Baby Milestones: When To Worry And When Not To

baby crawlingIf you are a first time parent, chances are you have read all the available material about baby milestones and are watching with a hawk eye to see that your little bundle of joy smiles, crawls, babbles and performs a myriad other miracles according to the set timetable called Milestones.

If you are a second or third time parent, chances are you are watching the youngest arrival anxiously to see if he or she is doing what their older siblings did at that age.

Now while there are generally accepted ages by which most children achieve certain milestones, it is important to understand that each baby is unique, and will arrive at every milestone in his or her own good time.

There is no way to hurry it, and in most cases reaching a milestone slower than others or skipping it altogether is not cause for worry.

Siblings may well develop at very different rates, however the difference in the rate at which each achieved their respective milestones is not really indicative of intellect or personal ability.

Generally speaking you can look for the following milestones at their given ages:

  • At birth most babies can turn their head from side to side, can locate your position by your voice and may recognize you.
  • At two months most infants have their social smile in place and can hold their head steady for a few moments.
  • By three months visual focus is better, he or she can lift the head when lying on the tummy, and can stay busy playing with their hands
  • At four months the baby can probably hold on to objects and even put them in the mouth, can kick with the legs, roll one or the other way and can also laugh that delightful belly laugh.
  • By five months the head is held steady, there is much babbling and swiping for things within reach.
  • At six months many babies are able to sit unsupported for a few moments, can roll over fully and may respond to their name
  • At seven months many babies are able to sit unassisted, can move around on their tummy and pass an object from hand to hand.
  • By eight months a child can sit up, and look for items he or she may have dropped.
  • At nine months the babbling becomes more entertaining, long streams of nonsense with inflection. He or she may be crawling [baby crawling] by now
  • By ten months your baby can be pulled up to stand and perhaps stand unassisted for a few seconds. By now the throwing of things may have started.
  • By eleven months many children can walk by holding on to things such as furniture or their parent’s hands.
  • By the age of one year, some babies can walk a few steps and will have said their first word.

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