What are the normal baby first-year milestones?
It’s normal as a new mom to worry about your child’s development. As you watch your baby grow and develop from infancy, you can’t help but hope that she/he is right on track. However, the important thing to remember that not all babies develop at the same rate or pace.
With this in mind, below are a few of the developmental milestones of a baby’s first year.
One To Three Months
Between the first and third month, the baby is trying to learn how to live and interact in the world. However, there are a few things the baby should be able to do. They include:
- Raise the head while lying on the tummy
- Raise the chest while lying on the tummy
- Able to grip objects
- Trying to reach for and grab dangling objects
- Move the head from side to side
- Bring hands to mouth or face
- Kick and straightens the legs
- Begins to make sounds
Four To Six Months
This is often an interesting period for the baby as they try to master and manipulate the world around them. This is when they start developing their mortar and communication skills. Below are a few things to expect at this developmental stage:
- They start making babbling sounds. The sounds are often vowel-consonant sounds
- Sit up with or without any support
- Laugh and smile
- Can roll over from the tummy to the back and vice versa
- Starts teething
- Can see from across the room
- They will be able to respond to sounds
- They will be able to respond to emotions
- Communicates through crying and can copy certain facial expressions
- Props himself up by his hands
- Rocks back and forth while on his hands and knees
Seven To Nine Months
This is the stage in a baby’s life where they’ll be trying to figure out how to move around if they haven’t already. If they can’t crawl yet, they’ll push themselves forward while on their tummies. Below are a few things to expect during this stage:
- Sit without support at all
- Be able to clap his/her hands
- Push himself on the tummy
- Crawling
- Able to imitate sounds
- Respond and distinguish emotions
- Show anxiety or fear around strangers
- Can play and respond peekaboo
- Will be able to reach for toys
Ten To Twelve Months
This is a major milestone in the baby’s development. She/he’s grown from an infant into a toddler and will be able to do a number of things. They include:
- Be able to feed herself food
- He/she may start doing what is often termed as pretend play. This is where he or she mimics your actions
- Be able to say mama or dada
- Will be able to wave goodbye
- Able to move around while holding onto objects
- Can point at the object he wants
- Responds to music
- Some may take their first step at this stage
In conclusion, babies develop at a different pace. Just because that someone else’s baby is developing faster doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with your baby. The key is to look for progression.
However, if you do honestly think that something is wrong, then you can visit your pediatrician for counseling and guidance.
Related:
HOW TO HELP YOUR BABY LEARN HOW TO CRAWL?
WHAT ARE THE FIRST SIGNS OF TEETHING?
WHAT AGE DO MOST BABIES START WALKING?
