All about the 2 month old baby

Little by little between 2 and 3 months, the muscles of babies become toned: he now holds his head better in the axis and his back is straighter when he is held in his arms. When he is awake and placed on his stomach, he can raise his head for a few moments and turn it to the other side. “His motor skills are less and less reflex. He begins to have movements more and more volunteersespecially with her hands” indicates Aude Buil. Her arms and legs become more flexible and their movements are less jerky and more controlled.

At two months, baby begins to lose his reflex fine motor skills, in favor of voluntary movements. In particular, he practices a lot to coordinate his eyes, hands and mouth. He thus often looks at his hands, bringing them into his field of vision and he sometimes manages to put them in his mouth.

“He presents an involuntary gripping of objects in contact, that is to say that he grasps the objects which are brought into contact with his hand” explains the psychomotrician.

It is the discovery of his environment thanks to the visual and tactile sensors present on his hands but also in his mouth!

The baby view gradually becoming more refined, although it is still far from perfect: its visual acuity is only about 1/10 ! Its field of vision is approximately 45°, against 70° for adults and it is capable of distinguish the forms located at about 60 cm from him. Baby begins to stare at faces or large colorful objects scrolling around him. The three colors he sees best are blue, green and red. But a 2-month-old baby is not yet able to properly coordinate his two eyes, so don’t worry if he seems squint !

Baby becomes an active partner in both visual and vocal exchanges. It produces mouth and throat noises and vocalize : Those are the famous “areu” !

When someone stands a close distance from baby and smiles at them, there’s a good chance they’ll smile back! This is called the “response smile or social smile”, which is no longer a happy smile but an intentional smile.

“It’s an important intentional behavior that shows your baby’s good psycho-emotional development and fills the family caring for him with joy. It’s a win-win!” adds Aude Buil.

At two months, baby discovers the world with great attention. But if he is able to watch for long minutes what is happening around him, he can also get bored quickly of what is not new. “However, it’s not boring, because baby is eager to discover the world, when he thinks he has gone around an object or a situation, the agitation he presents can simply be the sign of his desire to discover something else!” explains Aude Buil. This is the time to use it to encourage him to move on the ground or to voluntarily catch objects with his hands.

To stimulate baby’s motor skills, nothing better thana carpet ofawakening, but not just any! “Choose it firm enough so that he doesn’t slip and feels his support well – no blanket or duvet therefore – and large enough so that he can turn around and move around” advises the psychomotrician. When you’re not on the ground with him, an arch can be added “it must then be mobile to change its position often in order to encourage baby to move his head in all directions and thus prevent the appearance of a flat area on his head” she adds.

Although baby needs stimulation, his universe must be soft and relaxing.

We can leave some rather large and brightly colored objects and contrasted, so that they see them and others smaller and lighter that he can grasp in his little hand and hold like rattles.

During the change, rather than lifting him by his legs, the psychomotrician advises rolling the baby gently to the side by bringing his legs together and placing his hands on the side of his pelvis. “It’s a lot more comfortable for him than being suspended by the legs in the air and it allows him to discover in the pleasure with his parent the roll on the side, which he can then exercise alone on the ground when he is ready for it!” explains Aude Buil.

Baby needs to communicate so much by language by the look. Several times a day, you can put your face up to the baby’s to make it easier to meet eyes. “When your baby’s attention is there, it’s a good time to introduce him to a song, lullaby or nursery rhyme that you like!” adds the psychomotor therapist.

Finally, the walks contribute to the well-being of the child and that of the parents! “Seeing daylight allows it to produce hormones that help it find its own rhythm of waking and sleeping.”

“An infant takes on average 20 g per day during its second month of lifeit will therefore grow by an average of 600 g during the month” indicates Dr Dailland. In terms of size, it will gain 3 cm on average in the month.
The weightthe size and the measurement of the baby’s cranial circumference, are excellent indicators of his physical health: “it is therefore important to check that his curves are regular and that they follow the same corridor” explains the pediatrician.

Baby’s appetite begins to slowly regulate itself. Milk remains its exclusive diet. When fed with feeding bottleit now takes between 5 and 6 per day, from 120 to 150 ml of early infant milk. Breastfed babies continue to eat on demand, and nurse an average of 8 to 10 times a day.

But these values ​​are given as an indication and may vary from one child to another. It is especially advisable to trust your baby, and not to focus on the quantities he absorbs, because with rare exceptions, he knows how to regulate himself perfectly well ! “As long as the weight and height curves follow their corridor, it is a priori that baby is in good health and is eating well”, reassures the pediatrician.

The ball of baby vaccinations begins this month. “The first two compulsory vaccines areHexavalent® which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, hemophilus influenzae b and hepatitis B, and Preventar®which protects against pneumococci” enumerates Dr Dailland.

At two months, baby sleeping on average between 16 and 20 hours a dayand can stay awake for 2-3 hours at a time. He very gradually sets up his sleep-wake cycle, even if he still wakes up at least twice a night to eat.
But let young parents be reassured, it is only a matter of weeks before baby sleeps, since it is around 3 to 4 months that they are able to chain 5 to 6 hours of sleep. between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.