Baby’s Growth and Milestones

Some thoughts for parents

It’s a wonderful feeling to see your baby grow each day, right from the moment he opens his eyes, flashes his first smile, takes his first step, and says his first word as ‘mama,’ to all other achievements he makes in life as an individual. At the same time you must realize that each baby is unique and will grow according to his potentials, at his own pace. There may be some babies who will be fast learners whereas others may take a longer time, but they will learn, sooner or later. For any queries, you can contact your doctor.

A child’s growth and development largely depends on the love, attention, interaction, and support that he receives from his parents in the initial stages of life. In other words, it’s important to establish a close bond with your baby for his healthy development. Besides giving him attention for his physical needs, talk and smile to him as much as you can, play games with him to foster his sense of understanding and help him discover himself. Try to make your child feel loved and secured, and give him all the encouragement he needs to gain confidence to grow better as an individual.

As your child grows and tries to gain independence, encourage him to do what he can on his own. Allow him to explore his surroundings by providing a safe home environment. Keep all hazardous and harmful objects out of his reach. Help him learn to think and decide for himself by giving him choices, like between two food items, clothes or toys.

Baby’s Growth: 1 month to 36 months

Signs of your baby’s development you can look forward to:

At 1 month:

When a newborn arrives in the world, he does not have the sense of identifying anything except for his basic needs for food, warmth and love. Besides, he will tend to sleep and eat most of the time.

• By the time he completes one month and is able to keep his eyes open for a slightly longer period, he will gradually start to recognize his immediate caretaker, namely you. He may also stare at objects for a brief period and respond to sounds. A baby attains complete hearing maturity by the end of his first month.

At 2 months:

By the middle of the second month, your baby’s actions will start becoming more noticeable.

• You will notice him smiling more than often, may be when looking at you, to himself or in his sleep. He may even make an attempt to take out sounds in forms of coos and gurgles, initiating his first response to your conversation with him. He may be able to lift his head a little when laid on his tummy.
• Babies in general drool a lot during the first two to three months, i.e. they produce excess saliva. As such they tend to smear their clothes, so it’ll be a good idea to put on a bib if your baby has such a tendency. But do remember to take it off when the little one is sleeping as there could be chances of him getting strangled if the string becomes too tight around his neck.
• Another development that is probable could be a white cap visible by this time in some babies, usually one of the lower of the two middle teeth. In fact, in very rare cases, some babies’ have their first tooth visible at birth itself. The pattern in which the teeth will gradually develop is, two middle ones at the bottom come out first, then two middle ones at the top, followed by the rest along the sides and the back.
• You will also notice that the baby stays awake for longer intervals now, so may tend to sleep for a considerable period during night time or even sleep through the night. When awake, he will be able to follow moving objects in front of him.
  

At 3 months:

• By this month your baby may begin to move and experiment with his limbs, like stretching or keeping his fingers open for a while, for so far his fingers would mostly stay curled. He may also manage to roll from his side to back and vice-versa, though it will take about a month more or so for him to do a complete roll, or till the time his neck and arm muscles gain enough strength.

Between 4 to 6 months:

• At 4 months of age, your baby may be able to grasp soft and small toys in his hands as his fingers become slightly flexible. He will also try to play with his hands and feet.
• Between the fourth and fifth month will also be a good time to introduce your child to solids, like finger foods which he can hold and munch. This will also help him gradually develop a taste for different types of food.
• Although your baby does not understand the exact meaning of your words, he will very much be able to follow through your emotions, expressions, and the tone of voice, and will attempt to respond with his coos and gurgles when you talk to him. He will be able to respond to his name and probably turn his head towards you when you call him. He may also develop emotional preferences for people who stay around him and go to them more willingly.
• The little one’s visual acuity becomes better by this time as he can make out the difference between colors, say between red and orange. Normally, it takes almost 6-8 months for an infant’s sight to fully develop as that of an adult. He can now slowly follow objects in a vertical motion too. In fact, this is a good time to introduce your little one to bright colored pictures, letters, photos, toys and even books.
• You will also notice that your baby has developed interests like gazing at a moving ceiling fan, an animal in front of him, kids playing in the park etc.
• By the sixth month he may be able to track moving objects pretty well, so much so that he will even be able to recognize a part of it, like a beetle or cat passing in front of him.
• It is a good idea to get your child’s eyes checked regularly by your doctor to ensure its structure, alignment and movement are fine. If there is any problem, it will be easiest to get it corrected at this stage.
  

Between 7 to 9 months:

• Between these months, your baby is likely to become pretty active and will love to be occupied with games, like trying to recover a hidden toy from under a cushion or a pillow, or pulling his string toys back and forth. His interest in his toys and belongings will last for a longer period now.
• He will be able to make out the difference in tones and probably cry if you speak to him harshly. He will start understanding simple requests and instructions like ‘no’, ‘sit’, ‘don’t cry’ etc.
• He may be able to support his back and sit without any help, rock back and forth, or even start to crawl if you put him on his belly on the floor. There are also some kids who without going through the phase of crawling, move directly to pulling up, standing and walking. Remember, this is the first step of your child to explore the world around him. Ensure to keep hazardous and harmful objects out of reach and provide him a safe environment.
• Your baby may have already started on finger foods, so now you can also try to give him a small plastic cup (with a spout and two handles) to drink his liquids from or for that matter even teach him how to drink directly from the cup. This switch may make it easier for him to give up the bottle. Even if you are breastfeeding, you can think of giving the bottle a miss and switch to a cup.
• Between the 8 and 9 months, he may also start to jabber a bit, or even utter his first clear word as ‘mama’. He may be able to pull himself to stand for a few seconds while holding your hand or a chair. By now, he will start using his hands in various ways, like waving goodbyes or indicating his wants by gestures.
  

Between 10 to 12 months:

• By the time your child nears to completing a year, he will be able to learn and assess his moods. He may become temperamental and insist on his demands to be met.
• He will be able to imitate others activities. He will tend to pick up a lot of your actions, for instance, the way you speak over the telephone, as he may be able to say a couple of words now.
• He will probably graduate to taking a few steps now or even start walking alone. Some kids can also bend over to pick up objects.
• This is also a time when your baby may start developing separation anxiety, i.e. he will tend to get distressed if he doesn’t see you around for a long time or may feel insecure or scared in the company of unfamiliar people. He may be friendly with his family members too, but nothing can compare the feel of comfort with his parents around.
  

Between 13 to 16 months:

• Your little one will start exhibiting a lot of interests by this time. As he starts to discover himself, you will probably notice him appreciating himself in front of the mirror at times, more so if you have a baby girl.
• At the same time, as his motor (brain) skills are developing at a faster rate, he will be able to comprehend the language better. He will also be able to respond to instructions. If asked about a body part, he will be able to point out correctly. He will try to express his needs by combining a couple of words with gestures. By 16 months of age he will be able to turn pages and enjoy going through colorful books, so you can keep different kinds of bright pictorial books of fruits, vegetables, animals, and even short stories.
• His movements around the place will expand as you may find him running around the house at the first chance he gets. You will at all times need to keep an eye on him, so that he doesn’t hurt himself by falling off the stairs or dropping any object on himself.
• He will tend to initiate or create games on his own. One game particularly common with most kids, irrespective of the gender is trying to perform household chores. So, you can actually start teaching him to help around the house a bit, like taking an empty glass from you and keeping it on the center table, or putting an object at its right place.
• With time he will tend to become more adamant and may refuse to listen to you. He will throw tantrums when irritated. He will also become more possessive about his toys and belongings.
• He will become pretty observant by now and will be able to learn to use common objects properly. Thus, this will be an appropriate time to teach him how to use a spoon or fork. You can also start teaching him the basics of toilet training now, for e.g., to indicate when he needs to go to pee or potty.
  

Between 17 to 23 months:

• During this period, your child will be acquiring still more new skills and developing various interests, like playing more than one game, will particularly like throwing and kicking balls, stacking blocks, and sorting toys by color, size and shape. He will start showing interests in music and dance. Kids, like adults, seem to have their own preference to kinds of songs and music.
• Having acquired some more words in his vocabulary by this time, he will learn to talk and communicate with others. He may be able to speak words with more clarity than before. He will possibly be able to make out that something is wrong if you try to fool him, like if you call a dog a cat. He will be more willing to make friends and will enjoy the company of kids both his age and those older to him.
• Your toddler already loves colorful pictures and now that he can speak a couple of words, you can help him read board books. He will be able to name simple pictures in the book. He may manage to hold a pencil (may not be exactly the way it should be), and draw vertical or scribble zigzag lines.
• He may also start showing signs of readiness to learn (of course with help) to brush his teeth and for toilet training.
  

Between 24 to 28 months:

• Between the age of 2 and 3 years, a child’s brain skills advance, his memory improves and attention span lengthens, as such, he is able to note and register everything going around him.
• His vocabulary will increase to about 70-80 words. He will also begin to understand the cause and effect of things. His curiosity for knowing everything that he sees and experiences around him will lead him to ask questions like ‘what’ and ‘why’ possibly an umpteenth number of times in a day. He will be able to recognize and speak some alphabets like ABCs, some numbers and even some colors.
• As he will be able to use two to three phrases by now, he will love to talk about himself and his favorite toys most of the time.
• He will begin to understand abstract concepts. He will also become attuned to distinguish between gender traits.
• He will be able to walk more smoothly now, climb up and down the stairs and jump. He may also be able to open the doors with handles.
  

Between 29 to 36 months:

• During this phase your child will start showing signs of becoming a little independent.
• Since he is ready to mingle with others, he may not mind staying away from his parents for a couple of hours. He may also manage to make one or two special friends. However, there are kids who are a little reticent and will prefer their personal space during this stage. They may still be possessive about their toys and belongings, but this shouldn’t be a cause of worry. As the kids grow and socialize more, they will learn to share things and enjoy it too.
• Your baby will be able to manage some of his personal chores like brushing his teeth, washing and drying his hands, and putting on loose clothes by himself. By 3 years of age, you will find him running around the house. He may also be ready to ride a tricycle.
• As his vocabulary of words keep strengthening, he will be able to carry simple conversations more clearly. He will also begin to express a wide range of emotions on different occasions.
• By the time he completes 3 years of age, he will have a fairly developed sense of regular rituals and activities, like house-cleaning, time-telling, his parents going to office to work, and shopping etc.
• Your child will start developing a better understanding of how to treat others by observing your actions and social behavior. This will also help him learn build relationships as he grows.