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5 things you didn't know about baby development


Infant development is so mysterious and complex that some scientists devote a lifetime to studying it. In the laboratory of your own nursery, you'll be blown away by how quickly your baby changes. Here are five of the top surprises of this magical part of parenthood.
Your newborn can do tricks!

Eat, sleep, p**p, cry… Isn't that all newborns do? Nope. A recent BabyCenter survey revealed that many new moms are shocked to discover that their baby can do quite a bit more than that.

Think newborns just lie around and sleep? Your baby may actually be able to lift his head from your chest by 2 or 3 weeks of age – and sometimes well before that, says pediatrician Ruth Lotz.

"No one believes me, but my little guy lifted his head for three seconds right after he was born," one BabyCenter mom says.

Your newborn also arrives equipped with all kinds of fascinating reflexes: Stroke his cheek, and he'll turn his head toward you (rooting reflex). Put your finger in his mouth, and he'll suck it with the strength of a vacuum cleaner (sucking reflex). Hold him with his feet touching the floor, and he'll do a little step dance (stepping reflex). These reflexes help him develop and survive – plus they're great entertainment for you.

Another fun thing to try: Stick your tongue out at your newborn.If he's not too tired, hungry, or distracted – and if he's in the right mood – he may stick out his own tiny tongue right back at you! (This is a great activity for older siblings. They'll be delighted that they "taught" their baby sibling to stick out his or her tongue!)
Babies know more than we give them credit for

With all the sleeping and drooling, it's easy to assume that babies don't have that much going on upstairs. But as researchers continue to discover, newborns know a lot more than they let on.

For example, babies can recognize their mother's voice from birth. "This shows that babies absorb auditory stimuli in utero, and they can remember it," Lotz says. In other words, your baby was paying attention to your conversations long before she was born.

They can also smell odors, good and bad, and detect sweet and sour tastes.

Although you might imagine that your baby would just as soon look at her teddy bear as at you, science has found that's not the case. Babies are especially attuned to human faces, preferring them to random designs. As Alison Gopnik, author of The Philosophical Baby: What Babies' Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life, puts it, "They understand there's something special about people."

Even more striking is that on some level, newborns understand that they are people themselves – or at least, that they're somehow similar to the grinning, babbling thing leaning over their crib.

"Babies start reproducing gestures as early as the first few days of life," says Gopnik, a professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. "This shows that they're linking other people's faces with some inner concept about themselves." That is, your baby is taking a small step toward eventually understanding that she has a face just as you do, and that she can manipulate it, just as you can.

Perhaps most fascinating of all, there's clear evidence that babies are driven to explore the world from an extraordinarily young age. In one study, says Gopnik, researchers found that at just a few months old, babies were more interested in mobiles they could control than in mobiles they couldn't manipulate.

"Babies seem to recognize connections between what they do and what happens in the world, and they're interested in experimenting with these," Gopnik says. In a way, your adorable infant is a miniature scientist.
Babies get around in different ways

Eventually, your snuggly lap-baby will venture into the world of mobility. But as for what this will look like, no one can predict. He may go for the more typical sequence: rolling over, followed by sitting, crawling, pulling up, cruising, walking, and running. On the other hand, he might march to his own developmental drum.

Some babies never get the crawling memo. "My son turned 10 months yesterday and just took his first steps. He completely skipped crawling," one BabyCenter mom says in surprise. She's not alone. Lotz estimates that about 10 percent of the babies in her practice bypass crawling.

Is this something to be concerned about? Definitely not.

Other babies take things in the opposite direction, showing no interest in going vertical for quite a while. Instead, they're perfectly content to roll from one side of the room to another, even as their counterparts crawl alongside them.

"One of my 8-month-old twins is now getting into the crawling position, while the other wants nothing to do with anything but rolling around," one BabyCenter mom says.

Still other babies are bottom scooters, moving from place to place on their bottom by pushing with their arms and legs.

As long as your baby is developing within age-appropriate guidelines, there's no need to worry. Give him plenty of space to do his thing, and eventually he'll graduate to other ways of getting around.

If your child isn't walking by 18 months, however, talk to his doctor. It could be a sign of a motor delay.
The range of normal is wide

Watching your baby transform from a flailing newborn into a chattering explorer is one of the biggest joys of parenthood. But it can be hard to not worry when your baby is developing at a different rate than her peers.

Don't despair. "The range of normal is huge, and every baby has his own unique timetable," says Lotz.

It may also help to know that these timetables are not predictive of future success. Just because your baby waits 17 months to take her first step doesn't mean she won't one day outrun you. "My son didn't walk until he was 15 months," says one BabyCenter mom. "I thought it would be indicative of his future athletic skills, but he's by far the most athletic of my three kids."

And while Lotz says early language development is sometimes correlated with later academic achievement, the opposite is absolutely not true. Being a late talker doesn't mean your child won't ace those third grade vocabulary tests down the road. (Einstein is famous for being a late talker, for instance.)

"Development is such a nonlinear, dynamic system," says Gopnik. "You really can't make specific predictions about someone based on when they reach milestones. That's like trying to predict the weather 30 years in advance."

That said, if your baby doesn't reach milestones within the usual guidelines, talk with her doctor. (Babies born prematurely often take longer to reach developmental milestones.)
You have the power to boost brain development

Browse any toy store and you'll see all kinds of products designed to boost your baby's brain power. And you may find a variety of gym and music classes for babies in your area. Toys are fun, and classes are a great way to meet other parents – but will your baby fall behind the other babies if you don't do all this stuff?

No, definitely not. Nothing can replace plain old exploration and interaction to help your baby thrive intellectually. "Babies don't learn from flashcards," says Gopnik. "They learn by exploring the world and by having people pay attention to them."

Talk to your child from day one. Research shows that children whose parents spoke to them extensively as babies have significantly higher IQs and richer vocabularies than kids who didn't receive much verbal stimulation.

Don't be afraid to give your baby some independent time, too. "I leave my 5-month-old to play on her mat by herself for a short time in the morning," one BabyCenter mom says. "I sit by and enjoy a coffee while observing all the neat things she can do with her toys to amuse herself."

In fact, says Lotz, babies learn a lot even by hearing you talk to someone else. So stop feeling guilty about chatting on the phone while your little one plays on the floor! She's developing the entire time.


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How to buy baby and toddler shoes

Before babies starts walking, they don't need shoes. In fact, supportive shoes like hard-soled Mary Janes may actually get in the way of your child's developing mobility. Socks, booties, and soft-soled baby shoes are useful for warmth, but bare feet are fine, too.


Once your child takes those first steps, it's time for a pair of real shoes. Unlike "baby shoes," which are more like slippers, first shoes will have a flexible, nonskid sole (probably rubber) and a more substantial upper. Shoes protect kids' feet outdoors and anywhere else that could be hazardous – a splintery surface, for example.

Indoors (and outdoors on safe surfaces, such as sand), it's still a good idea to let new walkers wear soft baby shoes or socks. Your child can even go barefoot, if it's warm enough. Toddling around with feet bare or lightly covered actually helps little ones build strength and coordination in their legs and feet.

Note: Your child's foot is still developing, so it won't look (or act) like an adult foot. If your child still has a padding of baby fat under the arches, for example, she might appear a bit flat-footed. Or she may have a tendency to turn her toes in when she walks, called in-toeing or toeing in.

Mention any concerns to your child's doctor. It's easier to correct foot problems when your child is younger.
What to look for when buying

Choose a breathable, lightweight material. Soft leather or cloth is best. Avoid stiff leather shoes, which can hinder foot development, and synthetics, which don't breathe.
Bend the soles. They should be flexible and gripping, not smooth and stiff. A nonskid rubber sole with ridges will offer good traction.
Check the fit. Have your child try on the shoes and stand up. There should be just enough room to squeeze your pinky between your child's heel and the heel of the shoe, and a full thumb-width between the end of your child's longest toe and the front of the shoe. The shoe should provide just enough wiggle room without being too big. Because baby feet grow quickly, it's a good idea to check every month to make sure the shoes still fit.
Give it a squeeze. If the shoe is made of soft fabric, try to grab some of the material on the top of the foot when your child is wearing them. If you can't, the shoes might be too tight.
Shop later in the day. Babies' feet swell and are often bigger at the end of the day. Shoes purchased in the morning might feel tight in the evening.
Look for problem spots. Your baby's shoes shouldn't need any breaking in. Let your child toddle around indoors wearing the shoes, then take them off and look for any irritated areas on your child's foot.
Make the choice: laces versus Velcro. Velcro fasteners make it easier to get shoes on and off, and you won't have to worry about retying laces all day. But a child may figure out how to remove his shoes and take them off when you wish he wouldn't! If you choose shoes with laces, make sure they're long enough to tie into double knots, so they won't come undone as often.

What it's going to cost you

Simple baby shoes can cost as little as $15 to $20. Fancier shoes, of course, can cost a lot more.

Your child's size and growth timeline

Lots of parents wonder whether their child is bigger or smaller than other kids the same age.

To give you a benchmark, here are the values from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile for weight and height – meaning that half of kids fall within these ranges. A quarter of kids fall above these numbers and a quarter of kids below them.

At each well-child visit, the doctor will weigh and measure your child and tell you his height and weight percentiles. (You can also compute them yourself, using our Growth Percentile Calculator.) Talk with the doctor if you have any concerns about your child's growth.

The data below comes from the World Health Organization for children under age 2 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for children age 2 and older.