Baby

During these months, babies are really learning to reach out and manipulate the world around them. They’re mastering the use of those amazing tools, "their hands." And they’re discovering their voices.

From 4 to 6 months old, your baby will probably:

• Roll over from front to back or back to front. Front-to-back usually comes first.
• Babble, making sounds that can sound like real language.
• Laugh.
• Reach out for and grab objects (watch out for your hair), and manipulate toys and other objects with her hands.
• Sit up with support and have great head control.

During the second half of this year, your little one becomes a baby on the go. After learning that they can get somewhere by rolling over, they will spend the next few months figuring out how to move forward or backward. If you haven’t baby-proofed yet, better get on it!

During this time period, your baby may:

• Start to crawl. This can include scooting (revolving around on his bottom) or “army crawling” (dragging himself on his tummy by arms and legs), as well as standard crawling on hands and knees. Some babies never crawl, moving directly to from scooting to walking.
• Sit without support
• Respond to familiar words like his name. He may also respond to “No” by briefly stopping and looking at you, and may start babbling "Mama" and "Dada."
• Clap and play games such as simple hide and seek (peek-a-boo).
• Learn to pull up to a standing position

The last development stage in baby’s first year is quite a transition. They aren't an infant anymore, and they might look and act more like a toddler. But they're still a baby in many ways. They are learning to:

• Begin feeding herself. Babies at this developmental stage master the “pincer grasp” -- meaning they can hold small objects between their thumb and forefinger.
• Cruise, or move around the room on their feet while holding onto the furniture or other support. Say one or two words, and "Mama" and "Baba" become specific name for parents. The average is about three spoken words by the first birthday, but there are many examples where children speak more than just three words.
• Point at objects they wants in order to get your attention.
• Begin “pretend play” by copying you or using objects correctly, such as keeping hands at ear and opretending to talk on the  phone.
• Take her first steps. This usually happens right around one year, but it can vary greatly.

What should you do if you think your baby is not meeting growth or developmental milestones, when he should? First, trust your instincts. If you really feel like something’s wrong, then talk to your doctor about it because if there is a problem, we want to catch it as soon as we can. Early intervention is best, and you know your child better than anyone.

Remember, however, that it is not exactly when your baby sits up by himself or says his first word that is important; it’s that he’s moving forward in his development. Don’t look at the time as much as the progression, and see that your child is changing and growing. It’s not a race and its not worthy. Nobody’s going to ask on a school admission when your child first walked or said ‘ma-ma.’

This table shows common developmental milestones that babies reach each month during their first year, in four major categories. Keep in mind that all babies are different and every baby grows at his own pace. There's no precise time that most of these skills first appear. If your child hasn’t reached a milestone by the month it is listed on this chart, it is usually a perfectly normal variation in child development. Watch for progress, not deadlines.