Physical Development

Your baby will spend the next couple of months polishing and perfecting her prewalking skills, from crawling and cruising to sitting straight in a chair. You can do exercises with her to build strength and increase coordination:

• Lay baby on her back, and, holding her legs, lift her buttocks off the floor and gently stretch her legs over her head. Don't push or strain. Return her to a prone position and repeat five times (increases flexibility of legs and back).



• Place baby in a sitting position on the floor and have her grab your hands, then slowly raise arms above her head and lift her to a standing position. After a few seconds, lower her arms so she can return to sitting; repeat three or four times (builds arm strength).

Social Development

By this point, your baby understands some of what you are saying and is trying to imitate the sounds. Because she doesn't yet have a command of language, she uses grunts, squeals, and hand motions to get her point across. She'll push away things she doesn't want, and reach out her arms to those she does. She may even try to bark to imitate a dog.

When you see your little one trying to communicate, help her by verbalizing whatever she's acting out or vocalizing. When she reaches for her bottle, say, "Do you want the bottle?" Repeat the names of her siblings and caretakers, and applaud her efforts to imitate you.

Intellectual Development

Is your little one getting more stubborn? Around this time, she'll start developing persistence and refusing to respond to your efforts to distract her. She's expending energy developing new skills (such as opening the refrigerator door or pulling books off the shelf), and doesn't like interruptions. This refusal to be diverted is the first step toward the prolonged ability to concentrate that is characteristic of adults. But she still has no concept of danger and only a vague memory of your warnings, so it's important to keep a close eye on her and provide gentle discipline when needed.

Note: The information above offers general guidelines, but all babies develop differently, and few hit their milestones precisely when the conventional wisdom says they should. If your child was born prematurely, you may want to use your due date as a baseline for following baby's development.