As a parent, it’s exciting to witness the development of your baby as they grow and learn from month to month. Every infant is unique, but each of their developmental milestones should be achieved within the first year of life.
The first year is a fast-paced period of growth and change, which is why it is important to stay up to date on your little one’s development.
Between 3 and 4 months, your baby should be able to focus on objects within 8-12 inches away, recognize familiar voices, start babbling, lift his or her head while lying on his or her stomach, and respond to your smiling or talking. At 5 months, your baby may be able to hold small objects, rotate their wrists, and sit with support.
At 6 months, your baby should be able to roll over both ways, reach for objects, make sounds while playing, initiate games like peek-a-boo, and start responding to simple instructions. As they progress to their 7th month, your baby might be able to pull themselves to a sitting position, grab small objects with their thumb and forefinger, and say simple words like mama and dada.
By 8 months, your baby may be able to stand while holding onto furniture, feed themself, clap, and make towers out of blocks. Once they are 9 months old, they could be able to sit without support, understand simple commands, crawl, make specific gestures, and babble with intonation. At 10 and 11 months, they should be able to walk if they are holding onto furniture, mimic gestures and words, and say one-syllable words like dog and cat.
By their 12-month mark, your baby should be able to walk well, use sounds and gestures to communicate, imitate actions, and say several single words. Your baby may also be able to point to body parts, take objects out of containers, and use functionalobjects (like a telephone).
Every baby is different and develops at their own pace. If you have any concerns about your baby’s development, speak to your pediatrician.