Chorevia

Day 58 of 60 · Week 8

Footprints

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 14 sources · Plain-text version

Two months of growth in numbers, what the 2-month visit measures, and a footprint keepsake to make today while the feet are this small.

A white mother holds her two-month-old on her lap at a kitchen table while the Black father presses the baby's inked foot onto a white card, morning light, wipes ready.

Two months of growing. Today is a keepsake day, with a few honest numbers first, so you know what the feet you're about to print have been up to.

Heart

Your baby is gaining fast: babies typically gain 1.5 to 2 pounds a month now (AAP). Most were back to birth weight by about 2 weeks, almost all by 3, and after that the average baby gains almost an ounce a day (AAP). Those ounces came from you, feed after feed, at every hour.

Head

The official record is your pediatrician's chart. The 2-month visit starts with measurements (AAP), and weight checks at each visit show whether intake is on track (AAP). Write the weight and length from that visit next to today's print. Every baby is different; the chart is a trend, not a grade.

Body

The newborn toolkit is changing under your hands. The Moro startle and the stepping reflex fade around 2 months; the grasp reflex stays until around 5 to 6 months (AAP). Hands open briefly now (CDC). The feet aren't on any milestone list yet, which is exactly why they make a good print.

Try today

  1. Close on the finished card with two small blue footprints and a handwritten date, a wiped baby foot in the father's hand beside it.

    Footprints for the baby book

    Time: 10 minutes, with a second adult if you can · What's developing in the guide

    1. Set out washable, non-toxic ink or paint, a stiff card, wipes, and a towel, all within reach before you pick up your baby.

    2. Hold your baby on your lap, or have the second adult hold them, and press one foot onto the ink, then onto the card, heel first.

    3. Wipe the foot clean right away, before it heads for the mouth.

    4. Write the date, the age in weeks, and the latest weight beside the prints.

    Make it work:

    Keep ink away from hands and face, and stop when they fuss. If your baby gets sleepy, they go on their back in their own sleep space (AAP).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a feed that ends early when they get fidgety or distracted (AAP).

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if your baby takes very little or nothing for more than 8 hours, or 8 hours pass with no wet diaper (AAP).

  • Normal

    easy spit-up with a burp.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if spit-up turns forceful or projectile, or there's real vomiting, 2 or more times (AAP; AAP).

  • Normal

    several days between poops in a breastfed baby after the first month (AAP).

    Go to the ER now

    if your baby vomits green, even once (AAP).

For you

The father photographs the mother on the sofa holding the baby upright on her shoulder, both of them smiling at him, tired and unposed.

The photo of you, too. Baby books fill up with the baby, and the person who did the work is behind the camera. Hand the phone over today and be in one picture, tired and real, with this week's hair. In a year it will be the one you look at.

Your own body is still in the record. If bleeding has returned after stopping for more than a few days, or discharge is getting heavier or smells foul, call (MedlinePlus). If a C-section incision shows redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, or opening, call (MedlinePlus).

If you're the partner: you take the photo, and you make sure she's in it. Then one of the two of you together.

Sources

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.

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