Tracking Your Baby’s Growth: Key Developmental Milestones at 3 Months

At 3 months old, babies rapidly develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Your baby experiences an array of changes, a shift from a totally dependent newborn to an active and responsive infant. At this age, your baby is also slowly becoming aware of their body and how to use it. 

Here’s a brief overview of some typical 3-month-old developmental milestones you can expect to see in your child:

1 . Physical milestones: 

• Lifting their head: At three months old, most babies can lift their head up 45 degrees while lying on their tummy.

• Rolling over: Some babies may start to roll over from their tummy to their back, although this typically happens closer to 4-6 months. 

• Grasping objects: At 3 months old, babies develop hand-eye coordination and may be able to grasp and hold onto objects such as toys or rattles.

• Kicking and pushing with their legs: 3-month-olds will often kick their legs and push with their feet when lying on their back, which helps strengthen their leg muscles.

• Bringing hands to mouth: Babies at this age start to explore objects by bringing their hands to their mouth, which is a critical developmental stage for their oral motor skills.

Clear up the space and move furniture to provide your baby with an area to move around safely. Moreover, it is suggested to babyproof the house to protect your child against any untoward accidents. 

2 . Social and emotional milestones:

 At 3 months old, babies are starting to develop their social and emotional skills and begin to understand and respond to their environment. 

• Social smiling: At around 6-8 weeks old, babies start to smile in response to their caregivers’ faces and voices, and this social smiling becomes more frequent and intentional by 3 months old.

• Eye contact: Babies at this age are learning to focus their eyes and track moving objects, and they will start to make more sustained eye contact with caregivers and other people.

• Responding to voices: 3-month-olds are starting to recognize familiar voices, turning their head or eyes toward the source of the sound when they hear a caregiver’s voice.

• Crying: Although it can be challenging for parents to hear, crying is an essential communication tool for babies at this age, and it can help them express their needs and get attention.

• Social interaction: Babies at this age are starting to become more interested in interacting with others, and they may coo or babble in response to their caregivers’ voices.

3 . Cognitive milestones

• Recognising faces: At 3 months old, babies begin recognising and responding to familiar faces, especially their caregivers.

• Tracking objects: Babies at this age are learning to focus their eyes and follow moving objects, which helps to develop their visual tracking and attention skills. You can help encourage your child by holding objects at a distance and moving it around. Observe how your child’s glance follows the object. 

• Exploring objects: Babies at this age are starting to explore objects with their hands and mouth, which helps them to learn about the world through their senses.

• Responding to sounds: 3-month-olds are becoming more responsive to different sounds in their environment and may turn their head or eyes in the direction of a sound.

• Simple cause and effect: Babies at this age are starting to make simple connections between actions and consequences, such as realising that kicking their legs can make a mobile move or that crying can get attention from a caregiver.

It’s important to note that every baby develops at their own pace, and some babies may reach these 3-month-old milestones earlier or later than others. To keep track of your baby’s development and growth, pay close attention to the weight and height chart for infants. If you have questions about your baby’s development, don’t hesitate to consult your paediatrician.