After spending 9 months developing and changing in your womb, your baby is here and ready to meet the world. Now…what new skills will your baby learn in her first year and when can you expect them? That is something that every parent wonders and worries about. First and foremost, relax. All babies are different, and they will meet these milestones at their own paces. But to give you a better idea of what you can expect from your little bundle of joy in the next year, here are some motor and social/cognitive skills you can look forward to…so enjoy watching baby grow and develop!
Motor Development
The most common milestones that parents look for are motor development achievements. If you are wondering how you can help your baby acquire these skills, pediatrician Dr. Mary Hamm of Leawood Pediatrics says, “The good news is you don't need fancy or expensive toys to encourage your baby's development…time spent on the floor playing, including tummy time, is the best way to encourage motor development.”
Around 3-4 months, your baby will start rolling over. Typically, babies roll from tummy to back first and a few weeks later will master the opposite direction. Don’t be surprised if you find your baby has a little trouble sleeping for a while because she flips herself over and can’t get back to her comfy position.
Around 3 months, your baby will start grabbing for objects around her and will try to grasp them. Make sure to have a lot of rattles and soft, easy-to-grasp objects around for your baby to practice with. This is a great time to break out that floor gym. (You may even be able to take a shower uninterrupted while baby plays safely nearby…now THERE is a milestone!)
Sometime around 6-8 months, your baby will develop enough strength to sit up with little or no support. Help her practice with a Bumbo or by propping up a Boppy or pillows around her for support. Once baby is sitting, he will want to be crawling soon after…usually around 8-10 months. This one takes awhile to master and can have many different variations from the “army crawl” to crawling backwards to crawling on tip-toe. Babies will often start by rocking back and forth on their hands and knees and eventually will figure out the motion to move. When that happens, watch out! It’s time to baby proof!
And around one year, the biggest milestone of them all may occur…your baby will learn to walk! Though many babies walk around their first birthday, this milestone varies greatly from child to child. A normal range is anywhere from 10 to 18 months, so don’t be discouraged if your baby celebrates her first birthday without taking those first steps.
Social/Cognitive Development
“Parents are often familiar with the major motor milestones to watch for like rolling over, sitting and crawling - but are less comfortable with the milestones related to their baby's cognitive, verbal and social development,” Dr. Hamm says. Here are some of those more subtle milestones to watch for during the first year.
The first social milestone is one of the most rewarding. Around 8 weeks (sometimes before), your baby will begin smiling at you. There is nothing better than a toothless grin in the middle of the night after a feeding. Enjoy this one and make sure you smile back! Babies learn all of their social cues from the people around them, so smile, laugh, stick out your tongue and talk to your baby as much as possible!
Dr. Hamm says that around this same time (2-3 months), babies should be following objects with their eyes, beginning to make their first sounds (other than crying…which they have likely mastered by now) and should be able to recognize familiar people.
From 4 to 7 months, your baby will begin to enjoy social play and watching himself in a mirror. She will work to get interesting objects that are slightly out of reach and explore the world by putting everything in her mouth!
The 8- to 12-month-old baby may begin to develop stranger anxiety and cry when parents leave his range of sight. Baby also will begin to use objects correctly (phones, cups, hair brushes, etc.). Your baby will also begin babbling with recognizable sounds like "ba," "da" and "ma." By 1 year, many babies have said their first words (usually “mama” or “dada” or “Uh Oh”).
What if your baby isn’t meeting his or her milestones by these suggested times, or you have concerns? “Parents should always trust their gut instinct when it comes to their child's development - you are the expert on your baby!!” Dr. Hamm says. “You will see your pediatrician frequently during the first year of life, so definitely bring up any concerns you have at your child's well visits. If your child seems to lose skills that they had previously mastered, give your pediatrician a call.”
Sara Keenan lives in Brookside with her family. She’s enjoying big-kid milestones now, like learning to read and riding a bike, but remembers fondly the moment her babies first smiled at her.