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Developmental Milestones - 0 to 2 Months. Is My Baby Really Smiling at Me?
Author: Dr. Anna Kaplan
Your newborn baby is perfect. You have her dressed in the cutest clothes that you got during your baby shower. You pick her up from her bassinet and look at her. She looks at you. She smiles at you! Or did she…?
Most people who study child development will tell you that a baby cannot make a "social smile" until 8 weeks of age. Before that, it's just a reaction to something internal, like gas. Of course, all children are different, so maybe your baby will be able to smile at you when her or she is 6 weeks old, but probably not in the first weeks of their life.
There are not a tremendous number of developmental milestones during the first two months of life. It seems like the only things babies of that age do are feed, sleep, pee, and poop. It feels to parents like all they can do is change diapers, feed, and comfort. But babies start to develop other abilities, slowly but surely. Sometimes the changes are greater than others. Walking, for example, is a huge developmental milestone that parents never forget. The first time your baby really smiles at you is another one of those moments that will stay with you.
You should spend time with your baby while they are lying on their stomach to keep the pressure off the back of their head. Because babies have to sleep on their back, and because they have soft bones at this age, they may develop a flattening of the back of the head. By placing your baby on their stomach while you are with them, you are taking the pressure off the back of their head. Sometime between four weeks and two months of age, while your baby is on his or her tummy, your baby will develop the ability to hold up their head and turn it from side to side.
There are other milestones that you can watch for and expect to see by the time your baby is around two months old.
Your baby should be hearing well, and you should be able to tell that they can hear. Loud noises will startle them. Your little one may turn to hear your voice and be able to recognize your voice, as well as his or her father's or other close caretaker's voice. Your baby should also blink in response to a bright light. So you should be able to tell that they can hear and see.
Babies this age will hold their hands up in fists and may bring them up to their face to look at. They will also look at other objects held close to them.
At two months, your baby will be on their way to a number of milestones that usually occur by three months. If they are strong enough when lying on their stomach, it is possible that they will be able to flip over onto their back. It is usually more or less an accident the first time. After awhile, they will get good at it. Other babies cannot do this for many more months.
That is one of the reasons you need to watch them while they are on their tummy. Once your baby learns to turn from front to back, they can actually move from one place to another. However, your little one won't learn to turn back to front for much longer.
If your baby was born prematurely, their development will lag behind full-term babies, and that is normal. If your little one arrived one month early, they will probably not do what full-term babies do at two months until they are three months old. You also need to remember that every baby is different, and there is normal variation in development.
If you are truly concerned about your baby's development, for example, their hearing or eyesight, you can talk to your pediatrician about it. Most babies, most of the time, develop normally, but at their own pace. The fact that your sister's baby turned over early doesn't mean that your baby will. Try to enjoy your baby's development as it takes place, without comparing them to others.
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