Q & A with Dr. Gina Montion
During a baby’s first year of life, there are so many rapid changes and developmental milestones. It can sometimes be challenging to know whether your baby is progressing typically, especially if it is your first baby or has been a while since you’ve been through the baby stages.
Dr. Gina Montion, a pediatrician with Banner Health Center, answered some commonly asked questions to help you better understand some of the important milestones and developmental goals to watch for in your baby:
What are the most common milestones for babies between the ages of 0 to 12 months?
Developmental milestones are markers of development in areas of motor, language and social skills that are attained by the majority of neurotypical babies and children by certain ages and in certain sequences. Premature babies may reach milestones later than those with their same birth age. If a baby has not reached a milestone yet, I remind parents that for each age’s milestone about 75% of typical kids achieve that milestone at the anticipated age, which means 25% of typical kids have not.
When should babies typically meet those milestones?
Common key milestones that occur in the first year of life are as follows:
- 2 months: Smiles, start following with eyes, raises head when put on tummy.
- 4 months: Laugh aloud, turn toward sound, start to roll over one way.
- 6 months: Babbles, sits with support, reaches with either hand.
- 8 months: Plays peekaboo, gets into sitting position, picks up objects with fist.
- 10 months: Pulls to stand, says mama or dada, pick up tiny objects with a pinching grasp.
- 12 months: Walks holding onto furniture, waves good-bye, says mama or dada discriminately.
What should parents do if their baby is not hitting a milestone? When should they be concerned?
Regression, or the loss of a previously demonstrated milestone, can be a cause for concern and should be addressed with your pediatrician.
How can parents stay informed and help support their child’s development?
There are many apps available to help track milestones or with development activities.
The CDC has a free milestone tracker that is great. Vsit cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones-app.html
Another great resource is the book, “What to Expect in the First Year,” which lists month by month milestones.
Parents can also support their children’s development by reading daily, playing with them and giving them plenty of floor time.
How and when do these milestones get updated?
The developmental milestones were updated in 2022 by the AAP to make them more helpful for parents. Healthychildren.org is the AAPs website and is a great way to stay on top of the AAPs latest updates.
Dr. Gina Montion is a pediatrician at Banner Health Center. She strives to educate her patients and their families about all aspects of their care so that they are empowered to help in the decision making of their health care management. She has an unwavering philosophy that medical care can be delivered in a fun and compassionate way, based on realistic, common sense ways rooted in science and the latest pediatric developments. She aims to treat her patients like her own children.
