Understanding your baby’s milestones
Understanding your baby’s milestones
At every stage in a baby’s life, he or she will reach various milestones that signify health and progress. Understanding these key steps of development are essential for any new parent, as it can help create a safe, healthy environment for your baby to learn and thrive.
Physical Growth
One of the first and often most notable milestones is physical growth. You can expect your baby to:
- Gain an average of 6-7 pounds in the first few months
- Grow 2-3 inches in the same period
- Increase their movement capabilities as they gain strength, including head and neck control, rolling over and sitting up unassisted.
Developmental Growth
Beyond physical growth, your baby’s brain and other organs will be rapidly developing as well. By three months, you should start to see your baby’s:
- More consistent sleeping and feeding patterns.
- Emotional skills, including responding to friendly faces and expressions.
- Increased ability to track objects with their eyes.
- Ability to recognize and react to sounds.
Ways You Can Help
There are plenty of things you can do and provide to help your baby reach their milestones. Here are a few ideas:
- Spend several minutes each day “talking” to your baby. Making eye contact, using facial expressions and pointing to objects can help your little one’s emotional development.
- Invest in safe, developmentally appropriate toys. Look for toys with bright colors and multiple textures. Soft puzzles, musical toys and stuffed animals are all great for stimulating your growing baby.
- Read to your baby each day. As baby’s hearing and vision improves reading aloud can help their cognitive development.
- Make safety a priority. Familiarize yourself with important safety tips and check to make sure all products meet safety standards.
Your baby’s development is an ongoing process that will unfold over the years. You can help make this experience as smooth as possible by familiarizing yourself with baby’s milestones and how you can assist.
