Baby Development By Month

When a baby is born, there’s so much delight in every developmental milestone. Parents watch out for new abilities and accomplishments each day. A baby's transformation begins the moment they are born. As the months pass by, there are certain developments they undergo, bringing joy, excitement, worry, and many other feelings to those around them. It must be noted that on-hand parental training is important in the first twelve months of their development.

Are you a new mom or dad? Do you know the changes that may happen to your baby at each pace? The developments that happen in the first year of babies are crucial to their holistic development. Their needs, growth, and challenges can quickly change so your parenting style must develop as your baby develops. This is also the reason why a lot of parents are worried and wondering what to expect next or what will happen next to their baby.  However, you should remember the fact that babies differ from one another. They develop at their own pace.

Nevertheless, here’s an overview of what to expect each month for you to be on the lookout for.

The First 12 Months

First Month

The moment babies are born, their senses begin to develop. During this month, babies love to cuddle, sleep, and be fed most of the time. Your cuddling means a lot to them so they smile in response to your cuddling and talking. As a response to your gestures, they will start to coo and make simple sounds. Their sense of hearing becomes more sensitive and may turn their head when they hear something. They can already recognise their caregiver’s face in this month.

Second Month

Babies develop their sense of sight more during the second month. They are also able to listen well so talking to them frequently can make them become familiar with your voice. In this month, the baby’s movements become slightly more coordinated.  When lying down, they love kicking and it is a great exercise that strengthens their legs.

Third Month

In the third month, their hands begin to fascinate them, but controlling them remains a bit of a challenge. They will swipe and reach for dangling objects around them. In this month, their brain power is increasing rapidly. By now, they can distinguish your face from others. In addition, the development of their emotional skills begins this month. They will start to use different cries to tell you what they want or how they are feeling.

Fourth Month

Time flies fast. Now, they are becoming more alert and eager to explore things around them. Also,  babies during this month quickly learn to control and coordinate their body. Their senses are much more developed, and they are starting to move more and more. Their cries are lessened during this month because of the help of their better communication skills. As their caregivers, we should know that most babies are starting to be interested in food.

Fifth Month

Bythis month, they will have doubled in weight since birth. They will now try to roll over from tummy to back. They are also starting to sit with your help and support. It is recommended to play with them more. You can sing songs, read books and give toys suited for them to improve their conversation skills and gross motor skills. 

Sixth Month

Sixth months is the perfect time for introducing solid food. You can start to give puree or mashed food with the continuation of breastfeeding or formula feeding. Babies give signs when they are ready to eat, like being interested in food when other people are eating. You can also see them opening their mouth when food approaches.

This month, they can fully rollover through the help of their much-coordinated body movements. During this month, babies have much better communication skills as observed when they respond when they hear their names. With this, babies will begin to be anxious about people they don’t know. 

Seventh Month

This is the month where they can now sit on their own and eat solid foods. During this time, they may start to creep and crawl reaching for objects they see. They pick things using their thumb and index finger. Also, they can manipulate things around them, sometimes annoyingly dropping toys around the floor. Knowing this, you should not be mad about it because it’s a sign of curiosity. A good follow-up on the part of the caregiver can make babies learn a lot during this stage.

Eighth Month

Eight-month old babies move a lot. They can sit unsupported though you have to make sure you still need to watch them carefully. They can already pull themselves up using their elbows,  a piece of furniture, or with your support. Babies during this month also love to eat finger foods like small pieces of boiled vegetables and raw fruits. 

Ninth Month

This month, their strong attachments with people they like greatly develop. This makes it hard for you to leave them with people they are not really familiar with. In this period, separation anxiety is experienced for they prefer some people over others. From cooing to babbling, they may start to experiment with different tones and sounds like “ma-ma”, “ba-ba-ba”, and “da-da-da”.

Tenth Month

A very active baby is expected during this period. They love to crawl and reach for every object they see,  picking them up with their hands. Brave soul babies may probably be able to pull themselves up on their own in this month. More importantly, weight gain is common among babies in this month because of the solid food that they take.

Eleventh Month

Your baby will almost be a toddler at 11 months, and they will be maturing fast. If your baby hasn’t taken the first step, don’t worry. You’ll just be surprised at how independent babies can be and how quickly they move around. Now, they can see objects both near and far as their senses are maturing. Their hand-eye coordination has developed a lot so they can focus on fast-moving objects. Moreover, you have to be mindful that this is the stage where they develop taste preferences on the food that they like to eat. Separation anxiety is still an issue during this month.

Twelve Month

Your baby is now a toddler! By this time, babies can take their first steps. Body movements are combined with a lot of kicking, pushing, and throwing things that they play with. By now, your baby loves to mingle with people around them, thus, making sleeping time or nap time have lesser time. They can already use basic gestures, like shaking their head “no” or waving “bye-bye”. Separation anxiety is still a bit of a problem during this time whenever you say goodbye to them.  

Conclusion

Baby development follows a predictable sequence that you can use as a pattern to fully understand and monitor their progress. As babies develop, they learn to explore their surroundings and feel compelled to expand and nourish their eager minds with first-hand and concrete experiences. Therefore, a stimulating and rich environment can help them a lot, but sophisticated things and toys are not really necessary.

Parents’ embrace and teachings are crucial to their development. As the babies go through the months of their development, they are always in action wanting to try everything that they see. Although it's true that babies may seem to have a visual preference for contrasting images of black-and-white, you shouldn't have false expectations that surrounding a child with these images will increase babies’ intelligence. Remember, the first twelve months of a baby are vital to their intellectual, emotional, and physical development.

Related Questions

When will I start giving my baby solid foods? As most doctors recommended, the best month to introduce solid foods is the sixth month. You can start spoon-feeding your baby with a variety of mashed vegetables like potatoes and squash and pureed fruits like bananas, apples, and peaches. While you are very excited and happy seeing your baby is eating, foods that are heavy and hard to digest are not good. Although babies can already eat during this month, always remember that breastfeeding or formula feeding is still their main source of nutrition.

When to expect teething to begin? Babies' teeth may start to appear between 4-6 months, though it can be earlier or later. This is an important milestone in your baby's development. It’s quite fascinating to see those little chompers begin to appear but this isn't fun for your baby. How will you know that your baby is teething? Signs of baby's teething are: drooling, sensitivity, irritability, gum swelling, biting, sleep problems, or sometimes a low-grade fever.