1. The 5 senses in the newborn:

Babies have their 5 senses from birth but not all of them are fully developed. Vision, for example, remains blurred for the first 3 months and the other senses are used a lot by the newborn, whereas in an adult it is sight that is mainly used.

“In truth, toddlers use all of their senses, whereas us adults tend to be much more visual. But for a baby, smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste together make up the world around him,” says Gustaf Gredebäck, pediatric researcher at the Children and Babies Laboratory at Uppsala University. .

View:

When the baby comes out of the womb, all he sees are blurry images, the farthest he can see is the distance from our hand to our head (about 20-25cm). Some babies will look directly at their mother's face at birth, while others will keep their eyes closed for a little longer. From 2-3 months they can recognize your faces (and sometimes smile) and begin to distinguish the different shades. From 4 months they distinguish movements and their eyes how to synchronize. Finally at 12 months baby sees perfectly.

Hearing:

From pregnancy babies hear and react to different noises. They jump when they hear loud noises and the voice of their mother (which they tend to prefer) or their father soothes them.

Newborn babies tend to turn their heads towards their mother when she talks to them. After about a week, most newborn babies prefer their father's voice to that of other men. Newborns like to be spoken to in a soothing way, with emotions and feelings. They can tell the difference between soft, melodious speech and someone's angry voice.

The smell :

Studies have shown that newborns have a highly developed sense of smell. They also prefer the smell of their own mother to which they are sensitive, especially that of breast milk.

Breastfed babies are more sensitive to their mother's scent than bottle-fed babies. This could be because a breastfed baby spends more time in skin-to-skin contact with his mother than a bottle-fed baby.

Taste:

From birth, babies have all tastes (sweet, bitter, acid, tasty (or umami)) except salty. They prefer sweet tastes

and also show a preference for breast milk and especially for breastfeeding.

Newborns have a highly developed sense of taste that improves as they get older. This is because they are able to detect differences in the taste of their mother's milk, which can change depending on what the mother eats.

For more details see our previous article ( Baby tell me what you eat )

Touch :

Newborns are very sensitive to the sense of touch. We know well the first skin to skin so moving from birth.

They love to be held close to us, to be comforted, cuddled, caressed and cradled. Placing a hand on your baby's tummy or giving her a big hug can help her feel more secure.

Touch is important not only for newborns, but also for their parents. Newborns and young infants who are fed but not touched or held may have physical and mental development problems. Touch seems to not only soothe and relax newborns, but also improve their growth and comfort.

Thus touch is one of the very important senses for the development of the child. During his very first months, he possesses the gripping reflex: we can clearly see this with his little hand which tightens around the finger of his dad or his mom. It distinguishes what is pleasant or not. And at 1 month he can detect the different textures thanks to his mouth. He is able to put his thumb in his mouth.

Between 3 and 4 months he discovers the characteristics of soft, soft, hard or rough objects and plays with his fingers. He also very often brings objects to his mouth and begins to use both hands. Between 5 and 6 months he loves to play in the water and becomes aware of his feet and his hands. These begin to coordinate so he tries to grab the toys with one hand and likes to handle them. Between the ages of 7 and 10 months his gestures gain confidence and he is fascinated by objects that have particular shapes. Finally during the last months of his first year he becomes more and more curious, shakes objects, empties containers and likes to manipulate new textures. He is able to assess the volume of an object and responds to petting with hugs.

Read on for more details 😉

2. Motor skills (fine and gross)

Motor skills are used daily throughout our lives. They help us get around and do everything from lifting heavy objects to typing on a keyboard. Motor skills begin to develop after birth and progress as the child grows.

Motor skills are divided into two categories: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Mastering both is important for a child's growth and independence.

Gross motor skills relate to movements relating to the large muscles of the body such as those of the arms, legs and trunk. Fine motor skills relate to the movements relating to the smallest muscles such as those of the hand or the wrist.

A baby's first year is an amazing time of transition. At birth, your baby can't do anything but look around, drink milk, and move their hands and feet. As his first birthday approaches, expect him to be a very lively 4-legged walker - he may even be starting to take his first steps - who plays with rattles and toys and getting ready to drink from a glass.

Here's what you can expect during baby's first months:

From 0 to 3 months:
-He focuses his eyes on objects located at a distance of about 30 cm
-He raises his head when lying on his stomach
-He jumps when he hears a loud noise
-He smiles back when you smile at him
-He watches his own hands move
-He holds a rattle for a few minutes

From 3 to 6 months:
-He kicks and waves his arms when he sees or hears someone he knows
-He catches toys or people
-He turns
-He turns when he hears a familiar voice
-He holds his head
-He notices small objects
-He pushes with his arms when he is on his stomach
-He can sit up with help
-He begins to focus on black and white patterns

From 6 to 9 months:
-He sits without help
-He gets up holding his hands
-He gets up on your knees and bends his legs
-He recognizes a familiar voice
-He begins to crawl and clings to furniture
-He eats a cookie by himself
-He plays with his hands and feet
-He takes cereal and tries to put it in his mouth

 

From 9 to 12 months:
-He walks on all fours, climbs, moves from piece of furniture to piece of furniture
-He begins to take steps to walk alone
-He explores and manipulates objects: shakes them, shakes them, twists them, turns them, squeezes them, pushes them and puts them in his mouth
-He crawls holding a toy
-He takes small objects between the thumb and one or two fingers (but with difficulty)
-He takes steps on his own; he walks like a robot
-He is able to pull on a string to get the toy at the end
-He passes a toy from one hand to the other
-He holds two toys at the same time
-He climbs the stairs
-It works if you hold one or both hands
-He gets up to stand and move around while clinging to furniture
-He starts drinking from a plastic cup rather than a bottle

3. From standing to first step (9 or 18 months doesn't matter)

There's good reason to cheer when baby's first steps finally happen. “I think we forget how complicated walking really is,” says Natasha Burgert, a liberal pediatrician in Missouri. “Not only do baby's leg muscles need to gain strength to support their weight, but walking also requires strong ankles, hips and core, as well as an increasingly developed sense of balance. Some babies will pick up this combination of skills faster than others because so many things are at play."

You may have heard of some very precocious babies who start walking at 6 months, but most babies usually reach the walking stage a little later, between 9 and 18 months so don't worry the margin is big.

Baby doesn't reach the walking stage overnight. In order to develop the necessary skills, babies must go through a series of other stages before they can even think about taking their first steps. The path to walking starts very early, when baby is practicing crawling, which helps strengthen and develop good head and neck control. This time also allows the baby to learn to roll over and sit up on his own. From there, most babies start crawling (usually around 7 months), then standing up (usually around 9-12 months), then walking.

One of the most important signs that baby will soon be walking is when he clings and moves from piece of furniture to piece of furniture.

He'll try out his first baby steps while clinging to something for support - the couch, the coffee table, just about anything in sight, so make sure any wobbly furniture is well proofed. babies. Finally baby will start to walk independently. It's normal for babies to spend a few weeks mastering each new skill before moving on to the next, but not all children follow these same steps or progress. "Some children crawl for a few days then get up and move around using the furniture, others crawl for months before getting up, and some children will never crawl," says Carrie M. Brown, physician, pediatrician at Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In general, once baby is moving around with confidence, you have to be on guard and see to it that he takes his first steps. But don't forget that personality also plays a role. Even though baby has developed the skills to walk, it may take longer for him to find the courage to do so. But if you have a braver baby, he may start walking sooner than expected.

Spend less time wearing it. We know you love cuddling and carrying your baby, but spending too much time holding them is one of the reasons for walking delay in children. Baby will never be motivated to move around alone if he never has the chance. When teaching your baby to walk, give him plenty of time each day to explore and develop his abilities on his own, so he's more encouraged to take the step of walking.

"Once the child is up and moving along furniture, a push toy can help them learn to walk," says Brown. Some of these toys may even have wheels adjusted to move more slowly as the child learns for the first time."

Burgert recommends letting baby push a box of diapers around the house - it's an effective (and very inexpensive!) pushing toy.

Let baby walk around barefoot. Although you may want to dress baby in adorable shoes as soon as he starts walking, most experts recommend letting him walk around barefoot at first, as it allows him to use his toes to help keep him its balance. When you start shopping for shoes for your baby, choose shoes with flexible, lightweight soles to avoid tripping hazards and allow the muscles and bones in the feet to develop properly.

Once baby has taken their first steps, it's usually only a matter of weeks or so before they start taking safer, more regular steps on their own. After that, he only has an average of six short months left before he starts running!

At this point, you might be wondering when baby should start going up and down the stairs. As you can imagine, it's harder to walk a baby up the stairs, although it's a skill he'll probably want to develop. Once he starts to walk more steadily, you can let him try to climb the stairs by holding on to the railing and your hand. Practice is the best way for baby to succeed. Most children are able to climb stairs on their own by the time they are two years old.

Many parents begin to worry if their baby doesn't walk before their first birthday, and even more so when the 18-month mark has passed and baby's first steps still haven't taken place. But be aware that some babies do not walk until late. There are several causes of delayed walking, many of which are not serious but rather have to do with the personality of the baby. "It's important to remember that the milestones aren't absolute," Burgert says. "I'm more concerned when parents notice a regression in skills, or a child doesn't even try to progress in their progress." So, for example, a child who is not trying to crawl or stand up at 12 months is of more concern than a child who is standing up and actively moving – but not yet walking – at 15 months. "Even though both of these children have relative motor retardation, the problem is the lack of progress in the 12-month-old," says Burgert.

Of course, any concerns about delayed walking in babies should be reported to a pediatrician so you can find out if further tests need to be done. But do not forget that, according to experts, some babies may simply be late development. As long as the baby is moving in a positive direction with other milestones, he is likely to take his time reaching the walking stage. Take advantage now, because once baby takes flight, you'll regret the days when you weren't chasing after him 24/7!

Sources:

• University of Rochester Medical Center
• aboutkidshealth.ca
• pathways.org
• the Bump