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Throughout the first year, infants grow at a tremendously fast rate. In
fact, by the end of the first year they will have tripled in birth
weight. Length can be expected to double. By their first birthday, most
infants will be crawling and even may be taking a timid first step!
The most essential ingredient in infant care is a warm, responsive, and
dependable adult caregiver. Try to spend lots of time holding, cuddling,
and playing with the infants in your care. You will be richly rewarded
with babbles, smiles, and squeals of laughter.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
weight: 10-18 pounds
length: 23-27 inches
sleeps about 6 hours before waking during the night
averages 14-17 hours of sleep daily
lifts head and chest when lying on stomach
holds both eyes in a fixed position
follows a moving object or person with eyes
grasps rattle or finger
wiggles and kicks with arms and legs
rolls over (stomach to back)
sits with support
INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
explores objects with mouth
plays with fingers, hands, toes
reacts to sound of voice, rattle, bell
turns head toward bright colors and lights
recognizes bottle or breast
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
cries (with tears) to communicate pain, fear, discomfort, or
loneliness
babbles or coos
loves to be touched and held close
responds to a shaking rattle or bell
returns a smile
responds to peak-a-boo games
IDEAS FOR CAREGIVERS
Help babies develop a sense of trust and security by responding to
their cries. Feeling secure encourages infants to try new things. Be
consistent so that they will know what to expect.
Place babies in new places and new positions so that they can see you
and others from different angles.
Hold and cuddle babies when feeding them. Even infants who hold their
own bottle need to be held. Being held and cuddled frequently is
extremely important in the development of baby's sense of self-worth and
security. Holding and cuddling a baby is also a great stress releaser
for an adult. Do not prop infants drinking from a bottle as it may
cause choking.
Play peek-a-boo. Hide your face behind a blanket and then peek out at
the baby. Older babies will learn to do this themselves and will enjoy
this game for a long time.
Talk frequently to infants. Face infants when talking to them so they can
see you and smile with you. Talk about what you are doing, familiar
objects, or people. You may even want to babble back or echo sounds your baby makes much as you would in a regular conversation. Even though an infant
cannot understand everything you say, he will be learning many words
that will form the basis for language later on.
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