Developmental milestones include:

• By 1 month, she is startling at loud sounds
• By 7 – 8 weeks, she beginning to get noisy and giving your responsive vocalisations
• By 2 months, she’s making new sounds other than crying
• She appears to ‘listen’ when you talk to her and she watches your face while you talk

What can I do to encourage her speech and language development?

• Talk to her. Spend some face-to-face time each day talking with your baby. As she matures, she’ll begin to pay attention.
• Start reading to your baby. It’s never too early to introduce her to books, and while she may not be the most appreciative audience to begin with, she will enjoy the quiet time you spend together doing this shared activity.
• Make music together. Your baby will love listening to you shake her rattles and bang on her toys – and when she is old enough to get in on the action she’ll enjoy it even more!
  

  Signs that suggest a developmental problem:

  • She isn’t startling to loud sounds

All children are different and develop at different rates, so don’t be overly concerned if your baby is acquiring new skills at a different rate to those around her. But if you are worried about her development, talk to a health professional for a little reassurance.

Read more:

• 0-3 months physical development
• 0-3 months social development
• 0-3 months communication

This article was written by Ella Walsh for Kidspot.