Milestones

Your baby is growing quickly, over the next short months and will develop and grow in many ways. Here we take a look at a baby’s journey from 0-12 months. Every baby is unique, but the science is clear: In the first 1,000 days of life, your baby’s brain develops faster than at any other time. Early moments matter and their effects can last a lifetime. Enjoy this journey as baby grows into a toddler, it might not seem like it now, but it happens so fast! 2 Months At 2 months old, your beautiful baby is wide-eyed and curious about the world that surrounds them, they love to be social and interact with those around them. Social & Emotional Baby will attempt to look at you and start to smile back at those smiling at them. Try – enjoying plenty of skin-on-skin to soothe baby and hold them close to your face to make eye contact. Language & Communication Baby makes the cutest of cooing sounds and also turns towards sounds they hear. Try – making cooing sounds at baby and see if they repeat the sounds back. Brain Development You notice baby is starting to track moving objects with their eyes and gets a little fussy if they get bored. Try – saying the name of objects or people baby shows interest in. Movement Baby has started to push themselves up onto their tummy and hold their head up as well as make smooth movements with their arms and legs. Try – tummy-time by placing baby on their tummy and talking to them to encourage them to look towards you. Food & Nutrition Baby is getting all their nutrition from breastmilk and is able to suck and swallow with ease as well as latch on to your nipple or a bottle. Try – looking for feeding cues from baby, your new born will eat 8-12 times in 24 hours to support their rapid growth. 4 Months Baby is getting more social and enjoying ‘talking’ to anyone who will listen with cure coos, babbles and mimicking the sounds they hear and copying movements they see. Social & Emotional Baby is enjoying other people’s company and likes playing but may get upset when playtime is over, they are also smiling lots and trying to copy your facial expressions and movements. Try – Share baby’s interests by looking and pointing at things they find interesting and keep smiling and interacting with baby. Language & Communication You may start to recognise your baby has a different cry for when they are hungry, tired and frustrated and they also enjoy babbling and copying sounds they hear. Try – Respond when baby cries and try and listen to how their cry varies and also repeat sounds baby makes back to them. Brain Development Baby’s hands and eyes are beginning to work together and they can reach for toys with one hand. They will also let you know when they are happy and sad and respond to love and affection. Try – Help baby’s hand-eye coordination by leaving toys nearby and speak to baby as you do your everyday routines. Movement Baby will be able to bring their hand to their mouth and push themselves up onto their elbows when doing tummy time. They may also be able to roll onto their back and their legs will be getting stronger and they can push down with their feet on a hard surface. Try – Leaving rattles near baby so they can shake them and encourage them to roll by putting them on a hard surface. Food & Nutrition You may be noticing that when baby gets hungry they are putting their hands into their mouth. Try – Responding to their cues by feeding when they signal with their hands. 6 Months Baby will start to recognise familiar faces and be reaching and grasping for toys. They will soon start crawling and so it may be an idea to start preparing your home for a mobile baby. Social & Emotional Likes looking at themselves in the mirror and can differentiate between familiar faces and strangers. Baby is often happy and responds to the emotions of others and enjoys playing. Try – Playing games like peek-a-boo and let baby play with a child-friendly mirror. Language & Communication Baby can now recognise their own name and is making sounds to show positive and negative emotions as well as responding to noises by making sounds. Try – Keep using baby’s name and have a conversation with them by repeating back the sounds they make. Brain Development Baby will be getting very curious about their surroundings and trying to grab things that are out of reach, they can also pass things from one hand to the other as well as to their mouth. Try – Have toys that baby can easily pick up with one hand. Movement Baby is starting to sit unaided and can roll over in both directions. They can rock back and forth and also push down on their legs. Try – Put baby’s favourite toys slightly out of reach to encourage them to reach them by rolling over. Food & Nutrition Baby is starting to show interest in food and opens their mouth when food is near as well as being able to move food from the front to back of their mouth when they chew. They can also eat cereals and pureed foods. Try – At 6 months, baby will need more than just breastmilk so start to include a few spoonful's of soft food four times a day. 9 Months Life is now interesting with a mobile baby who is enjoying exploring everywhere. Social & Emotional Baby is now starting to cling to you mum and other adults they know and may be afraid of strangers. You also know which is their favourite toys as they reach for them often. Try – Let baby take the lead during playtime. Language & Communication Baby should now understand the word no and can point at things with their finger. They are also starting to copy movements they see and hear. Try – Enjoy picture board books with baby and why not make your own using pictures from magazines? Brain Development Baby enjoys looking for things you hide and tracks objects when they fall. They can also pick up small items with their thumb and index finger. Try – Help develop baby’s fine-motor skills by giving them small objects to pick up under supervision. Movement Baby is starting to crawl and can pull themselves up to stand using furniture as support. They can also get into the sitting position unsupported. Try – Encourage baby to stand by putting them close to furniture they can pull themselves up with. Food & Nutrition You may notice baby is now reacting strongly to new smells and tastes which can be quite entertaining. They enjoy chewing on teethers and can eat thicker pureed foods. Try – Giving baby a small amount of mashed banana with a healthy snack. 12 Months Can you believe baby is now officially a toddler – how quickly did that go! They are more active and curious and their little personality is starting to shine through. Social & Emotional Baby will cry when you leave them and is probably quite shy around strangers. They know what they want and will hand you a book they want you to read and also has a favourite toy. They are starting to help when getting dressed by putting out their arms and legs and will repeat sounds to get your attention. Try – Encourage baby to help get them dressed by asking for their arm or leg. Language & Communication Baby can now say words like ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ and can wave. They are more responsive and can understand and respond to simple requests, they also enjoy repeating words you say. Try – Encourage baby to say hello and goodbye and praise them when they repeat words you say to them. Brain Development Baby can drink from a cup and put things into a container. They enjoy banging things together and finds things that are hidden. They can also follow simple instructions and look at objects when named. Try – Encourage independence by letting baby do things with less support, as they gain in confidence. Movement Baby can take a few steps without support and can pull themselves up and walk while holding onto furniture. Try – Helping baby develop their gross motor skills by placing them on a flat surface. Food & Nutrition Baby is eating a variety of foods now and is learning to eat on their own. They are starting to be able to use an open cup and thoroughly chew their food. Try – Offer baby half a cup of food 4-5 times a day and two healthy snacks, continue to breastfeed it they want

Sources:

https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/your-babys-developmental-milestones