22 Week Old Baby Development

Learn everything you need to know about your 22 week old baby. Track important developments and milestones such as talking, walking, growth, memory & more.

Published on June 12, 2017

young baby eating solid food in highchair

Your Growing Baby

Growing Curiosity

Your super smart baby loves testing out new perspectives now—arching his back to look at the world upside down or flopping over to see things sideways. He also loves to explore the relationship between cause and effect. Case in point: When he drops a rattle it tumbles to the floor every single time. Of course, that means you might find yourself fetching dropped toys every two minutes these days. As maddening as it can be for you to recover a rattle only to have it immediately thrown down again, it's actually a perfect science experiment for your 5-month-old learner, who notices whether things fall the same way or make the same noise. He even gauges the different reactions he gets from you (such as pleasure, then exasperation, then resignation). Make life a little easier for yourself by investing in toys that will suction to his high chair tray, or buy a set of interlocking plastic rings that can clip onto a rattle. That will teach your baby a new physical skill: hoisting his own toys back into reach.

The tossing game also evidences some other learning at work: Your little one can remember things. Although some researchers believe a baby's memory resets after just a few seconds, you'll see that your child learns from the repetition of his own experiences—for instance, anticipating that Dad is about to walk in the door when he hears the key rattle in the lock.

Health and Safety Info

Keeping Him Safe

Your baby's desire to move around far outweighs his judgment at this point, which means he won't hesitate to try to wiggle off the couch if given the chance. So you'll need to start teaching him what's safe and what's not. For baby's first 6 months, the best way to curtail his daredevil ways is by distracting him from a potential danger zone with something else, such as a toy, a song, or a trip to the window to see what's happening outside. Although babies this age are starting to learn from their experience and beginning to have a basic understanding of cause and effect, they might be too interested in something exciting—and too immature to weigh negative outcomes—to stop themselves from doing something that could hurt, so you'll have to protect them from safety hazards.

Teaching Baby "No"

Once your baby is closer to 9 months, he'll develop a basic understanding of the word "No." That's when you can start setting stricter limits and enforcing rules, by prying his hands from the dog's tail and calmly saying, "No pulling," for example. For now, too much of the word "No" will be meaningless or even comic to your baby, so opt for other strategies to keep him out of harm's way.

Must-Knows

Baby Bonding Time

Your baby obviously loves to hang out with you—see how she smiles, giggles, and gurgles when you're around?—and that may convince you that the best thing for your baby is your nonstop presence. Think again. Even the most adoring babies need a little alone time now and then, particularly after an extended bout of dancing or singing "Ring Around the Rosy" with you. All that constant stimulation and interaction can be overwhelming, so watch for clues that she needs a break, like looking away from you, bringing her hand up to her ear, arching her back, or stiffening her body. They're your baby's way of saying, it's all too much. When that happens, put her down for a nap, or simply go for some mutual down time. Your baby can relax on a blanket and watch a ceiling fan go round, while you catch up on e-mails or the latest magazine.

Then there are the times when you're the one in need of some quiet time. That's precisely when a good bouncy seat, doorway jumper, swing, or highchair come in handy. With a favorite toy to clutch and gnaw, your baby will be safe and well entertained—and you'll have ten minutes to take a mini-break during the day. No guilt required.