Physical Development of Infants

From LoveToKnow Baby

The physical development of infants encompasses not only the changes of the body, but also the maturation of the senses.

High Expectations and Comparisons

Most new parents immediately exhibit high expectations for their newborns. This is certainly normal, as parents are excited and proud of this new addition to their family. It is very common for parents of newborns to compare their baby's physical development with other infants that are close in age. In fact, physicians also have a list of standards that they look for during check-ups. Your doctor may tell you the percentile your child's height and weight falls into in regards to national averages.

While you certainly need to pay close attention to your child's development, keep in mind that children grow and develop on an individual basis. While your child may sit up earlier than your neighbor's baby, he or she may begin talking several weeks or even months before your son or daughter does. Although children do develop at different rates, there are several milestones you should watch for within a certain time period. If your baby doesn't appear to be reaching those milestones within a preferred time frame, it may be time for a consultation with your pediatrician.

Tracking the Physical Development of Infants

When tracking the physical development of infants, there are several areas that parents and physicians should monitor. These include height, weight, motor skills, reflexes, vision, hearing, and speech. A baby will experience numerous, rapid changes during his first couple of years.

Height and Weight

Each time you take your infant to see the doctor, he will be weighed and measured. The doctor and nurses keep detailed information on the status of his physical growth. While he should continue to grow steadily throughout his formative years, there will be periods of time in which he will gain weight and inches more rapidly than others. Unless he is not growing and gaining weight, however, there usually isn't cause for concern.

Motor Skills

Documenting the sequence of motor skills is another important aspect in the physical development of infants. Pediatricians typically look for a particular sequence of skills that a baby masters. These include the following:

Controlling the head and trunk--first few weeks after birth
Rolling from back to front, front to back--four to five months old
Sitting upright without support—four to six months old
Creeping and/or crawling--eight to twelve months
Pull up and stand--nine to twelve months
Walking--around twelve months.

Reflexes

Many parents confuse reflexes with developing motor skills. While this is a physical activity, it is strictly involuntary and results as a response from some type of stimulus. In other words, reflexes are not controlled, physical actions. Reflexes include the following:

Rooting—used to find food
Moro reflex—"startling" reflex that occurs when an infant is startled by movement or noise
Palmar grasp—occurs when an infant grasps an object that is placed in her hand
Babinski reflex--occurs when an infant's toes fan out and curl while the foot turns inward, such as when a baby's foot is stroked
Walking reflex—occurs when babies appear to be walking when held upright on a flat surface

Vision, Hearing, and Language

A newborn has difficulty focusing on objects that are farther than 8 to 15 inches away. *Newborns and infants younger than three months or so also prefer black, white, and red objects as opposed to other colors.
Infants prefer bold colors to pastels.
Infants prefer to look at faces over many other objects.
Infants often turn towards loud, sudden noises.
Infants are comforted by rhythmic sounds.
Infants often recognize their mother's and father's voices within the first few weeks after birth.
By three to six months, an infant will begin creating sounds through imitation of language patterns around him.

If you have any concerns regarding your baby's developmental progress, please contact your pediatrician immediately.

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