Welcome to the wonderful world of having a one-month-old! As Baby continues to grow, your life is only going to become more and more full of surprises, from the exciting (Baby’s first full night’s sleep!) to the weird (Baby’s new hobby is throwing things in the bathtub!) to the downright yucky (Baby has a leaky diaper and you’re already running late!). You’ve made it through the very first month of their life, though – you’re ready for anything.
One thing that shouldn’t come as a surprise is the fact that it’s time for Baby’s one-month checkup, if the two of you haven’t gone in for one already. At this visit, the pediatrician will weigh and measure Baby, and perform a complete physical, checking on their little heart, eyes, ears, and everything else you would have examined at a physical. Baby will probably also get the second dose of their hepatitis B vaccination at this appointment. You can also use this time to ask the pediatrician any questions you may have, no matter how big or small.
It’s possible that around this time, you might be really getting into your groove as far as eating and sleeping schedules go – and these schedules are really more intertwined than you might think. As Baby grows, so does their stomach, which means they will be able to sleep for longer and longer periods each night. This extra energy they are taking in is also helping them grow bigger and stronger every single day. During tummy time, you might be noticing some serious gains in Baby’s strength – where they used to be stationary while lying on their stomach, they might now be able to turn their head a bit, if only for a second.
Milestones
- First pacifier: Many babies have already been using pacifiers for a month now. However, if Baby is exclusively breastfeeding, it’s often recommended to wait on the pacifier until about the one-month mark.
- Tracks objects moving slowly from side-to-side: Babies do some serious developing in the visual department over the first month of life – where they used to have very little control of their eyes, now they are able to track objects moving slowly in front of their face.
