Baby’s First Year

What to expect

By Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Your baby's first year is marked by significant leaps in development. Every child is different and your baby's temperament, physical needs and common behavior will affect the order your child reaches each of these important milestones.

1. Responds to Sound (from 1 Month) The first important milestone can often be determined within the first month. Babies with normal hearing can hear even before birth and a newborn baby can react to audible stimulus. The most obvious test would be if your newborn startles at a sharp abrupt noise. These early responses are an important factor in your baby's development as even in these early days your child is absorbing language, vocal recognition and auditory associations.

2. Makes Eye Contact (from 2 Months) Between about six to eight weeks your baby may meet your eyes. A newborn's visual range is about eight to fifteen inches. Babies begin to recognize faces and can see light, shapes, and movement but his ability to control his sight can take a few weeks. At this age your baby should have gained enough muscle tone to control head movement. Your baby's ability to make eye contact is a sign of his visual and social development.

3. Deliberate Hand Movements (from 3 Months) One of the first signs that your baby's fine motor skills are developing is her ability to control and associate her hand movements. In the early weeks your baby will flail her hands until she learns that these strange things are actually a part of her body. The earliest sign of this knowledge is when the child voluntarily brings her hands to her mouth. The continuing development involves reaching, touching, stroking and gripping. As your baby grows (9-12 months) she'll develop a pincer grip which is the ability to pick up objects with controlled two finger movements.

4. Uses Language (from 4 Months) Another indication of your baby's audio and social development is his growing range of language. At about four months of age your child may begin by vocalizing vowel sounds, cooing and verbalizing without words. From about five months of age your baby may show recognition of words, particularly his own name. He'll begin to imitate sounds and may join consonants by six months. These initial sounds develop into first words from about 7-8 months and your child's vocabulary and language comprehension will continue to increase.

5. Rolls, Sits and Stands (from 4, 6, and 9 Months) At about four months of age your baby may learn to roll from her belly to her back. This is often an exciting developmental stage for infants. This muscle control and gross motor skill will develop into your child's ability to sit without support from around six months of age. Crawling may begin between six and nine months. These early milestones mark the progress toward standing and walking.

While infant development changes from child to child it is important to be aware of your child's progress. A delay could indicate a problem with physical, intellectual or social development. By consulting your doctor or pediatrician you can capture any delays early and follow their advice to bring your child back up to speed.

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