Gross & Fine Motor, Language And Communication

Your baby is 28 weeks old today!  Hasn’t this been an amazing journey so far?  Just think of this-  you brought home a newborn that slept for most of the day and now, you have an infant that is rolling, making vocalizations and reaching and grasping for objects.  She also may have a few teeth and is eating solids foods as well as breast milk or formula.  Your darling baby has already made so many great strides and you can expect more to come.

This week you will see your baby sitting independently for a longer period of time – around one to two minutes at most.  Don’t leave her sitting there alone as she may lose her balance and tumble to the side or front.  You’ll notice that when she is sitting without your support, her body will wobble a little and she looks like she is slowly moving from side-to-side.  She is trying to maintain her balance and sitting up on her own is working her trunk muscles like crazy!

Also this week, your baby is imitating sounds.  She will not be able to imitate every different sound that you make, but when you say something she is keen on making a sound back.  Continue to give her opportunities to imitate sounds through play.  My son likes to say “ah” whenever we get into the lift lobby area of our condo.  It makes a great echo and he loves it!  It doesn’t matter what time, how many people are in the lift lobby and even if he is in a cranky mood, he will always say “ah” when we enter.

You will also see a change in your baby’s fine motor skills. She rakes smaller objects in an attempt to pick them up.  This is called raking because your baby’s fingers resemble a rake when picking up the objects.