A 17 week old baby's skin is soft and tender, and needs to be well cared for. Some skin rash is normal and is common during the first few months after birth. These skin rash are typically a blotch of redness with tiny bumps, but it will generally pass with time. Some of the things you can watch out for and do to help reduce the chance of a skin rash include:
- Keep your baby's temperature warm but not hot. Wear just enough clothing so that your baby is warm and comfortable. Heat will usually lead to rashes.
- Wear soft, 100% cotton clothing for your baby.
- Bath for your baby every 2 to 3 days in lukewarm water, and not hot water.
- Avoid using soaps and lotions that have perfume, and use unscented skin lotions for keeping the skin moist
Weight and Size
At 17 weeks old, an average baby weighs around 13 to 14 pounds, and will measure roughly around 24 to 25 inches. By this time, your baby may have doubled their birth weight, and is developing very well. Some infants may start teething around this time, and you may notice a lot of drooling, biting, and some fussiness for no apparent reason.
Most babies also seem to love sitting in a car seat - whether it is to go out for a drive around the block to calm them down, or simply for them to sit and enjoy a different view point from their car seat. You may find that your baby is very willing and happy to sit happily and peacefully for a period of time in a car seat, while you can get some things done around the house. Certainly for us, all of our children loved sitting in the car seat, and this gave me a great opportunity to get things done, or simply sit and relax, and have a little bit of "me time". That's our boy at 4 months old, and he loved sitting in his car seat.
Other Developmental Milestones
Your baby at 17 weeks old should be quite sturdy now, and when lying on his or her belly, is able to easily hold their head up and look all around them. Your baby's back and neck muscles are much stronger now such that he or she is able to sit with some help and support from you. Your baby can even bear a little weight with their legs by this time. He or she will have a keen interest in everything that surrounds them as they will look in wonder at their environment. They are also captivated when you talk and sing to them, and will respond to all the sounds that they hear.
Coos, gurgles, gahs, and babbles are much more common now as well, and you may find that your baby will sometimes try to "talk" to you non-stop for a length of time. When tickled, your baby can also laugh out loud, and he or she greatly enjoys social interactions with you and other family members.
Do you have a mother that always tell you that if you carry your baby a lot, he or she will be spoiled and will want to be carried all the time? With our children, both of us really enjoyed carrying them, and carried them very often. My mother-in-law always tell us that we're going to spoil the babies and won't be able to put them down because we carry them so much! In fact, the mom of a close friend even tell us the same thing... Of course, we didn't listen, and to our surprise, our babies became very trusting and calm with us, and sometimes when we carried them for too long, they would want to be put down! Although we do like to carry and cuddle our baby very often, we never had any problems when we needed to put them down. So take your time and enjoy your baby! You can only enjoy the endearing moments of life and the process of growing up with each child just once. So treasure it.
Watch a 2 year old toddler read, and see how this child's reading skill develops at 3 and 4 years old.