Welcome to Baby Development Guide! Congratulations on your new baby! Our site is created by mom and dad, and hope that our guide will help you during your pregnancy, and also during the first few months of your baby's life. We are happy parents of three wonderful children, and through our guides, we hope to share our experiences and helpful information with you about a baby's development week by week.
Here, you will find articles relating to baby development by weeks for their first 24 weeks of life, and these should give parents like yourself a good general guideline on how a baby develops, so that you are better prepared, and know what to expect.
Having a new baby (or babies) come in to your lives is no small change, and it is best to be prepared the best you can for the arrival of your new child. You can start by figuring out who are the people that you can depend on for support and help. Typically, your partner is the primary support person; however, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers can also become important support persons. There's a great number of benefits of having supportive partners such as:
- sharing a healthy lifestyle before, during, and after pregnancy
- engaging in physical activities together
- making preparations together for the new baby
- being involved during labor and birth
- helping care for the new baby
New Baby Development Week by Week
So how about the development of new babies? Babies grow and develop quickly during the early stages of life, and there are week to week changes and milestones that characterize a baby's development. For example, a new born will typically lose 5 to 7% of their weight during the first week, and by week 2, the new baby will have gained back the lost weight plus a little bit extra. And around the 16 to 17 week mark, a baby will have just about doubled their birth weight!
A new born baby typically needs their diapers changed 10 to 12 times each day, and sometimes more. This can be quite surprising for ill prepared parents. So our hope is that with the week to week development guides, you will be better prepared to enjoy and also deal with your baby's development needs. Did you know that some babies will cry non-stop for several hours? This is known as colic and can develop around the 3 week mark, and can last up to 3 months. Colic babies can and will cause a lot of frustration and concern for parents, and it is important to become aware of it, and learn how to deal with it if your baby develops colic.
By about four weeks of age, your baby will begin to recognize his or her mother and father's voices. They may even have figured out how to suck on their thumb for comfort. By 8 weeks old, your baby will be able to lift his or her head about 45 degrees, and will discover his or her voice by this time. Your baby will make cooing and gurgling sounds, and will also respond to you when you speak. By 12 weeks, your baby's motor skills are much more developed and will have better control of their voice. Your baby now recognizes faces, and will smile when they see your face. At 16 weeks, your baby can reach for and grab on to small objects. He or she will also laugh out loud when tickled, and will enjoy social interaction with family members.
What we have briefly mention above are just some of the many different milestones and things you can expect to see during your baby's early stages of development. It is by no means complete, and only included here to give some examples. For more detailed information on baby development by weeks, please see the individual articles we have for each of the first 24 weeks of life for a baby. You can browse through these using the links in the left column above. While our guides are meant to give you a good idea of what to expect, it is by no means set in stone or complete. All babies are unique and will develop at their own pace and speed. You may notice some of the milestones listed here, and you may not notice others. Because babies develop differently, it should not be a cause for concern if your baby is not developing exactly as described in the guides we have provided here. You should not have much to worry about as long as your baby is happy and healthy.
Watch a 2 year old toddler read, and see how this child's reading skill develops at 3 and 4 years old.