Your 24 Week Old Baby's Development And Milestones
You officially have a 24 week old baby!
Don’t freak out, but you’re halfway through the first year
Yikes! Your baby is halfway through her first year. How’d that happen?!
Now that your baby likely has a couple of chompers and is good at using her hands, it might be time to introduce her to finger foods. Some good options include rice puffs, ripe chunks of banana, and small flakes of boneless fish. Some bad options include anything that she can’t easily gum or mash in her mouth. So probably not your filet mignon, fortunately for you. (No sharesies — yet.)
RELATED: Deciphering And Deciding On Baby’s First Foods — A Guide For Moms From Moms
A word of caution regarding adding more variety to your baby’s diet: It’s particularly important to avoid certain foods until baby has reached a particular age, including honey, shellfish, and other potential allergens or choking hazards. You’re stressed out enough as it is. No need to add middle-of-the-night diarrhea and barf fests (among other, more dangerous side effects) to the list of things that wake you up in a sweat — provided you’re getting any sleep at all, that is. (You will sleep again, by the way. Just maybe not for another half decade or so. Kidding! Ohmygod, we jest.)
Your 24 Week Old Baby’s Development & Growth Milestones
A purée by any other name…
While breastmilk or formula will be your baby’s main source of nutrition until they’re a year old, you should begin introducing solids at your pediatrician’s instructions anywhere between 4 to 6 months of age. You’ll first begin with single-grain cereals like rice cereal mixed with a few teaspoons of breastmilk or formula. These iron-rich cereals are the perfect way for your baby to discover new tastes and textures.
A growth spurt or a 6 month sleep regression?
If your perfect little night sleeper’s schedule is all out of whack, she’s eating more than usual, and is an all around, Grade-A grump, then she just might be going through a growth spurt. Often dubbed the 6 month sleep regression, a seemingly sudden spike in growth can lead to a hungrier baby and a disrupted sleep. While you may be exhausted during this short phase, do know that it is just that: a phase. In about a week or two, your baby should settle back into a predictable pattern. Now that she’s eating solids, she should settle into a new sleep routine before you know it.
Your 24 Week Old Baby’s Physical, Social, And Cognitive Milestones
By 24 weeks, your tiny tot is probably giddily rolling over from belly to back and back to belly. They might also be doing lots of spinning on their bellies and are starting to prop themselves up into a sitting position without any help. She’s reaching and playing with her feet while on her back, she’s giggling, babbling, and moving toys back and forth between her hands.
Your little one’s advancing hand-eye coordination allows her to bring toys to her mouth, she babbles using consonants like “ma, ma, ma, da, da, da,” and responds with sounds when you talk to her.
Your 24 Week Old Baby’s Health
Because she’s starting to eat solids more frequently, it’s important to begin keeping baby’s teeth clean as well. Many grocery and drug stores sell toothbrushes and baby toothpaste that you put on your finger and gently scrub baby’s teeth and gums. Just be careful sticking your appendages in there; depending on how many teeth baby has sprouted, you might be in danger of losing a digit or two!
If you do discover that your baby has an intolerance for or allergy to certain foods, step one is to CALM DOWN. It’s not the end of the world; in fact, it can be perfectly manageable. Just be sure to get a recommendation for a pediatric allergist and to always listen to that mama bear instinct. You’ve got this.
This article was originally published in 2015.
Read More:
The Best Finger Foods For Baby
How To Cope When Your Child Has Food Allergies
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