A lot happens in a year, for you and for your child. From the first moments of his life, baby is already able to feel emotions, learn and interact with his parents. His development is exponential and each stage from 0 to 1 year brings his share of discoveries and acquisitions.
SUMMARY :
- From 0 to 3 months: awakening the senses
- From 4 to 6 months: a budding explorer
- From 7 to 9 months: baby becomes a little more independent
- From 10 to 12 months: the time of first steps
From 0 to 3 months: awakening the senses
Your newborn baby is constantly awakening to the world around him. If, at 1 month, he sleeps about 20 hours/24 , gradually, sounds, smells, light, taste and soon textures, appear in his life to give him more relief.
Sensory awakening and the fusional relationship with mother
From the very first weeks, your baby explores the world through his senses. Quickly, he recognizes your voice . At the same time, when he is awake, he likes to be touched and cuddled delicately: this is the sweet period of carrying and skin to skin .
👶 Awakening of the senses from birth
His emotions are particularly strong and uncontrolled. That's why crying is his first way of expressing them.
Motor development still disordered
Very slowly, your newborn discovers his limbs, first his arms and especially his hands which he quickly puts in his mouth.
At the age of 2 months, he tries his first coordinated movements , but it is only around 3 months that he will start to grab objects; small toys, but especially his pacifier if he has one or his comfort blanket and soon, his teething rings.
A little stronger every day, he also begins to lift his head and kick when he is on his back. Be careful during diaper changes!
The pediatrician especially notes the presence of archaic reflexes . Moro reflexes, sucking reflexes, automatic walking reflex and orientation reflex are normal and will disappear as the baby's movements become more voluntary.
His vision is limited , but it will evolve quickly. At birth, the baby sees what is less than 30 cm away from him. At 2 months, he can distinguish the outline of objects around him.
Communication: a first form of language
First, your baby communicates with you through sounds, cries, messy gestures and facial expressions. You can also observe different cries depending on his needs and their urgency.
Very early, around 2 months, he begins to babble and even if he does not understand the meaning of the words you say, he is already able to recognize the major emotional registers such as joy or anger. Thus baby begins to integrate your sounds and to communicate in his own way.
Food: Milk, Milk, and More Milk
Whether it is infant formula or breast milk, up to 3 months (and even more), your baby's diet is exclusively milk-based . Indeed, milk contains all the vitamins and nutrients necessary for his growth and good health.
🍼 Did you know? The BibRONDS Élhée are just as suitable for bottle-fed babies as for breastfed babies, as a follow-up to the mother's breast. We have always talked about breastfeeding bottles.
👩🍼 🤱 Breastfeeding or bottle feeding: let’s stop feeling guilty!
Current activity: speech
For the moment, your child is a baby and relies completely on you. Take advantage of this proximity to talk to him, hum nursery rhymes or tell him stories. Let him hear the sound of your voice and your intonations . Pronounce his first name without limits and thus encourage him to soon produce his own sounds.
From 4 to 6 months: a budding explorer
After becoming familiar with his body and his immediate environment, the fourth, fifth and sixth months of a baby see a first surge of curiosity set in. Baby is now looking for interactions and occupations.
Sensory awakening: baby recognizes his first name
For a few weeks now, your baby has been more alert. He sleeps less and expresses himself more with the means at his disposal . In your presence, baby turns his head, smiles, moves, calms down… and reacts to his name. This is a very important step!
In fact, he even stops to observe you. Mom and Dad are fascinating subjects, especially since, recently, baby has also recognized his other relatives: brothers, sisters, grandparents... Even your pets are gradually entering his circle.
Motor development: time for coordination
Your baby is growing and his strength is growing with him. Little by little, he learns to lift his head when he is on his back , to put his feet in his mouth or to ride a pedal boat . Then comes the time of back/stomach and stomach/back rocking , then the first sitting positions, even if they are still haphazard. Your child finally begins to grab small objects and hold them firmly even if he still drops them sometimes.
Finally, his vision is now good . He distinguishes details and, at 5 months old, perceives as many colors as you.
Communication, consonants and vowels of language
This is the period of babbling and babbling that parents love. As baby becomes more familiar with sounds and words, he or she begins to want to repeat them. Around 6 months, you should hear your child's first "real" sounds. "Aaaaa", "eeeee", but especially "iiii" which are sometimes piercing! Indeed, baby reacts to your voice and wants to imitate it!
Food and diversification from A to Z
Around 4 to 6 months, your baby is ready to discover the first solid foods in addition to the milk with which he has always been fed. For a well-managed food diversification, try to introduce new foods one by one, waiting a few days between each to observe the appearance of possible allergies or intolerances.
🍓 Milk, fruit, puree: how to organize baby’s meals?
Start with smooth pureed foods , such as well-cooked vegetables and fruits. You can then offer thicker textures and tender pieces as your baby grows.
🥕 Three recipes for baby food, 100% homemade
Of course, breast milk or infant formula remains the main element of your baby's meals. Diversification comes for the moment as a complement.
The activity of the moment, the discovery of one's body
Tickling , with your hands or with objects (fabrics, stuffed animals, wipes, cotton wool, etc.) is an opportunity to laugh and discover the sensations and parts of the body. You can also regularly place your child on his stomach, on his play mat, and place yourself in front of him. A simple exercise that encourages him to raise his head and stretch out his arms to see you and join you.
From 7 to 9 months: baby becomes a little more independent
Until now totally dependent on you, baby learns step by step what the word autonomy means. Eating, moving around a little and even expressing himself are all activities that, around 8 months, begin to settle in.
Sensory awakening to textures
Everything interests him. Textures, colors, shapes, other babies whose attention he tries to attract, animals and you of course: baby is curious about everything . He wants to touch everything and know everything. He clings to you, puts his fingers in your nose or mouth and refuses to leave you . This is separation anxiety which generally sets in around 8 months. Even naptime can be subject to a certain amount of stress. Then systematically explain that if you leave, you come back, that it is never forever.
This is where baby can develop a real attachment to his comforter, a stuffed animal, a blanket... And acquire a favorite object that allows him to fill the temporary absence of his parents.
💗 The bottle as a transitional object from birth?
Motor development: on the road to independence
Baby becomes both faster and more skillful . He moves by crawling , often backwards, although not all children go through this stage. He can also push up on his hands and explores fine motor skills by passing smaller or more difficult objects from one hand to the other.
As for play, he is very interested in stuffed animals and large objects like his plastic blocks . If they make noise, it is even better. If he can hit them or throw them , he will be even happier. This way, he experiences resistance and falling.
Mirrors are also part of his interests, especially if you are in front of them with him. He can then try to catch his reflection, or yours. He discovers himself differently. The period is ideal to name him and name you at the same time: two separate beings.
Communication and Language: The Age of Understanding
At the age of 7 months, your child can practice intentional communication : he is the initiator of certain exchanges. Still mainly gestural and sound-based, it includes, in addition to the baby's first name, short, easily recognized words (daddy, baby, auntie, etc.).
Later, at about 9 months, he makes the connection between gesture and speech . If you point to an object and ask him, he may try to catch it because he understands your intention, the word, or both. Moreover, at this age and even before, sign language can be very interesting in order to avoid the frustration that children sometimes feel when they cannot make themselves understood.
Diet and DME
Always offer more healthy and nutritious foods to your baby. You can now add some lean meat , boneless fish , egg , dairy products (yogurt, cheese) and legumes .
With BLW, let your baby explore tastes, textures and smells . You can also invite him to eat with his fingers if he wants to try. A tasty activity that will help him develop his fine motor skills and chew well.
The activity of the moment, laugh!
The game of "Peek-a-boo!" is undoubtedly the favorite of babies around 9 months who laugh out loud when they see you disappear behind your hand. But, the cubes, balloons and small containers in the bath will make excellent pastimes, sources of learning.
From 10 to 12 months: the time of first steps
Soon, your baby will be one year old. And yet, it wasn't so long ago that you were celebrating his birth! Now, he is saying a few words and may even be forming his first sentences. His greatest pleasure is to discover, play and follow you everywhere!
Sensory awakening: tell me everything
You are still the center of his world, but baby begins to take a serious interest in other adults, but especially in other children, whom he seeks out and willingly imitates. Books and music arouse his curiosity, just as he may begin to show a particular interest in one game or another.
Also, baby begins to make the connection between action and reaction : his crying and your interest, his "mischief" and your no.
Motor development: speed comes into play
If he doesn't walk, baby stands and sits or maybe moves on all fours . From time to time he tries to put one foot in front of the other , falls and starts again. Think about equipping doors with suitable closures and softening the corners of furniture that he uses for support: baby now escapes you in the blink of an eye. Crouching, leaning forward or on all fours on the stairs, he is everywhere .
🙌 How to promote babies’ autonomy?
His dexterity has also improved a lot. He can now pick up very small objects and even crumbs , which he still very often puts in his mouth: you have to be careful. Transferring his toys to or from a basket is no longer a problem either and it may even be that, around 12 months, your child, now grown, tries to hold his cutlery himself .
Exchange, communication and language
From a single sound, baby moves on to a double one: pa-pa , ba-ba and then a little later, ma-ma . The first "real" words can be pronounced , this is generally the case between 12 and 15 months. He holds out his hand to show what or who he is talking about and imitates sounds more and more easily. You can also encourage him with simple sentences like "Fais coucou" to which he will respond willingly.
Also, your baby now understands the meaning of no and prohibition , since he himself is able to shake his head to let you know that he does not agree.
Food: let’s eat!
From 10 months, your little one can eat the same thing as you provided that the food is sufficiently cooked, unseasoned, cut into very small pieces and adapted in quantity. Moreover, it is very likely that he now eats his meals in his high chair, at the table, with his family, and that he is curious about the contents of your plate.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy products, almost everything can be tasted, without forgetting breast milk or infant formula at least until the age of 1 year.
🍼 How many bottles for my baby depending on his age?
The activity of the moment, doing like the adults
It's time to give your baby a toy chest or basket (low and accessible) just for him. By going after what's inside, he discovers his first independent games .
A secure cupboard in the kitchen or living room, filled with everyday objects suitable for babies, is another source of endless wonder and pride. To be tested!
