While time passes and your baby grows soon, the experience of watching your baby grow each day is one that should be cherished. Here’s a brief guide on the growth of your baby stage by stage along with things you must bear in mind to ensure their healthy development.
First 6 months (0-6 months)
- Be careful of her head as her body is delicate and she is still growing. It will flop if you don’t support her
- She will learn to stretch her hands and legs now
- She is going to start recognizing voices
- She will open her fists now and will try to use her hands
- She can roll on both sides
- She will respond to high contrast objects and loud noises
- By 3-4 months, she will cut her first tooth
- She will stare at things away from her, but may not be able to reach it yet
- She will try holding her head steady and will hold hands together
- Will observe and try to register new objects
- She can grab her toes and feet
6-12 months
- She can sit by herself. She can also stand with support
- She will try to walk using support
- She will learn to poke and to point by now
- Will pull, tear and play with toys in different ways
- She can hold her bottle. In fact, she will try to feed herself with the spoon, but may not be very successful at it
- She can find objects that you try to hide from her
- Looks at pictures in books
- She will now enjoy toys with lights and music
12-18 months
- Between 12-15 months, your toddler may be able to stand up without any support.
- Some children start walking by 15 months and some may take 18 months to start walking.
- She is now good at recognizing people and will point to people she knows
- By 18 months, children have a lot of control on their hands and feet movements. She may start attempting to use a spoon or drink from a cup on their own
- She is also growing emotionally now. She will feel sad if someone around her is crying. She is now aware of her emotions and may also throw tantrums
- She may also get embarrassed if she is asked to do things she is not comfortable with
- She may fear being away from her loved ones
- Your baby will now start saying words in between her normal babbles and grunts.
- She will follow your instructions and gestures easily.
- She now knows her name and will respond if she is called
- She will understand mirror reflection
- She will hug you and smile at you now
18-24 months
- Most toddlers are walking by now and some can also run around.
- By the time she is 2 years, you will know which hand is the dominant one for her
- She will help in taking off simple things like her socks and will be cooperative when you dress her.
- You can now start training her on toilet habits. By the time she is 2 years old, she will learn it.
- At this age, your child starts to feel more emotions like happiness, anger, excitement, etc.
- She may throw tantrums by screaming, crying, shouting or running away from you.
- Your toddler should eat well and sleep at least for 13 hours in a day.
- Your toddler will probably start being able to:
- – Find hidden things
- – Sort shapes and colors
- – Complete familiar rhymes and parts of songs
- – Name items in books
- By the time she is 2, she will at last know 50 words and will learn to communicate