RaMa Mama Doula Share: Newborn Baby Milestones - Important Guidelines, or Tools To Work With?

No person is the same, and no two humans will fit the same mold. Every being is sacred and has a journey that has been defined long before incarnation. We cannot expect one being to follow the same path as another, as each soul has a unique and powerful journey to live. In saying this, there are basic and fundamental milestones that have been created over time for newborn babies to pay attention to as far as the growth and development of the body, mind, and emotions over time. Newborn milestones were created to monitor the basic development of a baby's brain and body as it grows. These are guidelines and not deadlines that have to be fulfilled. Some babies reach them early, some on time, and some a little later. This doesn't mean that something is right or wrong with any one of them, it only helps us to see how one baby compares to another. Here are the milestones for babies from the age of 0 -12 months of age.

From 0-2 months of age, babies are expected to be able to move their arms and legs symmetrically, lift their heads when on "tummy time" for a brief moment, grasp their hands, and even open them gradually over time. They are supposed to be able to respond to loud sounds, turn their heads, and track objects with their eyes briefly. Emotionally, they can be calmed when comforted, smile, and look into their caregiver's eyes. Most babies at this phase feed regularly, gain weight steadily, and go potty and urinate regularly.

At 2 months, they will start to open their hands more, move more smoothly, coo, and pay attention to the different faces they see in their lives.

From 3 months of age, babies can raise their heads and chest on tummy time, bring their hands to their mouths, and push their legs down with support. They play, smile, mimic faces, and make vowel sounds.

At 4 months, they can roll from their tummy to their backs, reach for their toys, laugh, squeal, babble, get excited, and respond to affection.

Five months of life holds space for babies to roll in both directions, sit up with a little support, show curiosity, and stare at things longer than before.

From 6 months of age, babies can rock on their hands and knees, move objects from one hand to another, and sit without any support. They respond to their name, recognize people that are familiar, and play socially.

At 7 months, they scoot, crawl, put weight on their legs, explore objects with their hands and mouths, and understand the cause and effect of their actions.

Eight months of life brings simple words to life, like "no", and offers the gift of standing up from a seated position. Babies crawl and move with purpose, and may start to feel anxiety when strangers are near.

From 9 months of age, babies sit well, walk with the help of the furniture in the room, and play peekaboo. They can point, reach, and even look for things that have been hidden in order to find.

At 10 months, they can stand without support, explore objects in new ways, make coordinated movements, and imitate the sounds and actions of those around them.

From 11 months of age, babies can walk with support, squat, stand up, copy words, and use simple gestures.

Twelve months of life (one year) manifests the first steps of walking, self-feeding with finger foods, grasping objects with the thumb and one finger, and understanding basic instructions. Babies can speak 1-3 simple words, imitate others, make preferences for toys and people in the room, and they begin to test their caregivers and the reactions they have from the actions displayed.

Without judgement, worry, or fear, we can look at these milestones and determine the pace and rate that the babies in our lives grow and develop. Nothing is written in stone, these statistics are simply taken over time to show what the majority of newborns are experiencing in order to evaluate if further support and help is needed, or if a baby is living on their own timeline and life schedule. With honor and respect, we can help to foster the growth and development of our Loved ones and leave judgement and expectations at the door.