Your baby at 3 months: the fourth trimester ends

Where a three-month-old is

Hands are the great discovery of this month: watched, brought together, and taken to the mouth constantly. Objects placed in the hand are gripped and pulled towards the face — the beginning of deliberate reaching.

Head control is much steadier. During tummy time the baby pushes up on the forearms and holds the head up to look around, and when pulled to sit the head follows with much less lag.

Socially, this is the reward month: laughing, squealing, long cooing conversations, and a baby who is visibly delighted to see familiar faces. Crying has usually fallen well below its six-week peak.

Weight gain slows slightly to around 100-150 g a week from here, which is normal and often alarms families who were used to the earlier pace.

Sleep and feeding

Many babies now do one longer stretch at night — four to six hours — and settle into a rough pattern of three or four daytime naps. Many do not yet, and that is equally normal.

Keep the day-night contrast strong: bright and social by day, dim and boring at night. Start a short bedtime routine now if you have not — bath or wipe-down, feed, dim room, same order every night. It pays for itself over the next year.

Feeding settles to roughly six to eight feeds a day for many babies. A growth spurt around twelve weeks can briefly make it feel like the newborn weeks again.

Still milk only. Six months remains the target for solids, and starting early does not help sleep — the evidence on that is clear, whatever the neighbours say.

Vaccines, checks and safety

The ten-week visit falls in this month on the national schedule — the second dose of Pentavalent, OPV and rotavirus. Take the MCP card, and ask for weight and length to be plotted.

Rolling can start any time from now, most often tummy to back first. From the day it is possible, nappy changes move to the floor or a surface the baby cannot fall from, and nobody leaves a baby unattended on a bed or sofa.

Keep tummy time going in short frequent sessions — it prevents a flat spot on the head as well as building strength.

This is also the month many Indian mothers return to work. Start expressing and introducing an occasional bottle two to three weeks before, and see our return-to-work guide for the logistics.

When to see a doctor

The rule that outranks everything else at this age: any fever of 38°C or above in a baby under three months means the hospital the same day — not the next morning, and not after a sponge bath. A newborn's immune system cannot wall off an infection, and fever is often the only sign.

Same-day: refusing feeds, fewer than six wet nappies a day, a floppy or unusually drowsy baby, fast or laboured breathing, blue lips, a fit, or a rash that does not fade under pressure.

Book an appointment for: no social smile, no cooing or vocal response, not following a face or object with the eyes, no attempt to lift the head during tummy time, hands still constantly fisted, stiffness or floppiness, no reaction to sound, or the loss of any skill the baby previously had.

This article is general information, not medical advice, and is no substitute for personal medical advice. For any decision about your or your child's health, please consult your doctor.

Frequently asked questions