By Sandy Pedrogao
Once you become a parent, you are constantly wondering where your baby falls on the growth chart. Is he meeting developmental milestones? Is he growing at an average rate? Is everything happening as it should?
Here’s a month-by-month breakdown on what you can expect in the first 12 months, but don’t worry if little Henry isn’t rolling over in both directions by six months; every baby is different and development will vary.
1 Month
• Lifts head and chest when on tummy
• Stares at faces
• Startles to loud noises
• Imitates some facial expressions
2 Months
• Holds head up
• Coos and gurgles
• Brings hands to mouth
• Smiles
3 Months
• Tracks moving objects
• Holds head up steadily
• Recognizes your face
• Turns head toward sounds
4 Months
• Laughs, smiles and squeals
• Talks (coos) back when spoken to
• Rolls from front to back
• Can hold and shake a rattle
5 Months
• Plays with her hands and feet
• Teething may begin
• Pays attention to small objects
• Rakes objects and picks them up using her palm
6 Months
• Rolls over in both directions
• Babbles (“Bah, bah, bah”)
• Lifts his hands to a feeding bottle
• Laughs out loud
7 Months
• Sits without support
• Begins to scoot, and then crawl
• Begins to be wary of strangers
• Enjoys playing peekaboo
8 Months
• Passes objects from one hand to the other
• Starts to feed himself
• Babbles enthusiastically
• Responds to his name
9 Months
• Stands with support
• Shows resistance to you pulling a toy out of his hand
• Begins to look for fallen toys
• Starts to bang two toys together
10 Months
• Picks things up with pincer grasp (between thumb and forefinger)
• Claps his hands
• Will pull himself up to stand
• Starts to recognize himself in mirrors
11 Months
• Says “Dada” and “Mama” to the correct parent
• Understands “No”
• Rocks and bounces to music
• Waves “bye-bye”
12 Months
• Indicates wants with gestures
• Uses two to three words correctly
• Drinks from a sippy cup
• May walk alone or with adult help But if you ever have any doubts about your baby’s development, do not hesitate to visit your pediatrician.
Photo: depositphotos.com © Andrey Kuzmin