You may be about to give birth or may have just given birth and milestones such as giggling, crawling, sitting up and talking seem like in the distant future to you.....but babies grow fast! Real fast! Your newborn baby is about to embark on a whirlwind of activity soon. They are constantly evolving and changing right in front of you and it’s so important to keep track. Milestones are key indicators of where your child is developmentally and plus, they’re fun! It’s such a memorable moment for parents to see their baby achieve something new and they’re great to document. There are some real gorgeous moments taking place so be on the lookout and savor each moment. It’s important for us to note here that each baby is unique and may develop at different paces so just because your baby isn’t there yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen in weeks’ time! Here are our top milestones for the first three months:
Month 1:
The first month of life and your gorgeous newborn is already getting familiarized with the big world and is taking everything in! One thing they’re already used to is your voice! Yep that’s right, researchers believe newborns recognize the sounds of their parent’s—particularly mummy’s—voices from birth. You may notice your baby is soothed by the sound of your voice and enjoys your singing (my baby is the only one that does!). Your newborn will also react negatively to loud noises that startle them and it is completely normal as reacting to sights and sounds is actually a key milestone in the first month. Another key milestone is displaying innate reflexes such as rooting and sucking, so get the camera ready for that first thumb suck and click away!
Key Milestones:
- Reacting to sights and sounds
- Displaying the Moro reflex (often called the startle reflex), Suck reflex and Root reflex (this reflex helps baby find the breast or bottle to being feed)
Month 2
Already month two and whole lot more to look forward to! This month your baby’s development centers around her relationship with you and other caregivers. Your baby will finally start to recognize your face- about time!! Their eyesight improves by this month and they can focus on distinguishing features and faces. By month two they have an additional way to communicate aside from crying: cooing!!! Be prepared to be absolutely delighted and charmed by your baby’s cooing (an early form of talking) as some babies can even start to blow bubbles or make raspberries. It can’t get any cuter right? Ohhh but it does, it really does. Get the camera ready, call everyone, message the Whatsapp group because a huge and much anticipated baby milestone happens by the end of the second month……a SMILE!!!! Your baby will begin to intentionally smile at you and it’s such a gorgeous moment for the family, be prepared to embarrass yourself repeatedly by doing animal impressions to get more smiles. It’s worth it though! Another exciting key milestone is that your baby will be able to lift her own head. As babies build muscles, they’ll start to gain enough strength to hold their heads up on their own. A great way to help them achieve this is through tummy time and by using tantalizing toys (like our handmade Wee Bean rattle!) as motivation to help your baby learn to lift their head. Babies are naturally attracted to sounds, bright colors and shiny objects. It’s a great bonding experience too!
Key Milestones
- Paying attention to faces and recognizing people
- Cooing
- Smiling
- Lifting their own head
Month 3:
Time is just ticking ahead, and a new month brings along new milestones. Month three is all about coordination and your baby will be connecting sound, sight, and movement. Expect to see your baby tracking you as you move about the room, watching faces closely and even recognizing you from a distance- you’re basically going to have a little spy on your hands! The adorable smiles continue especially as they begin to recognize sounds that are familiar to them. However, the major milestones this month is……drumroll please.……. grasping objects!! Your baby will start to develop that all-important hand-eye coordination. They will grab and shake toys, showing off their newfound skill. Soon your baby will be able to bring their hands to their mouth and reach for objects with one hand, so you will have to be super vigilant and be on the lookout for no-no’s.
Key Milestones
- Connecting sound, sight, and movement
- Grasping objects
All in all, the first three months of your baby’s life are magical and you’re both achieving a lot, you as a new parent and your baby as a new human! So, a big WELL DONE to both of you and we would love to hear about your baby’s milestone achievements! Please feel free to comment below and share your fond mommy experiences. Also, please remember babies mature at different rates and even though it’s easy to compare your baby to another, best practice is not to! Missing a few milestones or being late is not cause for panic……just give them a little extra time and a whole lot of love!