Senses and reflexes in newborns

Your baby aged one month is already moving beyond his newborn reflexes and abilities, and you’ll be more and more aware of how he communicates and responds to you and to his world.

Here are some of the aspects of the typical posture, movements and responses of a month old baby:

• When lying down his head lies to one side, and his knees are apart, with the soles of his feet inwards
• If you pick up from lying down, his head will loll unless you support it
• His arms and legs move jerkily at times
• Lie him on his tummy he can lift his head to turn it to one side, and his legs bend at the knees and arms at the elbows
• He turns his face towards a light
• His eyes can follow an object dangled above his face for a few seconds
• He looks at people with an alert gaze, especially if they talk to him
• He shows he’s startled when he hears a loud noise, by ‘jumping’, throwing out his limbs, and then possibly crying
• Comforting, soft voices will make him turn his head
• He shows feeding cues and calms down when they are responded to by being held in a familiar feeding position
• Little cooing noises will be made as part of a conversation with someone who’s talking to him

Month-old babies start to show enjoyment of activities, and they will visibly relax when held comfortably and firmly in a bath.

They enjoy chatting – hold your baby so he can focus on your face (about 22 cm from yours) and support his head on your hands, gently and confidently. Or you can lie him on a mat and talk to him that way. Nappy changing time is often a good moment for this sort of play.

Talk to him and pull faces; pause and let him ‘answer’ with his own grimaces and noises. The arm waving, the gestures, the mouth movements and different expressions your baby makes are sometimes called ‘pre-speech’. They are definitely social, and they tend to increase when the adult responds to them with comments and gestures in return.

These little sessions may only hold your baby’s attention for a very short time, and he will turn his head away when he’s had enough – that way he controls the amount of stimulation. It’s kinder to respond to this by accepting he’s lost interest; don’t keep persisting.

Picking up your baby’s cues like this is good for your baby’s development and helps you develop your own close, responsive relationship. Your baby may turn back to look at you, once he’s had a rest – you can pick up interaction once more and show by your face and your voice you’re enjoying the ‘story’ he’s telling you.