In the first few months of a baby’s life, things change so rapidly week by week. I’m going to reflect on recent developments with my 2 month 1 week old and share suggestions on things that I do with him.
Tummy time at 2 months old
It’s important for your baby to do tummy time to strengthen their neck muscles and give them a break from being on their back all of the time so they don’t get flat on one side. Some babies hate tummy time, while others don’t mind it at all. Some babies have stronger neck muscles than others and can lift their heads up sooner. I’ll provide suggestions on different ways to support your baby as they go through this new transition of their tiny little life!
How to do tummy time
N is starting to lift up his head so well during tummy time! We try to aim for doing tummy time 3 times a day (4 or more would be ideal), 3 repetitions each. This means that during one session of us sitting down, I put him on his tummy 3 different times with breaks in between. Even if the session is short, the fact that he’s on his tummy for any period of time is important for him to build those muscles! I give him a break when he starts to get fussy. I let him get a little frustrated and pick him up before he’s getting too angry. This helps build that tolerance for frustration! You want to scaffold the baby to where you’re pushing them a little further each time so they’re building those muscles but don’t push them too much to where they just hate tummy time altogether. The reason why you want to push them a bit each time is because without this practice, they’re never going to improve.
💡 Tip: Give your 2 month old tummy time 4 times a day with 3 repetitions in a session
N is a little advanced for his age because babies typically start to lift up their head more comfortably and prop themselves up on their elbows around 3-5 months. He’s been doing this for a couple of weeks but now that he’s 2 months and one week old, he’s looking ahead better than ever.
What to do in tummy time
2 month olds are ready for more complex high contrast images. In the first few weeks, newborns are interested in simple black and white images since they’re just getting used to the world around them. At this point, they can handle more complex ones that also have color! You can prop a card up for them while they’re on their tummy or have them on their back while they’re look at a card above them.
You can also roll a blanket up and put it behind their back so they’re on their side and can look at a card. Keep an eye out to see if they have a preference of being on one side of their head so you make sure to alternate! Check periodically for flat spots and make sure you give your baby time on the other side of their head.
💡 Tip: 2 month olds love complex high contrast images
Sleep patterns at 2 months
2 month old babies still have inconsistent sleep patterns. They can have 30 minute naps or 2 hour naps. They can sleep for 2 hours at a time at night or 4 hours. A lot of this is dependent on your baby and some days are going to be better than others. Don’t expect consistency until 4 months old or more!
2 month old naps
I’ve noticed that N is starting to nap for shorter periods of time during the day. His naps are around 30 minutes to one hour. There’s a period in the middle of the day where N will try and sleep for 2 or more hours. Whether you want to wake your baby from a nap at this age is up to you. I recommend keeping naps no longer than 1 hour because when I let N sleep for longer than that, it disrupts his sleep for the rest of his day. However, some parents are able to do 2 hours without any disruptions. Try out different options and see which ones give your baby the best sleep throughout the day overall!
Try out different options [nap lengths] and see which ones give your baby the best sleep throughout the day overall!
At 2 months old, babies still have no sleep associations meaning that sleeping on you is no problem at all. Your goal right now is still to get your baby to sleep in whatever safe way you can. If they’ll only nap in the day time on top of you, that’s totally okay to do (as long as you stay awake) and won’t hurt their ability to sleep on their own in the future. Once a baby turns 4 months old, they can start to build sleep associations and you’ll want to start working up to sleep training (not to be confused with “cry it out”).
2 month old night time sleep
At the beginning of the 2 month mark, N was still waking up for milk at night every 2 hours. Some periods of time he woke up after an hour and wanted to be rocked and then will go back to sleep for another hour. I can’t wait until he hits 4 months old and we can sleep train (that doesn’t necessarily mean cry it out, there’s many different methods)!
By 2 months week 1, he started to sleep for around 4 hours at the beginning of his night time window and then would drink milk every 3 hours or so after that. This schedule felt like such a nice relief after the more frequent feedings and I hope it stays and continues to get better!
At night, the bassinet is still the safest place for the baby to sleep. Instead of co-sleeping, which can be dangerous, they make bassinets where the side drops down so you can have your hand on your baby and easily access them, but the bassinet is still separate from the main bed so there’s no risk of suffocation.
The Waldessori Mom 
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