41 Week Old Baby Development

Learn everything you need to know about your 41 week old baby. Track important developments and milestones such as talking, walking, growth, memory & more.

By Parents Editors

Published on June 14, 2017

baby girl at home — Photo: Getty Images/ PeopleImages

Your Growing Baby

Gaining Strength

By this week, pulling up might be a piece of cake for your baby—and if you hold both of her hands for balance, she'll probably go for a stroll with you. She's able to sit down from a standing position with some grace, rather than just plopping painfully down on her bottom. Even more adorable, kids this age love to sway, bop, and hum to music, creating their own funny way of dancing along. Dancing helps strengthen your baby's leg muscles and perfect her sense of balance, so put some tunes on, stand her up, and let her boogie.

As your baby plays, it's obvious how curious she's become. It might seem like she's getting into everything these days—opening drawers and dumping out all their contents or reaching her hand down to see how steep the step from your kitchen to your living room is. Don't be surprised if you leave the room for two seconds and come back to find that your little tike has opened the entertainment center doors and pulled out every DVD you own. She might also like to experiment with climbing in and out of kiddie-size chairs, and because she's not great at judging sizes, you might catch her trying to hop onto a dollhouse-size chair. At this age, get ready to do a lot of chasing around and redirecting when she inevitably does something she shouldn't.

Health and Safety Info

Day Care 101

If your child's been in day care for a while, now's a good time to reassess the situation and make sure you're still satisfied. Here are some key attributes of a good program:

The teachers (or caregivers) are interested in your insights about your child and are enthusiastic about each child in their care.
They're communicative, take time to let you know how each day went, and discuss any issues that come up.
They treat your baby like an individual, observing her unique behavior and responding to it in a way that works with her personality, rather than trying to apply the same cookie-cutter rules to every kid in the room.
They set reasonable limits and are consistent in applying them.
They are focused on the children—not on gabbing with their peers, watching TV, or chatting on the phone.
They are warm and loving.
They know enough about child development to really help your baby build her language and physical skills.
They encourage you to call or pop in whenever you like.

Thinking about making a change? Don't let worries about losing your routine prevent you from switching to a better situation. Though she'll certainly need some time to adjust to a new face or place, most babies have a short memory, so they're ultimately very accepting of change. You're best off going with your gut and leaving your baby in the hands of people you trust, like, and generally just feel happy about.

Must-Knows

The Importance of Storytime

You know how important reading to your baby is. Cuddling together over a good book provides wonderful mother-baby bonding time, and hearing a story and examining pictures boosts verbal skills, vocabulary, and brain development. But you might feel frustrated that your active little one won't sit still through a whole book anymore, preferring to wriggle away and be back on her feet after three pages.

Don't worry, it's not attention defecit disorder. Many kids this age, especially those focused on the physical arts of crawling, cruising, and walking, have a hard time sitting still for more than a minute or two. A few ideas to save storytime:

Read together when your baby's in a mellower mood, such as right before a nap or bedtime.
Go for colorful picture books, which are engaging for babies, and make an effort to talk beyond the text by identifying and describing what she's looking at ("See the bunny! Look at his big ears!").
Keep the books short—no longer than a couple of minutes apiece. Ten-month-olds are less interested in plot lines than they are in the sound of the words and the pops of color in the pictures on the page.
Fill easy-to-reach baskets with board books. When books are as readily available as toys, she'll come to see books as fun. She'll also learn how to handle a book by flipping pages. But even if she simply gnaws on "Green Eggs and Ham," she'll know that books are regular—and wonderful—parts of life.