A baby develops quickly because of the rapid physical growth and brain development that takes place early in their lives. It is this growth and development that helps a baby achieve social and emotional growth, and develop language skills. Generally, most babies develop in a predictable manner, and there are many common milestones and developmental traits that you will notice in growing babies. Despite this, being parents, you need to always keep in mind that every baby is unique, and may or may not conform to the developmental patterns that are often mentioned.
During your baby's earliest development, you are the most important guiding hand. Your love, care, and safe parenting helps ensure optimal development for your 13 weeks old baby, and it is through your bonding that you baby learns to feel safe, comfortable, and learns to trust you and feel secure.
What to Expect
By the time your baby is 13 weeks old, he or she will likely be sleeping for longer periods of time during the night, and he or she is finally discovering the difference between day and night. If you have a nice, predictable daily routine set up with your baby, this will also help your baby learn to sleep for longer hours during the night making things much easier for you.
At 13 weeks, an average baby may weigh around 12 to 13 pounds. By this time, your baby will be able to roll from back to side, and stretches out his or her arms and legs. Your baby's hands will be open or relaxed most of the time, and can grab on to and hold on to small objects for long periods of time. Your baby will be able to hold on to small rattles and shake it, and get some entertainment out of the rattle sounds.
Your baby will also have much better motor skills and neck strength that allows him or her to turn to look from side to side to see where noises and sounds are coming from. By this time, your baby can see quite far away; however, their view of the world around them is quite different from yours since they will be lying down and looking up most of the time. Continue with belly play time, and by 13 weeks, your baby should be quite comfortable with this, and will probably enjoy it as well.
Some babies who teeth early may get their first tooth around the 12 to 13 week mark. Generally, most babies get their first teeth around 3 to 6 months. Often times, babies like to put different objects or their own fingers and hands in their mouth. You may find that whenever you give an object to your baby to hold, he or she may put it in their mouth right away. As your child learns to move and crawl around later on, he or she may go find things to put in the mouth. Because of this, it is important to put away small objects that may be choking hazards, and always keep the environment safe for your baby.
Watch a 2 year old toddler read, and see how this child's reading skill develops at 3 and 4 years old.