Sensory Development for your 1-Month-Old and 2-Month-Old Baby
Your baby's sensory development began in the womb and continues in the weeks after birth. These are the key milestones for your baby's five senses at this stage:
Taste: Newborn babies can already differentiate some flavours, like sweet and sour.
Smell: Your baby's sense of smell has been highly developed since your third trimester of pregnancy. Now they use it to find nourishment and comfort in the familiar smells of Mom and Dad.
Sight: Your newborn's vision is not fully developed yet, however there has been a marked improvement since birth. As their vision develops, they will stare at your face for increasing periods of time and will begin to follow moving objects with their eyes. At this stage, they can focus on high-contrast objects between 9-12 inches away, however their vision will become sharp and clear in a few short months. They will be attracted to high-contrast patterns and bright colours. Shadows, black-and-white photos, human faces and special toys for young babies will capture their visual interest. Take care to not to over stimulate them—make sure that they are getting enough rest for brain development.
Hearing: Your baby's hearing will be slightly muffled for the first few weeks of life. This will assist them to make a gradual transition from the predictable rhythms of the womb to the noise of the outside world. Your baby began to practice habituation, or the ability to lessen response to repeated stimuli, while in the womb and continues to develop this skill now. Habituation to repeated stimuli is an early form of learning and one of the simplest forms of memory. It consists of “tuning out” the surrounding environment, which will allow them to sleep through familiar noises, such as a fan or street noise. Babies should “startle” to loud sounds, but can also learn to tune these out after hearing them several times.
Touch: Your baby's sense of touch began to develop in the womb. It starts with the mouth and spreads to include the whole body. This may explain their growing eagerness to put anything and everything into their mouth.
Sensory Development for Your 3-Month-Old Baby
Your baby will become increasingly curious and fascinated by their hands, which will soon be able to grasp a rattle, if only for a brief second. Stimulate their hand-eye coordination by giving them a small, soft rattle and showing them how to make noise. Along with your baby’s continuous development from when they were 1 and 2 months old, their sight will improve. From birth to 4 months of age, babies can focus on objects 8-10 inches away.
Skills such as hand-eye coordination are improving rapidly.Sensory Development for Your 4-Month-Old Baby
Your baby's senses continue to develop. Nourish this progress with sound nutrition as well as with different tactile (soft, textured toys), auditory (music) and olfactory (different scents) experiences. Along with your baby’s continuous three-month development, their sight will greatly improve when they’re 4 months old.
Your baby’s vision is rapidly improving, with a new ability to focus on an object several feet away. They may be able to visually track an object moving slowly across the room or watch a mobile and try to reach for it. They may show new interest in playing with toys. Use this opportunity to explore different shapes, sizes, colours and textures.
Sensory Development for Your 5-Month-Old Baby
Your baby's improved vision and depth perception has not only piqued their curiosity about the world around, but has also established form constancy, where your baby recognizes that their teddy bear is still their teddy bear, even if it is upside down. Encourage their visual development by providing a quiet place to play (preferably without a TV) with visually stimulating objects placed at different locations, heights and distances. This will promote focus as well as motivate them to explore and learn. Also, let them see themself. Place an unbreakable mirror of good quality, without any sharp edges, in your baby's crib so they can look and smile at themself.
Why Is Nutrition Important for Your Baby?
Neurological development, social development and learning ability are affected by proper nutrition. Support your baby’s development by providing them with recommended and necessary nutrients to reach their full potential. Important nutrients like DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid) and ARA (an omega-6 fatty acid), found in breast milk and most formula, are key factors in your baby's visual development. Babies are able to make a small amount of DHA in their bodies, but this may not be a recommended amount, and babies will benefit from supplemental DHA in their diet. Ensure that they are getting a recommended amount either by consuming DHA-rich foods yourself, if you are breastfeeding, or by choosing a DHA-enriched baby formula such as Enfamil A+®.