Child Development: 1 month

What can the child do? 

•     Commits micro movements and makes sounds to the beat of the speaker’s speech.
•     Sees colors (red, yellow, black and white), lines and checkered patterns.
•     Fixes gaze on the human face bent over him.
•     Distinguishes features of sounds.
•     Knows the mother’s voice, her smell, the touch of her hands.
•     Focuses the view on stationary objects and when the latter is slowly moved.
•     Lies on the belly, trying to raise his head and hold it.

Most importantly, a newborn infant needs rest, warmth and security. All this he receives from his mother, if he feels that it is there, if you are talking to him in a sweet voice, tenderly clutching him (because he had heard your heartbeat all 9 months – a native, familiar sound, indicating the security).

When the baby is awake, create eye contact, talk to the baby as if he is an equal interlocutor. Changing clothes or diapers, do not do it with cold or sweaty hands – kids have high tactile sensitivity.

Already in the third week after birth on the basis of unconditioned reflexes the child begins to form conditional ones, adapting to the outside world. This means that the baby is “ready to learn”. It is still too early to count, read and write. But the little man masters fairly quickly the science of the “correct” behavior (i.e. the one that can best meet their needs).

If for the mother to appear he needs to cry long and loud – he will overstrain and yell at the “joy” of the neighbors. And if it is enough to squeak for the mother to appear, there will be no occasion to shout. It may happen that the baby will understand, that the world in which he came is not ready to “respond” to his desires. This usually occurs if the baby is fed not when he is hungry, but when it is “necessary” for the adults; if the child is left alone, because “it’s time” to sleep.

Child development: facial expressions and speech

In 2-3 weeks the baby is gradually mastering the science of copying. Of all the things he is most attracted to the human face – first and foremost, his mother’s. So he constantly sees her leaning over him or talking to his face (the rest is drowned in a haze – a vision is just beginning to take shape).

If in the process of communication you will make active facial movement, the child will soon begin to repeat them, “responding” to you. Mom sticks out his tongue – and a tiny tongue appears between his lips. Mom smiles – the child’s face breaks into a smile too. Mom bulges her lips – the baby echoes her…

It is also intuitive; the child feels the emotions coming from an adult. If the mother is happy and calm, the baby is also comfortable. If the mother is irritated, angry, if she swears, the baby responds instantly with protesting weeping.
At the end of 1 month “speech” joins to facial expressions. Kids, who are spoken to much, babble in response, emit squeaking, snorting sounds. Those who are more active, “talk” all over – reach for mom with arms and legs, lift the buttocks, arch the back. These actions are not yet conscious, but they train the muscular system of the baby very well.

The newborn signals with crying or smiling on his emotional state. Crying expresses dissatisfaction, discomfort, fear, pain, cold, heat. Smile in the first weeks of life is a sign of quiet contentment. At first, the baby smiles involuntarily, almost only while sleeping. Later, a smile can be observed after feeding, and while bathing. In all these cases it is called physiological or gastric smile.

But by the end of 1 month the baby’s smile begins to fill with social content, appearing in response to contact from a person. And soon there will be also so-called “complex of revitalization” – a bright emotional response to the appeal of the adult.

Pledge of the normal child’s development

The main condition is the presence of mothers in his “complete disposal”. Do not be afraid to spoil the child or grow him an egoist. On the contrary, your instant response to all the needs and desires will make the child a self-confident, strong and kind person in the future. Knowing that the mother is always there, the baby will not be disturbed and require your attention “in advance”- such behavior is just the same characteristic of children who are experiencing a constant shortage of maternal affection.

In 1 month you should focus on the physiological development of your son or little girl. The periods awake are very short. Try to distribute them so that you have time for charging, and massage, and swimming and playing in the water. Very useful it is to maintain data on the nature of kids’ unconditioned reflexes: crawling, walking, grasping.

The child has not learned to listen carefully. For the development of hearing, first, be sure to talk with the child. The baby distinguishes sounds in pitch, he can differ meaningful speech from a set of words. When the mother speaks to him, he can lie still, listening – this is the first experience of sound focusing.

Secondly, let’s daze listening to music. The more diverse it is, the better. Studies show that the works of Mozart, Vivaldi, Haydn contribute to the normalization of various physiological processes in the infant’s body. So, if possible, include these composers into the kid’s playlist. The lovely music can be listened to softly when the child is awake or asleep.

Activities in the water

For the baby not to be afraid of the water, immerse him in the water gently, starting from the heels. After all, children are very sensitive to changes in the “physical data” of the world – they just have to settle with his weightlessness in the water.

Remarkably, if the first few days you swim together, the presence of the mother immediately removes all the possible negative emotions. If you are in the bath together, put the baby so that he leans back and his head is on your chest and shoulder, and with your left hand hold him under the belly. Right at this moment you can wash your baby or show him some water toys.

By the way, swimming “together” is possible with the father, too. It is even more interesting – the father’s knees and long legs will turn out great slides for the baby! If you are standing “outside”, put the baby on his tummy, holding the chin and chest, or just under the chin, and ride across the bath, sway up and down, slightly rotate from side to side.

The baby will surely like pushing off the rim of the bathtub. To do this, turn the baby at the edge so that his bent legs rest against the wall. The child must push himself a little to slide on the surface of the water. When you bring him to the opposite edge, repeat. If the kid did not immediately understand what you want it to do, make a few springy movements simulating pushing from the side.

Another fun and useful exercise for those who are just beginning to discover water is walking on the bottom of the bath. So that the baby can move freely, hold him under the armpits, slightly leaning forward, stimulating the reflex of stepping motion. After the child “walks” a little – preferably let him swim on the back (of course, if your child prefers not to swim solely on the belly).

By the way, swimming on the back gently rocking the baby on your hands from side to side perfectly develops vestibular system and sense of balance. This “sea pitching” is a great prevention of future “transportation” issues.

Child development: vision and hearing

Place at arm’s length a bright toy (ball, rattle, ring) in the field of view of the child at a distance of 60-70 cm over his face and wait for the baby’s eyes to linger on the toy. Then start shaking it right and left with an amplitude of 5-7 cm and a frequency of about 2 times per second.

In the future, move the toy in different directions (right, left, up, down), closer to the baby by 20-30 cm and removing it back at arm’s length. Duration – 1-2 minutes, frequency – 1-2 times a day. Similarly, you should do it with a toy, making a soft sound.