Your 3-Month-Old Baby: Discovering Hands, Laughing and Finding a Rhythm

Lying on their back, baby lifts a hand in front of their face and stares at it for a long time, like an unknown object. It disappears, comes back, ends up in the mouth. For a 3-month-old baby, their own fingers are the great discovery of the moment. A few days later, a funny face from you makes them chuckle.

The US CDC publishes its milestones at 2 and then 4 months. At 3 months, your baby sits somewhere between the two, at their own pace. The smiles of the second month are still there; this month, the hands step onto the stage.

Hands: baby's first toy

Between 2 and 4 months, baby plays with their hands when lying on their back and grips a rattle slipped into their palm, without yet reaching for it themselves, describes the Quebec public health institute (INSPQ). The CDC counts among the 4-month milestones looking at their hands with interest, bringing them to the mouth, holding a toy placed in the hand and swinging an arm towards what attracts them.

So their hands spend a lot of time in their mouth. It is their way of exploring: at this age, everything goes in the mouth (INSPQ). The UK's NHS specifies that chewing on fists is normal and does not necessarily mean baby is hungry.

To help, the American paediatricians of the AAP recommend sturdy rattles, see-through rattles, cloth books with bright pictures and toys with varied textures. Choose light rattles that are easy to grip: baby must be able to hold them alone.

From the shop

Toys to grab for hands that are opening up

Light rattles with a slim handle, two soft chew toys, an arch to aim at and grab, a mat for floor play: a selection at various prices, suited to a 3-month-old.

• ChiccoColourful keys rattle, from 3 months – Chicco140 DHView product
• −48 %ChiccoDiego Dino Arthur activity toy, from 3 months – Chicco94 DHinstead of 180 DHView product
• −48 %ChiccoDaisy Ninon the Butterfly activity toy, 3-24 months – Chicco94 DHinstead of 180 DHView product
• −48 %Pasito a PasitoOxford heart rattle, grey – Pasito a Pasito130 DHinstead of 250 DHView product
• −11 %BadabulleSafari universal activity arch – Badabulle319 DHinstead of 360 DHView product
• −48 %ChiccoMove’n Grow XXL forest activity gym – Chicco234 DHinstead of 450 DHView product
• The whole aisle · Baby activity toys21 products online, delivered anywhere in Morocco.Open the aisle

Products sold by La Maison du Bébé, publisher of this magazine. Prices as of 12 October 2026; please check the product page.

The first chuckles

Laughter arrives in stages. According to the CDC, at 4 months most babies chuckle when you try to make them laugh, without yet bursting out laughing, and smile on their own to get your attention. Around 3 months, notes the INSPQ, baby also recognises familiar faces better.

A few games drawn from CDC advice: slowly move a colourful toy from left to right, then up and down, while baby lies on their back, to see whether they follow it; sing while gently moving their arms and legs for a few minutes; play peek-a-boo and watch for smiles. Songs from your own home do the job perfectly, and our selection of songs and nursery rhymes, from French to darija offers several.

A steadier head, forearms that push

By 4 months, the CDC expects a head held upright when baby is carried and support on the elbows or forearms on the tummy. At 3 months, baby is on the way. On the back, baby moves the legs and plays with the hands (INSPQ).

What helps most is the floor: a firm mat, on the back then on the tummy, several times a day. The CDC advises giving baby plenty of time every day to move, on the floor or on a play mat, and avoiding long periods in a swing, pushchair or bouncer. Our article on free movement explains this approach, and our guide to bouncers and swings helps you use them well.

Days take shape, nights are still short

According to Naître et grandir, most babies aged 3 to 6 months take three naps, in the morning, afternoon and late in the day, for 12 to 15 hours of sleep per 24 hours. They still need to feed at night. Their sleep cycles lengthen a little: 60 to 75 minutes, against 50 to 60 in a newborn.

Your best guide remains baby's tired signs, detailed by Naître et grandir: yawning, rubbing eyes, losing interest in toys, wanting to be held, a drooping head, fussiness. Our article on baby naps follows their evolution month by month.

Who feeds baby when you are not there?

Mealtimes do not change: milk, and only milk. The CDC does not budge: nothing else until about 6 months, not even water. What often changes at this age is who gives it. If you have gone back to work, a grandmother, a nanny or the nursery takes over. Pass on baby's habits and hunger signs: at 4 months, according to the CDC, a hungry baby opens their mouth on seeing the breast or bottle. Warn them also that baby sucks their fists without necessarily asking for food. To choose childcare, see nanny or nursery: the criteria to decide.

The car seat is neither a bed nor a piece of furniture

With outings and trips to see family, the infant car seat quickly becomes baby's second bed. It is not one. If baby falls asleep in the car seat, a swing or the pushchair, the AAP recommends moving them as soon as possible to a flat, firm surface, on the back. And outside the car, the seat goes flat on the floor, reminds the CISSS de l'Outaouais in Quebec: never on a table, counter or sofa bench from which it could tip over.

Follow-up this quarter

Vaccination appointments continue, and the health record remains your thread: see our vaccination schedule in Morocco for the dates. Note down your questions as the days go by, about naps, feeds or crying. If something worries you between visits, the CDC is clear: do not wait. Next month, it is all about grabbing hands and first rolls, with your 4-month-old.