Guest Author - Susan Thompson

If you are a new parent, you are probably curious as to what your baby should be doing and when. Your pediatrician will ask questions at each visit to track your baby’s developmental skills. Every baby is different and just because your friend’s baby is saying “dada” at five months old, and yours isn’t does not mean there is something wrong. Most likely your baby is just not ready to talk yet. Below are some guidelines for baby development in the first year.

The first eight weeks, it may seem like all your baby does is eat, sleep, and dirty their diapers. Baby is paying attention and getting ready for some big changes.

Shortly after the two month mark, your baby should start to smile when he sees you or hears familiar voices. This is the first social skill babies develop. Between two and three months, you need to keep a close eye on baby because this is the time they learn to roll over. Normally babies roll from stomach to back first. Around this time you will notice that if you put baby on the floor to play on their stomach, next thing you know they are on their back. They may do this once and not again for a few days, but your baby just learned how to roll. Rolling from back to front will not usually happen until somewhere around the fifth month.

Between the third and fourth month, babies will try to grab for things such as toys, bottles, and your hair if you are not careful. At this point they start to learn to judge distance. Also they start to realize that if they move the rattle it makes noise.

Around the age of six to eight months babies will start to interact through games like peek-a-boo and patty cake. You can usually also get them to laugh when you try to tickle them and they may even be able to say “dada” or “mama” around this time.

Between eight and 12 months most babies learn to sit up and crawl. Look out, baby is now mobile and there is no stopping them now. This is where developmental differences between your baby and your friend’ baby will really come into play. Your baby should be able to make eye contact and should acknowledge when you call their name.

Remember, the first year, a lot of different things are happening with your baby, and all baby’s develop skills at a different pace. If you are concerned about your baby’s developmental skills, always ask your pediatrician, and they will let you know if they think there is a problem.