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Home › Articles › Guiding Baby's Development › The First Year

The First Year

Birth to 3 Months

By Kelly Burgess

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At about 5 or 6 weeks comes the moment that makes it all worthwhile. Your baby, instead of just looking at you, bursts into a spontaneous, wiggly smile that lights up his face -- and your life. Called a social smile, it's baby's first conscious interaction beyond eye contact. Right now, he'll smile at anyone, but soon enough he'll begin to prefer Mom and Dad over everyone else. About the same time, your baby will begin cooing, gurgling and making crowing sounds. Coo back -- he loves the sound of your voice and this interaction is an important part of building language skills.

"Newborns seem so similar that it's easy to assume you already know them," says Harris. "Be open to the fact that you don't know each other and, whether this is your first child or your sixth, this child is very different from any other."

Ricki Wieselthier of Orlando, Fla. knows this well. Her triplets, Zachary, Lindsey and Hannah, have always had distinctly different personalities. She says she noticed it even during the first few weeks of their lives when they were still in the neonatal intensive care unit. "The nurses called Zachary the flirt, Lindsey was the tiger and Hannah was the patient one that never cried," Wieselthier recalls. "Zachary is still a charmer, Lindsey is still very independent and Hannah is still such a sweet, quiet child."

Motor Skills and Development
The biggest physical change for the baby at this stage according to Harris, is the transition from being what she calls a "reflex machine" to learning some measure of control over his movements. At first, the baby's limbs appear curled and short, and move in a jerky, uncoordinated manner. And, his head needs constant support. By the end of the first month, those movements will be more controlled, his arms and legs will begin to straighten and he should be able to lift his head briefly while lying on his tummy. Soon, he'll be moving his head from side to side, and by the end of the third month, he should be able to hold his head steady -- and even raise his head and chest from the floor. Some babies may even roll over by this time.


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