Infant Stage
From first breath to first steps – the twelve months of infancy are the fastest, most transformative stretch of your child’s entire life.
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About This Stage
The first twelve months are a breathtaking sprint of firsts — first smile, first roll, first word. Your baby arrives wired to connect, learn, and grow at a pace they will never match again.
Every feed, every cuddle, and every silly face you make is actively building neural pathways that shape who they will become. This is the most important year of your child’s life — and yours as a parent.
What to Expect
Physical
- Doubles birth weight by around 5 months
- Gains head control and lifts chest during tummy time
- Rolls front to back, then back to front by 5 months
- Sits without support and begins to crawl by 9–10 months
Cognitive
- Tracks moving objects visually from birth
- Recognises familiar faces and voices by 2 months
- Explores objects by mouthing, banging, and shaking
- Develops object permanence around 8–9 months
Language
- Coos and gurgles from around 6–8 weeks
- Laughs and squeals with delight around 4 months
- Babbles consonant sounds like ‘ba’ and ‘da’ by 6 months
- Says first intentional word around 10–12 months
Social & Emotional
- Smiles responsively at caregivers by 6–8 weeks
- Shows clear preference for primary caregivers by 3 months
- Displays separation anxiety from around 8 months
- Waves bye-bye and imitates simple gestures by 10 months
Articles
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Everything Your Infant Needs to Thrive
Expert-backed articles and hand-picked gear for every milestone in the first year.