Your baby’s development is important, especially within its first year. While my babies bodies are grown (or almost),it wasn’t that long ago that mine were teetering and toddling all over.

As I watched their bodies stretch and grow at crazy rates, inside their minds were matching or even exceeding this growth. They were experiencing the world for the first time and their brains soaked up the world like tiny sponges every waking second. It was an exciting thing to watch and a learning experience for me.

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It is my Universe, after all.

As parents, we have a responsibility to help guide our baby’s development throughout the years but when that first year, it’s important to be totally committed, or as I say (way to often according to my daughter, “it’s EVERYTHING!”)

So, as a mom who is on the other side and now stressing more about learners’ permits and getting into college, I thought I would share what I have learned; whether from experience or form others, here’s a look at things to know for the first year.

A Year of Firsts

There are many ways in which you can help guide your baby’s development in the first year. Here are a few tips that will help with that and hopefully get them to where they would need to be by their first birthday.

Talk, Talk, Talk

If you are like me, I started talking even while baby is baking in the oven. Turns out they can hear sounds and voices, so no you’re not just talking to yourself. In fact, it’s important to be vocal. They are becoming familiar with your voice. Once that baby is in your arms, you can can build on that connection with skin-to-skin connection. While you’re holding your baby close to you, talking or singing in a soft, higher-pitch voice to stimulate their hearing

Eyes to Eyes.

Make sure the baby can see your face when they’re awake. I mean… do I really need to say that? You’ll likely have trouble looking away as you’re busy cooing and staring at them in amazement that they are in fact real. Babies will start to reciprocate smiling from around two to three months. People will tell you it’s gas before, but who cares? It’s still cute…

Five fingers, five toes, five senses

Within the first few months of the baby’s development, your infant will continue to explore and learn more about the environment they’re in.

You’ll want to introduce their senses to more than just your voice and face.  This is where bouncies, play gyms, and toys come in. Exposing them to a multitude of textures is a great way to stimulate other senses - touch, sound. You may want to experiment with things that are soft, rough, cold, or warm. Adding a snack when they are older can stimulate smells and taste, too!

Tons of tummy time

Tummy time is important and it’s something you’ll be encouraged to do as a new parent by the end of the second month. You’ll first want to start by placing the baby on your chest or lap. This will help encourage them to support their body and head. If you ask me, this is the easiest ask. You put them on your chest and the naturally want to look up at you and you melt. Simple arithmetic of the heart.

Then you move to the floor with a blanket or a tummy time pillow.

Try for every day but be aware not all infants love tummy time, so you might need to do this in fairly short bursts. The more tummy time they’re getting though, the quicker they’re likely to progress when it comes to moving around. 

Answer the call

I know that there is some that disagree, but for me, to give my baby a sense of security, I believe in immediately addressing cries. In those first weeks of development, babies needs reassurance that their needs will be met when they cry. Responding quickly and with reliability encourage development by building trust and attachment to you.

Play, baby, play

From reading to playing music and introducing toys of all kinds, it’s worthwhile making use of all the baby toys that you have available to you.

Around the six-month mark, your baby will have all the motor skills that babies need to sit up, to grab and retrieve desired objects. That’s where it’s good to introduce interactive toys to help ensure the baby’s development is being assisted. 

For example, toys that roll of their own accord might be highly effective when it comes to encouraging them to move. Colorful toys, toys that pop up and add a surprise element are great for your baby to be interacting with at this point.

Click the TV off

I struggled with this personally, but it’s important to be aware of how much television time you’re giving your child every day. Ideally, you don’t want them to be watching too much TV to begin with because all of the engagement and education is best given by the parents.

That doesn’t mean you can’t provide them with a few TV programs or YouTube videos every so often. It’s worth trying to introduce television in short bursts and more so when they’re past the age of one.

Most babies will develop their language and other skills best through direct human contact and interaction. It’s easy to just put on the television or put a tablet or phone device in their hands. There will be these moments - I promise! However, that’s not going to help when it comes to engaging them in the long run. So, hold off as long as you can and choose your moments.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself

Whether it’s baby speech developmental milestones or trying to get them to roll around, don’t pressure your baby or yourself to achieve results by a certain time. Every baby is different and that means what your friend’s baby is achieving by six months, may look different to your baby’s development at six months.

TRULY! Please take a minute to breathe this in. Neither parenting an infant nor being one is a competition. As long as your child is progressing on a path acceptable to your doctor and they are happy and healthy, life is good. Enjoy.

Putting too much pressure on yourself as a parent is easy to do and you can’t help but make comparisons. However, when you’re making comparisons, you’re making those comparisons to a small pool of babies. In the grand scheme of things, your baby might be making more progress than a large number of other babies across the globe at that age.

Guiding your baby’s development in the first year is something that will take time and patience. You’ll want to make use of these tips, as well as find your own grounding when it comes to your children. Remember, while you can get guidance and advice when it comes to parenting, it’s ultimately your choices that are most important to go by.

#longdaysshortyears

I hope these tips will help guide you through the first year of milestones with a little perspective and lot less worry.