if you would NOT mind conceiving another baby soon.
If your baby is consistently having issues with sleep at this point, please talk to us about Sleep Specialists and Pediatricians who can help you.