The First Year Of Your baby's Life
From helpless newborn to a toddler, the first year is exciting and full of milestones. Your baby undergoes an incredible transformation in the first 12 months of their life and every month brings new and exciting developments as you learn to care for your baby and develop an everlasting bond.
During the first year, your baby’s brain will double in size, much of which happens in cerebellum which is in charge of physical development and motor skills. There will also be a lot of changes in the visual cortex which will help your baby to recognise faces. The limbic structure, which controls memory and emotion will also experience major development as your baby begins to see and understand the world around them.
Experiencing your baby’s ‘firsts’ is always a special moment for any parent, but it is important to remember that each child will develop at their own pace and there is a fairly wide window when it comes to hitting milestones. That being said, it is important to mention any concerns to your doctor or health visitor as early intervention can help your baby to catch up if any additional help and support is required. Remember, it is important to trust your instincts, you know your baby best.
Take lots of photos and keep track of your baby's milestone achievments with Original Baby Keepsake Cards.
As a rough guide, I have included some of the major milestones that you can expect your child to achieve in the first year of their life.
Milestones in the first three months of your baby's life
During the first three months of your baby's life, your baby will:
- Start to smile smile - Your baby's first smile is a magical moment and enough to make all those sleepless nights worth it.
- Raise their head and chest - During tummy time or when you are holding them, your baby will improve their neck, back and shoulder muscles so they are able to lift their head and chest off the floor for short periods of time. This is the first stage of your baby learning to crawl and eventually walk.
- Track objects - Your baby will start to follow objects of interest with their eyes when they are slowly moved.
- Bring hands to their mouth - My son does this when he is hungry and when he wants comfort. It may not seem like much but coordinating the hand to mouth is a big step in your baby’s development.
- Grip objects - Holding on to their favourite rattle or toy is helping your baby to develop their coordination. This is also when you are likely to experience your baby gripping hold of your hair and refusing go - Ouch!
- Attempt to reach for objects - Although they probably wont manage to get it, your baby is working on their coordination.
Milestones in months 4-6 of your baby's life
Around four to six months, your baby will:
- Discover voices - The cute, non sensical baby babble is starting to appear as your baby learns how to us etheir vocal cords. Take this time to have conversations with your baby and let them respond.
- Start to use their hands - Your baby will start to discover their hands and how they can use them to play and explore the world around them.
- Roll over - Around this time, your baby will have started to roll over. They normally start rolling from their front to back first.
- Grab objects - Your baby’’s coordination will start to improve and they will start being able to grab objects of interest to them.
- Sit up - You baby will need help and support from you at first, but will soon be able to sit up unaided.
Milestones in months 7-9 of your baby's lifes
Around seven to nine months, your baby will:
- Start to crawl- If you haven’t already started, this is where you need to start baby proofing the house as your little one will soon start crawling and once they’re on the move, anything with their reach is of interest.
- Sit without support - Your baby will be much more stable and have better control of their muscles which will allow them to sit up unaided.
- Respond to key words eg their name - Your baby will start understanding words that are regularly used such as their name and who mummy and daddy are.
- Pull up into standing position - Although your little one may not be walking, it wont be long. Using toys and furniture to pull themselves up is developing their confidence and building those muscles to prepare for the next stage.. walking!
Milestones your baby will achieve at 10 months +
From approximately 10 months, your baby will:
- Start feeding themselves - Encouraging your child to hold a spoon and to feed themselves will develop their hand eye coordination and encourage them to experience different tastes and textures as well as promoting independence. I would suggest having a mat to protect the carpet as it is likely to get a bit messy!
- Cruise holding on to furniture - Your tot is starting to gain the confidence and coordination to walk holding on to furniture.
- Say one or two words - The most common first words are usually mumma and dada.
- Point to what they want - Your child is able to start making their needs known and will start pointing to what they need.
- Begin pretend play such as talking on phone - A Lot of these actions will imitate the grown ups around them, so copying mummy on the phone using baby babble or copying daddy using the tv remote is your baby’s way of learning and developing important life skills.
- Take first steps - Your baby has gone from sofa standing to preparing and taking their first steps. It may be awhile until they are fully walking, but definitely get to baby proofing the house and getting stair gates installed if you haven’t already.
