The first two months of your
baby's life are the time of her
adjustment in the new environment.
She will learn new sounds and get
comfortable in her surroundings.
This period is also the time for new
parents to get to know their
newborn.
From the very first days, your
newborn knows how to communicate
with you with her bodily movements,
facial expressions, and sounds.
Observe and listen to her carefully,
and in a very short time you'll be
able to distinguish a hungry, tired
or bored cry. Also, you'll know when
your baby needs a break from what
she is doing, as she will look away,
arch her back, frown, or cry.
In the first couple of months of
life, mutual gaze is a powerful form
of socialization. Let you baby watch
your face and exchange looks. Show
your infant a colorful toy and
slowly move it from side to side to
allow her to look after the toy.
Interaction with you baby will
strengthen your bond, as well as
help strengthen the eye muscles.
Studies show that reading to you
infant from a very young age allows
for early acquisition of language
skills. Therefore, spend a few
minutes every day reading to your
baby. You can also talk to her about
your day and sing, as it's a good
family time and above all, your
child will love to listen to your
voice!
At 1-2 weeks of age, your baby
should respond to noise, look at
your face, and try to lift head when
placed on the belly.
At 2 months of age, your baby
should make baby sounds, smile back
at you, follow people with her eyes,
hold head up 45 degrees when placed
on the belly
To enhance your baby's
development at this time you can
read daily to your baby, observe to
learn your baby's needs, and respond
to cries as it teaches your baby
trust and that she is loved.
Age 2-6 months
Infants between 2 and 6 months of
age are very interactive. They love
to imitate what helps them learn new
skills. For example, if mom sticks
her tongue out, the baby usually
does the same. This game teaches the
infant the art of communication.
Babies this age love to discover
their voices, so you may hear your
baby coo or babble frequently. As
she coos and babbles, talk and
babble back to her, as if you both
understand each other very well.
This exercise also teaches your baby
how to communicate, and at the same
time lays groundwork for developing
extensive vocabulary later on.
At about 3-4 months f age, babies
start to laugh out loud, they can
sit with support, and grasp a
rattle. Soon, at about 6 months of
age, they'll be reaching out for
objects. Since infants learn by
looking at things, holding them, and
putting them into their mouths, keep
all small objects out of your baby's
reach. It's good to remember the
toilet paper roll rule: anything
that goes through it, including
plastic bags and deflated balloons,
is too small for children younger
than 3 years.
Closer to 5-6 months, babies
start to have a better control over
their bodies. They will be able to
roll over, pull up to sit without a
head lag, and transfer objects from
hand to hand.
At 4 months of age, your baby
should roll over, sit with support
(with a steady head), grasps a
rattle, laugh out loud, hold head up
90 degrees when placed on the belly,
look around 180 degrees.
At 6 months of age, your baby
should reach for objects, transfer
objects form hand to hand, bear
weight on legs when standing up with
support.
To enhance your baby's
development, you can talk and babble
with your baby back and forth, read
daily, lay baby on back and hold
brightly colored toy over her chest
to promote reaching, and introduce
one toy at the time to allow for
exploration.
6-9 months
Babies between 6 and 9 months of
age are communicators. They start to
imitate speech sounds such as
"ma-ma", "ba-ba", and "da-da". Often
the first sounds are "ba-ba" or "da-da",
because the "m" being a nasal sound
is more difficult to produce. At
this age, the infant learns how to
play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake, and
how to wave "bye-bye". She may also
get upset and cry if left alone, as
she may start to understand that you
still exist after you leave the
room. Also, at about 8-9 months of
age infants become aware that all
people are not the same, and they
may start to experience "stranger
anxiety" when approached or picked
up by somebody other than the
caretaker. Babies start to realize
that their relationships with
caretakers are special and they
become selective about who they will
let to pick them up. Stranger
anxiety peaks between 12-15 months
of age, and then gradually decreases
in severity.
At this time of development,
motor skills of infants are
advancing by leaps and bounds. They
can pull themselves up to stand,
cruise around furniture, and crawl.
Remember that prevention is the best
medicine, and create a safe
environment for exploration and
learning. Block off stairways with
baby gates. Also, hopefully by now
you have installed latches on
cabinets and all chemicals, such as
cleaning supplies and laundry soap
are placed high up, out of your
baby's reach. Should your baby
accidentally ingest anything
potentially poisonous, call the
Poison Control Center right away at
1-800-222-1222. Currently, it is not
recommended to induce vomiting with
syrup of Ipecac, unless so
instructed by the Poison Control
Center.
At 9 months of age, your infant
should be able to get to sitting,
pull self to stand, cruise around
furniture, crawl, imitate speech
sounds, and play peek-a-boo and
pat-a-cake.
Things to do to enhance your
baby's development at this age
include: reading daily, creating
safe environment for exploring and
learning: baby gates, latches on
cabinets, plugs in outlets,
chemicals placed out of reach, and
providing a variety of toys for
exploration and experimentation. To
ease stranger anxiety: ask relatives
and friends to approach your child
slowly, talk in a soft voice, and
avoid direct eye contact to let your
child warm up. To prevent stranger
anxiety, introduce your baby to
other people at a very early age.
9-12 months
At this age your child's
development excels. She might have
already started to walk
independently and "get into things".
This curiosity and drive for
exploration and discovery are
natural ways of learning. Provide
your child with a safe environment
to build self-esteem and new skills.
Repeating tasks over and over again
lets your child learn how things
work.
Between 9 and 12 months, your
child attains new memory skills. She
knows that you exist after leaving
the room. This new skill may create
difficulties such as "separation
anxiety". One variation of
separation anxiety is bedtime
resistance. Your child may protest
at bedtime and cry for you in the
middle of the night. To ease your
child's transition form daily
activities to bedtime offer her a
transition object, such as a baby
blanket or a soft toy.
At 12 months of age, your infant
should play pat-a-cake, walk well,
drink from sippy cup, say mama,
dada. She should be able to pick up
cheerio with a thumb and index
finger (pincer grasp) and try to use
a spoon.
To enhance your baby's
development at this age, read daily,
provide safe environment for
exploration and learning, set water
heater to <120 F to prevent
accidental burns, and wean off
bottle and pacifier.
DEVELOPMENTAL RED FLAGS
Sometimes infants do not learn
certain skills by an expected age.
When you notice such a delay,
consult with your health care
provider as soon as possible.
- Rolling over before 3 months of
age
- Failure to respond to noise
- Head lags behind when pulled to
sit after 4 months
- Failure to reach for objects by 5
months
- Inability to sit tripod by 6
months
- Absent smile by 4-6 months
- Absent babbling by 6 months
- Absent stranger anxiety by 7
months
- No back and forth sharing of
sounds or smiles by 9 months
- Lack of tool use (spoon or crayon)
by 12 months
