The first month has passed and you are headed for the second month with your baby. In the first month, you would have noticed a lot of things that your child can and cannot do. This would have included recognizing mummy's voice, staring at bright colors and dependence upon you to hold up his or her head.

In the second month, you can also look forward to several new things that will both amaze and please you and a few of these things are as follow.

Role in one Direction

Around this time you will find that your child is moving his or her body a little bit more. So much more that he or she may role over into one direction. You may place him/her in one position and when you return you may find the baby in another position. Therefore, a little bit more care will be needed as to where you place your little one to rest.

Lift Head a Little

Even though your baby will still depend on you for help in supporting his/her head, when you place him/her on the tummy (belly), he or she will lift the head a little. This is a milestone in you child's life because not only does this speaks of the growing strength of the baby, but this also speaks of his/her step into self-independence of the body.

Less Twitching

When your little one was born, you would have found that he/she twitches consistently. That is, there was no control over his/her hands and feet. Well, even though this month will not bring an end of this, you will find that it is happening a little less and eventually ceases as the muscles relax.

After nine long months of joyful anticipation, hours of labor and a couple of pushes, your baby is finally here! Your first reaction may be a mixture of joy and surprise as you focus on the wet, pasted look on his face. You remind yourself that this marks a new life for you and your husband.

PARENTHOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME

For both Mommy and Daddy, the first few weeks of baby's stay at home may be a period of learning together. Always remember that you are not only parents but partners as well. Therefore, both sides require full cooperation. When my husband and I were new parents, doing things alternately for baby was a big help. I would look after him tonight, feed him and change his diapers. Then tomorrow, my husband would do the same thing so I could take a night off. If things start to heat up, ask someone to baby-sit for you. Remember, you are not only a mother or a father, but a wife and a husband as well. Don't feel guilty about going out and sometimes leaving your baby. These 'breaks' are healthy for your marriage.

WATCH BABY GROW!

The joys of watching your baby grow up into a healthy little boy or girl is priceless. Do not worry if baby seems to be developing at a rate different from that of his brothers or sisters. Remember, baby is an individual and when it comes to growth and development, all babies are different. However, there are basic general characteristics that all babies share.

During the first five months, your baby starts to coo repeatedly and make gurgling sounds. You would usually hear a 'goo-goo' sound from him while he watches faces and moving objects intently. By this time, his sense of sight has started to develop. Your baby may reach for things and take it with his hands. He might even turn his head and smile at the people he recognizes.

For baby's 6-12 months' growth, he starts to babble. He also responds to your voice and to new sounds as well. In this way, it is obvious that he pays increasing attention to speech. Your baby might even try to imitate words such as "mama" and "dada". Baby also starts to crawl forward on his belly and creeps on his hands and knees. He tries different positions from sitting to crawling to lying on his stomach. He can also pull himself to stand and walk by holding on to furniture. Make sure that nothing sharp or anything harmful is in his way as he might walk two or three steps without support.

Looking back from the day your baby was born to the time that he starts to walk and talk, it is clear that he has made a huge development. As you face more childhood years of your baby, the best thing to do now is to provide him with the right nutrition as well as encouragement and a supportive environment. Before you know it, he'll be going to school and all your hard work has paid off.