As new parents, you may find it difficult to know if your baby is developing as he or she should. Unless you have a family member or friend with children, a means of making comparisons, you would need to do a lot of research or call the pediatrician. To help you understand the standard milestones seen in a baby by the end of three months, we provided you with some great guidelines. Keep in mind that all babies are slightly different so your child may be a little more or less advanced, which is nothing to fear.
You would notice your baby raising his head and chest while on his/her tummy, as well as supporting the upper body with the arms. Then, whether on the tummy or back your baby would stretch out his/her legs, while kicking. You would also notice the baby pushing down on the legs if you were to stand him or her in a standing position with support. In other words, if you were to place your baby on the floor, you would feel him or her pushing.
Other common advances include opening and closing the hands, putting the hand up to the mouth, trying to grab objects overhead, and being able to hold a toy, even if for a few seconds. Your baby at this age will also be very intent on watching everything around him or her. People or moving objects would be followed with the eyes as well. Then, your baby would have distinct recognition of mom and dad, siblings, the family pet, and other familiar people or things.
For hearing and speech, a three-month-old baby would begin to smile at mom and dad’s voice, often babbling as a means of carrying on a conversation. In fact, the baby will start to mimic sounds or words spoken, although it would still be heard more as babble. If the baby hears a sound in another direction or even room, he or she would move the head to follow. At this time, the baby starts to smile when spoken to and loves playing with friends and family members. By the end of this timeframe, you will see the face and body becoming far more expressive, again often trying to imitate what he/she sees on your face.
Again, each baby is special and unique so if your child is a little ahead of behind these standard milestones, do not be worried. However, if you begin to notice development not progressing, then you should take time to talk to your pediatrician. For instance, any of the following would be small red flags of which to pay attention:
•Not seeing or showing interest in his/her hands by two months of age
•Not responding to sudden or loud noises
•Not following people or objects by the end of three months
•Not babbling by four months
•Eyes not focusing or moving together in one direction
•Not trying to put things in the mouth by four months
•Seems nervous or even frightened by new faces, sounds, smells, etc
•Not able to hold onto objects by three moths
•Not pushing down on the legs when stood on a hard surface
•Neck reflexes not loose and mobile by five months of age