Your baby at twenty-two weeks.

Solids are nearly here for most families. Watch for the three readiness signs as six months approaches. Here is what is normal.

Feeding

As you near six months, the green lights for solids are: sitting with minimal support and steady head control, loss of the tongue-thrust reflex, and clear interest in food. Keep milk, breast or formula, as the main nutrition; early food is about exploration, not calories. When you start, introduce common allergens one at a time and a few days apart, smooth peanut (thinned), cooked egg, dairy in food, wheat, soy and fish, so the body meets them early, and offer water in an open or straw cup at meals.

Sleep

Sleep often wobbles around a developmental leap, a pattern that repeats throughout the first two years. Hold your routine steady and it settles as the new skill consolidates.

Diapers

Steady output; expect stools to change in color and smell once solids begin.

Growth

Hand control is improving toward a whole-hand (palmar) grasp, which refines into a thumb-and-finger pincer grasp nearer nine to ten months. Object permanence is sharper, your baby searches for a toy hidden under a cloth and is endlessly entertained by peek-a-boo.

This week's leap

Active searching for hidden toys, deliberate grasping, and growing intent to communicate. Get the high chair (with footrest and harness), bibs and bowls ready, and plan to offer one new food at a time.

From three months, 101.3°F (38.5°C) or above warrants assessment; ear-infection signs include fever, pulling at the ear, and disrupted sleep. During allergen introduction, hives, facial swelling, vomiting within two hours, or any breathing difficulty needs urgent help, and you should call emergency services for signs of anaphylaxis. If your baby has eczema, a previous reaction, or a close relative with a food allergy, agree an allergen plan with your doctor first. None of this is medical advice; every baby is different, and your midwife, health visitor or doctor is the person to ask about your own child.

The calm way to follow all of this is to log it in one tap as it happens, then read the pattern over a few days rather than carrying it in your head. Little Bean shows this same week-by-week guidance inside the app, beside your own baby's log.

Quick answers: 22 weeks

How often should a 22-week-old eat?

Most babies this age take 5 to 7 milk feeds in 24 hours. Feed on demand rather than by the clock; steady weight gain and enough wet diapers are the real signs intake is fine.

How much sleep does a 22-week-old need?

Roughly 14 to 15 hours across day and night. 3 naps, wake windows of 2 to 2.5 hours. The range is wide, so treat these as averages rather than targets.

What are typical wake windows at 22 weeks?

3 naps, wake windows of 2 to 2.5 hours. An overtired baby fights sleep harder, so watch the clock and the tired signs together.

Milestone reference: CDC developmental milestones, 6 months checklist.

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