At 14 weeks, your baby is becoming more animated and responsive to interactions. By the middle of the third month, your baby's personality is really starting to emerge—you may even begin to notice whether your baby seems more introverted or extroverted.
Read on to learn about what to expect from a 14-week-old baby.
Your Growing Baby
A 14-week-old baby is social! They are more able to recognize familiar faces and eagerly anticipate interactions with the people they know.
In addition, they are becoming quite the chatterbox, exploring verbal sounds like babbling. You may also notice them moving their limbs around and grabbing their toes while lying on their backs.
How to Raise a Happy Baby
They recognize faces
Until now, your baby hasn't been able to grasp the difference between pictures of things and the real deal. So they might have reacted with the same interest to a photograph of you and your actual smiling face.
But the difference is starting to click for a baby at 14 weeks. And you might notice that they respond more effusively, with smiles and coos, to seeing another baby in the flesh than they do when they eye a photo of one in a book.
Their sense of self is also developing, and they probably adore looking into a mirror—although, at this age, they probably don't know they're seeing themselves. They just enjoy admiring that beautiful baby who's so quick to smile back.
Understanding Your Baby's Developing Vision
They see in color
Another happy change: At 14 weeks, your baby starts to see the world in full color. They can make out subtler hues they had trouble distinguishing before, although infants this age still prefer bright primary colors such as red and blue.
No wonder they always seem to be looking around with awed amazement. Imagine how new and vibrant their world must suddenly seem!
A Week-by-Week Guide to Your Baby's First Year Milestones
They have a musical ear
Your 14-week-old baby probably loves listening to music—and now that they're becoming more engaged and engaging, they have more ways to demonstrate how much they enjoy it. For example, bopping to something upbeat or calming down when you sing a soothing lullaby.
Music is a surefire way to stop a crying jag for some babies. So try putting on some Michael Jackson the next time your little one starts to wail.
Is Listening to the TV Helpful or Harmful for a Baby?
Baby Health and Safety
The eyes are a focal point at this stage. Their eye color may shift and a health care provider will examine your baby's eyes for expected reflexes, development, and any signs of eye disease.
At 14 weeks, your baby still isn't very mobile, so you don't have to worry too much about them getting into things. Still, getting ahead of the game isn't a bad idea. If you haven't already, consider installing baby safety items like cabinet latches, gates, and door knob covers.
Their eye color is evolving
Are your baby's blue eyes turning green or brown? Chances are good that whatever color their peepers were at birth won't last. In fact, you might notice that their eye color is starting to change right about now.
Dark eyes don't tend to get lighter, but caramel-color eyes will frequently become dark brown, and pale blue eyes might change to a deeper shade of blue, green, or brown. Most babies will have their permanent eye color by 6 months.
Their eye health is important
No matter what color your baby's eyes are, a health care provider will make sure they're healthy. At 14 weeks, they might check them for a red reflex—a flash of red that reflects off the back of the retina when light shines into your baby's eyes. It's the same effect you may see in old photos when the light from the camera flashed.
But while you hate it in photos, in real life, it's happy news that means your little one's eyes are free of cataracts. Since cataracts can develop over time, the doctor will probably do a quick look-see at every checkup.
In addition to this, a corneal light reflex is checked as well as an assessment of eye movements and scan your baby for strabismus or a lazy eye. Until 6 months of age, a little eye immaturity is normal; it might even seem like your baby is cross-eyed at times. But a health care provider will want to know if one eye is pushing in a certain direction all the time.
Why Is My Child Pale With Dark Rings Under Their Eyes?
You'll need to keep a closer eye on them
Since your 14-week-old is starting to become more active—reaching for objects and maybe even trying to roll—you'll need to be extra careful to ensure they don't get into trouble with their new skills.
So, keep dangerous items, like hot coffee, well out of reach of their flailing hands. And never leave them unattended for any amount of time on a changing table, bed, or couch where they can wiggle or roll onto the floor.
How to Avoid Common Fall Risks With Your Baby
Must-Know Milestones
It can be tempting to start comparing your 14-week-old baby to other babies their age at this stage. While it can be worrisome to think your baby could lag behind, rest assured that although milestones are benchmarks, some babies hit certain milestones faster, and others hit them earlier.
Are they a late bloomer?
As your baby starts doing more—laughing, rolling over, learning to clap—you might get caught up in some milestone madness. Naturally, you want your child's development to be right on target—and sure, you wouldn't mind if they're an early achiever.
But if you find yourself constantly comparing your child to other babies their age, stressing because your niece could already "talk" at 6 months, or worrying that most of the other kids in daycare are rolling over and yours is still happy to stay in one place, you've got milestone fever.
Don't obsess too much. The average dates that babies achieve certain milestones are merely rough approximations of when typically developing kids start doing certain things; there's nothing hard and fast about them, and "normal" can be a wide range.
Even if your little one is a genuine late bloomer, it doesn't mean they're doomed to a life of being below average. After all, Albert Einstein didn't start talking until he was 3 years old!
When to be concerned
If there's anything you're concerned about, talk to a health care provider. Use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's milestone checklist to determine expected milestones for babies between 2 and 4 months old. If your child has missed any, bring them up at their next well-baby visit.
More often than not, you just need to be patient. Your baby will hit milestones at their own speed. And whenever that happens, they'll love to have you there, cheering them on.
Key Takeaways
A 14-week-old baby is starting to vocalize and move their limbs more. Their personality is also beginning to emerge, and you might notice that they are happily stimulated by activity or overwhelmed by lots of new faces and excitement. They can see color now, and their eyes may even begin to change color. Keep your baby healthy by keeping their well-baby visits and being proactive about safety measures.
Discussion about this post