{"id":100848,"date":"2016-10-03T10:02:49","date_gmt":"2016-10-03T14:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100848\/6-week-old-baby\/"},"modified":"2022-03-09T16:49:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T21:49:58","slug":"6-week-old-baby","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100848\/6-week-old-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"6 weeks old"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Baby<\/span> gets bigger and more talented every day, it\u2019s important to remember that every baby develops at their<\/span> own pace. It\u2019s completely normal for a baby to develop more quickly than the average in some areas, and to take a little longer in others. Baby<\/span> is only human, after all – they can<\/span> only learn so many things at a time. If they decides<\/span> to take some time to really get serious about their<\/span> fine motor skills, it only makes sense that they might<\/span> lag for a little while on their<\/span> language skills. Once they has<\/span> mastered the skills they has<\/span> decided they needs<\/span> to master, they will<\/span> have plenty of time to catch up in other areas. And as will be the case for the next several years, the more interaction with them<\/span> you have, and the more you let them<\/span> play, the quicker they will<\/span> learn.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no good for either you or Baby<\/span> for you to be stressed about the speed of their<\/span> development, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t help them<\/span> out a little. Making sure Baby<\/span> gets plenty of well-supervised tummy time will help to make sure their<\/span> trunk gains plenty of strength and control that they will<\/span> need for a whole range of different types of motion, like raising their<\/span> head, neck, shoulders, and, eventually, sitting up entirely. Free-play time where Baby<\/span> isn\u2019t strapped into any kind of seat or device gives Baby<\/span> the chance to stretch and build out all those brand new muscles, too, and to explore all of their<\/span> admittedly pretty limited options for moving around.<\/p>\n

You can encourage other areas of their<\/span> development a little more actively than just by keeping an eye on them<\/span> while they rolls<\/span> around on the floor. Their<\/span> vision is still developing, and while they can<\/span> see a lot more colors than they could<\/span> when they was<\/span> born, they probably still has<\/span> a preference for high contrasts between colors. This means cloth books or board books in black and white, or with dramatically contrasting colors, could be a big hit right now, as well as good stimulation for their<\/span> developing vision.<\/p>\n

This point, coming up on the 6-week mark, could be around the time when Baby<\/span> starts to develop a bit more of a regular sleep schedule. This doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019ll be the sleep schedule you were hoping for, but at least it might be a little bit easier to plan around.<\/p>\n

Milestones<\/strong><\/h4>\n