Has it been 1 year?
You are probably wondering where the time went. It seems just like yesterday when you brought your baby back from hospital. Baby slept, fed and slept again, depending on you 100 per cent.
A year down the road and baby is a human being, certainly not independent, but can do quite a few things or at least can ask for help when something is unreachable.
While babies’ rate of physical and mental development is different from one to the next, there are things that, on average, a baby should be doing at year one. Some will do it a little earlier and others a little later. There is no need to get excited and think that you have a baby genius or a slow baby. Give them time to grow, at their pace.
One of the things you will notice as they get into the 12th month is that they will be aware and fearful of strangers. It is good because it shows the baby knows who is in her life. It may be distressing to well-meaning guests who eagerly reach out to hold the baby only to be rewarded with loud screams, for their trouble.
At this age, the baby can communicate with gestures, particularly waving and nodding. They will also understand gestures from adults like waving ‘bye bye’ or asking them to stop doing something.
Another achievement for a child at this age is that simple words like ‘come’ will be understandable and even independent of gestures. It is fascinating to see a child respond to something like that, and for a primary caregiver, that is a stark reminder that the child is growing and requires mature stimulus, more and more.
As far as talking goes, the child will be able to recognize their own name though they may not necessarily be able to pronounce it. They will say the likes of, ‘ma-ma’ and ‘dadh’. Some children will have a few more words but many will just babble foreign-sounding words beyond that.
For physical milestones, you will notice that the baby will begin to walk with support from either an older person or using furniture and walls. Some children will be able to walk well. However, it always looks like they are about to tip over.
They are also able to hold a pen, marker or crayon and to scribble. They are not yet likely to scribble much on the wall; this will come later-but they may certainly leave a few graffiti marks around the house.
Finally, your baby may be able to hold and drink from a cup independently. But as mentioned above, the child may not do all of these things at once. They may be a little early or late. Encourage them to walk or hold a pen-but do not pester them, get anxious or even angry.
Some of the information contained in the article can be credited to www.babycenter-com.
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