And then the little being in your womb was born for 9 months (and sometimes less, other times more) you have been yearning so dearly to hold your baby in your hand. Couldn’t wait to more than just feel your baby but also to touch and see him. There are more than 5 milestones in a baby’s lifetime. Every bit of development physically, emotionally and mentally would be considered a milestone.

Every baby is different, some of them smiles and laughs since day one while other don’t. As a parent, there is nothing sweeter than seeing your baby break out into his first laughter or flash that first heart warming smile. Babies tend to be passive especially in their first month. Just lying there, asking for milk, sleeping, stretching, the usual stuffs. More importantly, this shows you that baby can feel and appreciates what he sees or hears especially if you are really making him laugh.

From just lying there, baby will start rolling and (usually) from 6 months (but could b e earlier or later) crawling would start. Now, this is the start of all the real fun for your little one. He would be enjoying his first taste of mobility as he discovers new places by himself. This is also the time for parents to start re-organizing furniture and other stuffs around the house that baby can reach. Try thinking “baby-safe environment”. This milestone significantly indicates that baby’s muscles and bones are developing in the right places enough to support his weight and balance. This inversely indicates that parents have done well so far.

But, of course, baby wouldn’t be contented hovering around on all fours! He’d start pulling himself up while holding on to the edge of a furniture and taking in small wriggly steps. And wouldn’t any parent be just as happy discovering that baby could actually make 2 or 3 steps by himself unsupervised. They would probably fall flat on their bottom after the second or third step, but that’s a fact that’s how they learn. I think that is also where they got the clich “Learn to stand after every fall.” This milestone is their little bodies telling you that they have grown, their body is becoming strong and would want to be stronger and would need more nourishment. They have also started to coordinate balance, movement and perception together to be able to move around.

A baby’s first tooth typically erupts at any time around 6 months (though there are cases when the first one shows up earlier, which is normal nowadays). It is a notion that growing of tooth makes babies cranky and irritable, but that could be just normal as any other changes in their little bodies. Some babies tend to have a bit of temperature while the tooth per tooth spurs but a bit of baby Panadol or baby paracetamol could cure that if you’re worried. It’s like saying “I am ready for more mature food”. Though some parents start their child out with solids early on, the first sign of tooth growing makes them more prepared to take on more solids.

One of the greatly anticipated developments in a baby is their first word. Sure, they would babble and make sounds endlessly three months after birth. But there’s nothing worth the sound of the first real, comprehendible word that baby will utter especially if that word is “Mama” or “Dada”. Then, them being like little sponges, they would just pick up words after words to add in their growing vocabulary. It’s simply telling mom or dad that they are more than ready to interact with people and learn a whole lot more.