Further Reading

Your baby might not have been sure about bathtime and nappy changing at first – they would be unfamiliar and involve lots of new sensations. As they become used to these routine activities, your baby will begin to engage with you during these times as they provide a chance for you to focus on each other and enjoy reciprocal interactions.  

You'll have noticed your baby moving their arms and legs in a random, jerky way, then, as their muscles and control developed, seen these movements becoming smoother and seeming more controlled. Now, you will notice that your baby is starting to move with a particular purpose in mind, perhaps moving their arm towards a toy, or moving in excitement when you are close to them.  

During those first tummy times, your baby won’t have been able to hold their head in the centre and will have turned their head to one side. As their neck muscles became stronger, you'll probably have seen them hold their head in the centre with their arms tucked under their body offering some support. Now look closely and you'll see them use their arms for support and lift their head briefly when they're on their tummy.

They're getting stronger all the time!

You will have seen that your baby is becoming stronger and has been able to hold their head in the centre of their body when lying on their back and lift their head briefly when on their tummy. Now, their neck muscles are getting stronger and they will start to tilt their head upwards when lying on their back too. 

Your baby has gradually been developing control of their head, being able to hold it in the centre when lying on their back or tummy and holding it more steady as you hold them. Now, if you pull them gently from lying to sitting they will mostly be able to keep their head straight with only a slight lag of their head as they are pulled upwards.^[1]  

Your baby has been kicking their legs and starting to push against objects that are close to them. By doing this, they are gradually gaining whole body coordination and muscle strength. Now that they have more control of their head, they might like to be held upright sometimes and take some weight on their feet as you hold them.  

Your baby has been exploring movement for a long time before their arrival, and learning about the world using all their senses. Their touch, sight, smell, hearing, balance and proprioception (sense of their body) started to develop before they were born, and touch was your baby's first sense to develop.  

Your baby has been finding out about the world using their senses and movement. They will have kicked their legs and realised that as they kick, sometimes they touch things! This awareness will grow as they move their hand towards objects, and you may see that now, when holding an object, they try to move it towards their mouth to explore.  

Your baby will have been bringing their hands towards their face for a while as they explored movement. Now, they will be developing more control of their movements and as their hands are open and move often, you'll see them touching their face and features.  

Your baby has used crying to communicate their needs and might have cried sometimes for no reason that you can identify. Now, they are beginning to find other ways to interact with you and the people around them, and you might notice that they cry a bit less.