Skip Navigation or Skip to Content

Baby Guide 0-3M: Physical Development in the First 3 Months

So much happens in the first 18 months of baby’s life. From feeding to sleeping, physical growth and mental leaps – your baby is changing on a daily basis. It can be overwhelming to try and keep up, which is exactly why we’ve broken it down into digestible chunks based on ages and stages, both to help you better retain and give you an easily accessible resource based on topic. Of course, this isn’t all- encompassing, and we encourage you to use as many sources as possible to learn all about your little one.

In the Baby Guide, we’ll cover Feeding, Sleeping, Physical Development, and Mental/Emotional Development for full-term newborns up to three months of age.

First up was Feeding in the First 3 Months. Now, we’re looking at Physical Development from Newborn to 3 Months. Here we go!

Over the first three months of their lives, baby goes through a lot of growth – and not all of it you can see. One day you may notice that when baby cries, there are now real tears with their wails. You may swear that their head got bigger, then swear it again a few weeks later. Suddenly they’ll start making all sorts of funny faces and spend inordinate amounts of time first staring at, and then using, their hands. Pretty soon, those jerky movements will become smoother and you’ll realize they are truly seeing things for the first time. You may find out they love their belly tickled but hate it on their legs, and that there is nothing better than a good, long massage. In short, your baby is embracing their physical body and the world around it.

During these weeks, baby is going through major physical transformations internally, too. When they first arrive, baby’s digestive system isn’t fully on board, and they may have trouble with spit-up, burping, and gas. Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow® Anti-Colic Options+™ bottles help reduce these tummy troubles by preventing air from getting into baby’s belly while bottle feeding.

Learn More About Acid Reflux in Babies

You can also help baby release the air caught in their tummy by helping to burp them or work out the gas from their belly. Other things baby will need help with include supporting their head and bodies, as they don’t have the muscle strength yet to do more than turn their head.

Help Baby Eliminate Gas with Our Burping Guide

An important thing to remember is that throughout the first three months, baby is going through a lot of physical changes, and they’re happening rapidly. You can help encourage and support this development by offering them different toys and other items that have lots of varying texture and bright, contrasting colors. Play a wide range of music for them and introduce them to new smells. As they get older, allow the more supervised tummy time to build up their muscles. Engage in lots of silly play, and also give them time to explore on their own.

As always, this guide is to give you a general idea of what your baby may be going through at this time. Every baby is different and will physically develop in different ways. You and your pediatrician will work together to ensure baby is growing at the pace that is perfect for them!

< Back to Dr. Brown's Blog

Don't miss out!

Free Shipping when you spend $25.
You are $25 away from free shipping!