Watching your new baby grow is a miraculous time in any parent's life, and be prepared for strangers, friends, relatives and your pediatrician to ask for updates on your baby's progress. But it's important to keep in mind that each child is different and will progress at his own pace with your encouragement and support.

"Different babies may do subtly different things at various ages and may reach several of these developmental milestones at various times," says Dr. Joseph Kahn, chair of pediatrics at St. John's Mercy Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. "For that reason, I encourage parents to look at development over time rather than be concerned if their baby can't 'do everything a baby should do' at any given point in time."

Here is an overview of the developmental milestones that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends pediatricians look for at each well-baby check:

Newborn: "At 1 week of age a baby should respond to sounds by startling, blinking, crying or calming," Dr. Kahn says. He should fix on a human face and begin to follow movement with his eyes. His legs and arms should move but should still have a flexed posture.

How You Can Help: Babies like soft voices and listening to a "sing-song" manner of speech. "Parents should begin to learn their baby's temperament and learn to console their baby by cuddling, playing, talking and singing," Dr. Kahn says.

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