• Weight Gain: On average, babies gain 150-200 grams per week this month.
• Height: Babies on average grow about 2.5-3.5 cm per month.

Average Measurements for Indian Babies:
 

Key Milestones:

Motor Development:

• Stronger Neck Control: Your baby can hold their head steady when sitting with support.
• Tummy Time Progress: During tummy time, they may lift their chest and support themselves on their forearms.
• Reaching and Grasping: They actively reach for and grasp toys or objects, demonstrating improved hand-eye coordination.
• Kicking and Rolling: Active leg movements and occasional rolling from tummy to back may occur.

Cognitive Development:

• Improved Attention Span: Your baby can focus on objects or faces for longer periods.
• Recognition of Caregivers: They recognise and respond to familiar faces, indicating their developing memory.
• Exploration Through Senses: Babies explore the world with their eyes and hands, observing and reaching for objects.
• Cause and Effect Awareness: They begin to understand simple cause-and-effect relationships, like shaking a rattle to make noise.

Communication and Language Development:

• Cooing and Babbling: More complex cooing and early babbling sounds emerge as your baby experiments with their voice.
• Imitation of Sounds: Your baby may try mimicking your voice's tone or pitch.
• Increased Vocal Interaction: They engage in “conversations” with you through vocalisations and eye contact.

Social and Emotional Development:

• Social Smiles and Laughter: Your baby smiles more readily and may giggle in response to playful interactions.
• Bonding Through Interaction: They thrive on social interaction and enjoy being held, talked to, or sung to.
• Expressing Emotions: Babies begin to express joy, excitement, and frustration through facial expressions and sounds.

Baby Feeding Techniques:

Breastfeeding:

• Maintain a proper latch for efficient feeding.
• Offer both breasts during feeding sessions.

Bottle Feeding:

• Use slow-flow nipples for controlled feeding.
• Hold your baby upright during feeds.

Potential Impacts of Bottle Feeding

Whether formula or pre-expressed breast milk, it is important to understand the potential impacts of bottle feeding on oral development.

Improper technique or nipple flow can impact oral development during bottle feeding:

• Excessive sucking pressure: Fast-flowing nipples can cause a strong sucking reflex, potentially affecting jaw development.
• Passive feeding: Bottle feeding can reduce active oral involvement, which may affect oral motor skills.
• Improper tongue placement: Incorrect positioning during bottle feeding can hinder tongue movement, which may later influence speech development.

Note: While breastfeeding is highly recommended, formula feeding using a bottle may sometimes be necessary. Consult a specialist for the best guidance.

Milk Supply in the Third Month

For Breastfeeding Mothers:

1. Your body adjusts to your baby’s feeding needs, producing milk more efficiently, which may make breasts feel less full but still provide adequate milk.
2. Be prepared for cluster feeding during growth spurts as your baby stimulates increased milk production.
3. Drink plenty of water and maintain a balanced diet to support your milk supply and your overall health.

If breastfeeding isn't enough, you can use formula to help meet your baby's dietary needs.

For Formula Feeding:

1. Monitor your baby’s hunger cues to adjust formula amounts as their appetite grows.
2. Maintain a regular feeding schedule, typically every 3-4 hours, depending on your baby’s needs.
3. Continue to sterilise bottles and prepare formula as 

Age: 3-4 months
What: Breast milk 
How much: Nurse every 3-4 hours
How often: Feed 6-7 times a day.

Age: 3-4 months
What: Formula
How much: About half to three fourth cup (4-6 ounces)
How often: Feed 5-6 times a day.

Signs Your Baby is Hungry:

• Rooting: Turning their head toward the breast or bottle when you touch their cheek.
• Sucking: Sucking on their hands, fingers, or smacking their lips to signal hunger.
• Increased Alertness: Becoming more active or fussy as feeding time approaches.
• Crying: Still a late hunger cue but now more varied as they may use different cries to express their needs.

Signs Your Baby is Full:

• Relaxed Body: Hands unclench, and their body appears calm and content.
• Reduced Sucking: Slowing down or stopping sucking at the breast or bottle.
• Turning Away: Turning their head or pushing away the breast or bottle.
• Falling Asleep: This often happens after a satisfying feed, indicating they are full and content.

Sleep Patterns in the Third Month

• Babies sleep 13-15 hours daily, including nighttime and daytime naps.
• Usually, 3-4 naps, lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours each.
• Many babies begin sleeping in longer stretches of 5-6 hours, though some may still wake for feeds.
• Sleep may start to follow a more predictable pattern, with regular times for naps and nighttime rest.
• Babies at this stage are developing their circadian rhythm, distinguishing between day and night.
• It is common for babies to wake up frequently, but they may now begin to self-soothe and drift back to sleep independently.

Baby Vaccine Schedule

• Ensure your baby receives the second doses of DTP, Hib, Hepatitis B, IPV/OPV, and Rotavirus vaccines at 10 weeks as per the immunisation schedule advised by the specialist.

Newborn Baby Essentials

• Lightweight, colourful toys or rattles to encourage grasping and hand-eye coordination.
• Use baby-safe products to keep your baby’s skin soft and hydrated.
• Stock up on diapers, wipes, and zinc oxide-based cream to prevent rashes.
• Engage their developing vision with black-and-white or bold-coloured books.

Baby Bath

Regular oil massages before baths are a common practice in Indian culture; hence, it’s beneficial to bathe your baby after the massage.

• Bathe your baby with lukewarm water.
• Use a gentle, fragrance-free baby soap to clean their skin.
• Avoid scrubbing; pat your baby dry with a soft towel after the bath.
• Keep their face and folds clean.