# Day 29: What's changed

> What has already changed in four weeks of feeding, weight, crying, and awake time, and where month two is headed.

- Series: Your first month, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/first-month), day 29 of 120, one month
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/first-month/day-29
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-18
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 29: What's changed." Last reviewed October 18, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/first-month/day-29

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

It's hard to see change from inside it. Today is a look back at what has shifted since day one, and a glance at what's next.

## Heart

Four weeks of answering. Every time your baby cooed, cried, or stared and you answered with eye contact, words, or a hug, that exchange helped build neural connections ([Harvard Center on the Developing Child](https://developingchild.harvard.edu/key-concept/serve-and-return/)). In the first few years of life, more than 1 million new neural connections form every second ([Harvard Center on the Developing Child](https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/InBrief-The-Science-of-Early-Childhood-Development2.pdf)). You've been the main input the whole time.

## Head

What's changed, by the numbers. In week one, formula-fed babies took about 1 to 2 ounces per feed; by the end of the month they're working up to 3 to 4 ounces every 3 to 4 hours ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/amount-and-schedule-of-formula-feedings.aspx)). Breastfed babies still usually feed 8 to 12 times in 24 hours ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/breastfeeding/Pages/How-Often-to-Breastfeed.aspx)). Weight went down, then came back, and now the average baby gains almost an ounce a day ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/First-Month-Physical-Appearance-and-Growth.aspx)).

What hasn't changed yet: sleep is still about 16 to 17 hours a day in 1- or 2-hour stretches, with no regular cycles until about 4 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/getting-your-baby-to-sleep.aspx)). Crying holds at about 2 hours a day on average for the first 6 weeks, then drops to about 1 hour a day by 10 to 12 weeks ([Wolke et al., 2017](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28385295/)). You're most of the way through the loud part.

## Body

A growth spurt window is open now, at 3 to 6 weeks, which can mean extra-hungry days ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/First-Month-Physical-Appearance-and-Growth.aspx)). Tummy time keeps building toward 15 to 30 minutes a day in total by 7 weeks ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/back-to-sleep-tummy-to-play.aspx)). Coming in month two: social smiles ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Emotional-and-Social-Development-Birth-to-3-Months.aspx)), and the Moro and stepping reflexes fade around 2 months ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/newborn-reflexes.aspx)). The next guide, [1 month](https://chorevia.com/learn/1-month), picks up there.

## Try today

### Read your favorite aloud

- **Time:** A few minutes
- **From the guide:** [Read anything aloud](https://chorevia.com/learn/newborn#read-anything-aloud)

1. Pick the book you'd be reading anyway, not a baby book.
2. Settle somewhere quiet with your baby in your arms.
3. Read a few pages slowly, with expression.
4. Stop when they fuss or turn away, and keep your place for tomorrow.

**Make it work:** The AAP recommends shared reading beginning at birth, based on research with young children ([Klass et al., 2024](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39342414/)). Your baby won't follow the plot. You will, which is the point.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a few days of feeding much more often during a growth spurt. **Call your pediatrician** if your baby is more than a week old and feeding constantly, or if you're worried about latch or milk supply ([Cleveland Clinic](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/cluster-feeding)).
- **Normal:** squeaks, sighs, and irregular breathing with short pauses ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/How-Your-Newborn-Behaves.aspx)). **Call 911** for new grunting, wheezing, or whistling sounds ([Nationwide Children's](https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/health-library/newborn-warning-signs)).
- **Normal:** a faint yellow tint that lingers in a breastfed baby; it can last a month. **Tell your pediatrician** if jaundice lasts past 2 weeks in a formula-fed baby or past 4 weeks in a breastfed one ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/jaundice.aspx)).

## For you

Your own checkup is coming: the postpartum visit is about six weeks after birth ([Office on Women's Health](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)). Book it now if it isn't. Bring a running list, as you do for the baby: bleeding, pain, your incision or stitches, sleep, and how you've been feeling.

Mood doesn't wait for the appointment. If sadness lasts more than two weeks, go to the doctor; don't wait for the postpartum visit ([Office on Women's Health](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)). For anything physical that feels wrong, the CDC's rule is simple: if something just isn't right, or you aren't sure if it's serious, talk to your health care provider, and tell them you were pregnant within the last year ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).

If you're the partner: put the six-week visit on your calendar, and plan to be there or have the baby.

## Sources

- Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. "Serve and Return." https://developingchild.harvard.edu/key-concept/serve-and-return/
- Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. "InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development." https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/InBrief-The-Science-of-Early-Childhood-Development2.pdf
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Amount and Schedule of Baby Formula Feedings." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/amount-and-schedule-of-formula-feedings.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "How Often to Breastfeed." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/breastfeeding/Pages/How-Often-to-Breastfeed.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Your Baby's First Month: Growth & Physical Appearance." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/First-Month-Physical-Appearance-and-Growth.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Getting Your Baby to Sleep." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/getting-your-baby-to-sleep.aspx
- Wolke D, Bilgin A, Samara M. "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Fussing and Crying Durations and Prevalence of Colic in Infants." Journal of Pediatrics, 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28385295/
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Back to Sleep, Tummy to Play." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/back-to-sleep-tummy-to-play.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Emotional and Social Development: Birth to 3 Months." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Emotional-and-Social-Development-Birth-to-3-Months.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Newborn Reflexes." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/newborn-reflexes.aspx
- Klass P, et al. "Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice: Policy Statement." Pediatrics, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39342414/
- Cleveland Clinic. "Cluster Feeding." 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/cluster-feeding
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "How Your Newborn Behaves." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/How-Your-Newborn-Behaves.aspx
- Nationwide Children's Hospital. "Newborn Warning Signs." https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/health-library/newborn-warning-signs
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Jaundice in Newborns." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/jaundice.aspx
- Office on Women's Health. "Recovering from birth." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html