Karissa Tunis

The first year with a new baby is an interesting one. And it can be really difficult throughout that first year of motherhood. After a very long time preparing and planning, you finally get to hold your little miracle and bring them home! But now what?! Babies do not come with a guidebook, but oh how I wish they did! So now you are left with a new little human, and a Google search engine, to figure it all out.

Thankfully there is an enormous amount of education out there that did not exist for previous generations to take advantage of. But with that being said, it is easy to find contradicting studies, and not every baby fits the exact mold. Every baby, every family, and every situation is different. So my biggest advice to new parents is this – Trust your instincts!…

Read More

You just had a baby. It is incredible and awe-inspiring. It is also really, really hard. And you wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t have a few (or a lot of) baby questions and concerns. You are not alone in having a million new mom questions running through your head……

Read More

Developmental milestones are behaviors or physical skills seen in infants and children as they grow and develop. Rolling over, crawling, walking, and talking are all considered milestones. The milestones and stages of development are different for each age range and can vary within the set development guidelines quite a bit.

There is a normal range in which a child may reach each milestone and still be in development guidelines. When we talk about child development, we often speak of milestones that children hit at certain ages.

A developmental milestone is an ability that is achieved by most children by a certain age. Developmental milestones can involve physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication skills such as walking, sharing with others, expressing emotions, recognizing familiar sounds, and talking….

Read More

MILESTONES: WHAT ARE THEY & WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT?

Born completely helpless, newborns rely on their parents for everything with crying as their only form of verbal communication. Yet by their first birthday, most babies are able to communicate their needs using words, sign language or gestures, feed themselves (albeit in a crude, messy fashion), and get around via crawling or even walking! This development involves reaching numerous “milestones” which are defined as behaviors or physical skills a child achieves as they grow up.

---

This article is written by Tranquilo Mat
For more on this topic, check out the full Baby’s First Year collection

---

There are several different kinds of milestones:

Physical – Involving use of baby’s body to achieve a task, e.g., crawling or grasping an object

Cognitive – Solving problems or understanding the world around them, e.g., peek-a-boo as a fun game vs. their parent’s face disappearing unexpectedly

Social/Emotional – Understanding how to interact with others, e.g., learning to play with other children or smiling as a positive reaction vs. a reflex

Communication – Learning how to communicate using words or gestures, e.g., saying “dada” or learning how to use simple signs to ask for “more” or “milk.”

Find Answers for all of Your Common Newborn Concerns

 

Why It Matters

Milestones are important markers of normal human development and they are often achieved within a specific age range. For example, most babies learn to crawl between 7 and 10 months, but some may accomplish this feat at 6 months, while others may lag behind until 11 months. This variation can be completely normal.

If, however, your baby is very delayed in reaching a specific milestone, or isn’t reaching several important milestones, it can be a sign of a developmental issue which likely requires intervention. Sometimes the issue is something that is an easy fix, such as practicing their fine motor skills with special games, while other issues may be more serious and require a specialist. Always communicate with your pediatrician about any concerns you have regarding your baby’s developments and / or failure to meet milestone achievements.

Here are 50 New Mom Questions – You Are Not Alone!

 

Every Child is Unique

Of course, the most important thing to remember regarding milestones is that every child is different and will develop at their own pace. This is why milestones occur in a general age range or timeframe, not an exact day or month. Every child is unique and even siblings and twins can develop at dramatically different ways, reaching various milestones at their own pace. Often if a child excels in one area of development, they might be a bit behind in others. For example, one child may begin talking quite quickly but lag behind in fine motor skills while their twin may be the first to crawl around the room but be late to utter “dada.” Don’t rush your child’s development but if you ever have any questions or concerns about your child’s milestones, don’t hesitate to speak to your pediatrician.

So what can you expect your baby to master in the coming months? Below we’ve broken down the various milestones as a quick reference for parents:

 

6-8 MONTHS

Cognitive:

• Playing peek-a-boo.
• Object permanence – knowing an object still exists even when it’s out of sight.
• Looking for hidden objects.
• Moving into cause and effect – filling a bin with toys and letting baby dump it out is a good game for this stage.

Social:

• Separation anxiety will start.
  • It’s okay to hold and cuddle as much as you like.
  • Separation anxiety at this age is not a sign that your child is shy nor is your soothing her any form of spoiling her.
  • If you and your partner are going out for date night at this age, leaving baby with known family members or a caregiver can help reduce separation anxiety.

Physical:

• Baby will begin to lift onto their hands and knees during tummy time.

 

9 – 10 MONTHS

Cognitive:

• The word “no” becomes part of their vocabulary.
• They understand how to express what they want or don’t want with some verbal and physical cues.
• They will also start to understand images and their names – e.g., ask them to point to the cat in the room or a photo, and they will begin to understand how to identify this.

Social:

• Start imitating actions of those around her.
  • This is a good time to start playing sing song games, like “head, shoulders, knees, and toes” so she learns some more language and cognitive skills at the same time.

Physical:

• Start to creep along on their hands and knees without assistance.
• Some will start crawling rather quickly as well.
• Start pulling themselves up to stand.
  • May not know how to sit back down and may need help in this phase.
• Begin to finger feed themselves.
  • Introduce a variety of texture and taste foods now so baby can learn what he likes and how to correlate words with foods and tastes.

Language skills:

• Will start babbling a lot and may even start saying “mama” or “dada.”

 

11 – 12 MONTHS

Cognitive:

• Learning problem solving skills.
  • Shape oriented toys are good to incorporate into play.
• Begin dropping and letting go of things on purpose.
• Exploring things by poking things with their finger.
  • A great game at this age is to ask baby to point to where something is – their nose, an object in the room, etc.

Social:

• Starts showing preference for certain people and toys.
• Attachment to a toy or blanket that they wish to carry around or sleep with can also start now.
• Fear of people or things is usually expressed at this stage.
  • If this happens, it can help to talk them through items so over time they will learn to not be afraid of it.

Physical:

• Walk with assistance or while holding onto furniture.
  • Many babies take 2-3 steps on their own before their first birthday.
• Ability to scribble and draw if given crayons.
  • Instead of coloring, some babies prefer to just tear the paper to pass the time, all while developing higher finger and hand skills and coordination.
• Can start helping you dress them by extending their arms and legs.

Language skills:

• Begin using exclamations and saying things like “uh oh,” “oops,” and “ta da.”
• Continue to try and imitate words from those around her.

 

Remember

As mentioned before, the above are simply guidelines for a baby’s development but your little one’s progress might vary slightly. If you are ever concerned, speak to your pediatrician who will be happy to allay your fears or make an appropriate referral.

A baby’s first year is a chaotic and busy time when they are learning and absorbing so much, so don’t forget to enjoy all these moments because you’ll be singing happy birthday to your once-newborn, now 1 year old, in the blink of an eye! Now that you know more about your baby’s developmental milestones, which of the above skills are you most looking forward to your baby learning? And which one do you hope they master first? Or maybe you saw a milestone you’re dreading your baby hits – “I thought using ‘no’ was more of a toddler thing and I don’t want my baby to start sassing me just yet.” No matter what it is, we’d love to hear from you!

 

Enjoy these free Developmental Baby Milestone printables to help guide you through your little one’s first year

For 0-6 month milestones, read our article Baby’s 1st Milestones 0-6 Months

For more on this topic, check out the full Baby’s First Year collection

---

Featured Contributor:  Tranquilo Mat

Tranquilo Mat is the only portable soothing sleep aid that helps babies fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Invented by a nurse, mom approved, and baby loved. To learn more visit www.tranquilomat.com. As Seen on Shark Tank!

Website | Facebook | Instagram

By the time your due date arrives, you’ve become a pro at prenatal doctor’s visits. And while labor and delivery marks the end of your nearly constant prenatal check ups, now it’s baby’s turn to frequent the pediatrician for numerous check ups! Between “well baby” visits and “sick appointments,” it can feel like you are always in the doctor’s office with your little one. You will become an expert in no time! But to get you started, here’s how you can best prepare for your baby’s first pediatrician appointment! …

Read More

Becoming a new mom, whether it is your first time or your fifth time, can bring on a range of emotions from joy to anxiety. As you and your infant begin to get to know one another, and as you learn how to best meet your little one’s needs, you will at times find yourself wondering (or even worrying) about their health and care essentials with these common baby questions.

Below are several of the most common baby concerns that all newborn parents face, and a few answers to give you better guidance as to how to handle these issues. However, if you ever have questions – please reach out to your baby’s pediatrician right away. It is always better to be safe than sorry, and to catch something as early as possible….

Read More