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Your baby at 13 – 14 weeks: development milestones & what to expect
Explore your baby’s development at 13–14 weeks – from reaching and laughing to sleep patterns, brain growth, and healthy eating tips for new mums.
7 min
Your baby is officially 3 months old now – how time flies! They might already be in 3 – 6 month clothes, and they will be ready to transition to a cot soon, if they haven’t made the move yet. This is a lovely age, when those unsettled newborn weeks should be behind you and your baby will be full of smiles every time they see you. Plus, most babies are not yet independently mobile at this age, so play time is not too stressful.
Physical development milestones from 13 – 14 weeks
By now your little one should be able to lift their head up at a 90˚ angle when lying on their tummies, and some babies will extend this movement by pushing up on their hands too, so they look like they’re doing yoga. They may even be rocking their bodies backwards and forwards a bit, as though they’re getting ready to take off. This is all good practice for crawling but can result in a few bumped noses if they lose their balance, so make sure you put them down to play on soft surfaces. Foam mats are easy to come by to protect your little one on hard floors and often come in jigsaw style pieces that are easy to store and make for good toys when your baby is a little older.
If your baby is already rolling, make sure you create a safe space for them to move around in. If your little one isn’t quite ready to roll, don’t worry – it will come in time. Meanwhile, why not get down on the floor with them and encourage their movements with toys and games?
Milestone checklist
- New wardrobe – Your baby might be ready to move into the next size up. Time for a fashion show?
- Cobra position – Your little one is using their muscles more and more, learning how to move their body. Encourage them with lots of praise and fun.
- Tummy time is now playtime – What started as a way to build muscle is now a way to develop strength and smarts. You only need a few toys to keep your little one interested. What they want most is you!
Child brain development at 13 – 14 weeks
Your baby’s brain is developing fast and they’re really learning cause and effect at this age. Toys that make a noise are a great way to build their understanding of ‘if I do this, then this happens’, and it doesn’t need to be complicated. A simple baby rattle – or a homemade shaker using an empty bottle and different fillings, like rice or pasta (with the lid well secured) – will provide hours of entertainment and helps with hand-eye coordination, building grip strength, and developing the motor skills necessary to play with a toy without hitting themselves in the face.
Every child is different and some might find playtime more overwhelming than others, but if your baby likes getting out and about, this is a lovely age to try a baby class where your little one will be offered a variety of textures, sounds and experiences to help build their understanding of the world.
Nature is also an important teacher – so try to get your little one out and about if the weather’s playing ball. A baby carrier will let you go off the tarmac path to explore new sensory experiences, like watching the leaves fall, seeing trees blowing in the breeze, and smelling all those lovely outdoorsy smells.
Social & Emotional Development
At 13 – 14 weeks old, what your baby loves most of all is YOU. Cuddles, playing, singing, bathtime, stories – all of this helps build your bond and lets your baby feel safe and secure. Your little one might even be putting together more sounds now, making your conversations feel more real, which can be really rewarding – especially if you spend large parts of your day just the two of you.
If you have a good network of baby friends, you might notice they're paying more attention to each other now – interested to see what the other babies are doing, and perhaps even learning from each other. This will only increase as your little one gets older, and it’s a really valuable piece in the development puzzle, so if you don’t know anyone else with babies the same sort of age, have a look out for things like Rhyme Time at the library or other local baby groups where you can go along and meet new people. You might also find it a really useful source of support and comfort to chat with people who are going through the same things at the same time as you.
Sleep & Feeding
Rhythms and routines at this stage
Your little one’s feeds might be beginning to space out a bit more – hopefully in the 3 – 4 hour range, instead of every 2 hours, which will hopefully mean they can also sleep for longer stretches overnight. This is an age of real disparity between babies, with some still waking frequently through the night and others sleeping for a solid 6 hours. If you get one of the latter babies, enjoy that long sleep and try to make the most of it by arranging your sleep routine around theirs. If your little one is still keeping you up every night, you’re definitely not alone – and it’s not a sign that anything is wrong. It’s just what your baby needs right now.
Safe sleeping
If your baby is moving into a cot, you might be tempted to pad out the big empty space around them with cot bumpers and stuffed toys. However, safe sleep guidance recommends that you don’t put anything into the cot with your little one aside from a breathable blanket. No pillow, no toys and no need for a cot bumper.
Lie them on their backs to sleep and dress them according to the room’s temperature – adding a layer if it’s really cold, taking it away when it gets warmer. Try to keep the baby’s room at a stable 16 – 20˚C to avoid them overheating or getting too cold, and use a baby sleeping bag if they have a tendency to lose their blankets.
When your little one is newly rolling, if you spot them on their front, you can gently place them back on their back. Once you are confident that they can roll themselves from front to back and from back to front with ease, you can leave them be.
No solids yet
At 13 – 14 weeks your little one is growing fast, and they might seem super hungry – to the point you begin to wonder if milk is enough. Some well-meaning family members might even suggest thickening their milk with baby rice or similar, or even starting with weaning. This is not recommended. Babies of this age don’t have the necessary skills to eat solids – hand-eye coordination, the ability to chew and swallow food, and the muscle strength to sit up unaided and hold their head steady. Weaning will come in a few months’ time. In the meantime, your baby is getting all the nutrients they need from their milk.
Appointments in this period
So long as you are up-to-date with your baby’s vaccination schedule, there are no appointments now until your baby’s 16-week immunisations – and those will be the last ones for a while! Hooray!
Looking after yourself
Your doctor may have given you the all-clear to resume sexual activity after your 6-week check, but just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. Many new mums don’t start thinking about it until much later. It’s really important to take it at your own pace, so you feel comfortable. There’s nothing sexy about feeling pressure to perform.
A few things to bear in mind, as you consider your sexual relationship with your partner:
First, pregnancy, delivery, sleep deprivation and hormones all take their toll on your sex drive and you might find your libido is low to non-existent. Spending so many hours of the day holding and being grabbed by your baby can also leave you feeling totally touched-out. Then, if you’re breastfeeding, you might have reclassified areas of your body that used to feel sexual as maternal. Your partner won’t necessarily have the same disruption to their usual thought patterns, and this can cause tension.
Communication is key – making sure you take time to talk about your feelings and hear theirs will help ensure you both know how things stand, and keeping those lines of communication open is essential to stop resentment building.
Second, penetrative sex isn’t the only way to be intimate. Loving touches, kissing, and other forms of sex can help bridge the gap while you wait to feel ready – or have time! – for penetrative sex. Try to make time for each other – even if that just looks like cuddling up on the sofa at the end of a long day. And remember, this too is just a phase. Your sex life will return – and it might even get better.
A Note on Development Milestones
Developmental milestones are guides – not deadlines. If your baby isn’t ‘keeping up’ with your friends’ babies, it isn’t an immediate cause for concern. Every child develops at their own pace. That being said, your health visitor and GP are there to support you with any queries you might have and will always be happy to see you with your baby if you have any worries.
