Your baby grows and develops a lot during your pregnancy, but once baby is born, their development is nowhere near complete. Their little bodies will continue to grow and develop rapidly for the next several years. Watching and monitoring your baby’s development will be important since it will help you and your doctor to make sure that baby is growing properly and at the rate they should. Premature babies will probably develop much more slowly than other children so don’t be concerned if your premature baby’s development seems a little behind schedule.
Growth and Development
Your baby will grow a lot during the early weeks and months of their life. Let’s look at some common stages in your baby’s life and how their bodies will be growing and developing. Remember that these are just estimations of expected growth and development. Your child may develop differently and only your pediatrician can tell you what is normal and what needs more serious attention.
Baby Physical Development: 1-4 Months
Your baby’s head and brain will be growing rapidly during the first several months of baby’s life. Their head will grow about 2 cm in circumference for the first 2 months and then about 1.5 cm per month during the 3rd and 4th month. This head growth is important since it shows that your baby’s brain is continuing to grow properly. You can gage your baby’s brain growth by how their head is growing.
Your baby’s skin will be really sensitive during this initial stage of life. Make sure that you are very careful with your baby’s soft and delicate skin. Irritation will occur easily and it is common to see things like infant acne, dry skin and redness during these first few months.
Your baby will also be developing their motor skills during this time. They are born knowing how to suck and swallow. They have the grasping reflex, but aren’t yet strong enough to hold onto things, so it is a good idea to have simple toys for baby that they won’t need to hold. Wrist and foot rattles work great for newborns. During this time your baby will also develop their head and neck muscles. At birth they are very weak but by 4 months your baby should be able to lift and move their head around.
Baby Physical Development: 4-8 Months
During this stage of development baby’s head will still be growing, although not as rapidly as it was growing during the first couple of months. It will be growing about 1 cm in circumference each month. Your baby will also start to show their first teeth during this time as well. Another fun physical development that you will see during this time period is a final settling of eye color. Infant eye color can and will often change in the months after birth, but during this time eye color will typically be finalized.
Baby’s reflexes will also develop a lot during this stage. They can now easily blink, suck and swallow. They will learn to sit on their own, roll over and pick up items and move them into their mouth. Your baby will be moving from the newborn stage into a more mobile and interactive phase of their physical development during this time.
Baby Physical Development: 8-12 Months
From 8-12 months your baby will be growing quite a bit. The soft spots in their head will begin to fuse shut. They will grow more teeth, and most babies will have at least one tooth by the end of this stage. Your adorable baby will also be covered in a thick layer of baby fat on their thighs, arms and even their neck. They will be able to focus their eyes on specific items and often can even point at them.
Motor skills are also very developed at this stage. They can grab objects and move them from hand to hand. They can stack items easily as well. During this stage babies will also be able to pull themselves into a standing position and move positions. They can roll, sit up, crawl and may even start taking their first few steps. They are also learning important skills like imitation and object recognition.
Baby Physical Development: 1 Year and After
Once your baby reaches a year they will really start showcasing their independence. They will learn a lot of skills like talking, identifying objects when asked and even being able to recognize themselves in the mirror. During this time they will also start to develop preliminary social skills and will start to interact with other children and adults in a more conscious manner. They will also play on their own and enjoy playtime with other adults and children as well.
At 1 year of age they will weigh 3 times as much as they did when they were born. Their head will fuse together and their chest will start growing more rapidly than the head. In fact their head will only grow just over 1 cm in 6 months.
Your baby’s growth and development is important. Remember that every child develops differently and your child may develop more quickly or more slowly than other children. If you are concerned about your child’s development be sure to talk with your pediatrician. They will know how your child should be developing and will help you to determine what is normal for your child.
It may be interesting to track your child’s physical development. Your pediatrician will likely use growth charts and percentiles to determine if your child is growing at the rate they should. This information can also be interesting for you to know, so ask your pediatrician how your child is developing.