Newborn Stage and Beyond: A Guide for Parents of All Ages
New parents face a precious but challenging stage during the newborn stage. It typically lasts from birth to about three months. During this time, parents navigate intense caregiving responsibilities and sleepless nights. Knowing how long the newborn stage will last helps parents mentally and emotionally prepare for this demanding time.
In the newborn stage, you’ll have to feed, change diapers, and adjust to your baby’s needs, but remember that this phase is temporary. It usually eases around the 12-week mark when newborn stage transitions into early infancy.
Newborn Stage, Baby, and Infant Age
Child Developmental Stages: Newborn stage, Baby, Infant Age
In the process of growing and transitioning from a newborn baby to an active baby, it’s natural to wonder if everything is going well. In case you have any questions or concerns about your baby’s development, don’t hesitate to contact your baby’s healthcare provider. Each baby meets milestones at a different rate.
- Smiles at first sight
- A newborn’s eyesight sharpens, and, while it’s still fuzzy, they can see and distinguish colors and distant objects
- The sound of reaching out for something
- Familiarity with some names of individuals and some words, like the word “no”
- Greetings, bye-bye!
- Babbling or saying “mama” or “dada”
- Building relationships and trust with family members and caregivers
- Playing games such as peekaboo or pattycake
- Standing up from sitting position or crawling
- Walking while holding furniture.
- They could be learning to walk
- Fine motor skills, like being able to use their thumb and pointer finger to pick up small items
In the process of growing and transitioning from a newborn baby to an active baby, it’s natural to wonder if everything is going well. In case you have any questions or concerns about your baby’s development, don’t hesitate to contact your baby’s healthcare provider. Each baby meets milestones at a different rate.
Toddler Age Range
It may seem only yesterday that you were holding your tiny newborn in your arms, but now they’re an active baby who never stops moving! Is a baby or infant considered a toddler when and at what age? As soon as a baby reaches the age of one year, he/she may be ready to “toddle,” which refers to taking those first shaky steps. Toddlers range in age from around 1 year (12 months) to around 3 years old.
Developmental Stages of Children: Toddlers
Your newborn has become a toddler in just a blink of an eye, and with that comes independence and curiousity about the world around them. Get ready for some exciting and interesting developments during the toddler years.
- Walking`Learn247–Ability to walk, walk by yourself, walk well
- Beginning to run
- Towing their toys behind them
- Kicking a ball
- Climbing
- Feeding themselves
- Imitating others’ behavior
- Creating a sense of self and knowing “mine” and “his or her”
- Gleefully playing with other children
- Examples of pretend play and make-believe
- Sorting by shape and color
- Moving on to two- or three-step directions
- It was saying four- and five-word sentences.
The development and meeting of these milestones vary from child to child during their toddler years, so be prepared for your child to take longer or shorter than other toddlers of the same age. Contact your toddler’s healthcare provider if you are concerned about their developmental progress, such as walking or language skills.
Preschool Age Range
Now that you have a rough idea of newborn, infant, baby, and toddler age ranges, what happens after a toddler? The preschool age range may extend from three years to around five years old once your toddler reaches the age of three. How time flies!
The Bottom Line
While your baby will always be your baby, there are some generic sounds that will be used to refer to your baby after they’ve started to grow. Experts said the term newborn stage is frequently used to describe babies younger than 28 days or even up to 2 or 3 months old. After this time (and well into the newborn stage), your wee one is known as a baby or an infant until they are around 1 year old.
But when do you stop calling your teeny tiny baby a baby and start calling your teeny tiny baby a toddler? When babies reach 1 year of age, they are referred to as toddlers by most experts. Toddlerhood typically falls between 1 year and 3 years old, and before you know it, your kiddo will be a preschooler! Each stage has its own thrilling developmental milestones and learning curves for your child. So, enjoy the journey!
