The moments of childbirth are still memorable, and your baby is already 2 weeks old. Look at it and understand how quickly it changes. Yesterday he was very tiny and defenseless, but today he is already so big and strong. Maybe someone will say that little has changed for a child by 2 weeks, but mom knows how quickly her baby is growing. It develops, as in a fairy tale, by leaps and bounds, and this is not far from the truth.

The physical development of the baby

Each parent wants to see the obvious development of the child, but it must be borne in mind that all children are individual, and growth also occurs in accordance with the characteristics of the child:

• Closer to 14 days, the yellowness of the skin disappears, postpartum redness and swelling disappear. The umbilical wound is tightened, and the baby can already be bathed.
• Weight gain begins. The baby's body has mastered the new food, breast milk, and responds positively to feeding.
• Don't expect a big increase in growth. The average figures are about 3 cm per month.
• The correct contours of the head are formed. The face gets rid of puffiness.
• The baby is not holding its head yet.
• Muscle hypertonicity is preserved, legs and arms are bent, the palm is clenched into a fist. While awake, the newborn tightens the limbs, going to sleep, relaxes, and they straighten up.
• There is no natural thermoregulation. The baby has not yet learned how to warm himself, so it is important to ensure that the baby does not get too cold or overheated.
• The skin is exfoliated. The process takes 2 months.
• Motor reflexes at the level of chaotic, reflex, involuntary movements.
• The nails gradually grow back, they can already be trimmed.
• The skin of the palms and feet is dry, covered with cracks.

The first week, despite a sufficient amount of milk from the mother, is characterized by a loss of initial weight by 5-8%, but by the second week of a newborn's life, an increase in body weight is noted. Having survived the birth stress, the baby slowly but surely begins to gain the lost grams by eating milk. The average increase in two weeks is 150-200 grams. If your little one is eating great but gaining next to nothing, don't worry. Weigh your baby regularly. A clear picture will come to light by 5 weeks.

How is the child developing?

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The visual abilities of a two-week-old baby are not yet fully formed. There is no distant focusing of the gaze, the child is able to see the mother's face at a distance of 20-25 cm, perceiving only details. The eyes of the child catch the most pronounced parts: eyebrows, lips, nose. Approaching the age of one month, the baby learns to hold his gaze on your eyes.

A remarkable nuance of a child's vision at this age is a slight strabismus, when the baby's eyes seem to float. Such discoordination is associated with weakness of the eye muscles. Two more weeks will pass, and everything will fall into place, the muscles will get stronger, and the "swimming" of the eyes will stop. Carry an object close to the baby's face, and you will notice how it blinks its eyes.

The work of the optic nerve at the level of intuition allows the baby to see the faces and gestures that he tries to imitate. Testing empirically: bring your face closer to the baby's face, round your eyes, stick out your tongue. Wait a little for the baby to realize what he saw. After a few minutes, the baby will try to repeat your facial manipulations. The baby already catches the eye of the mother.

The formation of vision leads to the fact that the baby learns to keep his eyes on bright moving objects. Lay the baby on his back, take a large, about 10 cm, rattle, and slowly move it so that it is at the level of the crumbs' eyes. Moving the rattle left and right, you will notice how the child is trying to focus on a moving object.

Note that in a newborn of 2 weeks, the reflex level of sensations passes into the sensory one. Seeing the child's anxiety, jingle a toy or sing a song. The baby will respond to new sensations, hold attention to them. The organs of balance are also developing. Each change in body position causes new sensations in the baby. It's time to train the vestibular apparatus. Carry the baby in your arms, changing his position. Simple activities will speed up development, compared to when the baby lies in one position for a long time.

What the baby can do:

• catches and follows the direction of the gaze of adults;
• unconsciously smiles (we recommend reading:);
• traces bright toys with eye movements (no more than 10 cm in diameter);
• knows how to turn the head to the side, hearing the sound of a rattle, mother's voice, the ringing of a bell;
• involuntarily winks and makes funny faces;
• distinguishes his parents.

What toys can be used:

• purchase various sound rattles with a muffled or melodic sound (balls, bells);
• buy toys that can be hung in the crib, 6-10 cm in size, having a different shape, material and color;
• a musical carousel is suitable (suspended above the bed);
• use special pictures for babies in black and white.

Child's diet

As you know, the child is fed in two ways: mother's milk and milk mixtures. Let's write down the amount of milk for both types, starting from the eighth day. For a natural-fed baby, experts have established the following amount of milk per feeding:

• on the 8th day - about 80 grams;
• 9th - 80-90 grams;
• 10th - 80-90 grams;
• from 1.5 weeks to two months per day, the child should receive a volume of milk equal to 1/5 of its weight.

A child on mixed (breast milk + formula) or artificial feeding should be given a formula every 3 hours, taking into account the 5 hour break at night. The daily amount of food, starting from 10 days and up to 2 months, is equal to the same indicator as for breastfed babies - 1/5 of the weight of the newborn. Stick to the prescribed norms, but focus on the individual characteristics of your treasure.

How do you know if your baby is getting enough milk?

Calm behavior, good sleep, weight gain are indicators of adequate nutrition. If the baby does not ask for food within two hours after feeding, then he eats enough food. Since the baby only eats milk, he pees about 15 times a day (more in the article:). Small weight gain and the baby's obvious anxiety require accurate measurements. Do the following:

• weigh the baby naked on an electronic scale before feeding with milk and after he eats;
• Express milk into a bottle and see how much your baby eats.

The work of the digestive system

When is mom calm? When her baby eats well, sleeps and does not cry. The second week of life consists of this. If the child is naughty, whimpers, sleeps badly, begins to poop liquidly, the mother is very worried (more in the article:). Knowing how the digestive system of a newborn at this age works, parents will quickly understand what is wrong with the baby. We will remind you how to determine by the work of the digestive tract what worries the baby.

Child's chair:

1. Baby poops 3-4 times a day. The color of the feces is yellow, with a mushy consistency.
2. The formation of the gastrointestinal tract lasts up to 3 months of age, so manifestations such as colic, regurgitation of milk, and diarrhea can be inevitable.
3. The child cries many times and for a long time (more than 3 hours for the whole day), strongly tightens his legs, is naughty, cannot poop - this is. A gas outlet tube, drinking in the form of special tea, and a light massage of the tummy will help alleviate the condition. It is necessary to show the baby to the pediatrician.

Colic

Periodic crying and external anxiety in a newborn at 2 weeks old may mean that your treasure is tormented by colic (we recommend reading:). The formation of the digestive system of the child continues, the intestinal microflora is normalized - this is a natural process of development of the body of the newborn. Colic is not considered a disease, over time (by 3 months) they go away on their own. Parents just have to wait and do certain procedures to help the baby poop and alleviate his condition. You can learn more about colic from our other materials.

Long tears of the baby, when crying lasts more than 3 hours a day, and repeats more than 3 times in 7 days, should worry parents. Pediatricians say that the baby has pain in the intestines. This conclusion is confirmed by the behavior of the crumbs: “twisting” the legs, bloating, the child’s attempt to get rid of gases by tightening the legs. The suffering from colic is associated with the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract in infants.

Wanting to help the baby, you can give him dill water to drink, which our grandmothers often resorted to. Breast milk gives enough fluid to the body of the crumbs, but they cannot relieve colic. There are also medications for colic. Circular massage of the abdomen around the navel is carried out clockwise. The slight swaying of the baby at the moment when he cried also helps.

How should the baby sleep?

Gradually increases the time of wakefulness of the newborn. The duration of daytime sleep by two weeks of life is several hours. Night sleep can be interrupted for a snack, at intervals of two to three hours, but the total time of night rest is slightly increased. The second week is characterized by 16-20 hours of sleep, which is interrupted by 15-30 minutes of wakefulness. You can notice sleep problems by the following signs:

• total sleep time is less than 15 hours;
• the baby is awake for more than 4-5 hours;
• when the child does not sleep, he behaves capriciously, gets overexcited, falling asleep, wakes up in 10-15 minutes.

What Causes Sleep Problems?

Finding out what causes a child's poor sleep is not difficult. It is easy for mom to find them on her own. See if the diaper is dirty, if the baby is full, if the room temperature is comfortable for him. Remove bright lights and turn down the sound of the TV or radio. Set the ventilation mode of the room where the baby is located, change diapers on time, communicate with your child to create comfortable living conditions for him. Having excluded all external irritants, you have not noticed an improvement, contact your pediatrician.