1 months
One month old: the first real smile
Your baby starts to look at you, follow you and, by 6–8 weeks, smile back.
Between one and two months your baby becomes more awake and more interested in you. Feeding is settling into a rhythm, the neck is getting stronger, and the first social smile is on its way.
Growth
Weight
4.2–6.0 kg
Length
54–60 cm
Most babies gain about 150–200 g a week in these months. Typical range; your paediatrician tracks your baby on a growth chart.
What your baby is learning
- On the tummy, many babies lift the head briefly and turn it from side to side; the neck gets stronger with every session.
- Your baby follows your face with the eyes as you move slowly from side to side and watches you intently during feeds.
- The first social smile – a real smile in reply to your voice or face – usually appears between 6 and 8 weeks.
- Hands are still mostly fisted, but your baby begins to notice them and may bring them to the mouth.
- Early sounds beyond crying appear: small throaty noises, "ah" and "eh", especially when you talk back.
Feeding
- Keep breastfeeding on demand – still often 8–12 times a day. Many babies have a hungry phase around 3–6 weeks when they want to feed more often for a few days; this is normal and builds your supply.
- Enough milk looks like this: 6 or more wet nappies a day, weight gain of roughly 150–200 g a week and a baby who is settled after most feeds. Breastfed babies may stool after every feed or once in several days – both can be normal if the stool is soft.
- If you use formula, keep to the amounts on the pack, prepare each feed fresh and never prop the bottle – hold your baby in your arms.
- Continue vitamin D drops 400 IU daily as your paediatrician advises, and your own potassium iodide 200 µg while breastfeeding. No water, tea or herbal infusions for the baby.
Sleep
Total sleep is still 14–17 hours, and towards 6–8 weeks the longest stretch often starts to fall at night. Keep every sleep on the back on a firm, flat surface in your room with nothing soft around the face; share the room but not the bed, and never sleep with the baby on a sofa. Watch for overheating: a sweaty neck or flushed cheeks mean one layer too many. If your baby sleeps in a beshik, lay them on the back, keep swaddling loose at the hips and legs, and do not leave the baby strapped in while nobody is watching.
Check-ups and vaccines
- The one-month check-up at the polyclinic: weight, length and head circumference are measured and plotted, feeding and sleep are discussed, and the hips, heart and reflexes are checked.
- Around this age many polyclinics arrange examinations by a neurologist, an orthopaedist – often with an ultrasound of the hip joints to rule out hip dysplasia – and an eye doctor. Ask your paediatrician which are available to you.
- There are no routine vaccines this month; the next set is due at 2 months. Check that the BCG site is healing – a small crust or scab is expected.
- Baby acne, cradle cap and small white spots on the nose are harmless and pass by themselves. Call the nurse about any rash with fever or a rash that does not fade when pressed.
Play and everyday tips
- Chat face to face about 25–30 cm away, pause, and wait for a response – your baby is learning the rhythm of conversation.
- Tummy time 2–3 times a day, working towards 10–15 minutes in total; lie down at eye level so there is a face to look at.
- Slowly move a rattle or a bright toy from side to side for your baby to track with the eyes.
- Sing lullabies and read aloud – rhythm and your voice matter far more than the words.
- Keep screens off around the baby; WHO recommends no screen time before 2 years.
Call the doctor or 103 if
- Fever of 38 °C or higher is still an emergency at this age: call 103 or go to the hospital straight away.
- Fast or laboured breathing, grunting, flaring nostrils or blue lips.
- Poor feeding or refusing feeds, fewer than 6 wet nappies a day, or no weight gain at the one-month check.
- Floppy or very stiff body, a bulging soft spot, or crying that cannot be soothed for hours.
- Skin or eyes that are still yellow at one month, or pale, chalky stools.
- Not reacting to loud sounds, or not fixing on your face by 6–8 weeks.
- For any of these, call 103 or go to the polyclinic or hospital without waiting.
Trust your instinct. If your baby seems unwell to you, call 103 or go to the polyclinic.
Monthly updates in Telegram
Tell the bot your baby's birth date and it will send a development digest every month, with the vaccines due next.
- ✓A short digest every new week
- ✓Countdown to your due date
- ✓Reminders about upcoming checkups
- ✓Kick counter and contraction timer