Healthy Children > Ages & Stages > Baby

baby: 0-12 mos.

It doesn’t take long to develop the confidence and calm of an experienced parent. Your baby will give you the most important information—how she likes to be treated, talked to, held, and comforted. This section address the most common questions and concerns that arise during the first months of life.

At Birth - 3 months your baby should...

Baby

Physical Skills

  • Raises head & chest when on stomach
  • Stretches & kicks on back
  • Opens and shuts hands
  • Brings hand to mouth
  • Grasps and shakes toys
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Baby
  • Begins to develop social smile
  • Enjoys playing with people
  • More communicative
  • More expressive with face & body
  • Imitates some movements & expressions
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Baby

Sensory milestones

  • Follows moving objects
  • Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance
  • Starts using hands and eyes in coordination
  • Prefers sweet smells
  • Prefers soft to coarse sensations
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Birth - 3 Months Articles

At 4 - 7 months your baby should...

Baby

Physical Skills

  • Rolls both ways
  • Sits with and without support of hands
  • Supports whole weight on legs
  • Reaches with one hand
  • Transfers object from hand to hand
  • Uses raking grasp
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Baby
  • Enjoys social play
  • Interested in mirror images
  • Responds to expressions of emotion
  • Appears joyful often
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Baby

Cognitive thinking

  • Finds partially hidden object
  • Explores with hands and mouth
  • Struggles to get objects that are out of reach
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4 - 7 Months Articles

At 8 - 12 months your baby should...

Baby

Physical Skills

  • Gets to sitting position without help
  • Crawls forward on belly
  • Assumes hands-and-knees position
  • Gets from sitting to crawling position
  • Pulls self up to stand
  • Walks holding on to furniture
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Baby
  • Shy or anxious with strangers
  • Cries when parents leave
  • Enjoys imitating people in play
  • Prefers certain people and toys
  • Tests parental response
  • Finger-feeds himself
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Baby

Cognitive thinking

  • Explores objects in different ways
  • Finds hidden objects easily
  • Looks at correct picture when the image is named
  • Imitates gestures
  • Begins to use objects correctly
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8 - 12 Months

Symptom Checker

Should you call the doctor? Find out here.
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Ages & Stages

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