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Normal Stages for Infant Development

Many new parents are surprised at how small and helpless their newborn is when she is born. However, infants develop new skills throughout their first year of life at an amazing rate. The mastery of simple tasks are referred to as developmental milestones, and your child's pediatrician looks for these milestones to ensure your child is healthy and progressing normally.

  1. First Three Months

    • At 3 months old, your child should be able to raise his head while lying on his stomach and stretch his arms and legs while lying on his back. He should demonstrate hand movements such as opening and closing his fist, grasping objects and waving. He should also start responding to familiar voices and turn to look toward you while you are speaking to him. He also might begin smiling at you and other people he recognizes.

    Six Months

    • At 6 months old, your child should be able to sit up by herself.

      By her sixth month, your child should show more developed hand-eye coordination skills and might be able to push herself up to a sitting position. She should also be able to roll herself from her front to her back and wiggle around. She might assist you at feeding time by holding her own bottle or opening her mouth when you feed her with a spoon. At this stage, you might start to hear her making recognizable speech patterns, such as consonants, and she also might start babbling to get your attention.

    Nine Months

    • Between your child's sixth and ninth month, he might start responding to his own name and to the word "no." He should be able to reach for an object with one hand and then transfer it to his other hand. During this period, he will begin developing the motor skills necessary for walking, including crawling and being able to support his weight while standing with assistance. He also might begin demonstrating frustration and anger as well as stranger anxiety.

    First Birthday

    • Your 1-year old should be able to walk with assistance.

      By your child's first birthday, she should be able respond to her own name, react to sounds and follow a few simple commands. She should be more independently mobile by being able to sit up by herself, stand alone and walk with assistance. Your child should say a few simple words like "mama" and "dada" and make animal noises. In physical development, your child should have her first few teeth, have tripled her birth weight and have increased by more than half her birth length.

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