Smiles: Babies who are well nourished and tenderly cared for will grin, smile, and light up for their special caregivers. Appetite: If he feels relaxed and comfortable and plays vigorously with crib or floor toys, your baby will nurse and eat with pleasure. Voice: Happy babies vocalize a lot. They squeal.
Month two. This month, babies start to show joy, interest, and distress through their facial expressions. They do this by moving their mouth, eyebrows, and forehead muscles in different ways. Your baby's facial expressions reflect the emotions they are feeling in the moment, and are not intentional.
By about 6 to 12 weeks, your baby will begin to smile in response to you (social or "real" smiles). Until then, sweet-looking grins are automatic reflexive smiles in response to gas and other bodily functions. You can tell the difference between a reflex and real smile by the timing and duration.
Around 9 to 12 months of age, most babies clearly prefer certain people and will show affection to them. Babies miss their regular caregivers when they are away and often cry, turn away, or otherwise react strongly.
When your baby gazes into your eyes when they're in your arms, it's baby's way of expressing they're attracted to you, and want to get to know you even better. Babies will try to copy your facial expressions, test it out by sticking out your tongue when baby is gazing at you, they may well copy.
1-3 Months
The first three months with your baby often seem the hardest. Sleep-deprived parents can feel overwhelmed, but that is normal and you will quickly learn how to read your baby's cues and personality. Don't worry about “spoiling” your baby at this stage.
Your baby's first laugh might arrive around one month after their first smile. Though 4 months of age is a common time for laughter to emerge, it could happen at 5, 6 or even 7 months old.
A baby's first social smile usually appears by the end of their second month. That's one reason why, as a pediatrician, seeing babies and their parents at the 2-month-old checkup is always a great pleasure. The exhausting days when they were newly home from the hospital are behind them.
Somewhere around 2 months of age, baby will look at you and flash a full-on smile that's guaranteed to make your heart swell. Doctors call that kind of smile a “social smile” and describe it as one that's “either a reaction, or trying to elicit a reaction,” Stavinoha says. In other words, baby is interacting with you!
You and Your Baby's Emotional Connection
Research has shown that, during pregnancy, your baby feels what you feel—and with the same intensity. That means if you're crying, your baby feels the same emotion, as if it's their own.
Your baby finds comfort in your arms
When an infant can be soothed by your voice or physical comfort, this is another way she shows she trusts you. Infants identify caretakers by sight, smell, and sound, and when any of these provide a level of comfort to a baby it is evidence of an established bond.
Kissing your baby has a lot of emotional benefits. When a mother shows her baby love by kisses, hugs and the like, it shows the baby that being sensitive to others needs and feelings is important. This in turn can help them relate as well as interact better with those around them.
During the first few months of their lives, babies are paying attention to the faces around them. “They will start to recognize their parents' faces, along with other caregivers' faces, plus people who are familiar,” says Dr. Hoang.
This means your baby is making many new eye connections, taking in the environment, and understanding many new things. All of this can be very overwhelming and over stimulating for littles that have just spent 9 months in a dark quiet womb.
When you catch your baby staring for a long period, it might mean they're curious about the world around them, they're trying to learn or they're just naturally drawn to the objects or sights around them. Babies observe everything around them and this is a sight that their brain starts to develop.
Major achievements—called developmental milestones—include rolling over, sitting up, standing and possibly walking. And your heart will likely melt at the sound of her first “mama” or “dada.” No two babies are exactly alike. Your baby will develop at her own pace.
Excessive tickling can lead to chest and stomach pain. When tickled, babies take short breaths and thus will gasp for air. This could also lead to baby hiccups. Therefore, tickling is, in no way, a good exercise for babies.
Even when the baby is in the womb, it starts to recognize the mother's mood, voice, laughter, etc. The baby also learns to distinctly recognize mother's laughter and your laughing and being joyful promotes a sense of calmness in the baby.
In fact, age 8 is so tough that the majority of the 2,000 parents who responded to the 2020 survey agreed that it was the hardest year, while age 6 was better than expected and age 7 produced the most intense tantrums.
However, many babies tend to get "easier" around 3 to 4 months old. Around this age, infants may begin to sleep longer stretches and feed on a more predictable schedule. You may also start to adjust to your new set of responsibilities as a parent. This being said, every baby is different, as is every family.
Nine to 10 months age gap is obviously the smallest gap you can have, and can be quite tough but rewarding at the same time. The children are so close in age they will learn a lot about the world together.
Unless a baby is cold, however, cuddling ought to be optional—something that happens when a caregiver has time, perhaps, and when the baby is bored or fussy. But that's not how things work. Babies want, even crave the experience of being held, and adults are generally thrilled to oblige.