Child growth is exciting, but babies being unable to communicate makes it tough on parents, given the tension that comes with not knowing if the baby is perfectly fine or not. “Babies have stages as they grow and ways in which they behave in their development process,” Dr Aristarque Cyuzuzo, a general practitioner says. According to Dr Cyuzuzo, baby development has stages that include body movement, your child must learn how to make body movements such as lifting the head, observing objects and following the object’s movement; recognising voices and faces, which happens in the first two months; and learning how to use hands and fingers as indicated in the second stage of their development. ‘The baby being attentive and peaceful at least a few times every day is the biggest proof that your little one is slowly beginning to observe the world around her and growing slowly. Once they turn a month old, their waking hours are more and they start looking at and observing things happening around them,’ the article ‘10 Important Signs Of A Healthy Baby’ states. ‘Newborn babies enter this world with a reflex for suckling and if you find that your little one suckles your breast strongly and frequently, you can rest assured, that your darling is perfectly healthy as this is an indication of normal digestive growth,’ the aforementioned article adds. “A child will begin to learn how to clap, grab small things like pens, climb things, learn how to raise an arm to ask for something, crawl, try to stand and so much more,” Dr Cyuzuzo says. They will learn to smile, make sounds and cry in different tones depending on what the issue is, this means they cry differently when they want to be fed, when they have a dirty diaper, when they’ve hurt themselves or even when they just want to be left alone. During this stage they will learn how to accept things and also reject others, including people. They will have choices. During the last months of their first year, they develop mentally, “This includes associating with people, recalling things and choosing what is bad and good. They are able to make steps and point at the things they want, and feel confident about themselves” Dr Cyuzuzo says. Parents Magazine states that it’s important to keep your well-baby visits so the paediatrician can assess whether your baby is growing. In between trips to the doctor, regular wet diapers are the best sign they’re drinking well. Trust these indicators rather than obsessing over how much they consume at each meal. Babies don’t eat the same amount every day, or even at every feeding, there happens to be spurts and slowdowns but the important thing is that weight increases over time. Healthy babies also cry a little less and sleep more regularly. Look for the emergence of several naps a day and stretches of four or more hours between feedings at night. If your baby is older than four months and still eats and sleeps at unpredictable times, try making their days more tightly scheduled.
