Baby Milestones

Babies develop hugely within the first year of their lives. Some milestones that you should look out for include lifting their head, sitting up, crawling, grabbing, rolling over and walking. Below are explanations of some of the big milestones, and some advice on how to encourage development.

Hearing

Babies can hear from birth, but will learn to differentiate between sounds and show preferences for certain sounds as they get older. Babies pay close attention to voices, especially high pitched ones, and will respond to sounds which are familiar, and jump at noises which are unexpected. By three months your baby may be able to recognise your voice specifically, and look at you when you talk. At this stage babies often try to talk back using gurgling noises. By five months, your baby will have an awareness of where sounds are coming from, and be able to turn to look for the source. Your baby will also start to recognise his/her own name at around this time.

You can encourage babies to develop their hearing by exposing them to a diverse range of noises. Music helps, whether it is nursery rhymes, classical music or rock and roll. A mixture of all three is best as it helps your baby develop preferences. Reading is always helpful, and helps the child develop an ear for the texture of language with its different pitches and accents.

Sight

Babies can see from birth unless they have a vision impairment, but their sight for the first few months is blurry and takes time to focus. At birth they can only really make out light, movement and shapes, and can only see about 20-30cm, which is about as far as the person holding them. Babies are most interested in the face of the person holding them, and this is a good opportunity for parents to bond with their baby. Babies learn how to use both eyes together for focus at one to two months, distinguish colours properly at around two months, develop depth perception at around four months and by eight months, they should see nearly as well as an adult.

Parents can help babies develop their sight by giving them lots of time to study faces (preferably yours), and by investing in some of the many developmental toys on the market. Babies are transfixed by objects moving in front of them, so do lots of this and try to get your baby to follow objects with their eyes. As they get older, try to encourage their interest in primary colours by giving them picture books or hanging a bright mobile above them.

Head Control

Newborn babies have very little head control and very weak neck muscles, which is why you always have to support a baby’s head. They will develop the ability to control their head and neck muscles over the first six months, and this development is crucial to all later movement such as sitting up and walking. In the first two months babies learn to turn their head from side to side when lying down, be able to shakily hold their own head up when you carry them on your shoulder, and raise their head when lying on their back. They will also be able to support their own head in their car seat. Within four months babies learn to lift their head when lying on their stomach, and within six months the baby should have good enough head control to be able to hold his/her own head erect without support.

Parents do not have to do a lot to encourage this development, but should always be extremely careful to support the baby’s head if you feel they do not yet have sufficient head control to do it themselves. Finding ways of propping the baby up safely is a good idea, but ensure he/she cannot roll anywhere that will hurt them.

Grasping

Grasping is the first step on the road to writing, eating and drawing. Babies are born with the grasping reflex but don’t learn how to control it for months. They may spend a lot of time with their hands in fists at first, and gradually they will open their hands and examine them. Any grasping movements they make in the first two or three months are probably involuntary and reflexive. By three months they start to bat toys they want over and over, and can notice things they want and try to pick them up. Between four and eight months your baby will learn to pick up big objects such as blocks, and when they start teething, they will inevitably put them in their mouths. By this stage, babies can rake objects towards them and swap objects over from hand to hand. From nine months to a year, babies can generally pick up most objects without difficulty, including small objects. Their dominant hand will start to emerge. After this, the baby will learn things like throwing, which leads to holding crayons and scribbling, to writing and drawing.

In the early stages of development, a baby floor gym is a really good idea for parents, with lots of dangling toys that the baby can practise grabbing or batting. You should start childproofing your home from four to eight months when they start to grasp at anything put in front of them (including hair and jewellery). You can encourage your baby by holding objects just out of reach and encouraging them to grab it.

Teething

Teeth take three years to come through fully. You will probably see the first baby tooth at about six months, around the time when your baby needs solid food included in his/her diet. However, there are no hard and fast rules about when babies develop teeth; some are born with a tooth and some do not cut their first tooth until a year old. However, by three your child should have a full set of 20 teeth. The first tooth is generally a horrible time for parent and baby. It usually starts one or two months before the actual appearance of the tooth, and is accompanied by heavy drooling and a lot of crying in pain. Your baby may start biting to ease the pain, and it helps if you provide something rubber for them to chew on. Your baby’s gums may swell, causing their cheeks to look bigger. You may be lucky, however, and your child may feel no pain getting their teeth. Teeth come one after the other, the front bottom ones first and then the top two, followed by the rest.

Baby teeth last a child until the age of six, and need to be looked after properly by mum and dad. Clean your baby’s teeth at least once a day for the first year, and then more regularly after that, introducing a toothbrush when the baby is ready. Never put a baby to bed with a bottle, as this can rot their teeth. Toothpaste is not essential unless your child eats a lot of sugary food, but by eighteen months, brushing is very important. At around three, you should take the child to the dentist to get them used to it.

Rolling Over

Rolling over is the stage between babies holding their head up and sitting up unsupported. It is often motivated by the desire to grab something slightly out of reach, and is a baby’s first attempt at mobility. It generally happens at around six months, but can happen earlier if your baby has particularly strong muscles. They learn to roll in one direction first, before gradually working out how to roll in both directions. Some babies never roll, and this is nothing to worry about. They may go straight to sitting or crawling. Shortly after learning to roll, your baby should be able to sit up.

You can encourage your baby by wiggling objects just out of reach to see if they’ll roll to get them. Smile and applaud when the baby does roll so that they will continue to try. Never leave a baby with the ability to roll unattended on a bed, and keep a firm hand on them during nappy changes.

Sitting

90 per cent of babies can sit on their own by eight months, but some can do it from as young as four months. You can prop your baby up before this, but until they have good head control they cannot truly sit on their own. Your baby may be able to sit unsupported for a short time at five months, but be prepared for them to fall backwards. They soon learn to keep their balance and position themselves correctly. Once they have mastered sitting, they learn to turn from the seated position to reach toys.

Most paediatricians advise only starting your baby on solid food when they can sit largely unsupported. You can help your baby by using the same techniques for strengthening their neck muscles, such as laying them on their front so they learn to lift their head from that position. Make sure you stay close as your baby learns this new skill, as they tend to fall backwards quite a lot at first.

Crawling

Not all babies learn to crawl, some go straight to walking. This is nothing to worry about. Similarly, some babies never crawl but bottom shuffle or slither on their stomachs. All of this is fine, because the important thing is getting mobile. However, most babies do crawl between six and ten months, typically after they have learnt to sit up on their own. Babies gradually become more confident at manoeuvring themselves onto all fours from sitting, and then learn to rock in this position, before finally working out how to move forwards. Once they have mastered this, they learn to refine the skill by learning to cross-crawl rather than use an arm and a leg from the same side, and they will learn to go from the crawling position to the seated position. Once they have learnt to crawl, it is not long before babies start to try and pull themselves up using objects like the settee or the coffee table for support. This is the first step towards walking.

The best way to encourage crawling is to place yourself, or other objects out of reach to encourage the baby to move towards them. You can also use pillows and boxes to create a mini obstacle course to improve the baby’s confidence. It is very important to make sure your home is childproof before the baby starts crawling, because otherwise it can be a very dangerous time. Especially make sure you have a stair gate, because stairs attract crawling babies more than anything.

Walking

Walking is the first step towards independence, and a rite of passage between babyhood and being a toddler. Walking leads to running and skipping and dancing. After your baby has learnt to crawl, learning to walk is a matter of balance and confidence. Most babies learn some time around a year, but others are a little later which is nothing to worry about. Bouncing is one of the first steps. Five month olds love to bounce up and down on your lap, strengthening their leg muscles as they do so. At around eight months babies start to pull themselves up on the furniture into standing position. As they get better at this, babies start to cruise along holding the furniture for support. From here, they start to take small steps while holding your hand, bend over from standing and learn to sit from standing. Once all these skills have been acquired, the baby will improve at walking with your help, and after a few weeks’ practise, will take their first steps by themselves.

Babies and toddlers are very unsteady on their feet at first, so make sure you supervise them as much as possible. You can encourage your baby to walk to you by kneeling out of reach and holding your arms out to them. A toddle truck on wheels which they can push around for support is a good idea to help babies raise their confidence, but many experts strongly discourage walkers because they do not encourage the correct muscle development. Walking barefoot helps babies keep their balance, so do not put them in shoes too early.

When to Worry

All babies develop at a different rate, and the ages quoted here are based on averages. Similarly, all babies do things in their own way, so if your baby is not quite sticking to the norm, this is probably nothing to worry about. Premature babies often take longer to develop these skills. However, if you are really concerned because your baby has not started reaching these milestones, contact your GP. You are always encouraged to follow your instincts on these things, and it is always worth checking rather than worrying.

Caring for your newborn:

Mother, Baby and Beyond

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