When do babies start to smile or roll over from their belly to their back? When do they learn how to sit? All children are different and develop differently, but some things still tend to happen at about the same time in life. Below, we’ll look at how infants develop in the first six months.
Right from the start, most babies have five senses – though they may need a little time to learn to use some of them. And while refining the use of their senses, they’re also learning how to control their muscles. This all happens in a particular order; for example, babies have to learn how to balance their head before it’s time to tackle things like sitting, crawling and standing up. But there’s no checklist of precise timepoints when a baby should be able to do something new, because it all varies a great deal from one child to the next – development happens when the baby is ready for it.
Did you know that a newborn baby’s sense of smell is present already upon entering the world? Babies can sniff their way to the breast and quickly learn to recognise the scent of their parents. Sensitivity to taste is also present already from birth. Through breast milk, if the baby breastfeeds, they can recognise flavours from foods the mother ate while pregnant.
As for sound, most babies hear well upon arrival and can recognise voices they heard from within the womb. You might also notice that your little one pays attention to sounds and reacts by turning their head in the direction from which the sound came. Infants also seem to be particularly pleased by higher voices, and without thinking about it, many of us already speak in a slightly higher tone when playing with babies. Touch is also well developed from the start, and a newborn baby can feel touch, warmth, cold and pain. Vision takes a longer time to develop. At first, babies can see up close, in slightly blurry shades of grey, and gradually, they learn to see more clearly and in colour.
That smile from a brand-new baby is unintentional and one of the infant reflexes that lingers for a while after birth. But gradually, babies begin to seek contact, which they can show with a smile. A 2-month-old can often give a fairly intentional smile in response to eye contact, and might even coo to show their delight. A few months later, many babies can recognise the people around them and may smile just from catching sight of a parent or sibling. This might also be when you hear that wonderful laugh for the first time – and other emotions will become clearer too, which may become apparent if you try putting any distance between yourself and the baby. This increased awareness applies to their surroundings in general; for example, they may have an easier time differentiating between night and day, and a 4-month-old often sleeps for longer stretches at night and shorter stretches in the day.
The first few months, babies mostly lie on their backs, because the head is heavy and the neck isn’t strong enough to manage it. But already from two months of age, you can start trying short tummy time sessions to help them train the muscles in their back and neck. Varying the positions a little doesn’t just offer the baby a new perspective; it also makes that malleable little head less flat on the back or side. As babies start working on tummy time, try to make it a positive experience – this is hard work for your little one, so fun and brief sessions are best. Babies often like it when exciting things happen in front of their eyes (like getting to see a toy or your cheerful face) and of course, you should be there the whole time to help them turn back over onto their back as they get tired. The older baby gets, the more time they can spend on their tummy – that is, if they have something exciting to look at. Otherwise, it can get boring pretty fast. It should be up to the baby if they want to try to roll over. Some will start turning from tummy to back – or vice versa – already at 3 months. But don’t worry if it takes longer, because it’s also not unusual for some to wait until 6–8 months. Practising lying on the tummy is great, but it’s important to keep in mind that infants under 6 months should sleep on their back to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
A 4-month-old baby can usually move their hand to their mouth to taste different things, and those recently discovered toes and fingers tend to be particular favourites. Putting everything imaginable into their mouths is a completely natural behaviour and a way in which babies explore the world. When you notice your baby taking interest in putting things in their mouth, then now – and for quite some time to come – it is important to make sure there isn’t anything small nearby that the baby could choke on.
Moving objects from one hand to the other is something else that babies often start doing now. A little later on, around 5–6 months, many will start to realise just how fun it is to pick something up and then drop it, to see what happens when it fall on the floor. “Dropping” things that a parent gets to pick up from the floor can be quite an entertaining game for a 5-month-old, and after a few rounds, the delight might be more apparent in the baby than in the parent.
There’s no magic month when babies learn to sit with support. Sitting up requires the neck and back to be stable enough to hold up the body. Most babies have worked up to that level of stability by about 3 months, and you can help them train their neck muscles by letting them lie on their tummies often.
But sitting upright themselves with support behind their back, like in a pushchair, is something most babies won’t be ready for until they can sit stably on the floor with support. So you can start by letting the baby sit on the floor with back support and soft cushions to receive them if they happen to capsize and tip over. Still, your baby’s favourite place will probably be a parent’s knee, often for many years to come.
Please note that all information above is based on Swedish recommendations.