Your Baby at Week 5
Your 5 week baby is at this point smiling brightly and gazing directly into your eyes. You will notice that she responds to your smile and mirrors your eye gaze or follows you visually while you cross the room.
Your 5 week baby may also be suffering from bouts of colic. How do you know if it is colic? The crying and abdominal discomfort will normally start and end for exactly the same time each evening. There is no actual cure for colic in children and it usually disappears within three months.
Your baby is now able to stay awake for longer sessions, and spends up to 10 hours awake out of the 24 hours in a day. Your child will enjoy short sessions of play. Begin by playing with your child for 10 minutes at a time a few times a day. Singing, cooing, and peek-a- boo are likely to catch her interest. Developmentally your child is a sponge learning from each interaction with you. Your cuddles, conversational speech and singing will stimulate his brain development optimally.
Sticking to a bedtime routine will help your baby to have good sleep habits. Aim to have her bathed and settled by 6 pm each day. Put baby in a quiet and dark room with minimal sound and no stimulation. Beware of sleep mobiles as these can be too stimulating, according to sleep specialist Judy Clark. Remember to always put your baby on her back to sleep. If you have noticed your baby has some cradle cap, wash their hair gently using plain water. Apply coconut oil or olive oil to soften the cradle cap – it will come off on its own.
Read more: Your Baby at Week 3
Your body – your hormones will be stabilizing after pregnancy so do not be surprised if you feel a bit weepy. If you do not feel like seeing visitors just tell your intermediary to inform them that you are resting. It is also a good idea once in a while to take yourself and baby out for short trips. You can take your stroller or drive to the mall or nearby parks or supermarkets just to get out and about. If you are recovering from a Caesarian Section or episiotomy, be sure to take it easy and to have your gynaecologist or midwife monitor the wounds closely. Some mothers experience excruciating pain or infection from the wounds – if you feel you are not healing as fast as you should, seek medical attention.
Also, if you are having difficulty producing enough breast milk, take heart, there are healthy foods for breastfeeding mums. Help is available. Before considering adding formula to your 5 week baby’s diet, sign up for a lactation consultation with one of MumsVillage’s professional Lactation Support Specialists and they are just a click away. This one session with breast feeding advice is enough to set your breastfeeding journey on track and is a lot cheaper than jars of formula.
