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Growth and Development at 5 Months

Growth

(general info re growth)

Weight
A five month old baby girl weighs anywhere between 5.2k and 8k
A five month old baby boy weighs anywhere between 5.6k and 9k
Weight gains are leveling out now for the majority of babies. Average gains are now around 120-200gms a week.

Length
A five month old baby boy measures anything from 61cm to 70cm
A five month old baby girl measures anything from 60cm to 68cm

Development

(general info re development)

Large Body Movements
* On tummy takes weight on forearms and lifts head repeatedly
* When held sitting - no head wobble
* When held standing takes most of weight through legs
* When lying on his back moves head and shoulders forward

Small Body Movements
* Starting to reach, using both hands (this skill starts for most babies at about 51/2 months but sometimes earlier)
* Has trouble letting things go
* Constantly mouthing everything (nothing to do with 'teeth', part of his innate urge to explore by feeling everything within range with both his fingers and his mouth).

Vision
* Shifts glances between hand and object
* Expanded vision now includes interest in the far world as well as the near world - outdoors, new rooms, shops
* Looks carefully at the details of everything he holds
Hearing and Speech
* Increasing interest in different sounds
* Responds to mothers voice
* Smiles and talks to himself in a mirror
* Babbling making lots of sounds and repeating them as he experiments with the growing range of noises he can make.
* Imitates, blows raspberries

Social and Understanding
* Most healthy babies of this age are extremely sociable and mostly happy
* Loves exchanging smiles, talk and sounds with parents
* Abrupt mood changes are common and normal (happy one minute, upset the next. Is often able to be easily distracted when upset).

End of fact sheet

Robin Barker 20(c)00

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