Baby developing tips

Your baby will be thrilled to discover they’ve now got much better control over their hands and fingers, so they can drop things for you to pick up and perhaps even throw things. You may be less thrilled.

You may notice your baby cries or whimpers when they see another baby crying – this is called ‘reflexive crying’ and is the beginnings of feeling empathy for others, something that will develop slowly over the next few years.

Babies are so different in what they can do at this age. It’s easy to worry you’re surrounded by baby Einsteins and get a bout of baby development anxiety. Your baby may already be saying ‘mama’ and ‘dada’, or they may be just baby-babbling. Either is fine: the key is to keep talking to them, don’t get anxious and they will talk in their own good time. It’s the same story with moving: for some babies, crawling is seriously yesterday’s news and they’re already pulling themselves up to standing. Others are still sitting happily and showing little inclination to move at all. Again, don’t panic – they’ll do it when they’re ready.

Help your little one to develop:

• Encourage self-feeding to help hand to mouth coordination. Opt for finger foods such as rice cakes, carrots and cheese
• Your baby may be trying to pull themselves up to a standing position while holding onto furniture; sofas are great for this. Be right behind them at first in case they start to wobble. Your baby is now entering the land of bumps and falls: your heart may occasionally skip a beat or two, but try to enjoy watching them explore and let them try things on their own, while staying nearby just in case
• They’re learning about cause and effect now: ‘if I push this button, a sound comes out’. It’s a good time for a baby activity centre or toys with buttons and levers
• Things of different sizes that fit into each other – like saucepans or beakers – are endlessly fascinating for this age

Make cute photos of your active baby, upload to the App. Write about his/her favorite activities and games.