Baby Week 5

BABY WEEK 5

Head's up!

Your baby's neck muscles are getting stronger, which allows her to hold her head up for short periods. She can support it for a few moments while lying on her stomach, for example, and she can probably turn it from side to side. She may be able to hold her head up when she's in a car seat or front carrier.

The first real smiles

Smiling happens at about the same time in all cultures, so get ready for your baby to reward all your loving care with a beaming, toothless, just-for-you smile. This will probably make your heart melt, even if you've just had your worst night yet.

Sound asleep

Your baby may start sleeping longer at night (maybe four to six hours) sometime between 6 weeks and 6 months of age. It's a broad range, and much depends on your baby's development and your behavior. Most sleep experts suggest putting your baby to bed while she's still awake, but drowsy. This will help her learn to fall asleep on her own, a skill that will come in handy for you both when she wakes in the wee hours of the night.

 

Baby’s eyes Colour

What’s responsible for this magical transformation in your baby’s eye color? The answer depends on the amount of melanin present in the iris (the colored part of the eye) — and that in turn is determined by the genes your baby has inherited — as well as other factors: The role melanin plays in baby’s eye color. Melanin, produced by cells, is the pigment that’s responsible for giving you the color of your skin and hair (or at least the hair color you had as a kid). Just as sunlight turns the skin a darker shade, it does the same thing in the iris. When your baby enters the world and into the bright lights of the birthing room, the light kick-starts melanin production in the iris, which can lead to eye color changes. When your baby’s eye color changes: The most dramatic changes will probably occur when your child is between the ages of six months old and nine months old. By that point, the iris has stashed enough pigment so you’ll be able to better predict what the final hue will be.

The role genetics play in baby’s eye color: But the final hue of those pretty peepers also depends on you, your partner, and a roll of the genetic dice. Since there’s still a lot that’s not understood about the interplay of genes and their role in determining eye color, it’s hard to make, well, hard-and-fast predictions about the shade your baby’s eyes will end up

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