Baby's Development from      

Birth       to      12 Months

I thought you might like to have a brief look at some of the developmental milestones which are within the normal growth expectations of babies from birth to 12 months of age.

The information to follow is taken from various expert resources on the subject.

During the first month you and your newborn infant will require a lot of adjusting, and by the time it's just you and your little bundle together (no doctors, nurses or extended family members) your earlier preparation will begin to pay off.

However, this can be a hectic time so don't hesitate to get help.  I know that I could have used a quick developmental reference to anticipate my daughter's milestones when she was a baby.
 
So let's get started with some key baby development expectations.  Also,  remember, these milestones are general reference points as some babies develop slower or faster than the norms.  If you have any concerns that your baby may not be developing appropriately please talk with your pediatrician. 

I will not cover the details of the first month specifically as your baby is basically responding with reflex movement, feeding responses and some vocal noises (especially that sweet newborn cry...and, yes I did often get up with my daughter in the middle of the night..and as long as she was just hungry or needed a new diaper her cry was still sweet!) 

I will give you several brief developmental lists in various categories for easy reference...up to 12 months of age.  For significantly more detail you should check out one of the books referenced above or go to my Baby Books and Resources page for a great selection of baby and parenting related material. 

Ready?  Let's go!

 



By the end of the of the first month your baby should have movement such as:

• Making jerky, quivering arm thrusts 
  
• Bringing hands within range of eyes and mouth
  
• Moving head from side to side while lying on stomach
  
• Head flops backward if unsupported
  
• Keeping hands in a tight fist

• Having strong reflex movements
   
  

By the end of the first month your baby should have reached these hearing milestones:

• Hearing is fully mature by now
  
• Recognizes some sounds
  
• May turn toward familiar sounds and voices
  
• Will startle to loud or abrupt sounds
  

By the end of the first month your baby should have reached these vision milestones:

• Focusing up to 12 inches away
  
• Eyes may wander and occasionally cross
  
• Baby may prefer black and white patterns over high contrast (busy) patterns
  
• Prefers human faces to all other patterns
  

By the end of the first month your baby should have reached these smell and touch milestones:

• Baby preferes sweet smells
  
• Avoids bitter or acidic smells
  
• Recognizes the scent of mom's breastmilk
  
• Prefers soft over coarse touch
  
• Dislikes rough or abrupt handling
  
• Enjoys the feel of soft textures in clothing and bedding including blankets, sheets and bolsters (cylinder shaped pillows for positioning)
  

Here are some appropriate toys for your baby's developing senses during the first month:

• Mobile(s) with many contrasting colors and patterns
  
• A securely attached unbreakable mirror inside the crib
  
• Music player (such as tape, CD, music box or pre-recorded) with soft music
  
• Soft and brightly colored toys that make gentle sounds
  

Now let's move on to the one month
 through three months developmental expectations.

By the end of the third month your beautiful baby should by now have reached the following milestones for movement:

• Baby now raises his head and chest when lying on stomach
  
• Able to support upper body with arms when lying on stomach
  
• Can stretch legs out and kick while lying on his back or stomach
  
• Baby can open and shut hands
  
• Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a solid surface
  
• Can bring hand to mouth
  
• Reaches out and swats at dangling items with his hands
  
• Can grasp and shake hand toys
  

By the end of the third month your sweet baby should have reached these Hearing and Speech milestones:

• Smiles at the sound of your voice
  
• Has begun to babble
  
• May begin to imitate some sounds
  
• May turn head toward direction of sound
  

By the end of the third month your baby should have reached these visual milestones:

• Pictures and books with various colors and patterns
  
• Rattles
  
• unbreakable reflective mirror
  
• Colorful and varied mobile
  
• Playing music and singing to your baby
  
• Approved safe toys with various textures and shapes
  

Let's now move on to developmental milestones for your  four through seven-month old.

From the beginning of the fourth through the seventh month your baby should have reached the following developmental levels for movement:  (Note:  Remember that these are just general guidelines to use as basic reference points!)

• Baby can now roll front to back and back to front
  
• Can sit with and without support from her hands
  
• Able to support her weight on her legs
  
• Reaches out with one hand
  
• Is able to transfer an object from hand to hand
  
• uses a raking grasp with her fingers instead of thumb to finger(s)

By the end of the seventh month your baby should have achieved these Language milestones:

• Is responsive to his own name
  
• Shows an obvious response to "no"
  
• Can distinguish emotions by tone of voice
  
• Will respond to sounds with sounds of his own
  
• Expresses joy or displeasure with his voice
  
• Babbles a number of consonants together
  

By the end of the seventh month your baby should have reached the following Vision milestones:

• Baby has full color vision
  
• Developing more mature distance vision
  
• Improved ability to track moving objects

Here are a few Cognitive milestones achieved by the end of the seventh month:

• Baby can find partially hidden object(s)
  
• Explores more often with hands and mouth
  
• Will struggle to reach objects that are just out of reach

Here we have some Social and Emotional milestones by the end of the seventh month:

• Baby enjoys social play
  
• Has become interested in mirror images
  
• Is often joyful and may be more responsive to other peoples expressions and emotions

Appropriate toys for the four-to Seven month old:

• Is increasingly more focused on speech
  
• Responds to simple verbal requests
  
• Responds to "no"
  
• Shakes head for no and uses other simple meaningful gestures
  
• Babbles with inflection (changes in pitch)
  
• Can say "dada" and "mama"
  
• Uses exclamations like "oh-oh"
  
• Makes attempts to imitate words

Let's look at a few Cognitive milestones for baby around the age of twelve months:

• May explore objects in many different ways such as shaking, banging, throwing and dropping
  
• Can find hidden objects easily
  
• Looks at the correct picture when the image is named
  
• Will imitate some gestures
  
• Is beginning to use objects correctly such as drinking from a cup, brushing hair,  dialing a play phone and listening to the receiver

Take a look at these Social and Emotional twelfth month milestones:

• May be shy or anxious with strangers
  
• Cries when mom or dad leaves the room
  
• Enjoys imitating people in play
  
• Is now showing preferences for certain people and toys
  
• May test your responses to his behavior (such as how do you react when he cries after you've left the room?)
  
• Tests your responses to his actions during feedings (such as what do you do when he refuses food?)
  
• May be fearful in certain situations
  
• Prefers mom, dad or regular caregiver over all others
  
• Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
  
• Is able to finger feed himself
  
• Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed

Recommended types of toys appropriate for the eight-to twelve-month-old:

• Toys that can be stacked in different sizes, shapes and colors
  
• Unbreakable containers such as plastic cups and pails
  
• Unbreakable mirrors of various sizes and shapes
  
• Bath toys that float, squirt, or hold water
  
• Large building blocks
  
• "Busy boxes" that push, open, squeak,and move
  
• Squeeze toys
  
• Large Dolls and Muppets
  
• Cars, trucks, and other vehicle toys made of flexible plastic, with no sharp edges or removable parts
  
• Balls of all sizes (but never small enough to fit in the mouth)
  
• Cardboard books with large pictures
  
• Music boxes and music players with no access to batteries, sharp edges or small parts.
  
• Push and pull toys
  
• Toy telephones (again, check for small parts which may come loose)
  
• Clean paper tubes, empty boxes, old magazines, egg cartons, and empty plastic juice/milk/soda bottles(well rinsed)

I hope this guide has been of some value to you.  You might want to consider purchasing the books listed below from which most of this information was taken, for a much more in-depth look at your babies health and growth needs.

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