Physical Development:
At this stage, babies become increasingly responsive
to their environment and will usually give their first
smile by 2 months of age. Most infants begin to:
• Hold hand in a fist.
• Lift head up and prop self up on elbows, when
lying on their tummy
• Use sucking, grasping, and rooting (holding
tongue to the roof of the mouth) reflexes
• Touch, pull, and tug own hands with fascination
• Grip your finger when you stroke their palm
• Hold unto objects and wave them around
• Repeat body movements, and enjoy doing so
• Roll over in one direction or side
• Put some weight on their legs when held upright
Social and Emotional development:
Babies spend a lot of time getting to know their own
bodies. They:
• Suck their own fingers
• Observe their own hands
• Bring both hands together
• Look at the place on the body that is being
touched
• Begin to realize they are separate people
from others and learn how body parts, like arms and
legs, are attached
Infants are interested
in other people and learn to recognize primary caregivers.
Most infants:
• Can be comforted by a familiar adult
• Respond positively to touch
• Interact best when in an alert or attentive
state
• Benefit from short, frequent interactions
more than long, infrequent ones
• Smile when you smile at them and show pleasure
in response to social stimulation
• Squeal when happy
• Communicate needs by crying. Their cries could
even signal boredom or request for attention
Thinking Skills:
Newborns use and integrate their senses to explore
their world. Most infants:
• Can see clearly within 8-15 inches and hence
can focus eyes on your face
• Focus on and follow moving objects, including
human faces. This is termed "tracking"
• Can see all colors and distinguish hue and
brightness. Red, white and black colors attract their
attention more. Good idea to place a mobile over the
crib so that your baby can follow its movements as
well as enjoy the soothing music
• Develop discriminating taste buds such as
sweet, sour, bitter, and salty at this age
• Respond with facial expressions to strong
stimuli (like odors)
• Prefer high contrast items and geometric shapes
and patterns
• Begin to anticipate events (for example, sucking
at the sight of a nipple bottle)
• Are able to focus on small objects e.g. raisins
Communication Skills:
From the very start, infants pay close attention to
language. In the first year, they can distinguish
all of the speech sounds that occur in natural language;
then they begin to specialize in the sounds of their
home language. Most infants will:
• Respond to speech by looking at the speaker
• Respond differently to the voice of a parent
than to other voices
• React to changes in a speaker's tone, pitch,
volume, and intonation
• Respond differently to their home language
and another language
• Communicate with bodily movements, by crying,
babbling, and laughing
• Respond to loud sounds by becoming completely
silent, crying, or acting startled
• Attempt to imitate sounds
What you can do:
The most important thing in the first
few weeks is to give your baby your full attention.
Talk to him, smile at him, make faces, cuddle him
and show him how much you love him. Place him on his
tummy often so he can practice lifting his head and
push up with his arms, which will help strengthen
his neck and shoulder muscles.
Trivia:
Snooze news
The average newborn logs 15 to 18 hours of sleep per
day, often in the form of short naps. Longer sleep
patterns during the night won't occur until a little
later. One way to move closer to that goal is to wake
him if he sleeps for more than three to four hours
at a time during the day.
Meals
Nurse him every two to three hours if breastfeeding.
You'll know he's getting enough if he seems satisfied
after the feed, continues to have wet diapers and
stays within a normal growth curve.
Even if you plan to bottle-feed formula to your baby,
consider breastfeeding the first few days so your
baby can benefit from this nutritious natural food.
Feed him formula every three to four hours. Initially,
about two to four fluid ounces are required at each
feeding, but gradually the amount will increase.
*All babies have their
own internal developmental timetable. If your baby
hasn't yet acquired these milestones, he will in time.
If you have concerns about your baby's development
discuss them with baby's pediatrician.
