The terms? Developmental leaps? and "growth spikes" they may not sound all that familiar, but knowing in detail what they mean will surely remind you that you have experienced some of them with your baby.
The child becomes more irritated, breasts more than normal, does not fit in the lap or stroller, has visible changes in sleep, among other situations that can be perceived with more or less intensity according to the particularities of each.
For some parents, all of this may be worrying, but take it easy: all of these behavioral changes are probably related to the developmental jumps and the baby's growth spikes that are part of the child's physiological development. In other words: they are totally normal.
Jumps of development
Fábia Queiroga, pediatrician at Hospital Santa Lucia, explains that developmental leaps represent the period of acquisition of new skills in the various spheres of child development, ie motor, fine motor, cognitive, language and social.
It goes from birth to about 20 months of age. The hops are approximately the following periods: 1 month / near 2 months / near 3 months / 4 and a half months / 6 months / 7 months / 8 months and about / 11 months / near 13 months / near 15 months / 17 months ?, highlights the pediatrician.
Read also: Breastfeeding: Ask questions and check out tips and reports from mothers
Fabia explains that the stages of developmental leap are most often accompanied by changes in mood, appetite and sleep. The cognitive often does not keep up with the change of the organism and requires a time of adaptation. After the child has mastered that ability, he tends to return to his basal state and normalize sleep and mood, he says.
To better understand a developmental leap, just think that every time the baby develops a new skill, he is so excited about the achievement that he wants to practice it all the time, even during sleep. Therefore it can be said that one of the? Side effects? One development is that they do not sleep as well as in periods when they were not working on mastering a new skill.
Development Jump Periods
Of course each child has their own particularities, but below you can see what is expected from each period of developmental leaps:
1 month (5 weeks): Improved vision: greater interest in the environment and the ability to follow objects briefly with the eyes; more awake time; I cry with tears and smile (for the first time or more often).
About 2 months (8 weeks): Greater perception of sounds, smells and flavors; attempt to control hands and feet; The baby begins to show some of its preferences: things, colors and sounds and greater insecurity and comfort in the mother's chest.
About 3 months (12 weeks): The baby can see a whole room of the house, turn when he hears loud sounds; can join your hands; touches parents' hair and faces; He practically no longer needs support to keep his head up, he is sensitive to the news and seeks comfort in his parents' lap.
4 and a half months (19 weeks): It's the longest jump. The baby cries more, exhibits extreme changes in temperament and seeks more attention and lap; can take a toy, shake it, put it in its mouth and pass it from hand to hand; the first tooth may be born; can make clearer sounds; sleep less, strange people; seeks greater body contact while breastfeeding; presents changes in sleep; he can turn his back and belly down, crawl, look at images in a book, react to his reflection in the mirror and recognize his name.
6 months (26 weeks): Search for greater body contact during play; coordination of arm and leg movements; the baby can sit without support; He already understands that his mother can walk away when he walks and that scares him; interest in exploring the house, finding labels, raising rugs to look under; pay more attention to voices, can mimic sounds; rolls over and begins to lean to stand; has maturity to receive solid foods.
7 months (30 weeks): The baby tries to reach objects in front of him, hits one object on another; you can start crawling, speaking a few syllables and waving goodbye; anxiety with strangers.
8 and a half months (37 weeks): Frequent mood swings; more crying; resistance when changing diapers; the baby may suck on his fingers and protest when body contact is interrupted; decreased appetite and sleep; the baby comes to understand the classification of things: for example, he knows what is food and what is animal; can you say? mama? and? daddy? without distinction of who is the mother or the father; The baby crawls, points things, looks for objects and uses the thumb and index finger to hold.
About 11 months (46 weeks): The baby can point to something or a person in response to a request; try to talk on the phone, put keys in keyholes, look for something that has been hidden, try to take off one's clothes; can you talk? mommy? and? daddy? to mom and dad correctly.
About 13 months (55 weeks): Usually the baby starts walking and speaking more words than? Mama? and pope.
About 15 months (64 weeks): The baby already combines words and gestures to express what he wants; you can now put lids on containers, imitate people and explore everything ahead; he can even point to a particular body part if asked and respond to instructions such as "kiss me"; pull toys while walking, play ball etc.
17 months (75 weeks): The baby already uses about 6 words often, likes to imitate, hide toys, separate toys by color, shape and size, play with ball etc; The baby can still look at books alone and scribble.
Overall, taking into account all developmental jumps, the baby is expected to:
- Try to be closer to your mother, precisely because you feel more needy and need lap and maternal security;
- Eat badly;
- Do not sleep very well;
- Want to breastfeed more often;
- Initiate actions such as laughing, sitting, crawling, interacting;
- Show happiness at the end of the crisis, with the development gained.
Growth spikes
Fabia explains that growth spikes are stages in which the child has the fastest growth.
The peaks refer to the growth of the baby itself (not its development). During peak periods, it is normal for the baby to request more feedings than usual, because it needs more food to grow at this faster pace. So, for example, if he slept long periods at night, he tends to wake up more often requesting to breastfeed.
But these changes usually last a few days, and soon the baby tends to return to the smaller pattern of feedings, but now, with the mother's body adapted to produce more milk.
In the table below you can see the periods in which growth spikes usually occur, according to Fabia:
"But the peaks continue into periods until adolescence," adds the pediatrician.
Below you can also find a spreadsheet in which you can enter your baby's date of birth to calculate his developmental jumps and growth spikes.
Discover your baby's stages
4 parental questions answered by experts
It is common for these periods to generate many questions among parents, but below the pediatrician clarifies the main doubts on the subject.
1. What can parents do during a peak growth phase to help their child?
Fabia points out that growth spikes are usually accompanied by a greater need for food. So while nursing are periods when the baby will want to suck the breast more, which often makes parents feel that milk production has decreased, while the need for sucking has increased. And, normally, production will adapt to this need ?, he says.
"It is good to note that in several periods the developmental jump and the peak of growth coincide, which will increase the need for food and more difficult sleep, which can make parents misinterpret that the child is not being properly fed," he adds. the pediatrician.
"It is necessary to monitor the neuropsychomotor development, height and weight by the pediatrician, to conclude if the child is developing normally in these periods," he points out.
2. What should I do if my child does not grow up or feel that he does not develop like his peers?
"It is important to emphasize that mothers should not compare their child with other children in the group, because normal growth is within the normal range, where we will have taller children and younger children within the normal range," says Fabia.
"If there is any doubt whether the child has a developmental or growth disability, he needs to be evaluated by the pediatrician to see if there is a need for further tests or any other intervention," explains the pediatrician.
3. Why do developmental jumps and growth spikes happen? Do all babies go through this?
Fabia points out that developmental jumps and growth spikes are part of the child's physiological development. "In some children will be accompanied by more mood swings, sleep and appetite than in others, some mothers will notice these signs more, but everything is part of normal development," he says.
4. What is most common with the baby during these stages?
Fabia points out that until the baby has mastered that new skill acquired, he may have mood swings, irritability, sleep disturbance and need to suck more. Does he often feel insecure because sometimes the body still cannot perform a task that the cognitive already requests it to do? And this makes the child more angry and in need of return to his safety, which is the mother's lap ?, he says.
"So, it is expected that babies are more attached and needy in these phases, remembering that some children will demonstrate more than others these changes," says the pediatrician.
Now you know: The changes that happen to the child (whether it is appetite, sleep or mood) are usually not cause for concern. They are part of the child's physiological development. Parents should have a little more patience and affection and know that after each period everything returns to normal.
Finally, it is crucial that parents bring the baby for regular and periodic follow-up with the pediatrician. If so, the professional will be able to detect early any problem that is happening with the child.
The Wonder Weeks | Marco Plas | TEDxGlasgow (April 2024)
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