How Your Baby is Growing?
Congratulations on your baby’s first birthday. This week as your little baby turns one, you will see a budding personality and lots of independence. By this time, your baby 12 months old is walking or is almost ready to walk. The little bundle of joy is heading steadily towards the toddler years full of humor, talking and trying out new things. Baby development is very interesting to learn. There have been many changes in your body since you were 3 months pregnant and now that more than one year has passed, your baby has grown into an independent constantly on the move toddler.
The babbling is now taking shape into recognizable small words. Although your baby understands a lot more than he can speak at this time, he will take the help of gestures and hand movements. He is also listening to each and every word you say and will soon begin imitating those lines in the exact tone like you. Dada and mama are the words that are already there in his mini vocabulary. He also begins to associate these words with faces.
Baby 12 Months Old – Growth and Development
- Feeding: By the age of one year, you may be thinking of weaning your baby off breast milk. It is best to begin the process after the baby’s first birthday. Drop one feed at a time and if you feel that it causes unrest in your baby, then let things be and try again after another 15 days. The last feed that you should drop is the night feed as the baby will want to suck not for nutrition but also for comfort. A 1 year old baby should ideally eat all that is prepared at home and you should encourage the habit of eating with everyone by placing your child in the high chair beside the table. 1 year baby weight should be somewhere around 10-12 kg.·
- Sleep: Your baby 12 months old is sleeping through the night by now and has dropped the small day naps. He may nap once during the day and then directly at night.
How is Your Life Changing?
Your baby is getting independent day by day but still needs a lot of love and reassurance from you. There will be times when you need to go out. At all such times, try not to hide and leave the house. Instead tell your baby that you are going out and will be back very soon. When he sees you go and come back, he develops a sense of trust and the next time you go, he will not be as insecure. He may cry in the beginning but will become quite when you are gone. Leaving your baby 12 months old alone at some times will make him feel more independent.
Have some words for common requirements of your baby that both of you understand. This will help you to communicate and understand your baby’s needs better. Also if you have a caretaker, they can make use of these little words or phrases and make the child feel comfortable. Communication is very important at this stage and do not worry if you are exposing your baby to multiple languages. He will pick up more than one language during his life span and at this stage they act like a sponge and absorb whatever comes their way.
You have be extra vigilant now that your baby is one as he will pick up any small object that crosses his eyes and try to put it in the mouth or at times even up the nose. So put away pins and pointed objects and little pieces of pet food etc. If anything gets stuck in the nasal passage or throat it can be a life risk as the breathing may get obstructed and become an emergency.
Important for This Month
- Toys: As your baby 12 months old grows, so will his games. You may want to bring out newer toys like the shape sorter or wooden puzzles and stacking the blocks. All of these will help to keep the baby busy and also improve his motor skills and fine coordination of the fingers. Giving small tasks are also very good activities for babies. There are many toys which have labels for the age group. Follow them because at times, many toys come with small parts and they can be a choking hazard. Be very careful about what you give your child to play with.
- Dental care: This is the right time to introduce your 1 year baby to the dentist for good dental and oral care. Take him along with you for your appointments and explain what is going on. This will help to remove any fears and also mentally prepare him. Appointment with the dentist around this age is important as your baby will learn to start brushing his teeth. Now that his 12 month old meals include everything and some sweets too, it is very important to brush the teeth nicely. You can hold the baby in your arms and brush the teeth with small circular movements that are gentle. The fluoride levels in the babies toothpaste should be 1000 ppm at least. Initially your baby may resist but will gradually understand and even begin enjoying it.
- Milk: Give your baby cows milk after he turns one. You should restrict the amount to below 500 ml as the other foods intake will tend to go down. Your one year old baby will resist as the taste and texture of the milk is different but will ultimately begin to like it. It is advisable to start with whole milk as the baby needs the calories. Cows milk is another option. Try not to put sugar in it as babies tend to get addicted to the sweet taste.
- Pincer Grip: This month the pincer grip is developing in your baby’s fingers and he is gradually bringing the thumb and index finger together in an attempt to pick up small objects. This grip comes of help as the baby 12 months old begins picking up food and trying to feed himself. You can encourage this habit of self feeding by offering him small pieces of fruits, bread sticks or bread and biscuits. Keep them on the feeding tray and see him pick up the pieces one by one and eat them. It’s a very cute sight and you should always encourage your 1 year baby.
- Baby Behavior: This is the age when children begin making sense of things and its uses. You child may be playing with a comb till now but somewhere around this age, he will start rubbing it on his head in the same way you do. This is nature’s way of teaching them some basic things in life. This is the most important of 1 year old milestones. The only concern here is that they will imitate everything without discrimination. If they see you taking medicines, they may give a try and pop something in their mouths. So you need to take utmost care that you keep your child under supervision. Beginning from now till the age of three, there are the chances that your little explorer may get himself into trouble by trying out new things. Poisonings with cleaning liquids and eating dangerous things are common and you need to keep a check on it.
The 12 month old milestones will vary in each child and the above are concise 1 year old development milestones. If your baby does any of these a little earlier or later, then there is nothing to worry about at all. The only thing that you need to ensure is that there should be changes happening in the right direction with each passing month. Have a great time planning your little ones first birthday and start collecting all those cute decorations. Make a list of invitees and narrow down on a color code. Happy first birthday!