Your 49 Week Old Baby – Development, Milestones & Care

Your baby is 49 weeks old already, and her birthday is just a few weeks away. By this time, she might be babbling already. Soon she will start using words that you might understand. You must have also noticed some major physical changes in her. She must be crawling and cruising already, and soon she will start standing up and walking with support. Her nap time will have increased by this time. It’s a good thing as it will keep her energetic throughout the day.

There’s a lot of other developmental milestones that your baby will achieve this week and in the coming weeks. Read on to learn about your baby’s growth and development in week 49.

Your 49-Week-Old Baby’s Development

By week 49, your baby must have started walking with support. Babies start walking between 9 and 18 months of age. If your little one hasn’t started walking yet, it’s nothing to worry about. She will achieve that milestone soon enough. Whenever she does, she will learn how to coordinate her legs while walking. She may stumble around initially and raise her arms to balance herself, but as she practices, her arms will come down at her sides, and she will depend on her core to give her balance while she walks. Do introduce push toys around this time. She will have something to grab onto, and a baby stroller or push toy can act as an incentive and get her to practise walking.

[Also Read: 11 Months Old Baby Development]

Your 49-week-old Baby’s Developmental Milestones

You should watch out for the following 49-week-old baby milestones this week:

• Your baby will be able to babble fluently, with all the tones and intonations of a conversation, even though what she is speaking is gibberish.
• Your baby will be able to bend and pick up things from the floor without losing balance.
• Your baby will be able to crawl and cruise confidently and may take her first steps.
• Your baby will start to understand ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and may answer with either if you ask her something.
• Your baby will be able to say a handful of distinct words along with ‘mama’ and ‘papa.’
• Your baby will be able to move at a faster speed when she is crawling or even walking.
• Your baby will be more expressive, and you will be able to read the emotions on her face.

[Also Read: 11 Months Old Baby Milestones]

Feeding

At this time, you must be considering weaning your baby, but you should do so only after checking with a doctor. Ideally, your baby should bottle-feed only during sleep time or before naptime. On waking, she should be given milk to drink from a cup. Giving solids is important at this stage. The hardest part of weaning is to reduce the connection between the bottle and sleep. To make it easier, begin with daytime feeds. Gradually reduce the amount of milk you give and aim to end the feed before you settle your baby in her bed. If you are giving her milk from a cup, keep in mind that a baby needs 4-6 serves of dairy per day, so you can replace milk with other dairy products as well. To slowly stop feeding milk at night, try and introduce other distractions like music or cuddles before bedtime. Soon, your baby will turn to these distractions and pay less attention to the bottle. Weaning is gradual, so you need to give your baby time to adjust to these new changes. The goal is to stop bottles around 12 months and move to cow’s milk in place of formula.

[Also Read: 11 Months Old Baby Food]

Sleeping

The sleeping process for breastfed and formula-fed babies is the same. The goal is always to transition from breastfeeding to sleep to falling asleep with a different form of comfort. This will be easier if some other adult other than the mother takes the role of putting the baby to sleep. This is because if it is the breastfeeding mother, then the baby will instinctively seek out for her breast. If it is another adult, like the father or a trusted grandparent, they can use techniques like cuddling, rocking, patting and singing lullabies to put the baby to sleep. If it is hard for you as a mother to hear your baby call for you, make sure to be elsewhere during this process. You can stop giving milk in a bottle anywhere between 12 and 18 months. As your baby gets familiar with the new bedtime routine of cuddling and singing, she will gradually accept these changes and no longer need the bottle or breastfeeding to sleep. If the transition is too hard on your baby due to things like illness or teething, wait for a few weeks and try again.

[Also Read: 11 Months Old Baby Sleep]

Care Tips for Your 49-week-old Baby

Below are a few ways you can care for your 49-week old baby:

• Use a fluoridated toothpaste to clean your baby’s teeth once her first tooth breaks through, but only if it has been suggested your baby’s paediatrician. Use only a small amount. This can help prevent your child from having tooth decay.
• Interact with your baby as much as possible, talk to her constantly, point out things and read to her. This will help her pick up new words and use them more in her babbling.
• Make the transition from bottles to sippy cups when your child approaches her first birthday.
• Avoid using any baby talk. Make sure to always use correct words while talking to your baby so she can learn correctly as well.
• Include more protein in your baby’s diet, like poultry (without skin), eggs (only yolk), beans, and vegetables like peas. These are good as they are also low in fat and cholesterol.

Tests and Vaccinations

It is recommended to take your child for a medical checkup when he turns 1-year-old.

1. Tests

The doctor will measure your baby’s height, weight, and head circumference so that he can evaluate your baby’s growth progress. He will also ask you a series of questions about your baby so that he can evaluate your baby’s sleep habits, sight, physical and behavioural development. He may also take a blood test to check if there are any signs of lead poisoning in your baby’s blood.

2. Vaccinations

At the 49-week mark, your baby might be given Hib vaccine, the first dose of the Hepatitis A vaccine, the first dose of the Measles Mumps Rubella vaccine, and the Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine if not given already. She might also be administered the final dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine and the third dose of the Polio (IPV) vaccine if not given already.

Games and Activities

You can play the following games and activities with your baby:

• Encourage her to walk by gently taking her hands and pulling her to a standing position. This is an activity to get her comfortable while standing.
• Play with different toys, like coloured rings moving along a tube or a picture book which has buttons that make noise. This is all to help your baby learn words and sounds and improve dexterity.
• Demonstrate activities you know your baby will copy, like talking on a phone or picking up toys and putting them back in the box. She will mimic you and learn the activities.
• Join a playgroup and expose your baby to other babies her age. She will learn to socialize and play with them.

[Also Read: 11 Months Old Baby Activities]

When to Consult a Doctor

Consult your doctor on your 49-week-old infant development when you see the following:

• If your baby doesn’t respond to her name by 12 months, take her to the doctor for a hearing evaluation.
• If your baby is itchy or uncomfortable due to some rash on the skin, consult your doctor as it may be signs of an allergy.
• If your baby squints, tilt her head to see better, rub her eyes often and has difficulty seeing things, consult a doctor to see if your baby has sight problems. Redness, pain, excessive tears and crust in her eyes can also mean pinkeye.

Your little one will soon turn 1 year old. Enjoy the little moments with her and feel proud when she achieves her big and small milestones!

Previous Week: 48 Weeks Old Baby

Next Week: 50 Weeks Old Baby