Infant Milestones

Your baby’s first year of life is a remarkable journey of development—physical, visual, verbal and emotional. She enters the world barely knowing how to suck, sleep and cry. Yet by the time her first birthday rolls around, chances are she’s crawling—maybe even walking—chomping away at finger foods and not just recognizing her caregivers but even calling them by name. While all babies progress at different rates, here are some milestones worth mentioning.

By 3 Months of Age: Baby holds a rattle and shakes it, follows moving objects with eyes (also called “tracking”), smiles and imitates others’ facial expressions and holds chest and upper body up with arms when resting on belly.

By 6 Months of Age: Baby rolls from belly to back, moves objects from one hand to the other, sits with support, laughs and plays peek-a-boo.

By 9 Months of Age: Baby gets fist to mouth, responds to her name, possibly understands simple commands like “No” and stands while holding onto something for support.

By 1 Year Old: Baby crawls, walks by holding on and perhaps even takes a few steps unassisted, puts objects in and takes them out of a container, grasps small objects with forefinger and thumb (aka the pincer grip), communicates by shaking head for yes or no and pointing at objects he wants, responds to simple verbal commands like “Stop,” eats finger food unassisted and starts to develop a preference for particular caregivers—such as his parents over his grandparents.
Resources

http://www.aap.org: American Academy of Pediatricians for more on childhood milestones and development
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Donna Christiano is an award-winning free-lance journalist who has written extensively on women’s and children’s health for many consumer magazines, including Woman’s Day, Parents, Weight Watchers and others. Donna has also served on the staffs of Glamour and Bride’s magazines. She tries to live a healthy and strong life in New Jersey with her husband and two children.