A Guideline to Your Baby's Milestones on the First Year By Mark Crockrum At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Did you know that a lot of parents actually keep an online journal tracking the different milestones of their babies? On the first year of life, your baby responds to a warm and loving environment. She learns to smile at people she trusts and imitate sounds. Babies learn faster when they feel reassured and loved. Holding your baby when she cries and responding to her needs are essential in creating a strong healthy bond.

Here are several guidelines to help you keep track of your baby’s milestones during the first year of life. Remember that these are just guidelines, not rules, if your baby is not yet showing some of them, don’t fret because this doesn’t mean an unhealthy baby.

By the end of the first month, babies:

- Move their head from side to side. At times, babies can lift their heads but they can’t sustain this for long periods.
- Bring arm to face. They also have strong reflex movements especially when their cheeks are touched, and can grasp objects placed on their hands.
- They also like to study faces and can focus on items which are 8 to 12 inches away.

On the second month, babies:

- Track movement and bright colored objects with their eyes.
- Start to make “ooh” and “ahh” sounds instead of just crying and fussing
- Smile during interaction with people they trust.

During the third month of life, babies:

- Stiffen legs as if trying to stand
- Grasp and shake toys such as rattles. They also tend to reach for shiny and dangling objects.
- Kick energetically when awake. They also attempt to move when laid on their tummy.
- Imitate sounds they hear.
- They start recognizing people and develop trust with known people and fear strangers

On the fourth month, babies:

- Roll over from tummy to back and will start learning to roll over from back to tummy.
- Start putting things in their mouth
- Respond to sound and recognize food sources
- Have distinctive cries for pain, fear, discomfort, etc.

By the end of the fifth month, babies:

- Use toys and other tools to get items they want. They will also start to pay attention to smaller objects and will see you even when you’re across the room.
- Begin teething. They also try to hold their self up when in sitting position

During the sixth month, babies:

- Make simple sounds like “mama” and “dada”
- Can eat solid foods, hold own bottle and drink from a cup
- Make responses showing that language is understood

On the seventh month, babies:

- Play simple games such as peek-a-boo
- Self feed finger foods
- Can read emotions from the tone of your voice

By the end of the eight month, babies;

- Roll around the play area, sit unsupported, get into the crawl position, at times may attempt to crawl.
- Have own language and babbles on their own
- React differently to different people, have favorite person/people
- React to people saying their name

On the ninth month, babies:

-Can change positions with support, from lying down to sitting up to crawling.
-Can recognize self

During the tenth month, babies:

- Stand with support, try to stand while holding on to furniture
- Get upset when toys or other objects are taken away

By the end of the eleventh month, babies:

- Wave bye-bye, clap hands in excitement, greet people
- Say mama and papa and simplified names of members of the family
- Understand “no” and simple instructions
- Recognize family members in pictures and by their names

Now that your child is a year old, you and your baby are already sharing a special bond. You already know what your child’s like and dislikes, and you probably won’t remember your life without her. Now your child is able to:

- Crawl or walk with little or no support
- Dance to music and shake their head “no”
- Explore, open and shut cabinet doors, climb on toys and furniture
- Share belongings to others and form attachment with items.

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