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Day 71 of 120 · Week 10

Ten weeks

Last reviewed · 4 min read · 10 sources · Plain-text version

Ten weeks old: how fast your baby is growing, the soft spot at the back closing, and a two-minute head-shape check to do while the hair is still wet from the bath.

A Latina mother wraps her ten-week-old in a hooded towel on the bathroom counter after a bath, the baby's wet hair slicked flat, her own mother holding a corner of the towel, warm evening light.

Ten weeks. Your baby is heavier in your arms than they were at the 2-month visit, and today is a good day to look closely at the head that's doing a lot of that growing.

Heart

The numbers behind the heavy arms: from 1 to 4 months, babies typically gain 1.5 to 2 pounds and grow 1 to 1.5 inches a month, and head size grows about half an inch a month (AAP). The soft spots were still open and flat at 2 months; by 3 months, the one at the back should be closed (AAP). The diamond-shaped one on top usually closes between 12 and 18 months, and gently touching it is safe (AAP).

Head

Flattening most often develops in the first 4 to 12 weeks, which makes this the month to look. After a bath, when the hair is wet, check that the back of the head is evenly round, the ears line up, and the forehead looks balanced (AAP). About 85% of babies with torticollis, tight neck muscles, also have a flat spot, so notice too whether your baby always turns the same way (AAP). Skip "head-shaping" pillows: they can create a suffocation risk, and the FDA says there's no evidence they work (AAP).

If you find something, the tools now are tummy time and position changes. Helmets, if ever, are a later question, for moderate or severe flattening that hasn't responded to other treatment by 5 or 6 months (AAP).

Body

For a baby with a flat spot, the AAP suggests working up to an hour of tummy time a day in short sessions (AAP); for everyone else, WHO's floor is at least 30 minutes a day, spread out, while awake (WHO). For a head that always tilts one way, your pediatrician can show you gentle neck stretches; early treatment usually works and can prevent lasting unevenness (AAP).

Try today

  1. The mother sits on the closed toilet lid with the towel-wrapped baby facing away on her lap, looking down at the back of the baby's wet head while the grandmother leans in to see.

    The wet-hair head check

    Time: 2 minutes, right after a bath · Head shape and neck check-ins in the guide

    1. While the hair is still wet, sit your baby on your lap facing away from you and look down at the back of the head: is it evenly round (AAP)?

    2. Turn them to face you: do the ears line up, and does the forehead look balanced (AAP)?

    3. Over the rest of the day, notice which way they rest their head, and whether it's always the same side (AAP).

    4. Write down what you saw, and bring the note to the 4-month checkup.

    Make it work:

    Looking is the whole job today. The fix for a mild flat spot at this age is more floor time and more position changes, not a pillow (AAP).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a soft spot on top that looks flat or a little sunken and may pulse with each heartbeat.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    for a soft spot that bulges, or one that's deeply sunken in a baby who isn't acting well (AAP).

  • Normal

    a slightly flatter patch on one side, or a favorite way to turn.

    Bring it up, don't wait,

    if your baby always tilts their head one way or has a flat spot (AAP).

  • Normal

    crying through the bath and stopping in the towel.

    Call 911

    if your baby is struggling for each breath or has bluish lips or face (AAP).

For you

The mother at the kitchen table at night with a phone to her ear and a paper calendar open in front of her, the baby asleep on their back in a bare bassinet beside her.

Ten weeks of you. If your own postpartum visit hasn't happened, the deadline is close: ACOG recommends a full visit no later than 12 weeks after birth, covering mood, sleep, recovery, contraception, and chronic conditions (ACOG, 2018). That's two weeks from today. Book it.

Two things that don't wait for it. Overwhelming tiredness, or a headache that won't go away or gets worse, are on the CDC's list of urgent maternal warning signs; seek care immediately (CDC). And if sadness has lasted more than two weeks, go to the doctor now, not at the visit (OWH).

If you're the partner: make the call while she does the bath. Read her the dates, and put the appointment on the calendar you both can see.

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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