While the first month was all about sleeping, feeding, and trying to settle into life with your new baby, the second month is more notable as the time when your baby will reveal her new skills. She will show you that first big toothless smile this month and she will begin to talk to you!
Your Child’s Development
In the second month of life, your baby will begin to pay more attention to movement around her. She will follow movements with her eyes as the muscles that control eye movement get stronger. Her vision will be clearer now than it was last month and you will notice that she gazes at colourful objects and seems to be holding your gaze as well. Make sure that you use a mobile over her cot so she has something to keep her attention when she is awake. The second month also means that your baby will start to become vocal as she experiments with her newly found vocal skills by cooing, gurgling, grunting, and humming. It’s important for her development for you to interact vocally with her. When she coos at you, coo back. She loves to hear your voice!
At two months of age, you might be able to start to place your baby on her tummy, but only while she is awake and always supervised. When your baby is on her tummy, it gives her the opportunity to exercise her neck muscles. She will attempt to lift her head but can only manage this feat a few seconds at a time. This is also the time that your baby will begin to notice her hands and fingers. Her movement may still seem very accidental, but she is actually practicing how to control the muscles that will soon allow her to clap her hands and grasp at toys.
If it has not already happened, your baby will smile at you this month! And, when you see that first smile, your heart will melt. She is now enjoying the world around her and shows it by smiling and kicking in delight. Something that will surely make her smile at this age is music. Whether you are singing to her during a feeding or nappy change or playing soft background music on the radio, your baby is listening with intent. Take notice of what types of music and songs you sing to her makes her happy and calms her down. Most babies have favourites.
Your baby’s sleep pattern will change in her second month. She may now be sleeping around 14 hours of each day. That means that she is awake for 10 hours of each day. Of course these hours are spread out through the day and some of them will unfortunately be during the night as well. However, it won’t be long until her sleep patterns are more predictable. Once she settles in on a routine, there will probably be two or three naps each day that will last a few hours at a time.
