When your baby turns 11 weeks old, he or she is about to take the next big developmental leap. The growth spurt in babies holds many exciting moments and your offspring will continue to develop its motor and communication skills.
Your little one has developed a particularly strong bond with you in the last two months. Learn more about baby development at week 11.
Table of contents
Baby At 11 Weeks: How Is My Baby Developing Physically?
Your baby is now almost three months old and may already be in his or her biggest growth phase. Over the next few weeks, your baby will grow up to three centimeters and gain about one kilogram. The weight gain will change your baby’s facial features.
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We now speak of the so-called “baby fat”. The shape of the face has become rounder and softer. Clothes now fit best in sizes 62 to 68. Learn more about baby’s growth spurt and physical development between the second and third month.
The Development Of Motor Skills And Reflexes
Your baby is 11 weeks young and no longer a newborn. It has acquired many new skills in the last time. Between the second and third month, your baby is fascinated by his hands. They are his favorite toy and are examined in detail.
For more detailed exploration, the hands also like to disappear into the mouth. This process looks playful, but serves the development of the baby. By looking closely at the hands, hand-eye coordination is trained.
As a result, the grasping reflex recedes more and more into the background and your baby prepares for targeted grasping. The “strength training” of the last few months has paid off: Your little treasure now has such strong neck and back muscles that it can lift its head briefly in the prone position.
However, this ability requires a lot of effort and needs to be perfected over the next few weeks. Some babies are already able to hold their heads up on their own in an upright position. However, do not let your child sit alone yet – the back muscles are not yet strong enough for this.
How Your Baby’s Sensory Perception Changes At 11 Weeks
When your baby turns 11 weeks old, his senses continue to develop rapidly. Soon your offspring will begin to see with both eyes and learn to distinguish between faces. Hearing and touch are also developing.
Sight
An important achievement in the area of visual perception is binocular vision. This ability develops gradually only between the second and third month. Binocular vision means that the information provided by both eyes merges into one overall image.
This enables your child to see spatially. Colors also play an increasingly important role in your baby’s perception. It is now easier for him to recognize and distinguish shades of color. Bright colors, but also complicated shapes, now arouse the baby’s interest.
Hearing
Babies are born with a well-developed sense of hearing. A further maturation process in the second month ensures that your child can easily recognize the voices of mom and dad. Your baby can now also tell from which direction sounds are coming.
If your baby turns in the direction of the sound source or is startled by a loud noise, everything is fine with your offspring’s hearing. This is especially important because hearing is closely linked to speech development.
Feeling
Your offspring is increasingly discovering the world playfully with his fingers. This is particularly beneficial for the sense of touch. Your offspring now consciously perceives touch and is able to better control its tactile sensations. Have you ever heard of the oral phase?
However, the mouth is still the most important and most sensitive tactile organ of your baby. It’s a better way for your baby to explore his favorite toys than with just his fingers.
How Is My Baby Developing Mentally At 11 Weeks?
The growth spurt in babies ensures that your little dwarf is now increasingly active and receptive. Between the second and third month, he gives you the first conscious smile and starts actively building social relationships.
Baby Development: Emotions
When your baby turns 11 weeks old, he or she needs extra closeness and security. Your baby is more active and receptive. It is also much more receptive to environmental sounds. On the one hand, these make the child curious, but on the other hand, they can also frighten him.
In unfamiliar and frightening situations, he relies on you as a familiar caregiver. Strengthen the bond with your baby even more in the second month of life and explore the environment together with him. Provide a calm and comfortable atmosphere. Your baby will show his gratitude with joyful kicking and rowing.
Baby Development: Social And Communication
Your baby is 11 weeks young and able to better absorb and process stimuli from the environment. This new stimulus processing ensures that your child can now participate more alertly and actively in family life. A joyful moment for all parents is about to begin: your little one gives you his first conscious smile.
This is no longer the unconscious smile in sleep, but a social smile. When you grin at your child, he grins back. As soon as your baby notices that his smile has an effect on you, he will smile much more often.
Your baby is now watching your mouth and your reactions very carefully and would like to engage you in a conversation. Even if your child can’t talk yet, this exchange is especially important now. With babbling sounds, your baby has reached a milestone in language development.
Your Baby At 11 Weeks: Interacting And Playful Encouragement
When your baby reaches 11 weeks, you can support his progress with different games. This stimulates your baby’s senses and all you need are a few simple utensils.
Touch Journeys
Your baby is now aware of touch and especially enjoys small strokes. Stroke your baby’s skin with feathers and cloths. In this way, you promote the sensory perception of your offspring and do something good for him at the same time.
Ringing Ribbon
Your offspring is now fascinated by sounds. Bells are especially interesting. Put a soft ribbon with bells over your arm or leg and encourage your child’s hearing and body perception. With each movement, your baby will be delighted to discover that he can make sounds himself.
Tickle Games
Tickle games and clapping games are especially popular at this age. On the Internet you can find numerous funny verses such as “A little snail crawls around the corner”.
Conclusion
Your child is now gaining about one kilogram. Due to the weight gain, the shape of your favorite’s face will become rounder and softer. During this phase, your baby will also grow up to three centimeters.
The growth spurt in the baby promotes the motor, emotional and social development of your baby. At 11 weeks, your offspring is fascinated by his hands. He looks at them extensively and puts them in his mouth to explore them more closely. For a short moment, he even manages to lift his head in the prone position.
Your offspring sees and hears better every day. Soon they will be able to see out of both eyes and recognize different shades of color. Your baby now recognizes mommy and daddy’s voices without any problems.
Your baby is now especially dependent on your closeness. The many new experiences make him curious, but can also frighten him. During this phase, provide a calm and comfortable atmosphere and discover the environment together with your child. In this way, you promote the development of the baby and you build an even stronger bond with each other.