Your Newborn
The little one you've been waiting for all these months is finally here! So soft! So cuddly! So helpless! How does she communicate her needs? When is he ready to play? What helps her learn and develop? Don't miss a juicy detail!
Jump to these developmental stages:
Social/Emotional | Language | Cognitive | Large Motor Skills | Fine Motor Skills
Social/Emotional Development
That tiny, newborn is primed to interact with other people. She already has distinctive cries for hunger, anger and pain and she is aware of emotions in others. She prefers people's faces to all other visual stimulation, even as soon as a few minutes after birth!
Are you frustrated that she keeps her eyes closed when you'd like to play and make eye contact? Often raising her from lying to sitting will bring her to an alert, bright-eyed state. If not, try holding her in front of you with one hand supporting her bottom and the other her head. Her eyes should be eight to ten inches from your face. Turn at your waist and gently swing her left, then right. Stop in the center. This rotating movement will cause her to reflexively open her eyes. Don't be afraid to exaggerate expressions and use baby talk; they'll help her learn.
Notice the distance she is most responsive. She may lose interest when your image becomes too hazy.
Language Development
He cries at loud noise and listens to speech. He is able to make throaty, grunting sounds as well as demanding cries. He may turn toward familiar sounds and voices. Studies show that newborns recognize and prefer their family's voices.
Your baby has already learned much about his native language. For months he has been listening the melodic patterns of conversation around him. The result? He cries "with an accent." If your family speaks a language that ends on high notes, like French, he will end his cry on a higher pitch. His crying in a falling melody mimics languages such as German that end on a lower tone.
This facility for imitating the underlying makeup of adult speech gets incorporated into babbling in just a few months!
Cognitive Development
He is able to imitate facial gestures, trying to form his mouth into the same shape as yours or stick out his tongue when you stick out yours. Most behavior, such as grasping is reflexive.
He remembers and prefers familiar songs and books he has heard in the womb. Is there a song you sang frequently while pregnant? When he is fussy, try holding him against your chest and singing it. Does he calm?
Already he has begun to anticipate that his cries will be followed by comforting. He is beginning to learn to trust.
Has he smiled? This month's smiles are inside smiles, apparently not related to outside stimulus. You'll notice these contented smiles after being picked up and rocked, after a feeding or as a happy twitch of the mouth during sleep. Coming up in just a few weeks are those captivating, social smiles.
Large Motor Development
Your baby's motor skills development as a top-to-bottom process. She first masters movements of the head, then movements of the trunk, and finally gains control of her legs and hands. Your little one is able to turn her head side-to-side. She may be able to briefly lift head when on stomach, just enough for her nose to clear the surface so she can breathe easily.
Most of your newborn's movements seem jerky and random. As she spends time in a quiet, alert state, these jerky movements become less random and more rhythmic.
