Learn about the milestones that a baby is expected to achieve by 18 weeks of her development.By week 18, your baby has got all new ideas to play with his or her hands and feet for a long time. This is the time your baby is not looking out for your attention, but is more interested in playing with himself or herself. Wow! You can get back reading your newspaper or finish other household chores at peace. This is also a great week for a great milestone for many babies – read out for more!
Week 18 Milestone
Your baby may start to sit without any support. This is a big milestone – a great step toward independence not only for your baby, but for you too. This is a moment of celebration, not only with pictures, but also with a lot of applauds and claps. This will excite your infant and will encourage him or her to do such stunts more often, until his or her back muscles strengthen enough and prepare him or her to do more fun stuff in the near future. If your baby has not been able to sit without support by now, place pillows at his or her sides to help him or her build the appropriate muscles – do not worry, he or she will sit soon without support.
Brain Development
Your baby, at week 18, will try to find sensory experiences that match with one another, for example, movement with sound and sight with touch. But he or she may not like sensory bombardment, which means your baby will feel cranky if there are people talking, kids running around, and music
playing aloud – because your baby still cannot connect all the senses together, though he or she is at the early stage now. Synchronized sensory events like you bouncing your baby gently while singing a nursery rhyme will make him or her feel content.
Playful Mood
Your baby will engage himself or herself more than before. He or she is too busy in playing with his or her hands, pulling legs, moving fingers, and also sucking little foot. It is a good sign if your infant is little quite and busy playing on his or her own. Your baby will keep on repeating the same movements until he or she finds something new to play with.
What about Solid Foods?
Your little one may be more interested in what is on your plate than his or her boring food. Your baby’s weight is double than his or her
birth weight by now and also, your infant has the ability now to control his or her head in an upright position and sit upright when he or she has support – this indicates that your baby is approaching toward solid food. It is usually recommended to introduce solid foods in 4-6 months of your baby, when he or she has doubled his or her birth weight, but still, you must make a visit to your pediatrician before you actually start giving your baby solid foods. It is better to start with small quantity and slowly, and rice cereal is a good food to start with, as it is gluten-free and is less allergenic than other foods.
What About Pink Eye?
Your baby may come across an allergen or bacteria or virus causing an inflammation of the eye, which leads to conjunctivitis or pink eye. This makes your baby’s eyes look reddish and watery. There can be a yellow or green or white eye discharge. Reach out to your doctor immediately, and he or she will prescribe few eye drops that will calm your baby’s eyes sooner. Beware of pinkeye as it is very contagious, so wash all washcloths, towels and beds frequently.
At week 18,
teething issues may continue to bother your cute lovelet. Your baby can be chewing his or her hands, be fussier than normal, or maybe complaining and whining – all because of few teeth popping out from those soft baby gums. Teething rings may comfort your baby as it contains gel that can be kept in freezer for giving a numb cool effect to your baby’s sore gums.
What kind of milestones a baby is expected to achieve by 18 weeks of her development? How to boost a baby’s growth during the fifth month? Discuss here. 
