Baby Month by Month Development Stages: Physical, Mental & Intellectual

Babies show different physical, mental and intellectual development in the various stages of their life. This is the normal process of growing up, with exciting milestones along the way. The growth is fastest in the initial months when a newborn baby grows from a little bundle who can only eat, sleep or cry to an independent individual with likes and dislikes.

Here are a few milestones to help you trace the various development stages, and to watch out is any discrepancy...

Baby's Development at 3 months

Babies begin to respond to specific sounds by turning their heads to look at the source. They begin to follow objects with their eyes. They begin to smile and make their first attempts at verbalizations by gurgling and cooing. While you still need to support their head, their necks are now stronger and they can hold up their heads. They can now hold objects in their hands and bring the hands to their mouths.

Baby's Development at 5 months

By this time babies usually spend a lot of time lying on their backs and kicking their legs rhythmically. Sometimes, they play with their hands and toes, and are usually raise able to raise their chest and head by supporting themselves on their forearms. The next stage is rolling over from their back to lie on their tummy. A few precocious ones begin the ‘commando crawl’ which is essentially dragging themselves on their bellies, and pulling themselves forward with their arms.

Baby's Development at 6 months

Some babies can now sit if propped up on cushions, or if they lean forward on their arms, like a tripod. However, they are still far away from sitting upright on their own as their back and leg muscles are still not strong enough, and you must be careful to support their back. Some babies are able to hold up a propped milk bottle and drink, but never leave them alone, as they may choke if too much milk flows out. Babies of 6 months also begin to show emotions by recognizing familiar people around them and smiling at them or responding to funny faces. By this time, they should have doubled their birth weight.

Caution During Baby's developement stages

While these are the general milestones, you need to be alert in case your baby is not responding to sounds or sights, or has not developed any head control. Consult your doctor, if baby seems lethargic, is passing watery stools repeatedly, is not feeding, is vomiting continuously, or has a pale mottled skin.

Baby Development Stages

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