Its 5 months already! Doesn’t time fly? While you were busy taking care of wet diapers, your child has already started developing in his own sweet world. There are new milestones that he has reached after every passing month, giving you a harder time with your little one and managing hid activities. Here are some of the different aspects and the changes you can expect in them as your baby steps in the 5th month in the world.
1. Weight:
By the age of 5 months, your little one has doubled the weight that she was in. A quick check up at this stage should be good to talk to your doctor about the risks of your child being underweight and what you can do to make sure that isn’t the case.
2. Baby Care:
Baby care is an important aspect when you are looking at a 5 month old child. Your baby will start rolling around the house from their back and to their tummy and repeat all over again. You will notice how efficiently he has learnt to work on his legs and is ready to crawl around. He is also moving around, so while you are happy to see him roll, make sure you never leave him on bed unattended as he is still delicate and falling off a high bed will leave him badly injured.
You will also notice how your little one loves music and responds to different genres in different ways. Play all kinds to first recognize the one he prefers. When you see he is smiling to one and clapping along, you have discovered your little one’s favourite. Whatever you have hanging over your baby’s crib has to go. Your baby is learning to push his way upwards and any wire above his head just invites trouble.
In case you still haven’t baby proofed the house, now is the time. Place all materials on high cabinets and sharp objects should not be around. Neither should curling irons or coffee machines. Your little one need to be safe and that should be your foremost worry right now.
3. Feeding:
Feeding habits might now be neater than ever, even though you need to still steer clear of completely solid food. You might find your baby looking at you as you work your way through the food with a fork and knife. Breastfeeding should not be just the source of food since you need to care about his nutritional needs now. Try other solid foods, but grind and mash them well and check for your baby’s reaction- whether he likes it or not will tell you more about his food preferences.
4. Sleep:
By five months, your baby will sleep through the night. Most babies do, so don’t get worked up if your little one is having an irregular night sleep. Instead try to establish a better routine by giving him a warm bath and showing him picture books. Make him learn how to fall asleep when you are no around on his own. Leave him once he gets a little drowsy instead of staying around till the end. When it’s daytime, don’t force or delay naps. This will make him cranky. Put him to sleep right away the second he acts like he is sleepy.
5. Development:
Your baby will finally be able to ‘babble’ out words that make sense by putting in vowels. Wait for a while and you can certainly hear him say ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. They hold no meaning in your little ones head and are just words. Waiting a few more months will though help him say those words knowing what they mean. Your baby will hear you speak and might turn her head when her name is called. She will get better at affection with hugs and expressions. She might try to sit straight and hold her arms up indicating she wants to be picked up. Put a pillow on her back at all times to give her the support she needs. You will also notice she is finally learning the use of her grasp, as she holds her bottle of milk all by herself. Don’t miss the moments and keep clicking away!
6. Food and Toys:
Breast milk alongside fruits and vegetables should be the diet for your little baby now. Try giving her sliced bananas or boiled carrots, both mashed together. She might like the different taste or end up entirely hating it.
Bring home colourful toys for your baby and you can also hand her picture books, though laminated ones that are hard to tear. Don’t hand over the pen just yet as it might harm her when she tries to poke around. Many companies might try to trap you into buying the ‘educational’ goods to help her develop. Don’t become a prey and allow your child a natural growth.
7. Milestones:
Five month old, your baby is most certainly happy. They tend to express a lot, so try holding their head else they might fall back and hurt themselves. Expect nothing but to be surprised by their mannerisms and how far they have come in just a matter of a few months.
Do try speaking to your physician about you joining work and if it would harm your baby to leave him under the care of a nanny. Your days of exhaustion are finally over and the balance is coming back in your life. Give your partner the time and talk things out. Talk of how to divide the time as well and make sure that your body has time for full recovery before you think of another pregnancy since it can lead to issues otherwise. Get back to the world and talk to your friends and family who you haven’t been able to communicate with ever since your baby was born.
