Newborn baby development by month,newborn developmental toys categorized by newborn developmental milestone

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Newborn Development

The developmental information, products and toys on this page is targeted at newborn babies from birth to 4 months old.
For baby or infant developmental information and toys (4 to 12 months): Go to Baby Development.
For toddler developmental information and toys (1 - 3 years): Go to Toddler Development.

Quick Links to Information on this page:
Audio Stimulation Toys	Music CDs	Motor Skill Developmental Toys

Tactile Stimulation Toys	Visual Stimulating Toys	Newborn Books

Toys for Tummy Time	What can my baby do just after birth?	How does my baby develop in the first 4 months?

Congratulations, the long wait is over and your newborn baby is finally here!

As soon as things stabilize you may start to wonder what to do next? What activities can you do with your baby to make the most of those precious waking moments ensuring that you provide a solid foundation for your baby to develop his/her full potential?

Let�s take a quick peek at how a newborn baby develops month by month and then we will add some activities into the mix - setting both of you up for some great educational fun!

Important:
Always keep in mind that every baby develops differently. You will quickly realize once you introduce a new activity, if your baby is ready for it or not. If your baby is turning his face away from you, trying to avoid you - it is most probably an indication that your baby is tired or not ready for the activity you are trying to introduce. If your baby is not ready for an activity - leave it and try it later.
Keep in mind that babies need challenges. Once your baby has mastered something - try introducing an activity that you know are a bit more challenging. Just remember � it is important that you and your baby does not get frustrated during this time, the point is to have fun! If your baby gets frustrated � change to another activity you know he/she will enjoy and try the new activity later. Introduce new activities/concepts when your baby is fresh and responsive.

At birth a baby can normally do the following:

Vision:

See up to about 8 - 10 inches (20 - 25 cm) from his face

Babies see high contrast best and only in black and white when born

Babies love human faces (especially if there is contrast like bearded faces etc)

Round shapes also fascinates new born babies

Hearing:

Although a newborn�s sense of hearing is not as well developed as the sense of smell, touch or taste, it is definitely one of the most important senses to your baby since this is the most likely tool they will use to learn how to communicate.

As a fetus your baby started to hear as early as the 24th week of gestation and yes, mommy�s heartbeat was most probably the first sound your baby heard. No wonder the maternal heartbeat has proven to be very comforting for babies especially when agitated.

A lot of intensive care units use the sound of maternal heartbeat for the treatment of critically ill babies.

Since your unborn baby can hear very well during your last trimester, you should be careful about the sound your baby is exposed to.

Touch:

Touch are one of the most advanced senses that a newborn have and they can feel hot, cold, rough, smooth, soft and firm.

Smell:

Newborns rely on their sense of touch, taste and smell a lot more during those early days than any of their other senses. These senses are the most developed at birth and doesn�t require a lot of effort. The sense of smell is responsible for the bonding that take place between mom and baby and therefore plays a critical role in early emotional development.

A one week old baby has no problem telling the difference between the smell of his/her mommy�s breast milk and that of another woman.

Taste:

A baby�s development of taste starts early on in the womb when they have the privilege of sharing mommy�s food through the chemical substances present in the amniotic fluid.

A newborn can distinguish between salt, sweet, sour and bitter and prefers sweet over sour.

Involuntary Movements:

Your baby is born with a set of involuntary reflexes. By the age of three months these reflexes will be lost else your baby�s development will be delayed.

Rooting Reflex:
Stroke your newborn�s cheek and watch how your baby�s face turns towards the cheek being stroked. Your baby will �root around� for a nipple in order to feed.

Moro�s Reflex:
When startled or if your baby feels he is falling, your baby will spread out arms and legs in a star shape and arch her back. This is known as the involuntary Moro�s reflex.

Walking Reflex:
If you hold up your newborn and let his/her feet touch a flat surface, your baby will make step movements.

Grasp Reflex:
Your newborn baby has an involuntary grasp reflex - try putting your fingers against your baby�s palms and watch how he/she will grasp them tightly.'

Darwinian reflex:
If a newborn�s palms are touched, they will make a very tight fist this is an unconscious reflex action called the Darwinian reflex and it disappears within two to three months.

Developmental Milestones Birth to 4 Months of age
Between now and the day that your newborn infant is four months old he or she will most likely reach the developmental milestones displayed below. Use these milestones as your guide to plan some developmental activities into your baby's daily routine in order to provide him/her with the tools and opportunity to work and reach these milestones. Enjoy your baby and have fun. It is amazing how quickly they grow up (you are about to experience it first hand). Make every second with your baby a second to remember.

Birth - 1 Months
Fine Motor Skills:	The hands of a newborn baby are closed most of the time and they have little control over them.
	As a result of the Darwinian reflex, a newborn infant will grasp at an object placed in their hands, but without any awareness that they are doing so. At some point their hand muscles relax, and they drop the object, equally unaware that they have let it fall.
	Babies may begin flailing at objects that interest them by two weeks of age but cannot grasp them.

Gross Motor Skills:	When lying on his tummy - your baby will lift his feet a little and try to bend his knees
	When lying on his tummy - Your baby will try to lift his/her head for a second or two. Something that is very difficult because the head is too heavy for his back and neck muscles but still a very important exercise
1 Months - 2 Months
Fine Motor Skills:	A newborn baby begin to discover and play with their hands, at first solely by touch, and then, at about three months, by sight as well.
	Deliberate grasp remains largely undeveloped.
	Babys loves playing with paper - crumbling, tearing etc. This is great exercise for those little hands

Gross Motor Skills:	Developing muscle strength is very important for your baby. Tummy Time: Your baby should be able to lift his/her head at an angle of 45 degrees for a second or two
	By the end of 8 weeks your baby should be able to hold his/her upright for a few seconds when held upright.
	Your baby should be uncurled from the fetus position and his/her legs should be able to take his/her body weight for a second.

Speech:	Newborn will start vocalising. (Vocalise is a vocal exercise without words, which is sung on one or more vowel sounds.)

Social development:	Smiles at mother
2 Months - 3 Months
Fine Motor Skills:	Hand-eye coordination begins to develop between the ages of two and four months, launching a period of trial-and-error practice at sighting objects and grabbing at them.

Gross Motor Skills:	Your baby may start to support himself a little on his hands, wrists and arms when doing tummy time
	Loves moving his/her arms and legs about - kicking and waving
	Your baby is still sitting with a curved back
3 Months - 4 Months
Fine Motor Skills:	Babies begin to discover and play with their hands by sight.
	Your baby will briefly hold a small toy voluntarily when it is placed in his/her hand
	Your baby can shake a rattle to hear the noise but can�t pick the rattle up yet.
	Your baby will try to reach for toys but will most probably not be able to grasp it since she is still learning to judge distance

Gross Motor Skills:	There is a lot less head lag when your baby is gently pulled into a sitting position by the arms when lying on her back
	When baby is on tummy he/she can hold their head up for prolonged periods.

Vision:	Your baby will follow a slow moving toy from side to side.
	Your baby will soon start to focus instantly on an object and easily follow the movements.

Social development:	Squeals with pleasure when enjoying something

Cognitive development:	Your baby may start to anticipate coming events. For example, he/she may pull up their knees when placed on a changing table or smile with gleeful anticipation when put in a front pack for an outing.

. Audio Stimulation for Newborns
[View hearing stimulation toys - excluding CDs]
(Music CDs is not not included - click the Music for Newborns link below for a selection of Music CDs)
A baby's ability to listen is stimulated with sounds, language and soft music. Quality stimulation can enhance emotional and intellectual development.

. View Music CDs for Newborns

View Mozart Effect Music CDs

View Kathy Reid-Naiman Music CDs

View Baby Einstein Music CDs

View Raffi Music CDs

View Brainy Baby Music CDs

View Enfance et Musique French Music CDs

Motor Skill Developmental Toys
[View gross and fine motor skill development toys]

A baby's motor development progresses from the head downward toward the toes. The newborn's first motor developmental milestone will be to lift the head and raise the shoulders. Your baby's motor development will progress through the developmental stages until she is able to sit, crawl, stand and/or walk at the end of her first year.
It is important to not only help baby reach these important milestones but to encourage her to continually explore her surroundings. This will provide a lot of motivation for baby to reach these milestones sooner.

. Toys that provide Touch Stimulation
[View toys that provide tactile and oral stimulation for newborns]

Touch stimulation is essential for baby�s mental and physical development as well as self esteem.
Newborn babies can feel soft and firm, rough and smooth, hot and cold sensations. The most sensitive areas for a newborn are the face, the lower back, palms and soles of feet. Massaging these areas stimulates the neural pathways (brain development) as well as growing the bond between parent and child.
Touching the baby's skin with various textures, and naming the textures as you go along is a great way to introduce your baby to the world around her.

. Visually Stimulating Toys and Accessories
[View newborn toys that will provide visual stimulation]

Visual Stimulation: Newborns can see most clearly within 13 inches of their faces. Peripheral vision is narrow at birth, but develops rapidly after a few weeks. Visual stimulation at an early stage facilitates the maturing of the eye muscles, the lens, retina and the eye-brain connection. From about two months of age, both eyes start to function together. For the first few weeks, the newborn is best able to see black and white, high contrast pictures. Newborns like human faces as well as complex patterns such as checkerboards, stripes and circles. By four months of age, color recognition is mature.

. Books for babies - promoting Language and Speech Development
[View baby books including Soft Books, Board Books, Hard Cover and Soft Cover Books]

Babies learn to talk by listening to the language spoken around them. The higher the quality of the language they hear, and the more words they hear, the faster they learn to talk, and the bigger their vocabulary.
Early introduction to reading and singing of nursery rhymes and songs is a catalyst for language and speech development. When you read a book to your baby, you are stimulating their sense of vision, hearing, touch, insight, their thought processes and understanding of language. Reading books is also a great way to gently introduce your baby to the new world around them!

View Baby Books for Newborns and Infants

Multilingual Baby (View Spanish books for Newborns and Infants)

. Tummy Time!
[View baby toys designed to encourage Tummy Time and make tummy time fun]

Tummy time is a phrase used to describe the activity of putting a baby on his tummy encouraging the development of back and neck muscles. These large muscles will be used later for crawling. Putting a baby on their tummy also provides a fun way for baby to explore the world around her.
A baby doesn't need to be on their tummy on a floor or bed to qualify for doing tummy time - putting baby on mommy's chest (baby's head aligned with mommy's neck) is a great way of providing baby with the opportunity to do tummy time while having face-to-face contact with mommy.

Baby Gifts

Baby Toys

Research has shown that the first few years of a child's life is critical in terms of laying the foundation for the knowledge they will use for the rest of their life. Therefore carefully choosing educational toys that support and develop key developmental milestones is critical for your child's development.

At Ape to Zebra we are committed to provide you with relevant information with regards to your child's developmental milestones as well as information on the developmental skills targeted by the educational toys in our store, in order to help you choose fun toys that inspire, stimulate and encourage developing minds.

Ape to Zebra focuses on baby toys that are high quality, educational and developmentally appropriate. We want you to know that the products we sell have passed the highest safety standards and have been carefully selected. We want you to feel confident when purchasing a baby toy or baby gift that the manufacturers have done their best to ensure the safety of the product. Relax and have fun in our toy store! Please let us know by phone, fax or email if there is anything that we can help with.