Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 1-Month-Old and 2-Month-Old Baby
Right from birth, your baby demonstrates physical and mental milestones that are a result of brain growth and development. The first weeks will be taken up by sleeping (16-18 hours per day), eating (every 2-4 hours), crying and making involuntary reflex movements in response to stimuli.1
Once your baby is 2 months old, their rapid brain growth has already led to their preliminary understanding of how one event can lead to another. For example, they may begin to anticipate certain events with behaviour such as smacking their lips when they see their bottle because they know that it is time to eat. They will find these routines comforting and reassuring, so establish steady routines right from the beginning, such as taking a daily walk or giving a bath followed by a story before bedtime. Encourage their cognitive development with interactive play such as putting on a puppet show: pop a stuffed animal or puppet out from behind your back or the side of the crib. Soon, they may start looking for it.
Involuntary reflexes in response to stimuli which will continue into your baby's first and second months are:
Rooting: Touch or stroke your baby's cheek with a finger or nipple. They will turn their head and open their mouth to follow and “root” in the direction of the stroking. This helps the baby find the breast or bottle to begin feeding.
Sucking: When something touches their lips or the roof of their mouth, your baby will begin to suck. Sucking is coordinated with swallowing. Sucking is also comforting and helps babies settle. Babies also have a hand-to-mouth reflex that goes with rooting and sucking, and they may suck on fingers or hands.
Startling: You experienced their first startling reflex movements as kicking in the womb. These sudden, jerky motions and cries in response to loud noises or quick movements disappear in 3-6 months.2,3
Stepping: When you support your baby with one foot flat on a firm surface, they'll “walk” their other foot forward. This reflex generally disappears by the second month.
Grasping: Put your finger in the palm of your baby's hand or on the underside of their foot, and they'll grasp it tightly. A newborn's strength can be surprising.
Reflex movements help identify normal brain and nerve activity and can last for several weeks or several months. Furthermore, when placed on their stomach, they will start to pick up their head for a few seconds as their neck control improves.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 3-Month-Old Baby
Your baby is developing their visual, cognitive and motor skills at an amazing rate and seemingly by accident. For example, they reach out and bump a toy that makes music. The next time they touch it, the same thing happens. So now they know what to expect and have thus learned by discovery. Their strength is increasing, and they may be able to hold their head up for a few minutes when propped sitting up.
At this point, early reflexive behaviours in response to stimuli, like the stepping reflex, may be starting to disappear, however some do last for several months.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 4-Month-Old Baby
Your baby is working on expanding their dexterity and coordination with actions such as kicking, swatting and grabbing, all of which develop their cognitive abilities as these activities require memory and a longer attention span. Your baby may begin to shake a rattle to make noise or roll over this month, demonstrating improved dexterity, strength and control of their leg, neck, back and arm muscles. Usually, babies roll first from their stomach to their back. Some babies roll over as early as three months, while others take longer to reach this milestone. Rocking back and forth on their stomach coupled with kicking their legs and “swimming” with their arms are signs that your baby is about to roll. The next step is to apply this new strength and coordination towards sitting independently and crawling.
Your baby's preliminary reflexive behaviours in response to stimuli are most likely beginning to disappear, however your 4-month-old baby may respond similarly to how they did when they were 3 months.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 5-Month-Old Baby
Many babies of this age become extremely interested in crawling. Their improved vision enables them to see even further, pushing them to explore their surroundings and work on independent mobility. Preliminary movements may begin with “swimming” on the floor or pivoting while they are on their stomach. Such activity strengthens their neck, shoulder and back muscles in preparation for crawling. As they acquire more head control, they may be able to hold their head upright, although they may still be a bit wobbly. Babies are incredibly flexible, which they may demonstrate as they grabs their toes and pull them to their mouth.
Most preliminary reflexive behaviours in response to stimuli have disappeared by this age, however, it is still normal if they do, in fact, continue into month 5. Along with the reflexive behavior you may see when your baby’s 4 months old, at 5 months they are becoming better at focusing on a toy and ignoring distractions, allowing them to focus on playing and learning. As they become more aware of their environment, they may get frustrated by what they can't do yet.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 6-Month-Old Baby
Thanks to their increased core strength, your baby may try to roll over in both directions and sit with or without support (or by putting their hands on the floor) for a period of time. To get into this position on their own, however, may take a little bit longer given the amount of muscle coordination and strength required for a baby to discover how to move from lying down to sitting up. Kicking their legs to pivot on the floor is the next step. Most babies will not be able to get into the seated position until 7 or 8 months of age, and some even skip this milestone altogether and proceed directly to crawling (in one form or another). Build on your baby's more developed physical control by sitting them up, unsupported. Surround them with pillows for support and safety, and watch carefully in case they fall.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 7-Month-Old Baby
Your baby is most likely preparing to crawl, as shown when they support themself in the crawling position with their stomach on the floor, mostly by using their arms and legs. In addition, most babies are quite adept at holding and transferring objects from hand to hand at this stage. Your baby may be able to hold a spoon and bang it in play or even hold a two-handled cup and drink from it. As your baby continues to develop better control of their actions, their next milestone will be the pincer grasp, where they will use their thumb and forefinger to pick up objects. They will soon be able to manipulate and grab objects with one hand. Introduce sturdy board books to your baby. Let them grasp, hold and handle the books as you read to them.
In this period, babies begin to perform deliberate actions that demonstrate their ability to remember and think. One of the most common developmental games at this stage is for baby to purposely drop an object for you to retrieve and then look for the fallen object. This simple game teaches cause and effect, an important concept for your baby's brain. Through this repetitive game, they explore object permanence, sound, gravity, how different objects behave upon impact and the extent of your patience to continue picking things up off the floor. Another favourite interactive game to stimulate development is tickling. In this simple cause-and-effect game, move your hands toward your baby as you count to three. Then start to tickle them. Continue until one of you has had enough.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 8-Month-Old Baby
At 8 months old, gross motor milestones include crawling and standing up. Their stronger, more limber leg muscles will allow them to crawl farther, sit up longer and perhaps even stand up. Their hips and knee joints are starting to “lock in” instead of collapsing under their body weight, making standing easier. They may be able to hold on to a piece of furniture, maybe even by pulling themself up, and creep on their knees with their stomach and chest raised off the floor. Babies generally reach this milestone somewhere between 7 and 12 months. Encourage standing upright by lifting your baby to a standing position and assisting them to dance, bounce or walk.
Your baby's improved vision enables them to now see objects at a distance, prompting them to systematically investigate objects in their surroundings. Alongside their increased mobility, your baby's short-term memory has developed to the point where if you leave the room and are out of sight, they may crawl to the other room to find you. An excellent way to stimulate your baby's cognitive development is through play. Engage them in games such as peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. By learning how to play games, your baby is learning about the sequence of events and how to coordinate their part of the game with yours.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 9-Month-Old Baby
Motor development this month includes picking up objects with one hand. When it comes to fine motor skill milestones, your baby's increased hand/finger dexterity allows them to pick up small objects, such as Cheerios or raisins, with their thumb and forefinger. This is called the pincer grasp, and it will continue to develop in the coming months. What’s more, they will start turning toys over in their hands to examine them. Promote hand-eye coordination by putting some toys in a net bag and showing your baby how to take things out and put them back.4 This improved grasp of small objects may lead them to hold a string and pull a toy.
Your baby's cognitive skills have advanced such that they solve simple problems (such retrieving a rattle or soother hidden under a blanket on their own). Their improved motor and thinking skills may contribute to a stronger sense of autonomy where they clearly demonstrate what they want (to be picked up, your attention) and what they don’t want (diaper change, bath). If you haven't done so already, this is an ideal time to establish routines around key events such as bedtime, bath time and feeding. It will reassure your baby and help them begin to understand what will happen next.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 10-Month-Old Baby
At 10 months, your baby may stand unassisted, even if for a few seconds. Let your baby hold onto your fingers and try to walk, always praising and encouraging them along the way. Your baby may demonstrate an improved understanding of object permanence, an important intellectual milestone that denotes an infant’s ability to remember objects and people they have seen before. For example, if you move to another room, your baby may actively search for you as they now understand that hidden objects still exist. As a result, you may notice a greater attachment to Mom and Dad at this stage.
Stimulate their cognitive and linguistic development through pretend play, like having a tea party or building a sandcastle. It is a well-known fact that babies often prefer the box or wrapping that a toy came in, rather than the toy itself. Common household items such as boxes, pans, spoons and keys provide ample opportunity for your baby to further their development. They will also work at imitating your everyday behaviours, such as babbling on a cell phone, as their skills mature.
Cognitive and Motor Development in Your 11-Month-Old Baby
At 11 months, your baby's increasing strength, coordination and stability are leading to a monumental mobility milestone—walking. Practicing walking becomes a primary focus at this stage. Stimulate their gross motor skills and coordination by offering them a push toy, such as a play vacuum or a lawn mower. Even if they’re not walking yet, it will motivate and help them find their balance.
As you eagerly anticipate your baby's new mobility and achievements, remember that milestones only represent the average age that the average baby accomplishes any given task. Your baby may be cruising from one piece of furniture to another or simply practicing steps while hanging onto your fingers. Perhaps they can sit down from standing. Mastering balance and this level of motor control is challenging, but your baby will do so when they are ready.
Why Is Nutrition Important for Your Baby?
Solid, balanced nutrition is a key factor to help your baby develop key milestones. Proper nourishment during the first years of life can have a profound effect on your child’s health, as well as their ability to learn, communicate, think analytically and socialize. The essential nutrients found in a well-balanced diet drive healthy brain growth and development and are especially important in the first stages of life. Certain nutrients have greater effects on brain development than do others. These include protein, DHA/ARA (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids), iron, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin D, B6, B12, choline and folate.5 It is critical to provide your baby with a varied diet of nutrient-rich foods so they may continue to reach their milestones.
If you are breastfeeding, remember that the quality and quantity of your breast milk depends upon your nutritional intake, so it is important to eat a balanced diet that consists of adequate amounts of nutrients not only for your health and well-being, but also for the positive development of your baby.6 Some experts recommend that infants who are not breastfed should be given a formula that is iron-fortified with vitamin D plus DHA and ARA (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids).
Vitamin D contributes to the healthy formation and maintenance of bones and teeth. That's why the Canadian Paediatric Society, Health Canada and the Dietitians of Canada recommend that all breastfed, healthy term babies in Canada receive a daily vitamin D supplement of at least 400 IU daily. Babies that have darker skin or live in northern communities may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency and should get 800 IU daily. In Canada, it is recommended that people of all ages take a vitamin D supplement of at least 400 IU daily.
DHA and ARA are nutrients naturally found in breast milk that support normal brain and eye development as well as healthy growth. Experts recommend that all non-breastfed babies should receive a DHA-enriched formula with a DHA level of at least 0.2% of the total fatty acids. Enfamil A+ has a DHA level of 0.32%.6 DHA in Enfamil A+ helps support normal brain and eye development and normal growth.
- https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need
- https://www.uptodate.com/contents/neurologic-examination-of-the-newborn
- https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=newborn-reflexes-90-P02630
- https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/pediatricsclerkship/documents/5-Developmental-Milestones-MedU.pdf
- https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/141/2/e20173716/38085/Advocacy-for-Improving-Nutrition-in-the-First-1000
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522009674