While every baby grows and develops at a slightly different rate, there are well-documented average baby development milestones. Most babies will fall within these ranges along a well-defined timeline. Ensuring that your baby receives adequate nutrition and care throughout these stages can go a long way towards keeping them growing within these normal parameters.
To put your mind at ease regarding your baby’s development, it is important to familiarise yourself with these milestones. Being sure that your baby is coming along nicely can reassure you that you are doing a great job as a new parent. Verifying with your doctor that these milestones are being met is also important for ensuring the future health of your child.
To this end, let’s look at a quick overview of the standard baby development milestones.
At One Month
Babies who have reached the one-month point display similar behavioral and motor skills across the board. If they are growing properly, they will make shaky arm movements and be able to bring their hands to their face. They will be able to move their head weakly from side to side while lying down.
In terms of cognitive development, babies will noticeably prefer human faces to other shapes. Even at the one-month stage, babies can hear quite well and begin to recognize their parents’ voices.
At Three Months
Three months of age is a big stepping stone for a new baby. Now, they may be able to more proficiently move their upper body while lying down and kick their legs while lying on their backs. They can now bring their hands to their mouths and open and close their fingers.
Cognitively, babies now reconnize people more easily and some can begin to make sounds from their mouth. They may start to enjoy playing with their caregivers and may even begin to cry when this play stops.
At Six Months
After six months of growth, babies are getting bigger. It is a big deal when your child sits up for the first time and now is when you may begin to see just that. Coordination is beginning to improve. At six months, your child may be able to transfer an object from one hand to the other. Most babies can also roll at this time and a few may even start crawling.
Interpersonal skills are also rapidly catching up. Babies can respond to their own name at six months and may become increasingly vocal themselves with sounds, not words. This is a time when games like peek-a-boo may be fun for your child.
From Six Months To First Birthday
The next six months of your child’s development are filled with many developments and changes. These include the first vocalizations of “dada” and “mama” as well as more imitation abilities with regards to watching and coordinating when seeing others. Other sounds but not quite words might now be noticed.
By one year, many babies can take a few steps and can even understand basic instructions. Expect lots of hand gestures and even pointing at distinct objects. Your child may even be able to drink from a cup at this time, but that is not common.
Time Goes By So Quickly
In the first year of your baby’s life, they will grow very rapidly and undergo many changes. Whether or not you have more children, the baby years are highly memorable, usually in a good way, for new parents. Be sure to enjoy these moments with your child and take the time to provide the care and nurturing that makes for healthy infant growth and development.
