1-Month-Old: Milestones, Activities, Gear, Dad Tips, & More
At 1 month old, your baby is beyond the off-color, wrinkly, neonate but is still considered a newborn. In that month’s time, they’ve made incredible changes in development.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to 1-month-old milestones, activities to do with your baby, what to expect with food and sleep, and ways to master being a dad.
1-Month-Old Milestones
Your baby may start to smile at this age, but no matter how much your parents say she’s smiling at them, it is usually just a reflexive response to being talked to or touched.
Lifting their head briefly while doing tummy time.
May start to make cooing sounds as they experiment with their voice.
Showing different facial expressions like furrowing their brow and smiling. Some will be hilarious.
Start to show preference for you or mom as well as signs of distress when separated from them.
Able to track a toy while laying on her back or side.
May start to straighten out both legs while on back.
May hold their hands in tight fists
Activities To Help Your Child Thrive
Place her on your chest. Knock two birds out at the same time by having your baby lay on her belly (tummy time) on your bare chest (skin to skin). Make goofy sounds and faces to get her to look at you and strengthen her neck and back muscles.
Sensory play: Sensory play is any activity that stimulates your baby's senses, such as sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. Some examples of sensory play activities include shaking a rattle, playing with a soft blanket, or placing your baby's hand in a bowl of rice.
Be a tour guide: Take your baby on a tour of your digs like you would a friend whose never seen it. This will not only save you from using a billion “oosha-boos” and other baby talk each day but it provides a calm, familiar voice to your baby and allows them to experience visual stimuli at different distances which is great for the developing visual system. Stretch your radius and do it outside as well.
Reflexes
Your 1-month-old has a number of reflexes, which are automatic responses to certain stimuli. These reflexes are present at birth and help to protect and support the newborn as they adjust to life outside the womb. Here are some common newborn reflexes:
Rooting reflex: When a newborn's cheek is touched, they will turn their head and open their mouth as if to start breastfeeding. This reflex helps newborns to find and latch onto their mother's breast for feeding.
Sucking reflex: When a newborn's lips are touched or a nipple is placed in their mouth, they will start to suck. This reflex helps newborns to feed and get the nutrition they need.
Grasp reflex: When an object is placed in a newborn's hand, they will grasp it tightly. This reflex helps newborns to hold onto objects and eventually learn to use their hands.
Moro reflex: When newborns feel like they are falling or are startled, they will throw their arms out to the sides and cry. This reflex helps newborns to protect themselves and to alert their caregivers if they are in danger.
Tonic neck reflex: When a newborn's head is turned to one side, their arm and leg on the same side will straighten out and the arm and leg on the opposite side will bend. This reflex helps newborns to develop their neck muscles and to learn to control their movements.
Stepping reflex: When a newborn is held upright with their feet touching a flat surface, they will move their feet as if they are walking. This reflex disappears after a few months.
Food
Consumes about 2-3 ounces of formula or breast milk every 2-3 hours, or about 6-8 times a day.
Bottle nipple size: Preemie flow or Level 1 (based on the Dr. Brown bottles).
At this age, it’s important to continue feeding on demand. Don’t yet try to force your baby to stick to a schedule.
Sleep
Typical sleep total per day: 14-17 hours.
They may take 2-3 naps a day, each lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
Red Flags
It’s important to note that babies develop at different paces. If you’re not seeing these 1-month-old milestones, reflexes, or patterns with sleep or food then talk to your pediatrician.
Stuff
Toys (with a purpose)
A list of toys recommended by an occupational therapist to help your 1-month-old’s development.
Gear (that you actually need)
Baby carrier. Kids fall asleep in it easily when they’re young, love looking out when they’re a bit older, and you can even get a mini workout in using it. We used this one which is inexpensive and surprisingly really durable.
Baby nail clippers. Babies are savages. They’re constantly trying to gouge their eyes out with their sharp nails. Why evolution didn’t weed this out, I don’t know. but get a pair of baby-safe nail clippers stat.
Physioball. Not every parent “needs” this just as we didn’t for our laid-back first child. Our second child had a looooooong bout of colic and we used a physioball regularly. It was one of the most soothing things we could find for her. Bonus: it helped prevent strain in my back from long hours of sitting and holding her by recruiting core muscles I wouldn’t have used otherwise.
Dads
“There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful business man, or railway man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
Dad Focus
Stress management. At this stage of the game you’re probably back at work. You’re juggling that job with limited sleep and your other (more important) job of dad-ing in the remaining hours. There’s not too much you can control with your sleep quantity but what you can influence are your levels of stress.
Start small by:
focusing on being in the here and now throughout the day (much easier said than done)
measuring your stress with HRV (if you want to get techy)
adopting a breathwork strategy to incorporate in times of high stress
and considering taking a supplement that helps reduce your cortisol.
Related:
Dad Tips
Have sex again! Around the 4-6 week mark, you and your partner may be able to have sex (or longer if there was a vaginal tear). She’s like sore, dry, and nervous so go easy, talk to her, and use lubricant as needed.
Learn how to take pictures. Everyone has a phone and, therefore, the ability to take pictures, however, few have the ability to take good pictures. Your baby is a baby for a very short time so take advantage of it by capturing great shots that your great great great great grandkids can marvel at. I took a free course during a COVID quarantine which was quick and really helpful. You can take a free one online from Udemy or Coursera.
Be extra patient and supportive of your partner. She did the hardest work of her life and you both equally reap the rewards. Her body is still recovering, her hormones are off the charts, and there’s a good chance her mental health is taking a hit. Be there for them and say "I understand" more and "not uh" less.
Master microworkouts. Squeezing in a workout falls in the “luxury” column at this point. It got bumped down on that priority list but it doesn’t mean you can’t still stay fit. A kettlebell, pull bar, and resistance bands go a long way. See this article from Mark’s Daily Apple on how to use them to your advantage.
Recommendations
Article:
Why You Probably Shouldn’t Break a Fever (MindBodyDad)
Podcast episode:
The Economist's Guide to Parenting (Freakonomics)
Book:
New Baby Dad Hacks: A Contemporary Guide For Dads, Strategies For The 1st Year That Every First Time Father Needs by William Harding
Enjoy your 1-month-old, celebrate the milestones, and remember that you’ve got it good.
Got any suggestions that worked for you and your baby at this age? Leave them in the comment section.