As a new parent, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your baby happy. Seeing them smile for the first time, crawl for the first time, and talk for the first time are momentous achievements to celebrate. But there are also the smaller milestones, such as lifting their head and turning their face toward a familiar voice, that have a profound impact on your baby’s development.
Milestones are practical guideposts designed to help you identify and celebrate your child’s accomplishments. From birth to 5, ParentPal’s 180 research-based milestones provide you with thoroughly vetted information, giving you a wonderful way to anticipate, encourage, and celebrate your little one’s developments.
Here’s a quick breakdown of milestones to look for in month five.
Social-Emotional: Interested in mirrors
Your infant’s greatest source of enjoyment at this age is looking at human faces. Baby won’t recognize his or her own face. For now, he or she is just happy to stare at another baby, and may even try interacting with them.
Social-Emotional: Smiles, is playful
Not only is baby smiling purposefully, but those smiles are also genuine and strong expressions of happiness—open-mouthed, with raised cheeks and upturned lips.
Self Help: Reaches for objects
Your baby’s skills are beginning to converge—hands have been discovered, hand-eye coordination and depth perception are improving, and toys and people are intriguing. With those skills at play, it’s natural that baby will start reaching for things of interest.
Gross Motor: Pivots when on tummy
The more supervised tummy time your baby has had, the greater his or her upper-body strength. Once baby is strong enough to lift his head and chest off the floor, and able to prop him- or herself up on elbows, baby will learn to pivot.
Fine Motor: Puts items in mouth
Your baby is now able to pick up objects: instinctively, they go straight to the mouth. That’s because the tongue and lips are more sensitive than any other body part. Plus, your baby is used to oral gratification—that pleasure derived from putting a thumb, bottle, pacifier, or breast into the mouth.
Expressive Language: Makes sounds like “ah-goo”
Using the tongue to create the hard “g” in “ah-goo,” and adding that vowel-consonant combination to his or her verbal repertoire are BIG DEALS—they’re baby’s first attempts at speaking.
Things to Keep in Mind
Remember, it’s not a race and no two babies are alike. Your baby may exhibit some of these behaviors earlier or later than others. Some may simply be skipped. Milestones are meant to be helpful guideposts for parents to ensure their baby is on the right path developmentally.
If you are ever concerned about your child’s development, contact your pediatrician.
Learn more about your baby’s milestones and how you can help foster physical and cognitive development in the ParentPal app.
Want to get a jump start on what to expect next month? Check out our blog on Your Baby’s Development: Month 6.
