At three months old, babies are growing bigger and becoming more aware every day. They are settling into a schedule and giving parents some much-needed rest. Here are some developmental milestones that a three-month-old baby should be reaching:

• Physical Development:

  • Raises head and chest when lying on stomach
  • Supports upper body with arms when lying on stomach
  • Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back
  • Brings hands or objects to mouth
  • Looks at hands
  • Follows light, faces, objects
  • Holds, then drops a rattle or other object
  • Beginning to reach hands to objects, may bat at hanging object with hands
  • Turns head from side to side when placed on abdomen
  • Active leg movements
  • Better control of head movements and can hold their head up when sitting up
  • May roll from their front to their back, lift up their head or push up their chest with their hands during tummy time

• Cognitive Development:

  • Recognizes familiar voices, especially of their parents
  • Smiles in response to others
  • Responds to social contact, may coo
  • Moves arms, legs, body in rhythm with other’s voice
  • Starts to recognize parents from farther distances
  • Spends hours inspecting their hands and watching their movements

• Sleep:

  • Babies up to 3 or 4 months old need 14 to 16 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, usually waking every two to four hours to eat
  • By 3 months, many babies start to ‘sleep through’ (which means sleeping for 5 or 6 hours at a stretch at night)

• Personality:

  • Shows budding personality and may be serious, silly, gregarious, pe...