Before and even after the birth of the baby, it is normal for parents to feel anxious if they are doing everything right and if their baby is developing well. Raising a kid can be overwhelming. Anxiety doesn’t stop in pregnancy, not even in birth. Your entire life as parents would be filled with worries for this little bundle of joy and in ensuring that this baby gets to become a wonderful adult, capable of raising wonderful kids of his or her own. In this article, we will be discussing what development is expected of a child in the first twelve months.
Between 1 and 1.5 months, babies are able to hold their head upright and steady, chuckle and murmur at people they know, but the vision and hearing will focus on their parents. Babies at this stage love to stare at new faces, smile at parents and get startled by sudden noises.
Between 1.6 and 2 months, babies can lift themselves through the arms when in a prone position, and roll from side to back, make vowel-like noises, focus on objects and adults, like staring at new faces and start to smile.
Between 2.1 and 2.5 months, babies can roll from stomach to side, rest on their elbows and lift their head about 90 degrees. They can sit propped up with hands, able to keep their head steady for a short time. They can already change sounds while saying “eee-ahhh” to start interacting with someone. They can blow bubbles, play with their tongue and make deep belly laughs. Their eyes can already follow your hand.
In the third month, the babies can hold up their head for prolonged periods. You can’t expect them to have any grasp reflex at this stage. They make vowel noises, follow dangling toys from side to side, turn their head to the direction of the sound, follow adults’ gaze, laugh or squeal with delight, smile often and reach out for objects.
In the fifth month, the babies can already hold their head steady, go after objects, adjust their hand shape to the shape of the toy before picking it up and often would put the objects to their mouth. At this stage, babies can enjoy vocal play and even notice colours, including those of childrens wall art prints you have in the nursery.
In the sixth month, the babies can transfer from one hand to the other the objects they’ve taken. They can pull themselves up to sit and remain sitting erect with supports. They roll over from stomach to back, can utter double syllable sounds like “mama” and “dada”, and may get anxious around strangers.
Between 9 and 10 months, the babies can wiggle and crawl, sit unsupported, pick up an object with pincer grasp and babble tunefully. They can look for toys dropped and are nervous around strangers. Some of our friends might have sent us toys on those baby gift boxes Australia providers sell. You might want to check what they’ve packed inside those gift boxes as there might be toys great for the baby to play with.
Finally, in the first year, the babies can stand holding onto furniture. They can stand alone for about a second or two before collapsing with a bump. They can babble up to three words repeatedly, cooperate with getting dressed, wave goodbye and comprehend simple commands.
It is often the worry of any parent whether their baby is growing and developing in the manner they should be. It’s understandable, as every mom and dad only want the very best for their offspring. Your baby is learning lots of new things. However, he or she may not always grow and develop as expected or at the same rate as other children, as one baby can learn faster or slower than the others. Any worries regarding your baby’s growth and development should be made known to the child’s doctor.