Development Timetable
Moms love to brag about their baby's early first steps or their nine-month-old's sense of humor. Even if not announced to others, all moms keep tabs on their baby compared to the next. Parents invest in sign language books, teach-your-baby-to-read courses, and all other sorts of promises to make their baby the next Einstein. But according to the tried-and-true parenting handbook "What to Expect The First Year," your baby's development potential is in her genes, and "studies show that there is little we can do to speed up the developmental timetable, though we can slow it down by not providing an adequate environment for development, by lack of stimulation, by poor diet, by poor health care (certain medical or emotional problems can hamper development) and by simply not giving enough love." Your baby's development is tracked in five areas: social skills, language, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and intellectual, or cognitive development.
Social Skills
Social development is first recognized in newborns by the way they cry, cuddle and respond to the human face. Dr. William Sears, a pediatrician and author of over 40 parenting books, notes that experts agree "interaction with caregivers can profoundly affect social development." By the second month, babies learn to mimic mom and begin to smile and show emotion, and by three or four months can begin to communicate their needs and emotions through cries and other sounds. At six to nine months babies learn to hold their hands up to say "pick me up" and start to understand simple commands like "no." In the first 12 months babies have learned to trust their caregivers and those showered with love and nurturing are socially equipped to begin new relationships with other caregivers and children and, as such, are able to enter the "big world" with a stable base of social security.
Language
Language development starts as a newborn, who will use cries as demands for all her needs. After getting adjusted to her new life, the second month brings a new form of communication: cooing and squealing to show content and happiness. Months three and four bring new sounds to the baby's vocabulary; drawn-out vowel sounds ranging in tone and intensity. Five-month-olds begin to watch Mom's mouth and by six to seven months learn to string sounds together to create babbling "words" for emotions. By nine to twelve months babies can say their first two-syllable words; including the anticipated "ma-ma" and "da-da." At a year, many babies have a few words but all have learned to communicate their needs by some "language," be it words, gestures, cries or grunts.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills are how pediatricians track your baby's hand and finger development. The adorable clenched fists of newborns slowly open up regularly after a month, and begin to grasp things (like mom's earrings or sister's hair) by the second and third month. By five months baby has perfected his aim and can easily grasp objects and transfer them from one hand to the other. Six- to nine-month-olds are able to pick up tiny objects with their thumbs and forefingers (and are somehow able to find every crumb missed by the vacuum and put it into their mouths). They can begin (clumsily) feeding themselves, and by nine to twelve months can use a sippy cup and begin to use silverware. At this stage they also love stacking blocks and singing lullabies with hand motions like "The Itsty Bitsy Spider."
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills track the development of large muscle groups including the neck, trunk, and limbs. Newborns start right away in trying to lift their head; "tummy time" is strongly recommended at this age to help them develop this first gross motor skill. By three months babies can hold their head steady when held, and three to four month olds usually start rolling from back to tummy, tummy to back, and/or both. Five month olds can bear weight on their legs while supported, and six months is the golden age that marks sitting unassisted. Six- to nine-month-olds start to crawl, and by their first birthday many babies are able to walk. The bigger achievement though is being mobile; pediatricians look for twelve month olds to be able to get where they want to go, either by crawling, scooting, rolling, cruising (walking while holding onto furniture), or walking.
Cognitive Development
As "What to Expect The First Year" explains, "most indicators of intellectual development---creativity, sense of humor, and problem-solving skills, don't usually become apparent until toward the end of the first year at the earliest." The early signs of cognitive development include a newborn's cry for comfort and feeding; being met with attention helps the baby acquire trust. Dr. Sears explains they learn to trust mom by "anticipating distress will be followed by comfort." By two months infants learn to express emotion through different cries and sounds, and by three months begin to understand they can cause people to react through their actions. (They are not able to be spoiled, however, because they are not intellectual enough to "trick" a parent to do what they want; they only want attention and love.) Six- to nine-month-olds understand labels of objects and can associate pictures with certain things, like "cat" and "bottle." Stranger anxiety starts at six to nine months, and separation anxiety (crying when mom leaves the room) comes at nine to twelve months when they lose the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.
All Babies are Different
Although it's fun to compare babies, there is a wide range of normal and "What to Expect The First Year" recommends only comparing baby "to themselves, a week earlier or a month ago." As long as your baby is following the developmental ladder of one thing leading to the next and has proper pediatric care, you can truly sit back and enjoy the ride. Parents can help their baby by providing a tremendous amount of love and support and stimulating her on a daily basis through fun social interaction during all activities including baths, eating, reading, putting them to bed, grocery shopping, playtime, and every other normal daily activity.
