The first six months of life

What can newborns realistically do beyond eating, crying and lying down? Though the first six months of life is commonly thought of as a passive phase, this couldn’t be farther from the truth! The most intensive period in human development takes place in the first 12 months. Newborns may not be able to walk, hold up their heads, or speak, but this changes rapidly. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening during the first six months of an infant’s life.

Psychomotor development

The first month of life is the newborn period, a time when both the infant and parents are adapting to new experiences and stimuli. The infant is learning to breath on their own, regulate their body temperature, eat and excrete waste. Newborns have a talent for (and indeed excel) at signaling that they have needs. Crying is an effective form of communication, but the first smiles also make an appearance after only a few weeks of life!

During the first 6 months, babies develop extremely rapidly in all areas. Enormous changes are visible when we compare a newborn with a 6-month-old baby. With respect to infants, we talk about psychomotor development because the maturity of the nervous system manifests clearly in the baby’s movements. This is also a time of close physical proximity.

Development in the first six months

Mobility is still limited, so the child cannot explore their environment independently.
Infants gradually gain control over their bodies in a certain order:
- “from the head down” (known as cephalocaudal development), starting from movement of the eyes and head, followed by the trunk (and arms) and legs (which concludes in spectacular fashion when a child takes their first steps). At around three months, an infant is already capable of supporting the weight of their head and can roll from their back to side.
- “from the center outward” (proximodistal development), beginning with the muscles closest to the spine, followed by those of the upper arms, forearms and hands. At around four to five months, babies can activate the shoulder joint when reaching for an object, causing a swinging movement of the hand. The following month, the same movement will also involve the elbow joint.
At around three to four months, infants can turn on their side and stomach, and gain the ability to turn from their stomach onto their back at around five to six months.
Sight develops intensively. Until the second month, infants have clearer peripheral vision (which means they can see mom better when breastfeeding than up close to their face), and can see contrasting colors and movements. After three months, they can follow an object with their eyes, and after five months, spatial vision begins to develop. At this age, children can deliberately hold a rattle and grasp various objects.
Infants slowly begin to recognize other familiar faces in addition to mom’s. At around three months, they begin to react with joy to friendly behavior, following and even imitating facial expressions. They smile spontaneously and soon are able to laugh out loud. Around five months, infants begin to smile in response to seeing their own reflection.
Did you know that infants are more eager to look at and focus longer on a smiling and talking face?
An infant communicates through behavior such as crying or laughing.
Cooing develops from one to five months as the child randomly expresses a variety of sounds, thus stimulating their speech apparatus.

How to play with a newborn

There’s no doubt that the best present for an infant up to one year of age is time with loved ones. Infants need and enjoy being close to you. Avoid an overstimulating environment. How can you play with a newborn? Though parents are the best interactive toys for babies (that’s right!), we have some suggestions to support you on this developmental path. This period is a great time for:

Physical proximity – touch and cuddle as much as possible. Massage, tender care, kisses – physical contact is essential.
Contrast illustrations. Show them to your baby and talk about what you see. Each of our contrast sets (Baby Cards for ages 0-3, High Contrast Baby Pack) includes a guide full of development-related information and ideas for using the cards and booklets.
Hanging toys. A mobile hanging over an infant’s bed, or from a playmat or stroller will catch their eye and eventually inspire them to reach for or move toward an object of interest. Contrast cards from the High Contrast Baby Pack, shown individually or connected together to create a garland, are great for hanging on a mobile.
Making faces at your child – and observing their reactions! Watch your child and their behavior, and respond to it.
Watch what makes baby laugh and repeat it.
Move your face, and later toys, through baby’s field of vision.
Taking walks together. Don’t forget your handy High Contrast Flash Cards on a Ring!