There is a general development plan which shows parents when each milestone is achieved. For example, babies start to smile in sixth week. However babies laughing in forth week or still unsimiling in second month are not exceptions.
Development milestones are an important guide to see if your baby's development is on track or not. Before taking a look at milestone lists, please keep in mind the effect of environmental factors in baby's development and that each child has different rates of development.
During your baby's first month, they will sleep a lot. Your average newborn can sleep 16 to 21 hours in a day, that's a lot of sleep, but there will be periods. Periods where the baby is alert.
Now during this time, you want your baby to focus on your face. And babies, at this stage, are very near sighted. So if you really want your baby to see your face, you really have to get about 8 to 12 inches away. Away from their eyes.
Now physically, the baby isn't doing a whole lot at this point, but they should be moving their arms and legs equally. If you notice that the baby is moving one side much more often than the other side, let your pediatrician know. There are a couple of newborn reflexes that are kind of fun to see. One of them is called the rooting reflex.
Where if you tickle your baby's cheek, you'll find that your baby will move their cheek to that side and open their mouth wide in the anticipation for feeding. There's also something called the Moro reflex or the startle reflex.
And this where babies will startle. And, kind of, jitter to loud noises or sudden movements, and it'll look something like this, the arms will go out and the arms will go in, and that's often associated with crying as well.
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