The Senses & Your Baby

Every minute that they’re awake awake, babies take in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the world around them.

Although it may take a while to understand what all this information means, your baby can still find joy and comfort in the familiar faces, voices, and sensations of everyday life.

What Can My Baby See?

Babies this age can focus on shapes that are close by, but see distant objects as blurry because they are nearsighted. As babies grow, eyesight improves. By the end of 3 months, they can follow a moving object, are more interested in shapes and patterns, and can spot familiar faces, even at a distance. Human faces are one of their favorite things to look at, especially their own or a parent’s face. Install a baby-safe crib mirror at your baby’s eye level and see how your baby watches himself or herself.

Your baby’s color vision is also developing, so brightly colored wall hangings or toys will help develop your little one’s ability to distinguish color. Soft pastel colors, though, are hard for a baby to appreciate — something to keep in mind when buying toys and books.

What Can My Baby Hear?

Your baby has been hearing sounds since way back in the womb. Mother’s heartbeat, the gurgles of her digestive system, and even the sounds of her voice and the voices of other family members are part of a baby’s world before birth.

Once your baby is born, the sounds of the outside world come in loud and clear. Your baby may startle at the unexpected bark of a dog nearby or seem soothed by the gentle whirring of the clothes dryer or the hum of the vacuum cleaner.

Your baby loves to hear your voice, so talk, babble, sing, and coo away. Take special advantage of your baby’s own “talking” to have a “conversation.” If you hear your baby make a sound, repeat it and wait for him or her to make another. You are teaching your baby valuable lessons about tone, pacing, and taking turns when talking to someone else.

Babies this age seem to respond best to a higher-pitched voice, which is why most people naturally raise the pitch of their voices and exaggerate their speech when talking to a baby. This is fine — studies have shown that “baby talk” doesn’t delay speech development. In fact, responding to your baby encourages speech. Feel free to mix in some regular adult words and tone with the baby talk. It may seem early, but you’re setting the stage for your baby’s first words.

Besides voices, your baby will probably enjoy listening to music (play a variety of styles) and may be fascinated by the routine sounds of life as well. Keep your baby nearby as you rattle pans while making dinner, and let him or her sit in a baby seat within earshot of older siblings laughing and playing. Baby rattles and musical mobiles and toys are other good ways to stimulate your baby’s hearing.

Your newborn probably had a hearing screening before being released from the hospital (most states require this). If not, or if your baby was born at home or a birthing center, it’s important to have a hearing screening as soon as possible. Most children who are born with a hearing loss can be diagnosed through a hearing screening.

What Can My Baby Taste and Smell?

Your baby can taste and smell and will favor sweet tastes over bitter ones. For example, a baby will choose to suck on a bottle of sweetened water, but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to taste. Likewise, babies will turn toward smells they favor and turn away from bad odors.

Though sweetness is preferred, taste preferences will continue to develop during the first year. In fact, studies show that a mother’s diet can affect the way her breast milk tastes. These first flavors can help shape flavor preferences later on. For example, a mother who ate spicy foods while nursing is likely to have a child who grows up to favor spicy foods.

For now, breast milk or formula will fully satisfy your baby.

Why Is Touch Important?

It won’t be long before your baby will be reaching out and touching everything. But now, your baby depends on you to provide touch. Babies know they’re loved and cared for when they’re held, hugged, and kissed.

Make it fun, too. Your baby will respond joyfully to a game of “This Little Piggy” as you touch your baby’s toes or fingers. Introduce different textures and temperatures: the softness of a feather, the hardness of a wooden block, the cool feel of a window in winter. When babies feel the world around them, they learn about life.

If You’re Worried

If you want a little reassurance that your baby’s senses are working well, you can do some unscientific testing for yourself.

For example, if you’re worried about your baby’s ability to see, notice if your baby watches your face closely. Does your baby watch moving objects? Your baby may appear cross-eyed when trying to look at something that is close. This is usually normal in the first few months. Let your doctor know if your child’s eyes turn in or out.

If you’re worried about your baby’s ability to hear, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the baby startle at an unexpected sound?
• Does the baby respond to the sound of your voice, even if he or she cannot see you? (Your baby’s response might be to turn toward your voice, stop crying, smile, or get excited and move his or her arms and legs.)
• Does the baby respond to music and other sounds in your environment?

If you’re still worried about your little one’s hearing or vision, talk to your doctor. The earlier problems with seeing and hearing are found, the better they can be treated.

Your baby learns about the world through the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures in the environment.

How Well Can My Baby See?

Your baby’s eyesight has been maturing for many months, and he or she is able to see quite well near and far and even focus on quickly moving objects. Your baby’s motor skills are now working together with eyesight (hand-eye coordination), and it’s likely that he or she can spot a toy across the room, focus on it, move to it, pick it up, and explore it in lots of ways.

Familiar and loving faces are still your baby’s favorite things to look at, but he or she also may enjoy looking at pictures in books, especially familiar images. Your baby may love objects with parts or pieces that move, and will spend lots of time staring at and manipulating these things, trying to figure out how or why they work. Take your baby with you to see new and interesting places. Point out the sights and label them by name.

Does My Baby Understand What I Say?

Your baby’s been listening to you since before birth and is starting to know common words, such as ball, cup, and bottle.

You’ll also know you’re being heard and understood when you ask “Where’s Daddy?” and your baby looks his way; or you say “Go find the ball” and he or she crawls right to it. Your baby should already respond well to his or her own name and look up (and at least pause) when you say “No!”

Labeling simple objects during the course of the day reinforces the message that everything has its own name. Your baby is learning what familiar objects are called and storing this information away until the time when he or she can form the words.

During this period, your baby will be making more and more recognizable sounds, such as “ga,” “ba,” and “da.” By now your baby is putting these sounds together to make words like dada or baba. Soon your baby will make the link between the sounds and specific objects.

By the end of the first year, your baby should:

• be responding well to simple requests from you (“Wave bye-bye”)
• have at least one true word in his or her vocabulary and say mama and dada
• be making some babbling attempts at real conversation

Taste and Smell

By this age, your baby is developing food preferences. Keep offering foods with a variety of tastes and smells, and don’t give up if he or she doesn’t take to it right away. It can take 10 tries or more before a baby learns to like new food.

Explore the sense of smell with your baby, too. Use scents to help your baby understand the world further. A trip outside can provide a wide variety, from the sweet scent of flowers to the distinctive smell of just-cut grass.

Touch

Your baby is getting around more independently as he or she learns to scoot, crawl, or walk. This means your baby can go and touch the things he or she wants to touch. After making sure there are no hot, sharp, or other dangerous things that can hurt your baby and no small objects that can be put in the mouth, let your baby explore the textures and surfaces of your home and yard.

Let your baby find out how that banana gets mushy on the highchair tray, and that ice cubes feel hard and cold. Find some sandpaper and let your baby rub a hand gently over its coarse surface, then move that hand to the smooth coolness of a stainless-steel sink.

Of course, your loving touch is still the most important touch your baby knows, so give your baby hugs and kisses each chance you get.

Should I Be Worried?

You’ve probably addressed any concerns you’ve had about your baby’s eyesight already. But be sure to talk with your doctor if you notice any problems, including:

• eyes that always wander in or out or don’t move together
• inability to see or recognize distant objects or people
• regular tearing, discharge, crusting, or redness of eyes
• frequent squinting or sensitivity to light
• droopy eyelids
• too much eye rubbing or scratching

If you’re worried about how your baby hears, don’t wait to tell your doctor, especially if you feel your baby is not babbling, imitating sounds, or responding to you or noises in the environment.

Your baby learns about the world through the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures in the environment.

How Well Can My Baby See?

Your baby’s eyesight has been maturing for many months, and he or she is able to see quite well near and far and even focus on quickly moving objects. Your baby’s motor skills are now working together with eyesight (hand-eye coordination), and it’s likely that he or she can spot a toy across the room, focus on it, move to it, pick it up, and explore it in lots of ways.

Familiar and loving faces are still your baby’s favorite things to look at, but he or she also may enjoy looking at pictures in books, especially familiar images. Your baby may love objects with parts or pieces that move, and will spend lots of time staring at and manipulating these things, trying to figure out how or why they work. Take your baby with you to see new and interesting places. Point out the sights and label them by name.

Does My Baby Understand What I Say?

Your baby’s been listening to you since before birth and is starting to know common words, such as ball, cup, and bottle.

You’ll also know you’re being heard and understood when you ask “Where’s Daddy?” and your baby looks his way; or you say “Go find the ball” and he or she crawls right to it. Your baby should already respond well to his or her own name and look up (and at least pause) when you say “No!”

Labeling simple objects during the course of the day reinforces the message that everything has its own name. Your baby is learning what familiar objects are called and storing this information away until the time when he or she can form the words.

During this period, your baby will be making more and more recognizable sounds, such as “ga,” “ba,” and “da.” By now your baby is putting these sounds together to make words like dada or baba. Soon your baby will make the link between the sounds and specific objects.

By the end of the first year, your baby should:

• be responding well to simple requests from you (“Wave bye-bye”)
• have at least one true word in his or her vocabulary and say mama and dada
• be making some babbling attempts at real conversation

Taste and Smell

By this age, your baby is developing food preferences. Keep offering foods with a variety of tastes and smells, and don’t give up if he or she doesn’t take to it right away. It can take 10 tries or more before a baby learns to like new food.

Explore the sense of smell with your baby, too. Use scents to help your baby understand the world further. A trip outside can provide a wide variety, from the sweet scent of flowers to the distinctive smell of recently cut grass.

Touch

Your baby is getting around more independently as he or she learns to scoot, crawl, or walk. This means your baby can go and touch the things he or she wants to touch. After making sure there are no hot, sharp, or other dangerous things that can hurt your baby and no small objects that can be put in the mouth, let your baby explore the textures and surfaces of your home and yard.

Let your baby find out how that banana gets mushy on the highchair tray, and that ice cubes feel hard and cold. Find some sandpaper and let your baby rub a hand gently over its coarse surface, then move that hand to the smooth coolness of a stainless-steel sink.

Of course, your loving touch is still the most important touch your baby knows, so give your baby hugs and kisses each chance you get.

Should I Be Worried?

You’ve probably addressed any concerns you’ve had about your baby’s eyesight already. But be sure to talk with your doctor if you notice any problems, including:

• eyes that always wander in or out or don’t move together
• an inability to see or recognize distant objects or people
• regular tearing, discharge, crusting, or redness of eyes
• frequent squinting or sensitivity to light
• droopy eyelids
• too much eye rubbing or scratching

If you’re worried about how your baby hears, don’t wait to tell your doctor, especially if you feel your baby is not babbling, imitating sounds, or responding to you or noises in the environment.

Every minute that they’re awake awake, babies take in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the world around them. Although it may take a while to grasp what all this information means, your baby can still find joy and comfort in the familiar faces, voices, and sensations of everyday life.

What Can My Baby See?

Babies are born very nearsighted, meaning that they see best at close distances. But by the end of 3 months, they can follow a moving object, are more interested in shapes and patterns, and can spot familiar faces, even at a distance. Human faces are one of their favorite things to look at, especially their own or a parent’s face. Install a baby-safe crib mirror at your baby’s eye level and see how your baby watches himself or herself.

Your baby’s color vision is also developing, so brightly colored wall hangings or toys will help develop your little one’s ability to distinguish color. Soft pastel colors, though, are hard for a baby to appreciate — something to keep in mind when buying toys and books.

By this month or next month, your baby’s eye coordination will have improved enough to follow a moving object. By 3 months, he or she may start to reach for and swipe at objects — the beginning of hand-eye coordination.

Your baby will enjoy looking out from the stroller or baby carrier as you walk the neighborhood or the mall. Point out the sights, letting your baby linger over whatever catches his or her eye. Remember, the whole world is your baby’s classroom and there’s so much to see.

What Can My Baby Hear?

Your baby has been hearing sounds since way back in the womb. Mother’s heartbeat, the gurgles of her digestive system, and even the sounds of her voice and the voices of other family members are part of a baby’s world before birth. Once your baby is born, the sounds of the outside world come in loud and clear.

Your baby loves to hear your voice, so talk, babble, sing, and coo away. Take special advantage of your baby’s own “talking” to have a “conversation.” If you hear your baby make a sound, repeat it and wait for him or her to make another. You are teaching your baby valuable lessons about tone, pacing, and taking turns when talking to someone else.

Babies this age seem to respond best to a higher-pitched voice, which is why most people naturally raise the pitch of their voices and exaggerate their speech when talking to a baby. This is fine — studies have shown that “baby talk” doesn’t delay speech development. In fact, responding to your baby encourages speech. Feel free to mix in some regular adult words and tone with the baby talk. It may seem early, but you’re setting the stage for your baby’s first words.

Besides voices, your baby will probably enjoy listening to music (play a variety of styles) and may be fascinated by the routine sounds of life as well. Keep your baby nearby as you rattle pans while making dinner, and let him or her sit in a baby seat within earshot of older siblings laughing and playing. Baby rattles and musical mobiles are other good ways to stimulate your baby’s hearing.

Your baby probably had a hearing screening before being released from the hospital (most states require this). If not, or if your baby was born at home or a birthing center, it’s important to have a hearing screening as soon as possible. Most children who are born with a hearing loss can be diagnosed through a hearing screening.

What Can My Baby Taste and Smell?

Your baby can taste and smell and will favor sweet tastes over bitter ones. For example, a baby will choose to suck on a bottle of sweetened water, but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to taste. Likewise, babies will turn toward smells they favor and turn away from bad odors.

Though sweetness is preferred, taste preferences will continue to develop during the first year. In fact, studies show that a mother’s diet can affect the way her breast milk tastes. These first flavors can help shape flavor preferences later on. For example, a mother who ate spicy foods while nursing is likely to have a child who grows up to favor spicy foods.

For now, breast milk or formula will fully satisfy your baby.

Why Is Touch Important?

It won’t be long before your baby will be reaching out and touching everything. But now, your baby depends on you to provide touch. Babies know they’re loved and cared for when they’re held, hugged, and kissed.

Make it fun, too. Your baby will respond joyfully to a game of “This Little Piggy” as you touch your baby’s toes or fingers. Introduce different textures and temperatures: the softness of a feather, the hardness of a wooden block, the cool feel of a window in winter. When babies feel the world around them, they learn about life.

If You’re Worried

If you want a little reassurance that your baby’s senses are working well, you can do some unscientific testing for yourself.

For example, if you’re worried about your baby’s ability to see, notice if your baby watches your face closely. Does your baby follow moving objects? Your baby may appear cross-eyed when trying to look at something that is close. This is normal in the first few months. Let your doctor know if your child’s eyes turn in or out.

If you’re worried about your baby’s ability to hear, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the baby startle at an unexpected sound?
• Does the baby respond to the sound of my voice, even if he or she cannot see me? (Your baby’s response might be to turn toward your voice, stop crying, smile, or get excited and move his or her arms and legs.)
• Does the baby respond to music and other sounds in your environment?

If you’re still worried about your little one’s hearing or eyesight, talk to your doctor. The earlier problems with seeing and hearing are found, the better they can be treated.

Every minute that they’re awake, babies take in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the world around them. Although it may take a while to grasp what all this information means, your baby can still find joy and comfort in the familiar faces, voices, and sensations of everyday life.

How Is Vision Developing?

By the end of this month, your baby — who was once only able to see at close range — will be able to spot familiar faces even at a distance.

Human faces are one of their favorite things to look at, especially their own or a parent’s face. Install a baby-safe crib mirror at your baby’s eye level and see how your baby watches himself or herself. You also may catch your baby gazing out a window or at a picture on the other side of the room.

Your baby’s color vision is also developing, so brightly colored wall hangings or toys will help develop this skill. Soft pastel colors, though, are hard for a baby to see — something to keep in mind when buying toys and books.

Your baby’s eye coordination has now improved enough to follow an object from left to right, or up and down. By 3 months, he or she may start to reach for and swipe at objects — the beginning of hand-eye coordination.

Your baby will enjoy looking out from the stroller or baby carrier as you walk the neighborhood or the mall. Point out the sights, letting your baby linger over whatever catches his or her eye. Remember, the whole world is your baby’s classroom and there’s so much to see.

How is Hearing Developing?

Your baby loves to hear your voice, so talk, babble, sing, and coo away. Take special advantage of your baby’s own “talking” to have a “conversation.” If you hear your baby make a sound, repeat it and wait for him or her to make another. You are teaching your baby valuable lessons about tone, pacing, and taking turns when talking to someone else.

Babies this age seem to respond best to a higher-pitched voice, which is why most people naturally raise the pitch of their voices and exaggerate their speech when talking to a baby. This is fine — studies have shown that “baby talk” doesn’t delay speech development. In fact, responding to your baby encourages speech. Feel free to mix in some regular adult words and tone with the baby talk. It may seem early, but you’re setting the stage for your baby’s first words.

Besides voices, your baby will probably enjoy listening to music (play a variety of styles) and may be fascinated by the routine sounds of life as well. Keep your baby nearby as you rattle pans while making dinner, and let him or her sit in a baby seat within earshot of older siblings laughing and playing. Baby rattles and musical mobiles are other good ways to stimulate your baby’s hearing.

Your baby probably had a hearing screening before being released from the hospital (most states require this). If not, or if your baby was born at home or a birthing center, it’s important to have a hearing screening as soon as possible. Most children who are born with a hearing loss can be diagnosed through a hearing screening.

What Can My Baby Taste and Smell?

Your baby can taste and smell and will favor sweet tastes over bitter ones. For example, a baby will choose to suck on a bottle of sweetened water, but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to taste. Likewise, babies will turn toward smells they favor and turn away from bad odors.

Though sweetness is preferred, taste preferences will continue to develop during the first year. In fact, studies show that a mother’s diet can affect the way her breast milk tastes. These first flavors can help shape flavor preferences later on. For example, a mother who ate spicy foods while nursing is likely to have a child who grows up to favor spicy foods.

For now, breast milk or formula will fully satisfy your baby.

Why Is Touch Important?

It won’t be long before your baby will be reaching out and touching everything. But for now, your baby depends on you to provide touch. Babies know they’re loved and cared for when they’re held, hugged, and kissed.

Make it fun, too. Your baby will respond joyfully to a game of “This Little Piggy” as you touch your baby’s toes or fingers. Introduce different textures and temperatures: the softness of a feather, the hardness of a wooden block, the cool feel of a window in winter. When babies feel the world around them, they learn about life.

If You’re Worried

If you want a little reassurance that your baby’s senses are working well, you can do some unscientific testing for yourself.

Watch how your baby uses his or her eyes. Does your baby look at your face closely? Does your baby follow moving objects? At the end of this month, your baby will probably smile when he or she sees you and recognizes your face. If you have concerns about your baby’s ability to see, discuss it with your doctor.

If you’re worried about your baby’s ability to hear, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the baby startle at an unexpected sound?
• Does the baby respond to the sound of my voice, even if he or she cannot see me? (Your baby’s response might be to turn toward your voice, stop crying, smile, or get excited and move his or her arms and legs.)
• Does the baby respond to music and other sounds in your environment?

If you’re still worried about your little one’s hearing or vision, talk to your doctor. The earlier problems with seeing and hearing are discovered, the better they can be treated.

Babies this age are honing all five senses, understanding and learning more and more from what they see, hear, and feel.

What Can My Baby See?

Babies this age can see much farther away (several feet or more) than just a few months ago. They usually can focus without going cross-eyed and can tell the difference between different colors.

Your baby is becoming much more aware of the environment. He or she can now follow the course of a rolling ball and watch the quick movements of an older sibling playing nearby. You may see your baby staring in concentration while holding a toy or studying his or her own hands. Hand-eye coordination is improving, so watch as your little one stares for a while at an object, then slowly reaches out to get it.

Help improve your baby’s sight skills with these tips:

• If your baby has been looking at the same toys or crib mobile for several months, now is a good time to change the scenery. At around 5 or 6 months of age, most babies start to pull themselves up to a sitting position, so if you have a mobile over the crib or wall hangings within reach, remove them so your baby doesn’t get hurt.
• Babies this age enjoy more complex patterns and color variations. Try reading books with large, brightly colored pictures to your baby, who will enjoy staring at the pages.
• Stimulate your baby’s vision with trips out into the world. Walks in the neighborhood, a trip to the supermarket, or an outing to the local zoo all provide wonderful opportunities for your baby to see new things.

What Can My Baby Hear?

Hearing is crucial to developing the ability to talk, and now your baby is beginning to pick out the parts of speech.

When younger, your baby understood your meaning through the tone of your voice: soothing tones made your baby stop crying; agitated tones meant something was wrong. Now, your baby can hear and pick up on the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences. In the next few months, your baby will respond to “no” and recognize and respond to his or her own name.

Babies this age also are cooing and may start to babble and make more attempts to imitate sounds. Make no mistake, these are your baby’s early attempts at speaking and should be encouraged as much as possible. So repeat sounds you hear your baby making and introduce simple words that apply to everyday life. Have “conversations” with your baby and wait for a pause in the babble to “answer.” The give-and-take of these early discussions sets the stage for your baby’s first real words.

First Tastes

Your doctor may suggest the addition of solid foods to your baby’s diet around this time. If so, introduce one new item at a time and wait several days before trying something else new. This will help you pinpoint any food allergies that may happen, and also discover which tastes your baby likes best.

While babies naturally favor sweet tastes, you’ll want your baby to be exposed to a variety of foods. It may take several tries before your baby starts to enjoy a new food, so don’t give up after the first or second attempt if he or she doesn’t seem to like it.

Why Is Touch Important?

Babies learn about the world through touch. When you cuddle or kiss your baby, your baby learns that he or she is safe, secure, and loved. When your baby feels a cool breeze on the cheek, he or she learns about the environment.

The opportunities for exercising your baby’s sense of touch at this age are endless, even during the course of a regular day. Your baby will enjoy toys and books with different textures. See if your baby likes to touch the silky trim of the baby blanket, or feel the texture of a carpet. Let him or her safely explore surroundings.

Don’t forget how important the feel of a gentle caress or a tender kiss is, and hold your baby when you are able.

Should I Be Worried?

In the next few months, your baby should be responding to more and more sights and sounds. Talk to your doctor if your baby doesn’t seem to:

• recognize you by sight
• be interested in looking at any new books, toys, or pictures
• have good control of eye motion, or one or both eyes turn in or out consistently

Also speak to your doctor if your baby’s eyes seem very sensitive to light or tear up often. An eye exam may be necessary if you have a family history of eye diseases or vision problems.

You’ll also want to discuss with your doctor any concerns you have about your baby’s hearing. Warning signs of hearing problems to look for include:

• no response to sound (for example, doesn’t turn in direction of loud noise)
• response to only some sounds, not all (some children can hear certain pitches, some hear in only one ear)
• does not smile or coo

When caught early, many vision and hearing problems can be treated successfully, so be sure to report any concerns you have to your doctor.

Babies this age are honing all five senses, understanding and learning more and more from what they see, hear, and feel.

What Can My Baby See?

Babies this age can see much farther away (several feet or more) than just a few months ago. They can usually focus without going cross-eyed and can tell the difference between different colors.

Your baby is becoming much more aware of the environment. He or she can now follow the course of a rolling ball and watch the quick movements of an older sibling playing nearby. You may see your baby staring in concentration while holding a toy or studying his or her own hands. Hand-eye coordination is improving, so watch as your little one stares for a while at an object, then slowly reaches out to get it.

Help improve your baby’s sight skills with these tips:

• If your baby has been looking at the same toys or crib mobile for several months, now is a good time to change the scenery. By this age, most babies start to pull themselves up to a sitting position, so if you have a mobile over the crib or wall hangings within reach, remove them so your baby doesn’t get hurt.
• Babies this age enjoy more complex patterns and color variations. Try reading books with large, brightly colored pictures to your baby, who will enjoy staring at the pages.
• Stimulate your baby’s vision with trips out into the world. Walks in the neighborhood, a trip to the supermarket, or an outing to the local zoo all provide wonderful opportunities for your baby to see new things.

What Can My Baby Hear?

Hearing is crucial to developing the ability to talk, and now your baby is picking out the parts of speech.

When younger, your baby understood your meaning through the tone of your voice: soothing tones made your baby stop crying, agitated tones meant something was wrong. Now, your baby can hear and pick up on the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences. In the next few months, your baby will respond to “no” and recognize and respond to his or her own name.

Babies this age also are cooing and may start to babble and make more attempts to imitate sounds. Make no mistake, these are your baby’s early attempts at speaking and should be encouraged as much as possible. So repeat sounds you hear your baby making and introduce simple words that apply to everyday life. Have “conversations” with your baby and wait for a pause in the babble to “answer.” The give-and-take of these early discussions sets the stage for your baby’s first real words.

First Tastes

If they haven’t already, many babies begin eating solid foods around this time. Introduce one new item at a time and wait several days before trying something else new. This will help you pinpoint any food allergies that may happen, and also discover which tastes your baby likes best.

While babies naturally favor sweet tastes, you’ll want your baby to be exposed to a variety of foods. It may take several tries before your baby starts to enjoy a new food, so don’t give up after the first or second attempt if he or she doesn’t seem to like it.

Why Is Touch Important?

Babies learn about the world through touch. When you cuddle or kiss your baby, your baby learns that he or she is safe, secure, and loved. When your baby feels a cool breeze on the cheek, he or she learns about the environment.

The opportunities for exercising your baby’s sense of touch at this age are endless, even during the course of a regular day. Your baby will enjoy toys and books with different textures. See if your baby likes to touch the silky trim of the baby blanket, or feel the texture of a carpet. Let him or her safely explore surroundings.

Don’t forget how important the feel of a gentle caress or a tender kiss is, and hold your baby when you are able.

Should I Be Worried?

In the next few months, your baby should be responding to more and more sights and sounds. Talk to your doctor if your baby doesn’t seem to:

• recognize you by sight
• be interested in looking at any new books, toys, or pictures
• have good control of eye motion, or one or both eyes turn in or out consistently

Also speak to your doctor if your baby’s eyes seem very sensitive to light or tear up often. An eye exam may be necessary if you have a family history of eye diseases or vision problems.

You’ll also want to discuss with your doctor any concerns you have about your baby’s hearing. Warning signs of hearing problems to look for include:

• no response to sound (for example, doesn’t turn in direction of loud noise or familiar sounds)
• response to only some sounds, not all (some children can hear certain pitches, some hear in only one ear)
• does not laugh out loud
• does not smile or make sounds when spoken to

When caught early, many vision and hearing problems can be treated successfully, so be sure to report any concerns you have to your doctor immediately.

Babies this age are honing all five senses, understanding and learning more and more from what they see, hear, and feel.

What Can My Baby See?

Babies this age can see much farther away (several feet or more) than just a few months ago. They can usually focus without going cross-eyed and can tell the difference between different colors.

Your baby is becoming much more aware of the environment. He or she can now follow the course of a rolling ball and watch the quick movements of an older sibling playing nearby. You may see your baby staring in concentration while holding a toy or studying his or her own hands. Hand-eye coordination is improving, so watch as your little one stares for a while at an object, then slowly reaches out to get it.

Help improve your baby’s sight skills with these tips:

• If your baby has been looking at the same toys or crib mobile for several months, now is a good time to change the scenery. Around this time most babies start to pull themselves up to a sitting position, so if you have a mobile over the crib or wall hangings within reach, remove them so your baby doesn’t get hurt.
• Babies this age enjoy more complex patterns and color variations. Try reading books with large, brightly colored pictures to your baby, who will enjoy staring at the pages.
• Stimulate your baby’s vision with trips out into the world. Walks in the neighborhood, a trip to the supermarket, or an outing to the local zoo all provide wonderful opportunities for your baby to see new things.

What Can My Baby Hear?

Hearing is crucial to developing the ability to talk, and now your baby is picking out the parts of speech.

When younger, your baby understood your meaning through the tone of your voice: soothing tones made your baby stop crying, agitated tones meant something was wrong. Now, your baby can hear and pick up on the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences. In the next few months, your baby will respond to “no” and recognize and respond to his or her own name.

Babies this age also are cooing and may start to babble and make more attempts to imitate sounds. Make no mistake, these are your baby’s early attempts at speaking and should be encouraged as much as possible. So repeat sounds you hear your baby making and introduce simple words that apply to everyday life. Have “conversations” with your baby and wait for a pause in the babble to “answer.” The give-and-take of these early discussions sets the stage for your baby’s first real words.

First Tastes

Most babies have had some solid foods by 7 months of age. Continue to introduce one new item at a time and wait several days before trying something else new. This will help you pinpoint any food allergies that may occur, and also discover which tastes your baby likes best.

While babies naturally favor sweet tastes, you’ll want your baby to be exposed to a variety of foods. It may take several tries before your child starts to enjoy a new food, so don’t give up after the first or second attempt if he or she doesn’t seem to like it.

Why Is Touch Important?

The opportunities for exercising your baby’s sense of touch at this age are endless, even during the course of a regular day. Your baby will enjoy toys and books with different textures. See if your baby likes to touch the silky trim of the baby blanket, or feel the texture of a carpet. Let him or her safely explore surroundings.

Don’t forget how important the feel of a gentle caress or a tender kiss is, and hold your baby when you are able. This kind of touching shows your baby that he or she is safe, secure, and loved.

Should I Be Worried?

Compared with the first few months of life, you should see a noticeable increase in your baby’s awareness of sights and sounds. Your baby should be responding to more and more sights and sounds.

Talk to your doctor if your baby doesn’t seem to:

• recognize you by sight
• be interested in looking at any new books, toys, or pictures
• have good control of eye motion, or one or both eyes turn in or out consistently (although some crossing is still normal)

Also speak to your doctor if you notice persistent tearing or extreme sensitivity to light. An evaluation also may be necessary if you have a family history of eye diseases or vision problems.

You’ll also want to discuss with your doctor any concerns you have about your baby’s hearing. If your baby doesn’t seem to imitate simple sounds, or shows no interest in babbling or having a “conversation” with you, ask your doctor about getting a hearing evaluation. Warning signs of hearing problems to look for include:

• no response to sound (for example, doesn’t turn in direction of loud noise)
• response to only some sounds, not all (some children can hear certain pitches, some hear in only one ear)
• does not laugh out loud
• does not babble or make a variety of sounds by 8 months

When caught early, many vision and hearing problems can be treated successfully, so be sure to report any concerns you have to your doctor immediately.

Your baby learns about the world through the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures in the environment.

How Well Can My Baby See?

Your baby’s eyesight has been maturing for many months, and he or she is able to see quite well near and far and even focus on quickly moving objects. Your baby’s motor skills are now working together with eyesight (hand-eye coordination), and it’s likely that he or she can spot a toy across the room, focus on it, move to it, pick it up, and explore it in lots of ways.

Familiar and loving faces are still your baby’s favorite things to look at, but he or she also may enjoy looking at pictures in books, especially familiar images. Your baby may love objects with parts or pieces that move, and will spend lots of time staring at and manipulating these things, trying to figure out how or why they work. Take your baby with you to see new and interesting places. Point out the sights and label them by name.

Does My Baby Understand What I Say?

Your baby’s been listening to you since before birth and is starting to know common words, such as ball, cup, and bottle.

You’ll also know you’re being heard and understood when you ask “Where’s Daddy?” and your baby looks his way; or you say “Go find the ball” and he or she crawls right to it. Your baby should already respond well to his or her own name and look up (and at least pause) when you say “No!”

Labeling simple objects during the course of the day reinforces the message that everything has its own name. Your baby is learning what familiar objects are called and storing this information away until the time when he or she can form the words.

During this period, your baby will be making more and more recognizable sounds, such as “ga,” “ba,” and “da.” By 9 months, your baby is putting these sounds together to make words like dada or baba. Soon your baby will make the link between the sounds and specific objects.

Taste and Smell

By this age, your baby is developing food preferences. Keep offering foods with a variety of tastes and smells, and don’t give up if he or she doesn’t take to it right away. It can take 10 tries or more before a baby learns to like new food.

Explore the sense of smell with your baby, too. Use scents to help your baby understand the world further. A trip outside can provide a wide variety, from the sweet scent of flowers to the distinctive smell of just-cut grass.

Touch

Your baby is getting around more independently as he or she learns to scoot, crawl, or walk. This means your baby can go and touch the things he or she wants to touch. After making sure there are no hot, sharp, or other dangerous things that can hurt your baby and no small objects that can be put in the mouth, let your baby explore the textures and surfaces of your home and yard.

Let your baby find out how that banana gets mushy on the highchair tray, and that ice cubes feel hard and cold. Find some sandpaper and let your baby rub a hand gently over its coarse surface, then move that hand to the smooth coolness of a stainless-steel sink.

Of course, your loving touch is still the most important touch your baby knows, so give your baby hugs and kisses each chance you get.

Should I Be Worried?

You’ve probably addressed any concerns you’ve had about your baby’s eyesight already. But be sure to talk with your doctor if you notice any problems, including:

• eyes that always wander in or out or don’t move together
• an inability to see or recognize distant objects or people
• regular tearing, discharge, crusting, or redness of eyes
• frequent squinting or sensitivity to light
• droopy eyelids
• too much eye rubbing or scratching

If you’re worried about how your baby hears, don’t wait to tell your doctor, especially if you feel your baby is not babbling, imitating sounds, or responding to you or noises in the environment.