Development milestones birth to 2 months
[mme_highlight] During this period, baby shows interest in her/his surrounding (follows moving objects, recognizes faces). By the end of the 2nd month, most babies develop social smile. Babies begin to control head steadiness, although neck holding is not usually achieved by this age. [mme_highlight]
During the first weeks of life, the child is still adjusting to the world outside mother’s womb. Growth and development in young children should be monitored very closely in order not to miss problems or developmental delay. Educating parents is one of the safest methods to make sure that child’s growth and development is progressing at a consistent pace.
Cognitive development
The brain of an infant has 25% the size of an adult’s brain. Feel your child’s fontanels, depressible spaces between the growing skull bones, demarcating the site of junction of skull bones (one fontanel located at the front of the skull and the other at the posterior extremity of skull). Only 3 % of normal newborns have a posterior fontanel larger more than 2 cm. At the end of the second month the closure of posterior fontanel is achieved in the majority of babies.
During this period, baby shows interest in her/his surrounding (follows moving objects, recognizes faces) and also shows his/her irritation, agitation and anger by crying and moving limbs. The mean percentage of daytime sleep is:
- 4% in the first day of life
- 8% at 1 month.
Face recognition and memories develop further in the infantile period. Geraldine Dawson (3) suggested that autistic babies have difficulty in recognizing faces and this milestone alone can help in early identification of autism by utilizing electroencephalographic recordings to study high-density brain event-related potentials (ERPs) in high- risk children as young as 3 to 4 years.
Motor development
By the end of 2nd month, the grasping reflex disappears and stepping reflex appears (when baby is placed upright on even surface, she/he dances or dangles). The baby can move his limbs while lying on his stomach.
During this period, babies begin to control head steadiness, although neck holding is not usually achieved by this age, nevertheless the head of baby is less wobbly. Overall, motor control is improved.
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- 50% of babies can lift their head at the age of 6 weeks and can make smothering movements while lying on stomach;
- 75% of babies can hold their head at 45 degrees at the age of 1.8 months;
- 50% of babies can roll from side to back by the end of the 2nd month;
- 50 % of babies can lift themselves using arms when they are lying.
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Social/Emotional development
By the end of the 2nd month, most babies develop social smile (smile when see a stranger). In addition, the baby starts to laugh at loved ones. This is in fact first real smile, because the smiles the baby may have expressed at an earlier age are mainly a reflex. In addition, they learn to maintain eye-contact with parents. Baby can suck his own thumb or can bring his hands closer to mouth.
Language development
By the end of 2 months, the baby start responding to sound or source of sound by turning his head in the direction of sound and most babies communicate by making gurgling sounds.
What are the risk factors that can impair development?
Special caution should be maintained while dealing with babies:
- Who were born pre-term (before 37 weeks of gestation);
- Who experienced moderate to severe birth trauma (birth asphyxia, prolonged labor, protracted labor, distress in labor, instrumental delivery, low APGAR score at birth);
- Babies whose parents have drug dependence issues ;
- If one or more of the siblings have a history of mental retardation or developmental deficits.
Research conducted by Steven A. Rosenberg (2) suggested that babies who were born with a birth weight below 1500 g or 2 Standard Deviation (SD) below mean weight are at increased risk for developmental delays.
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- 3 % is the overall prevalence of very low birth weight babies in United States
Among babies with very low birth weight:
- 12 % were diagnosed with developmental delays by 9 months;
- 8 were diagnosed with developmental delays by 24 months;
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The author suggested that different opportunities can be provided to prevent significant impairment in overall health and development if babies are diagnosed at an earlier age.
What are the alarm signs I should be worried about?
- Child is unresponsive to loud sounds;
- Child is unresponsive to move objects;
- Child has not developed social smile by the end of 2 months;
- Baby cannot touch her/his face or mouth with hands;
- Baby is unable to hold her/his head while lying on tummy.
It may be difficult to gauge the development and progress of your baby in the first few months of life; however, there are a few telltale signs that suggest a possible issue or problem. Parents should seek immediate medical help to assess, identify and diagnose any suspected developmental issue in order to provide early intervention.
What should parents do to encourage the development of baby at this age?
It is recommended to closely monitor the development of your child for the first few months and record the findings in order to discuss it with the pediatrician on periodic visits. There is variation in the developmental rhythm among children in the same age group (and even in children of the same family), but nevertheless failure to achieve one or more milestones is always a sign of concern. Early identification and intervention helps in managing minor and severe developmental issues.
Parents can additionally help by stimulating the motor and sensory skills. So, parents should expose the baby to different types of noise and sound from the environment, thus providing a stimulant environment (with bright color toys and surroundings). Finally, parents should talk to the baby and read books at loud in order to encourage early language development.
Summary and Recommendations
- Your baby will show developmental progresses right after birth. Knowing what to expect makes it easier for you to recognize the progresses and help the child to achieve them.
- Cognitive Development: The baby shows interest in the surroundings and recognizes faces.
- Motor Development: The baby moves limbs and begins to control head support, although this skill is not achieved at this stage.
- Social/Emotional Development: Your child smiles even to strangers (social smile) and laughs at familiar faces. She/he also learns to establish eye contact with familiar persons.
- Language Development: The baby turns the head to a sound or voice.
- Each child has her/his own pace, but if you think your child is not developing adequately, seek for medical advice.
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References:
- http://www.mass.gov/edu/docs/eec/prof-development/prog-reports/developmil-1108.pdf
- Rosenberg, S. A., Zhang, D., & Robinson, C. C. (2008). Prevalence of developmental delays and participation in early intervention services for young children. Pediatrics, 121(6), e1503-e1509.
- Dawson, G., Carver, L., Meltzoff, A. N., Panagiotides, H., McPartland, J., & Webb, S. J. (2002). Neural correlates of face and object recognition in young children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delay, and typical development. Child development, 73(3), 700-717.
- Salls, J. S., Silverman, L. N., & Gatty, C. M. (2002). The relationship of infant sleep and play positioning to motor milestone achievement. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56(5), 577-580.
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