Further Reading

Your baby will have been gaining control of their arm movements and will have been reaching and grabbing objects using both hands. Now, they are able to control each side of their body separately, so can reach with one arm whilst keeping their other arm still.  

Your baby’s ability to produce sounds is ever growing. They are repeating short sounds such as ‘da, da, da’ or ma, ma, ma’. Your baby is becoming more aware that the sounds they make are positive and they are learning how to create more sounds. 

Your baby has been finding out all about their developing voice. They will have been using crying, cooing and very early stages of babble as ways of working out how their voice works and how it can make an impact and engage people around them. You will have heard their first sounds, which will sound like a very short ‘ba’ or ‘da’. These will have been produced spontaneously and singularly. 

Your baby will have been watching you as you speak to them and as you move around, they have noticed the gestures that you use and the words that you say. They have been exploring the sounds they can make and developing their movements. You might have seen them moving their mouth in different ways and perhaps moving their hands and fingers.  

All babies have different sleep patterns, but your baby was likely asleep or less alert for more of the day than they were awake at first. They will have gradually developed a more predictable pattern of being awake and asleep, and you might notice that they are awake and alert for longer periods now.  

Your baby will have become more interested in things as their vision has developed and they can see more clearly. They also will have started to reach for and touch objects, and as they do this will become more interested in exploring! 

Your baby has been learning about how to attract attention using movement and sound. They have been testing and comparing your responses to them, while becoming aware that looking at faces is a powerful way of sharing communication.  

Since birth, your baby has been developing their understanding of the social world through interactions with you and other familiar people. They have been particularly interested in other people's facial expressions, talk and movements; they are able to communicate and are active participants in relationships. In short, your baby's brain has been making meaning from what you and other familiar people do.^[1] 

Your baby will have been able to focus on objects close to them, and as their vision developed will have started to look at and follow nearby objects with their eyes. Now, they are beginning to use what they see and their developing sense of their body to look at and reach towards an object.  

Your baby was able to hear before they were born and has been becoming more aware of the sounds around them. They are now beginning to become more aware of the direction that a sound is coming from and will turn their head when they hear a sound.