The first year of a child’s life is characterized by great changes. Your child will grow and develop each day, and you will find yourself adapting your life to your newborn’s ever-changing needs. It can feel a bit like taking a trip to a foreign country where you don’t speak the native language – you might feel overwhelmed and surprised by the things you’re experiencing.

If you’re looking for help in navigating this new stage in your life, we’re breaking down what to expect in that first year with your newborn!

What to Expect for Your Newborn in Their First Year

It probably comes as no surprise that a lot will change with your little one in the first year! Here’s a short breakdown of changes you can expect each month:

First Month With Newborn

Your first few weeks with your newborn are going to be heavily focused on sleeping and eating, likely for both of you! You’ll start to differentiate what their different cries mean, how to tell when they’re hungry or tired, and they will even start to recognize and turn at the sound of your voice. Plan to have your first check up with your healthcare provider this month to make sure everyone looks healthy.

Second Month With Newborn

At two months, your baby will be ready for  vaccines, getting out in the world, and growing success during tummy time. Around this time, you might be transitioning back to work, so you’ll want to get a feeding plan in place and sort out daycare or other options for your baby. And don’t forget to watch out for that sweet smile to start showing up!

Third Month With Newborn

This is a great month for you and your newborn – you’ll start to see their crying slow down and they might even start sleeping through the night! Baby may begin responding to your talking and singing with noises. Don’t forget to check in on yourself at this time, too, making sure your recovery is going well, and you’re not experiencing heavy emotions.

Fourth Month With Newborn

At this stage, babies start to play and interact with their surroundings more and more as their sight gets better and they become more social. It’s more important than ever to spend time bonding with and talking to them. This will help them develop a strong relationship with you, while starting to learn about their world! Keep an ear out for the beautiful sound of a first giggle.

Fifth Month With Newborn

Enjoy the chatter! Around 5 months, you can expect your newborn to be babbling and engaging with you and others! You’ll likely start to see a lot of mental development and growth at this time. Watching their little personalities come out to play is true joy! Tummy time might turn into rolling time as they start to learn more about moving their body independently and reaching for toys.

Sixth Month With Newborn

You’re halfway there! This month you can start to feed your baby more than just breastmilk and formula. Start easing your little one into solid foods, but their main form of nutrition will still be from milk.

At this age, baby will also start holding themselves up on their hands to sit and will be intensely curious about their surroundings! Keep an eye out for stranger anxiety as they are more aware of which people are in their circle.

Seventh Month With Newborn

Around this time, you should see lots of sitting up from baby, watching them work to grasp things, and starting to move around! You can probably also expect to see a tooth pop through soon; start using a rubber toothbrush like this one. In addition, babbling is really expanding with lots of new consonant sounds.

Eighth Month With Newborn

Get ready! Month 8 means your little one is going to start learning to push themselves up and work on standing – you’ll want to get that baby proofing done! Baby will also recognize faces and some words at this age, and you’ll love getting that extra interaction from them. Your baby may want you in constant sight as separation anxiety often begins around this time.

Ninth Month With Newborn

They’re on the move! You’ll start to see your little one zooming and crawling all over at this age! Notice all their language skills growing – they can start communicating well through simple signs, pointing, and shaking/nodding their heads at this age. Your little one will also be perfecting the pincer grasp as he can now pick up a small cheerio between his thumb and pointer finger.

Tenth Month With Newborn

We’re getting to the fun part! Around 10 months, your baby will start to stand on their own, and get a grasp on simple words like “mama” or “dada”. They’ll constantly be in motion, and will be very busy learning about everything around them! Keep an eye out for the adorable “buh-bye” wave.

Newborn 11th and 12th Month

You’ve made it! At the end of the first year, many babies are standing and starting to walk, learning new words all the time, and building strong relationships with their loved ones. You’ll notice they will look at picture books for longer periods and more intently; continue to encourage the love of reading. Now, plan that first birthday, because you did it, mama!

The first year with a newborn is an exciting time, but it can also be a little stressful. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed and even exhausted at times during this transition. Remember that all new parents go through this—and there are no dumb questions, so always reach out to your healthcare providers or village if you have concerns or questions about baby’s next steps.

To learn more about developmental milestones and how you can help your child reach them, check out our online class Early Childhood Milestones: Caring for Young Children. One of the perks of working with Boston Baby Nurse & Nanny is that all our nannies are given three free online nanny trainings to expand their knowledge as they care for your children.

This should be done right away after the umbilical cord falls off around 1 week old.

Teething has already begun prior to this, but nothing has popped through quite yet