Newborn Gross growth
Within the first week of life, a baby will grow about two inches. After that, he or she will grow another inch until 2 months old. Around 3 months, your child is going to get his or her first spurt in growth, called "gross motor growth." This is when your child learns to hold objects for himself/herself, moves around, and sees you.
This gross motor growth spurt occurs because before this time, your child was lying down most of the day. But now that he’s standing up, his brain realizes he can walk! So it starts working hard to learn how to do things for herself.
This process takes place over several days-or if you're keeping track, approximately seven weeks. During this period, your baby will become more active, and you'll start noticing certain changes . Your infant may gain one or two pieces of clothing between then and three months, depending on their birth weight and whether they were born with toes or not.
Between six and eight weeks, your little one will begin rolling from side to side. She'll be moving more quickly, with more strength. By the end of the third month, your little one will already have a pretty strong neck, back, and butt. That's when the head comes into its own.,,
Baby Bone Growth
Since skeletal (or physical) development occurs before sexual maturity, doctors use an examination of the skeleton to assess general health and determine if there are possible medical issues that could interfere with normal growth.
There are two primary ways for skeletal growth to be affected.
First, bones grow longer because they have more space. Second, bones take time to develop; hence, small differences in growth can indicate a problem that may need intervention. For example, thinning hair is often first noticed on the neck and face of older children; however, younger patients may notice early signs such as faster bone growth or shorter height.
Diagnosis of disorders that affect skeletal growth involves checking symptoms like short stature , bone deformities, and premature birth. Checking blood tests might also reveal increased levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), which can cause abnormal growth. X-rays do not always show impacted growth so treatment may already have started without knowing it. )
Prevention includes proper nutrition during pregnancy along with efforts to keep infections under control. Avoiding alcohol and smoking is also helpful.
Baby Heart growth
At 2-3 weeks, your baby’s heart starts to beat actively. This is because it receives signals from the nervous system that tell it to begin pumping blood.
The rate at which the heart beats varies depending on the type of activity going on around it. During fetal incubation (before birth), the heart rests near the bottom of the chest area by laying along the left side of the ventricle.
Once the baby is born, its center of gravity shifts; the legs can no longer receive pressure through the feet and the hands cannot lift the arms anymore. In fact, the shifting weight of the infant allows for little or no space between the back and the trunk and between the abdomen and the thighs.
This causes the thorax to lengthen slightly. The cheeks become more protruding, and the jaw becomes smaller. All these changes help prepare the body for breathing and eating, an important transition period.
At this stage in development, the heart usually pumps about 60- 80 times per minute . This speed is regulated by two factors: the sensory input the fetus receives from outside (i.e., the mother) and the balance of chemical messengers inside the uterus.
If pregnancy was long, there may be a delay in development of the cardiovascular system. In such cases, feeding after birth can provide increased cardiac output during what is known as the “tidal pulse” phase of development. This helps babies who are
Brain growth
Most newborns grow at a rapid rate, doubling in weight and size of organs every three weeks during the first month after birth.
After Birth: The Rate Of Development
Between two months and three years of age, various processes of motor and psychological development occur.
These processes include physical maturation , such as walking, crawling, and pulling up into a sitting position. It also includes changes in brain structure and function, which collectively make an individual different from their parents.
During this time, children also learn about right and wrong, good and bad, with help from adults and other children. Children also develop personal relationships.
Beyond Age Three?
It is very difficult between the ages of one to five for males and one to four for females to find meaningful work that promotes development.
From fifth grade through college, there are opportunities to use your hands, think creatively, and be self-directed. Jobs that demand teamwork won’t offer these things.
Eyeball growth
At 2 to 5 weeks, your baby’s eyes will be closed completely. However, they may open along with their mouth to make noises at this stage. Between 5 and 12 weeks, your child’s eyelids will start to look more full and complete, like bags before closing completely.
Their eyeballs will begin growing quickly; you can see this happening as soon as the eyes are opened. By the time the ears form, the eyeballs have grown considerably larger. This continues until about week 12 well after the birth of the baby.
At 6 weeks, an ultrasound will check to see if everything is healthy. Around this same time, fingers will start to develop. By 8 or 9 weeks, you can notice small movements coming from within the mother. These tiny motions typically grow bigger with practice--even my husband says he's never scored a belly note every single time he parents!
Hand growth
Your baby’s first month will be filled with lots of activities, and you may feel like most are fun but silly stuff. Don’t worry about what to do next or how your child should grow or develop. All that matters is getting some skin-to-skin time with your new baby
What happens after delivery? You can try feeding directly from the breast (breastfeeding takes practice), using a bottle if they were fed only by formula or milk through a nose ring, or a combination of both.
Your body has been preparing for this stage since weeks before it occurs. In fact, most women start moving toward recovery around the end of the second day.By taking steps to recover from childbirth, you allow yourself the opportunity to rest, relax, and get sleep during this initial period.This way you are able to use the power of touch to heal and prepare your children for birth and care.
Several types of massage have been used in recent years to help mothers and babies interact and connect while supporting mothering instincts and skills.You may consider having massaged upon discharge from the hospital."Massage helps moms level off their cortisol--the stress hormone that kicks into overdrive when they're pregnant," says Dr.Christian Miller, CEO of Mama Compound, a Oakland, California- based mobile mommy company
Foot growth
The average length of a foot is 25 cm (9.8 inches). At birth, each child inherits two toes from his mother and one toe from him father; in addition, every child has five unbranched phalanges (fingertip bones). With regular use, these organs grow and adapt to each other’s needs. In fact, fetal feet experience cell division and proliferation more actively than any other area of the body.
By the time children are born, their feet have doubled in size and nearly reach full height . If you compare baby boys with girls, you will see that they start from equal positions. On average, it takes about six months for babies to get used to having solid shoes and another month during which they may lose muscle control because of gravity.
However, most kids can walk shortly after their first birthday. How long this process should take depends on many factors—including whether or not the baby was born with problems such as cerebral palsy, where muscles might be weak and clumsy.
Head growth
Before babies are born, their brains grow at one of the fastest rates in the human body. An infant’s head grows nearly two inches between birth and six months and half an inch more between seven and twelve months.
This fast growth is critical to ensure that your baby is getting enough oxygen or nutrition to support her growing brain and body. Without adequate nutrients, fetal stress can develop, which may affect birth outcomes (including premature births).
However, most newborn infants face several risk factors for low birth weight including pregnancy diabetes , smoking during pregnancy, obesity before pregnancy, chronic medical conditions like heart disease and high blood pressure, and socio-economic status.
Because of this, professionals now recommend tracking head growth over the first trimester because it can help predict problems such as stunting (poor development), overweight and obesity.
The distance between your baby’s hip joints should be equal at each stage of development. If you notice that one side is slightly longer than the other, make note of it for both sides.
During the first six weeks of pregnancy, make a note every week . During the second half of pregnancy, take notes every two or three weeks.
By comparing measurements, you can see any spurts in growth. You also have a better sense of when certain movements become more prevalent.
These are all indications that birth is getting closer. So, don’t wait to understand what happening inside you!