Second Month Of The Baby’s Life: We Know His Body

The second month of a baby’s life will have many changes compared to the first. You will see how your child will be more active and sociable.

During the second month of your baby’s life, you will realize that his senses will begin to coordinate and that he will be much more active than before when he spent his days practically sleeping all the time. This is an ideal stage to start interacting and provide him with stimuli.

This period arouses considerable enthusiasm in parents, as they see evident progress in the development of the baby. He will make his first sounds, listen to voices and noises and will be much more attentive to what is happening around him. However, it will not be able to identify the sources of the sounds and lights.

Characteristics of a two month old baby

At this stage of life, your child will exhibit the following characteristics:

• It will keep the neck erect for some time.
• It will move its eyes and head  to accompany the movement of something or someone.
• He will show his first smile. And many more will follow … Don’t forget to immortalize them!
• Although he will be able to move his extremities,  he will not have the coordination enough to grab objects.
• As far as possible,  breast milk should be your only source of nutrition, unless special circumstances require you to supplement it with infant formula.
• The rhythm of your bowel movement will change somewhat. You can avoid defecating for up to five days, without this being a problem. The fact is that breast milk hardly produces waste to be eliminated. On the other hand, if you take formula milk, you are likely to defecate more frequently.

Changes in the body during the second month of the baby’s life

As far as nutrition is concerned, the average for babies of two months of age corresponds to about 5-6 meals a day, approximately 150-180 milliliters each.

Although its weight depends on other factors, such as the week of pregnancy in which it was born, its weight and size at birth, or gender,  a two-month-old baby can weigh between 4 and 6.5 kilograms. Furthermore, its average height varies approximately between 53 and 60 centimeters.

As for his motor skills, he will be able to integrate new movements as he gains coordination and strength in the muscles. Even though he is still learning to control his body, he may be able to lift his head a little if he is lying face down and resting on his arms. He may also be able to keep his head erect if you take him by the arms and sit him down.

As his vision begins to improve, he will be able to distinguish his parents. This will cause him to smile from time to time. Likewise, she will react by seeing her mother’s breast or bottle. In this sense, you will notice that when it comes time to suck, she will have already acquired some experience, because the breastfeeding periods will be shorter and more effective.

It is important to emphasize that  when it comes to the development of the baby, the moment in which the fundamental stages present themselves is always indicative. Everyone progresses in their own way, with their own capacity for growth.

Advice for education in the second month of a baby’s life

1. It is essential that you always take into account and always respect the vaccination schedule. His immune system is still vulnerable: therefore, these administrations are necessary to keep him out of harm’s way. Remember that vaccines can cause a fever in the hours immediately following inoculation.
2. Make sure he is always under surveillance, even when you lay him down on the bed or changing table. Some babies can be very restless and, even if they are unable to stand erect, they can still turn around and move when lying down. Be very careful to avoid such accidents.
3. As for hygiene, it is important to change his diaper often, to avoid irritation of his private parts. It is best to clean it with a damp cloth. A particularly positive aspect of this phase is that he will appreciate the baths more, which can continue to be performed daily or every two days, if the genital area maintains good hygiene. On this topic, experts have differing opinions.

Stimulation of the two month old baby

The second month of the baby’s life is a very productive stage in terms of stimulation, because he will be in ever closer contact with the environment around him, and will relate to people and objects. It is essential that you take advantage of his increasingly frequent waking moments to talk to him, caress him and show him the world around him. Let him touch you, explore his and your body.

When you lay him down, place him face up, leaving some object hanging over him. It will be useful for him to identify it, concentrate his gaze and recognize colors, sounds and movements. You can also take it out for a walk. He is discovering the outside world: help him to do so to the fullest.