Early physiological development?!?

Question

when or what month do babies:

1. fix their eyes on things and persons around him?

2. responds to sounds?

3. grasp and play with objects?

4. thumb or finger sucking?

5. have tooth?

6. utter his first words?

7. weaning (stops being breastfed and bottle-fed)?

tnx.

Answer 1

"The fact that a child passes through a particular developmental stage is always more important than the age of that child when he or she does it. In the long run, it really doesn’t matter whether you learn to walk at ten months, twelve months or fifteen months—as long as you learn how to walk."  

-Lawrence Kutner Ph.D.  

With this thought in mind, here are these milestones in child development:

1. Fix eyes -

During the first days or weeks of life, newborns are able to focus on objects that are within about 8 to 30 inches and focus on strong lines and distinct contours.  Studies have shown that they can tell the different between the outline shapes of a triangle, square, circle, and cross. (Herschkowitz p. 33)

A baby can focus on objects as far away as three feet from about 3 to 6 months of age.  (Children's Hospital)

2. Respond to sounds -



The baby responds to sounds outside the mother before s/he is born, responding to sounds at approx. 5 months after conception. "Studies have shown that a whole month before birth, fetuses are able to distinguish among music, heartbeats, and speech sounds."  (Herschkowitz p.17)

The baby turns toward a voice between 3 to 6 months after birth, usually by 4 months.  (Dedrick)

3. Grasp and play with objects -

The newborn's automatic grasp is called the palmar grasp reflex, one of a whole array of reflexes that babies come equipped with at birth.  (Herschkowitz p.37)

At seven months old, the baby can grasp objects well. S/he can hold two objects at the same time. Thumb-finger grasp is not precise yet, but every day s/he is developing greater control of the fingers. S/he will become more interested in smaller objects and will use his fingers more to explore them. Now the baby can grab and hold objects on purpose, and is also learning how to let go on purpose. (Ferrer)

By 10 to 12 months, the baby can play "ball" receiving and returning a rolled ball. (UVA)

4. Suck thumb/finger -

Inside the womb, this can occur around 4 months (Herschkowitz p.21)

5. First tooth -

Babies begin teething between 7 to 9 months and may have four to six teeth by one year old. (UVA)

6. First words -

Are expected between 6 to 11 months. (Cornell)

7. Weaning -

“It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"The minimum predicted age for a natural age of weaning in humans is two and a half years, with a maximum of seven years." -- Katherine Dettwyler, Ph.D.

Some say, "Watch the baby, not the calendar." Weaning is a process, not an event. It starts when a baby takes anything besides breast milk by mouth. Gradually, the baby finds other activities and pleasures to meet the needs that were once met exclusively by nursing. The weaning process may extend over months or years and over many stages of a child's development.  (Bengson)

Some experts feel that there is nothing wrong with feeding a child breast milk until well into the toddler or even preschool years, as long as both the child and mother are comfortable with the situation. However, it's important to note that after 1 year, breast milk alone does not provide all the nutrients a growing child needs; solid foods must become a regular part of his diet.  (KidsHealth)