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11 Week Old Baby: Settling In and Nearing 3 Months

Medically reviewed by

Karina Sánchez Mercado, MD Aug 19, 2026

Quick Facts

عمر	11 weeks (approximately 2.5 months)
Length	~53–65 cm (WHO range, 2–3 months)
Weight	~3.8–7.9 kg (WHO range, 2–3 months)
Daily Sleep	~14–17 hours (in stretches of 3–4 hours)
Feedings per Day	Feed on cue (8+ times a day)
Formula Amount	On cue — follow your formula’s feeding chart

Length and weight are the WHO 3rd–97th percentile range (both sexes) from the WHO Growth Charts for Canada. Your provider tracks your baby’s own growth on these charts.

Key Takeaways

Nearing the 3-month milestones. An 11 week old baby smiles more freely, follows your face and objects, and holds the head steadier — the milestones the Canadian Paediatric Society expects by the end of 3 months.

Crying is usually easing. The normal peak crying period runs about 3 to 12 weeks, per the Canadian Paediatric Society, and usually settles by 3 to 4 months.

Feed on cue. An 11 week old feeds on demand; feeds may space out a little, but follow your baby rather than a clock.

Your Baby at 11 Weeks Old

An 11 week old baby is nearing the 3-month milestones — smiling on their own, following faces and objects, and holding the head steadier during tummy time, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society. The normal peak crying period (3 to 12 weeks) is usually easing, and sleep becomes more predictable after 3 months. Feeds run on cue.

Your 11 week old baby is settling into a more sociable, engaged phase. The hardest of the crying weeks are usually behind you, the smiles come freely, and there’s real back-and-forth by the day.

This guide covers what to expect this week: the milestones coming into view, feeding and sleep, and how to make the most of your baby’s longer, brighter awake windows.

11 Week Old Baby Development: Milestones & Growth

At 11 weeks old, most babies are close to the 3-month milestones — steadier head control, smoother tracking and more social smiling.

Physical Development

An 11 week old baby has steadier head control and is building strength through daily, supervised tummy time — which the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends while your baby is awake, to strengthen the neck and upper-body muscles. By the end of 3 months, most infants can raise the head and chest when lying on their stomach.

Vision & Tracking

An 11 week old baby follows your face and slow-moving objects more smoothly. By the end of 3 months, the Canadian Paediatric Society notes, most infants watch faces closely and follow moving objects.

Social & Communication

An 11 week old baby is more social and expressive. The Canadian Paediatric Society notes that healthy babies coo and make other noises to communicate, and lists smiling “on their own and when you smile” among milestones most infants reach by the end of 3 months. Answering your baby’s coos and smiles builds early language and connection.

Your Life This Week: The Parent Experience

Eleven weeks in, life often feels a touch steadier — the intense crying is easing, smiles are frequent, and you may be reading your baby’s cues with more confidence. It’s still tiring, but the rewards land more often now.

Use your baby’s brighter awake windows for connection and their sleepy stretches for your own rest. Keep leaning on help where you can.

The “baby blues” affect up to 80% of new mothers and usually ease within a few weeks, the Canadian Paediatric Society notes. If low mood, anxiety or a sense of disconnection lingers or feels heavier than that, it may be postpartum depression, which affects about 13% of new mothers, and as many as 10% of fathers. It is treatable — please tell your doctor or public health nurse.

What to Do This Week

DEVELOPMENT & PLAY

Make time for face-to-face “chats” during alert windows — smile, talk, pause, and let your baby coo back.
Aim for 15–30 minutes of supervised tummy time across the day, in short sessions while your baby is awake — a few minutes after each diaper change adds up quickly.
Move your face or a toy slowly so your baby can practise following it — high-contrast black and white still works, and bright primary colours are starting to land as colour vision sharpens.

ROUTINES & SLEEP

Watch for tired cues after alert windows and settle your baby before overtiredness sets in.
Keep days bright and sociable and nights calm and dim, avoiding stimulation during night feeds.
Practise safe sleep every time: on the back, on a firm flat surface, in their own sleep space, with no loose bedding.
Keep the sleep space completely bare — no bumper pads, sleep positioners, pillows, or infant loungers and sleep nests. These are sold widely, but they pose a suffocation risk and Health Canada advises against them.
Dress your baby in light sleep clothing and keep the room at a temperature that’s comfortable for a lightly dressed adult. Overheating is a known risk factor for SIDS.

HEALTH

Your baby’s 2-month immunizations are due around now, and may already be done. If the appointment slipped, book it — a delayed schedule is resumed, not restarted.
No routine visit is usually due this exact week — the next well-baby visit is usually around 4 months. Timing varies by province and territory.
Breastfed babies need a daily 400 IU vitamin D supplement, per Health Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society. Combination-fed babies do too — they don’t take enough formula to cover the requirement. Exclusively formula-fed babies usually don’t, since vitamin D is already added to formula.

Feeding Your 11 Week Old Baby

An 11-week-old baby feeds on cue. The Canadian Paediatric Society advises feeding on demand — whenever your baby is hungry. Early cues come before crying: stirring, rooting, lip-smacking, hands to the mouth. Crying is a late cue, and a baby who’s already worked up is harder to settle into a feed.

Feeds may space out a little as your baby feeds more efficiently, but there’s wide variation, so follow your baby rather than a clock. That applies to formula too. Use the package instructions for how to prepare each bottle — the scoop-to-water ratio matters and isn’t something to adjust — but let your baby decide how much to take. Watch for the signs they’re finished: slowing down, turning away, releasing the teat, unclenching their hands. A bottle doesn’t have to be emptied.

The CPS signs of feeding well still apply: six or more wet diapers a day, a content baby, and steady weight gain.

Any lingering evening fussiness is usually the tail end of the normal peak crying period, which the Canadian Paediatric Society places around 3 to 12 weeks and says usually eases by 3 to 4 months. If crying seems unusual, or you’re worried, speak to your provider.

Whether you breastfeed, formula feed or combine the two, your baby’s brain and vision development runs on the right nutrients — DHA, iron and vitamin D among them. If breastfeeding isn’t an option, the Canadian Paediatric Society advises a store-bought, iron-fortified, cow-milk-based infant formula — fortified to provide these — until 9 to 12 months, when whole cow’s milk (3.25% M.F.) can take over, provided your baby is eating iron-rich foods by then.

A note on formula this week. As your baby becomes more interactive, feeds are calm moments to connect. MOF’s organic Stage 1 formulas, such as HiPP Dutch Stage 1, are iron-fortified and suitable from birth through 6 months, providing the DHA, iron and vitamin D your baby needs. Formula is a good choice whenever it’s the right one for your family.

Pure formula. Every stage.

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Sleep at 11 Weeks: What’s Normal & How to Help

An 11 week old baby may sleep as much as 18 hours a day, for 3 to 4 hours at a time, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society — and waking to feed at night is still normal. The CPS notes sleep habits become more predictable sometime after 3 months, so you may be close to seeing longer, more regular stretches.

This is developmentally on track. There’s no need to force settled nights before your baby’s body is ready; the shift tends to come on its own as your baby matures past 3 months.

Keep reinforcing day and night: bright, active days and calm, dim, quiet nights. Put your baby down drowsy but awake when you can — a gentle habit that supports self-settling as sleep organises. Protect your own rest where possible.

Safe sleep reminder: always place your baby on their back for every sleep, on a firm flat mattress with a tightly fitted sheet and no loose, soft items, in a crib, cradle or bassinet in your room for the first 6 months. Car seats, strollers, carriers, bouncers and swings aren’t safe sleep surfaces — if your baby falls asleep in one, move them to their crib, cradle or bassinet as soon as you can. The Canadian Paediatric Society advises this lowers the risk of SIDS.

When to Contact Your Doctor or Public Health Nurse

Seek care right away, or contact your doctor or public health nurse, if you notice:

A fever in a baby less than 3 months old — a rectal temperature of 38°C or higher — the Canadian Paediatric Society advises seeking care right away. Armpit, ear and forehead readings can come in low, so if your baby feels warm and seems unwell but the reading is normal, check again rectally.
Your baby is feeding poorly, producing fewer than 6 wet diapers a day, or isn’t growing as expected.
Any concern about your baby’s development, or your baby doesn’t respond to your face, voice or sound — the Canadian Paediatric Society advises speaking with your doctor.
Crying that is inconsolable, sounds high-pitched or unusual, or comes with vomiting or diarrhea.
Your baby is unusually limp, difficult to rouse, or has fast, laboured or grunting breathing.
Any concern about your baby or your own mental health — that’s what your doctor or public health nurse is for.

أسئلة مكررة

What should an 11 week old baby be doing?

An 11 week old baby is nearing the 3-month milestones the Canadian Paediatric Society describes: raising the head and chest during tummy time, watching faces closely, following moving objects, and smiling on their own and when you smile. Every baby develops at their own pace; raise any concerns — especially if your baby seems behind in more than one area — with your doctor.

How much should an 11 week old baby eat?

An 11 week old baby feeds on cue — the Canadian Paediatric Society advises feeding on demand. Feeds may space out a little as your baby feeds more efficiently, but there’s wide variation. Follow the feeding chart on your formula’s packaging for amounts. Six or more wet diapers a day and steady weight gain show your baby is getting enough.

How long should an 11 week old baby sleep?

An 11 week old baby may sleep as much as 18 hours a day, for 3 to 4 hours at a time, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society, and waking to feed at night is still normal. The CPS notes sleep becomes more predictable sometime after 3 months, so you may soon see longer, more regular stretches emerging. Not in a straight line, though. Around the same age sleep is reorganising itself into more adult-like cycles, and plenty of babies wake more before they wake less. If that happens, nothing has gone backwards.

Is my 11 week old still in the crying “peak”?

Possibly the tail end. The Canadian Paediatric Society places the peak crying period around 3 to 12 weeks and says it usually eases by 3 to 4 months, so an 11 week old is often coming out the other side. Try feeding, holding, a calm dim room and gentle motion. Contact your provider if crying seems unusual or you’re struggling to cope.

When will my baby sleep through the night?

There’s no fixed age. The Canadian Paediatric Society notes sleep becomes more predictable sometime after 3 months, when many babies begin longer overnight stretches — but night waking to feed is normal for months, and every baby differs. Putting your baby down drowsy but awake, and keeping nights calm and dim, gently supports self-settling as sleep matures.

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