yes, therapy helps!
What should my baby do in the first month after birth?

What should my baby do in the first month after birth?

February 28, 2024

As we already know, the process of human development is something complex and heterogeneous, being the evolution and physical and mental maturation of each one of us different and taking place at different speeds. However, it has been observed that although there are individual differences, as a general rule there are different skills and abilities that tend to have been achieved around a certain age. This happens almost from birth, being able to find different evolutionary milestones even from the first month.

Sometimes this can generate certain anxieties, especially to new parents, in order to analyze if the development of your baby is normative or presents some type of alteration. And in this anxiety it is often intended to observe behaviors or aspects that actually correspond to much more advanced levels. That is why in this article we intend to make a brief mention of the Evolutionary milestones that a baby has usually met at the end of the first month of life .


  • Related article: "The 6 stages of childhood (physical and psychic development)"

What should a baby of one month be able to do?

The human being, like the rest of animals, is wonderful. From the very first moment in which we are born, we are facing a being with a huge potential that will end up going far and dominating tremendously complex and demanding skills, despite ignoring the great amount of processes involved. But for this it will be necessary a deep and prolonged process of maturation and development , in which little by little he will learn and acquire skills.

Thus, many fathers and mothers ask themselves: "what should my baby do in his first month of life?" In this case, we are talking about a practically newborn child, and already in this period, parents, relatives and professionals that we deal with them we will be able as they are going to begin to carry out different conducts and actions.


So that, What can be expected in this time of development after birth? We are going to see it in different sections.

1. Movement

The muscles of the babies are still very little developed, being their capacity of movement very limited. During the first month of life the movement is usually minimal, limited to head movements (yes, it will need to be supported against something) with which even sounds and can get to raise briefly. You can move your hands to your face and usually keep them tight.

It is also common to perform spasmodic movements with arms and legs, and it is a stage in which many biologically programmed reflexes can be observed. Eye control is not total yet.

  • Maybe you're interested: "The 12 primitive reflexes of babies"

2. Reflections

While in reality they would be part of the ability to move, reflexes are a very special element given that they are movements that are performed instinctively and innate . Most of them will be lost over time.


In a one-month-old baby, we can find reflexes such as blinking in the light or contraction of the biceps or knee (also called patellar) in the presence of biceps or knee taps. We can also see the flight reflex, in which the leg has some flexion in response to a painful sensation. One of the best known is the reflex of grip, which makes the baby touch it with force before the touch of something in the palm of the hand.

The Babinski reflex is also given , in which the toes are stretched and turned inwards by the pressure of the outer edge of the foot, or the Moro in which, in the presence of loud noises, the legs and hands are extended and then the arms are contracted forming a small barrier as if to protect the body .

3. Auditory perception

The sense of hearing exists in the human being from before birth, being the right hearing from birth. But this does not imply that he is capable of recognizing them. It will be towards the end of the first month of life when we will see how our baby begins to recognize sounds such as our voice .

4. Visual perception

Vision is a sense that, unlike hearing, takes longer to finish developing. Throughout the first month of life it is expected that the baby will be able to focus the view on elements that are up to a maximum of about 25 cm away. They also seem to be able to recognize the contrast between white and black. It is usual for the gaze to focus instead on the outer contours of the objects , unless they present movement.

5. The sense of taste

Taste is like hearing a sense of early development. The sweet, the salty, acid and bitter are recognizable a few hours after birth . In the first months and during childhood, there is a preference for the sweet (in the case of a child of one month, milk).

6. Emotionality

It is evident that a baby experiences different emotions. However, we must bear in mind that many of the emotions that we consider basic adults contain cognitive and learned aspects that a child of one month of life still lacks.

It is considered that the emotions that first manifest themselves and that are already in this vital stage are Surprise, pleasure, discomfort or pain and interest . Other emotions such as joy or sadness usually do not appear clearly until months later.

7. Dream

It is highly known that babies they spend most of their time sleeping or eating . In fact, they can usually spend up to twenty hours a day sleeping, of which they leave in cycles of around four hours to feed themselves.

The high number of hours that a baby can get to sleep is not something that should worry (unless it does not have any activity or do not eat or cry), but it is something normal and healthy. Particularly noteworthy is deep sleep, which occupies most of the child's sleep and is linked to the development of the encephalon.

8. Communication

The basic form of communication of a baby, as most of you already know, is crying. However, it can also be perceived as some of the children of this age begin to be able to use the a and the o , although we are not even before a babbling.

9. Socialization

The capacity of socialization of a baby of a month is minimal, and in fact could not be considered as such because their acts do not obey an attempt to communicate with their peers and there is not even the differentiation itself-others. However, it can be observed that children of this age they have preference for the visualization of human faces , being what most often catches your attention. Very early children can start to use the social smile, although it is something more typical of the second month of life.

Bibliographic references:

  • American Academy of Pediatrics (2006). Caring for your young child: from birth to five years. Bantam Books.
  • Delval, J. (2004). The human development 21st Century: Madrid.

Baby and Toddler Milestones, Dr. Lisa Shulman (February 2024).


Similar Articles