Week 29

Days 197 to 203 · 28 weeks 0 days to 28 weeks 6 days old · about 6 and a half months

This week a typical baby measures about 68 cm (26.75 in) and weighs about 7.8 kg (17.2 lb). Babies vary widely, so focus on your baby's own curve on the growth chart rather than on any single number. Big changes are happening in your baby's thinking. They are beginning to understand that you still exist when you leave the room, which makes peekaboo thrilling and goodbyes harder. Their babble may now include strings of consonants that sound almost like words. For you, a baby who protests when you leave can feel both flattering and exhausting. This week covers consonant babble, object permanence, separation anxiety, being the favourite parent, choking first aid, infant CPR courses and the joy of dropping things on purpose.

Day 197 · 28 weeks 0 days old

Ba-ba, da-da and ma-ma

Your baby's early coos and squeals are turning into something new: repeated consonant sounds strung together, such as "ba-ba-ba", "da-da-da", "ma-ma" or "ga-ga". This is called canonical babbling, and many babies start it somewhere between about 6 and 10 months.

It is an exciting step, because these are the building blocks of real words. Your baby is practising the mouth and tongue movements they will need for speech, and listening closely to the sounds of the language around them. Babies raised with more than one language babble in a way that reflects all of them.

When you first hear "da-da" or "ma-ma", it is tempting to celebrate a first word. At this stage the sounds are usually play rather than names, though your delight teaches your baby that these sounds get a big reaction. Meaningful first words more often come around the first birthday. The best support is conversation. When your baby babbles, pause, look at them and babble back, then wait for their reply. Name what they are looking at. Copy their sounds, then add a new one. These little back-and-forth exchanges matter more for language than any toy or app.

Call your baby's doctor if your baby does not seem to hear well, has stopped babbling, or makes very few sounds of any kind by around 9 months.

Try this: Have a babble conversation today: copy your baby's sounds, wait for them to answer, and see how many turns you can take.

Day 198 · 28 weeks 1 day old

Out of sight is no longer out of mind

For a young baby, a toy hidden under a blanket might as well have vanished. Somewhere in the middle of the first year, that starts to change. Your baby is developing object permanence: the understanding that things and people keep existing even when they cannot be seen.

You may notice it in small ways. Your baby looks over the edge of the high chair for the spoon they dropped. They pull at a cloth to find a toy they watched you hide. They stare at the door you just walked through. This understanding develops gradually over many months, so early on your baby may find a toy that is half hidden but give up when it disappears completely. Peekaboo is the perfect game for this stage. Hide your face behind your hands or a cloth, pause, then reappear with a smile. The suspense and the happy return delight babies, and it lets them practise the idea that you go away and come back. Many babies soon want to take a turn hiding themselves.

You can also hide a toy under a cup or scarf while your baby watches and let them find it. Start with a corner of the toy showing, then hide it fully as they get the idea.

Try this: Play peekaboo behind a muslin cloth today, then let your baby pull it off your face to find you.

Day 199 · 28 weeks 2 days old

Separation anxiety is a sign of a strong bond

The same new understanding that makes peekaboo fun has a harder side. Now that your baby knows you exist when you are gone, they can miss you. Separation anxiety often begins somewhere between about 6 and 10 months and commonly peaks between about 10 and 18 months, though every baby is different.

You may see crying when you leave the room, clinginess around new people, or more night waking. A baby who happily went to anyone a few weeks ago may now cling to you. This is healthy. It shows your baby has formed a secure attachment and knows who their important people are.

A few things help. Practise short separations at home, such as stepping into the next room while chatting so your baby can hear you. Introduce new carers gradually, with you there at first. Always say goodbye, even if it brings tears. Sneaking away can make babies more watchful and anxious. Keep the goodbye warm, short and the same each time, then leave confidently. Most babies settle within minutes once you have gone, and a carer can tell you honestly how it went.

Separation anxiety comes and goes in waves and often flares up during illness, teething or big changes. It does pass.

Try this: Choose a simple goodbye ritual, such as a kiss, a wave and the same short phrase, and use it every time you leave your baby.

Day 200 · 28 weeks 3 days old

When your baby only wants one of you

Many babies go through phases of strongly preferring one parent or carer. Often it is the person who does most of the feeding or spends the most time with them, but not always. The preferred parent may feel touched out and unable to get a break, while the other may feel rejected, even when they know it is not personal.

It helps to see it for what it is: a normal stage, not a judgement about anyone's parenting. These preferences shift, sometimes from week to week, and often swing the other way later on.

The best response is usually to keep both parents involved, calmly and consistently. The less-preferred parent can take on regular, predictable jobs, such as the bath, a morning walk, a bedtime song or the first feed or cuddle of the day. Some protest at first is fine. Stay warm and patient, and avoid handing the baby straight back at the first cry.

The preferred parent can help by stepping out of sight during those times, so the baby is not torn. Talk openly about how it feels, so resentment does not build quietly.

Single parents and solo carers can feel the weight of being the only one. Leaning on a trusted friend or relative for regular, short breaks helps you both.

For your partner: If you are the parent your baby is less keen on right now, choose one daily routine that will be yours, and stick with it for at least two weeks.

Day 201 · 28 weeks 4 days old

What to do if your baby is choking

A baby who is coughing hard, crying or making noise is still moving air. Stay close and let them cough it out.

Get help right away if your baby cannot cry, cough or breathe, makes a high-pitched noise or no sound, or their lips turn blue. Shout for help and have someone call your local emergency number while you start.

For a baby under 1, lay them face down along your forearm, head lower than chest, supporting the head by holding the jaw, not the throat. Give up to 5 firm back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If the object has not come out, turn your baby face up along your other forearm, head lower than chest. Place two fingers in the centre of the chest, just below the nipple line, and give up to 5 chest thrusts, pushing down about a third of the depth of the chest.

Check the mouth and remove an object only if you can see it and pick it out easily. Never do a blind finger sweep. Keep alternating 5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts. If you are alone, call emergency services on speakerphone and keep going. Never use abdominal thrusts on a baby under 1. If your baby becomes unresponsive, start CPR. Always have your baby checked afterwards.

Try this: Book a hands-on infant first aid course so you can practise these steps on a training manikin.

Day 202 · 28 weeks 5 days old

Why an infant first aid course is worth your time

Reading about first aid is a good start, but your hands remember what they have practised. A course in infant and child first aid and CPR lets you rehearse back blows, chest thrusts and CPR on a baby-sized manikin, with an instructor correcting your position and pressure. In a real emergency, that practice makes it far more likely you will act quickly and calmly. Courses are offered by first aid organizations, community centres, hospitals and some public health teams, and many take only a few hours. Invite anyone who regularly cares for your baby, such as grandparents and babysitters.

Infant CPR is for a baby who is unresponsive and not breathing normally. It involves pressing on the centre of the chest with two fingers or two thumbs, about 4 cm (1.5 in) deep and fast, at about 100 to 120 compressions a minute, alternated with gentle rescue breaths covering the baby's mouth and nose. The exact sequence varies a little between countries, which is another reason to learn it from a local course.

Get help right away if your baby is unresponsive or not breathing normally. Call your local emergency number straight away and put the phone on speaker. The dispatcher can coach you through CPR until help arrives. Try this: Find a local infant first aid course today and put the date in your calendar, along with anyone who will come with you.

Day 203 · 28 weeks 6 days old

Dropping things on purpose is science

Your baby drops a spoon from the high chair. You pick it up. They drop it again, watching closely, then look at you with obvious delight. To an adult it can feel like a test of patience. To your baby, it is an experiment. At this age, babies are discovering cause and effect: if I do this, that happens. Dropping, banging, shaking and throwing are how they learn that objects fall, that a spoon clatters and a soft toy does not, and that grown-ups reliably pick things up. Your baby is also practising the new skill of letting go on purpose, which takes more control than grabbing.

You can make the game easier to live with. Give your baby a few unbreakable things to drop, and pick them up in batches rather than one at a time. On the floor, offer a basket or a metal bowl to drop blocks into. Simple toys that respond to your baby's actions are perfect now: things that rattle, roll, squeak or pop up when pressed, and pots with wooden spoons for banging.

When the game wears thin at mealtimes, it is fine to say "all done" and calmly end the meal.

Try this: Give your baby a wooden spoon, a plastic bowl and a metal pot, and let them discover which sounds each one makes.