Growth spurt in babies

Developmental stage or growth spurt

In babies, development takes place in stages and according to a relatively fixed sequence. Eight growth spurts characterize the baby’s development in the first 14 months of life. When exactly a baby takes a developmental step varies from child to child. So there is nothing wrong if your baby takes a little longer for some things. Basically, a few weeks always pass before new skills click smoothly and others are relearned.

The brain develops considerably during a baby’s growth spurt. New nerve cells form and continue to network. This is important so that your child can acquire new skills. In this way, a baby doubles the size of its brain in the first year.

Inaccurate terms

In fact, the term “growth spurt” is somewhat misleading. That’s because it’s not about the baby getting bigger or heavier.

Instead, if you talk about a “developmental spurt” in the baby, that hits the mark a little better. However, the word “spurt” gives the impression that new abilities appear suddenly. In fact, the transitions are smooth. For example, a child who has just learned to crawl is actually already in the process of preparing to sit and learn to walk.

Baby’s growth spurt: What is developing?

With each growth spurt, a baby gets better and better at the following:

• Body motor skills
• hand motor skills
• mental (cognitive) development
• language development
• social skills

Your baby can demonstrate his or her abilities at the U examinations. You should definitely take part in these examinations. In this way, the pediatrician can identify possible abnormalities in development at an early stage and counteract them if necessary.

Signs of a growth spurt

Every baby is unbalanced and crotchety at times, which can have a wide variety of causes: For example, a tooth is growing or a fart is pressing, sometimes the baby lacks sleep, sometimes he has a fever. Since babies in their first year can only articulate when something is bothering them by crying and screaming, this leaves a lot of room for speculation. Parents often only notice whether a baby’s growth spurt is the reason for excessive discontent and whining when the exhausting phase is over and calm returns.

Possible signs of a growth spurt in the baby can be:

• bad mood: the baby whines and cries a lot.
• great hunger: the baby drinks copiously and often.
• Clinginess: The baby needs a lot of closeness and wants to be carried.
• Impatience: The baby gets angry quickly when something does not work.
• Disturbed sleep rhythm: Nights are restless or the baby sleeps a lot.

Actually, the greatest growth spurt already takes place in the womb. Within nine months, a fertilized egg develops into a small, viable human being. The human being never grows and thrives that quickly after birth.

Towards the end of pregnancy, unborn babies go through their first real developmental spurt. During this time, babies already react to external stimuli such as music, which can sometimes be guessed by a kicking sound.

A baby’s first growth spurt is really visible around the 5th week after birth. The babies are then much more alert and attentive than in the weeks before. They already fix objects and faces with their eyes and observe their environment attentively.

When do babies have growth spurts?

Babies have a growth spurt every three to eleven weeks. However, babies do not all develop at the same rate. Therefore, these weekly figures are only rough guidelines. So if your child is waiting a little longer for the next stage of development, that’s no reason to worry. You should not compare your child with other children – this can build up pressure without distress.

Baby’s growth spurt: table

The table below shows the eight developmental spurts in babies, approximately when they occur, and what little ones learn during them:

When.	What is developing?	What changes in the child?
1. growth spurt	5th week		Perceives objects moving
2. growth spurt	8th week	Senses mature: Hearing, sight, touch	Hears sounds better;
3. growth spurt	12th week	Targeted	Grabs things, purposeful head and eye movement; practices kicking, holding, prone, thumb and finger sucking; smiles and babbles
4. growth spurt	19. week	Muscle and	stable prone position, first attempts at turning; everything lands in mouth; very active, does not like to be alone
5. growth spurt	26. week	Emotions: joy, anger, fear	Joyful, smiling consciously or reacting angrily, alienated, understanding cause and
6. growth spurt	37. week	Crawling, language,	Sets out and explores his environment; first words; scissor grip, practicing
7. growth spurt	46. week	Sitting, fine motor skills	Plays sitting, targeted grip (pinch grip), first steps on the hand
8. growth spurt	55. week	Running, defiance phase	Runs safely, throws things, eats alone, “no” phase

Growth spurt: worries and problems

Stressful stages require a lot of patience and empathy from parents. It helps to realize that a growth spurt is exhausting for the baby. The little body puts more than half of its energy into expanding its brain. Numerous new sin

Development makes you hungry

If you are breastfeeding, a growth spurt in the baby is often accompanied by problems with milk production. Your child grows, has more appetite and demands the breast more often. Even if you feel that the milk is not enough, you should not supplement feeding during this phase, but continue breastfeeding. After a few days, milk production will have adjusted and the baby’s growth spurt will be over.

Each at his own pace

There are several weeks between all growth spurts in the baby – at this young age, that’s a decent amount of time. Don’t be nervous if your neighbor’s baby of the same age or sandbox friend is already a step ahead. Be responsive to your baby’s needs and you can’t go wrong. If you’re worried that a baby growth spurt is taking too long, ask your pediatrician.