The Stages of a One Month Old Baby

Significant development occurs during the first month of life.the newborn image by Sergey Galushko from Fotolia.com

According to the American Pregnancy Association, a baby's first year is marked by rapid development. While it may not seem like much happens in the span of one month, during the first year of life every month is significant. When a baby is born he mostly acts on reflexes, but by the end of the first month babies are beginning to learn the concept of communication -- verbal and nonverbal -- and have mastered some physical skills such as briefly holding their heads up.

The First Week

During the first week of life a baby is still adjusting to the outside world and may be physically odd-looking from being cramped inside the uterus. He may have the traditional cone-head or squished facial features. By the end of the first week, most of these issues are gone. During this week parents will notice their baby acting on reflexes, which may cause spontaneous movements such as tongue thrashing, rooting or grasping with his hands.

In the baby's second week, she will usually experience her first significant growth spurt and an increase in appetite. Her movements will begin to seem more voluntary and less jerky. During this week she will begin spending more time awake and less time sleeping. She may begin crying more often than she had during the first week.

During the third week crying may continue to increase and will most likely not peak until about the sixth week. A baby becomes more aware of his surroundings around this time and may start briefly focusing on objects that are 8 to 12 inches away, such as the face of the person holding them. They also are attracted to toys with high-contrast colors and black-and-white patterns.

By this week a baby is ready to experience their first moments of tummy-time to help her develop skills such as pushing up with her arms and holding her head up. During this time babies will also begin making more sounds such as grunting and cooing. Babies at this age will begin enjoying playing with age-appropriate toys and even their fingers and toes. A few babies may even start to smile or laugh during the fourth week.