The Most Anticipated Baby Milestones

BABY’S First Year – The most anticipated baby milestones

Smiles

After two months of sleepless nights and around the clock soothing, you can expect your baby to start smiling back at you when she is awake and alert. Often all it takes to trigger your babies irresistible smile is the sound of your voice or the sight of your face.

Rolling Over

Most Infants start to roll over around 4-6 months, although some infants can start to roll as early as 3 months. Your baby will most likely roll from front to back and after she masters that she will roll back to front. Often babies may get upset and cry when they get stuck in a position and are unable to roll back.

Laughs

Although every baby is different, Generally speaking, babies start cooing at 2 months and laughing at 4 months. If you find yourself on edge because of the frequent sound of your baby’s crying, take heart, it won’t be long until you will hear the sweetest sound you will ever hear, your babies laugher. Do you know the best part about this? It is how easily and contagious a baby’s laugh is! All they need is a silly face, a peek-a-boo or some tickling to set them off. 

Sleeps All Night

What is the Holy Grail for new parents? A full night sleep! Most parents can rest assured that their precious baby will most likely sleep through the night around the 4-6 month mark. As with all things, all babies are different, however in the worst case scenario, at least your baby will be capable to sleep longer stretches at night. 

Sits Up

A baby discovers a new world when they are not stuck on their belly!

Although most babies are wobbly around the six month mark, most babies master the sitting up skill by around 7-9 months. 

Clapping Hands

Most babies are able to clap around 9 months, after they’ve mastered sitting up, pushing and pulling themselves up with their hands, and pre-crawling.

You can encourage your baby to clap by playing clapping games/songs. Your own clapping gets baby so excited, she’ll start to bring her hands together in an effort to clap along with you. 

Reaching, Grasping and Holding

At around six months old a baby can bring both hands to their midline. If you were to hold a toy in front of them, they would bring both hands up and try to grab it.

Waves ‘Bye-Bye’

Waving “bye-bye” is not just a cute little trick. It is actually an expression of language. By 9 months most babies begin to make the link between sounds, gestures, and meaning. They understand that waving is connected to the phrase “bye-bye.”

Crawls

Babies should crawl between 6-9months. When your baby is around this age, get ready for some exercise chasing them around the house. 

You can encourage your baby to crawl by giving them plenty of tummy time and free playtime on the floor. 

Did you know that not all babies crawl? If your baby reaches this age and still doesn’t crawl don’t fret. Some babies prefer to wriggle on her tummy, scoot or creep instead.

Pulling Up to Stand

Although most infants will pull themselves up to a standing position between 9 and 12 months, it is not unusual for some babies to stand as early as 8 months. So it is best to be aware of any furniture that baby could pull and make sure to drop the mattress down, just in case.  

Walking

Walking is one of the most anticipated milestones for most parents. 

After your baby learns to pull themselves to stand, at around 9 to 12 months babies can teach themselves to walk by holding on to furniture. When they initially pull to stand, they’ll grab on, let go and drop down on their bottoms. Then they’ll figure out that they can hold on and walk along the couch. Within a couple weeks to a couple months, they’ll let go and take their first step.

Eats Finger Food

Between 9-12 months, babies develop better control over their hands and fingers, making it easier to grab small objects — like finger foods! Be warned though, food is not the only thing your baby will put into their mouths. Since they love exploring taste and texture, they can pretty much put anything they can fit into their little mouths, so environment safety is crucial at this point.