Milestones your baby has achieved as a 1-month-old

Your baby isn’t a newbie in this world anymore. She has already spent a significant amount of time out of your womb and has slowly begun to embrace her newly discovered space. A one-month-old baby, however, is still very little. But that doesn’t mean that the tiny little one hasn’t reached some milestones in these 30 days!

This is the time when her development has started in full swing. So, each and every moment that you spent with her, is priceless. You should make the best of these moments before they turn into only fond memories.

Your baby’s development at 1 month

Your baby’s muscles are getting stronger every day. In all possibilities, she may be able to lift her head for short durations now, when she’s lying on her stomach or you hold her in an upright position. Yes, she still needs your support and with that, she might also be able to turn her head from one side to another.

Coming to the little one’s communication skills, well, she’s becoming more and more expressive now. Soon you will see her gurgle or coo to you in response whenever you talk to her or cuddle with her. 

Her growth rate is consistent as she will be gaining close to 1 or ½ inches in her length and approximately 907 grams in weight in this month. However, these figures are just the average count from the data of Indian children. Your little one may grow slower or faster than this and is also likely to have a growth spurt. You can be certain of a growth spurt if you see in the coming days that your baby is more cranky than usual and wants to eat more most of the time.

Your baby’s doctor will monitor her length, weight, and head circumference and see if her growth is on the right track, based on the standard Indian baby growth chart.

In case you had a premature delivery, your baby’s growth stats would be different than the full-term babies. Premature babies require more close monitoring, at least for the first few months since birth.

Your baby’s senses are developing

The little one has better vision and hearing skills now. In fact, her hearing is close to or has already become fully developed. You can now see her turn her head or react to familiar sounds and voices that she hears. She’s also quite sensitive to her surrounding now, especially the room she is in and the faces she sees.

Her sense of touch is improving too. Now when you hold her extremely close to yourself, you are likely to see her respond in pleasure, embracing your familiar touch.

Since your baby’s vision is yet to develop fully, at times her eyes may look slightly squinty to you, but don’t worry as long as it’s not too obvious. Her vision currently allows her to focus on objects that are as far as 8 to 12 inches away from her sight. So, yes. There’s still a long way to go! Her favorite object to look at though is your face! She loves the sight of you. So, make it a point to hold her close so that she can see your face properly and gets familiar with it. She also likes patterns that are in black and white and colors that have a contrast. 

Her sense of smell and taste is developing too. At present, she likes sweet smells a lot, and her favourite would be the taste and smell of your breast milk. She’s not at all fond of bitter tastes and smell, so keep those away from her.

Grandma’s Tip: Handle her extremely gently as her sense of touch is too fragile now, meaning she is not prepared to handle any rough touches. A cosy blanket and your arms are her favourite embrace.

Feeding your one-month-old baby

In cases of breastfeeding, one-year-olds feed once every two to three hours every day. In cases of formula feeding, they tend to feed once every three to four hours daily. By now you must have already become a pro at understanding your baby’s cues that indicate she’s hungry. 

How much should your one-month-old eat?

When you are breastfeeding your baby, you need not worry at all about the quantity. The demand and supply rule applies here by default. You will know when your baby is full once she stops taking feeds on her own, moves away from your breast or shows signs of sleepiness. She would be able to get more milk as she becomes more efficient with time, in a shorter duration. In case you are formula feeding your baby, she is likely to consume at least 4 ounces of milk in a bottle once every four hours.

Ideally, you should stick to only breastfeeding or formula feeding your baby or a combination of both. In case you’re wondering if you can give your baby some water now, we suggest you wait till 6 months. It is because all pediatricians advise so and your baby already gets all essential fluids from your breast milk.

Things you should know about your one-month-old baby

On an average, your little is likely to feed close to eight times in a whole day of 24 hours, if she is breastfed. In case she is formula fed, she’s likely to take lesser feeds.

Coming to how much your baby should pee in a day, ideally she should wet about four to six diapers daily. She should have one or more bowel movements a day but she may go one or two days without any bowel movement and that’s completely normal as long as the consistency of the stool is fine.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, based on industry experience and secondary sources. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert for health or insurance-related decisions. Content is subject to change, refer to current policy wordings for specific ACKO details.