Baby's first six months: Top milestones every parent should know about

"When a baby achieves its milestones we know that the baby's brain and body are developing properly," explains Dr Preoshni Moonsamy, a paediatrician at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital. "Monitoring a baby's milestones help parents and healthcare providers to keep track of a baby's progress and highlight any areas that might need attention."

"Where a baby isn't achieving some of their milestones, this could point to anything from a simple issue to something more serious such as a congenital problem (a condition that exists at birth), an inherited disease, or a metabolic disorder. The earlier a developmental delay is picked up, the sooner we can intervene and the better the outcomes are."

"When it comes to milestones, we look at a baby's gross motor development, fine motor development, social skills such as speech and language development, cognitive development and their emotional development."

Here's Dr Moonsamy's guide on what to expect from your baby's first six months.

Newborn milestones

Did you know that even a newborn has milestones to achieve?

Dr Moonsamy says: "After birth, a healthcare professional will check your baby's reflexes and muscle tone to see whether they are healthy and at the level of development we expect in a newborn. I also encourage parents to get their baby's hearing tested within their first few days - some hospitals offer this as a standard part of their care package for newborn babies. If the test picks up hearing loss, we can intervene early. Undiagnosed hearing loss in a baby can lead them to miss other milestones as they get older, especially those related to speech, language and social skills."

Six weeks

"By six weeks of age you should notice your baby's head go from being very wobbly to a bit more controlled. They may be able to lift their head briefly while lying on their stomach. In terms of vision, your baby will start to fixate on objects. For example, you might notice your baby focusing on you while you're feeding them. Your baby should also start smiling at around six weeks, especially when they hear or see someone familiar."

Three months

"At three months of age your baby will have gained in strength. When lying on their tummy, they will be able use their arms to lift their chest and head up off the ground. Your baby should also be able to move their head from left to right to follow sounds or to look at things. Fine motor skills also start developing. Your baby will notice their hands, open and close their fists, and put their hands and fingers into their mouth. Socially, your baby will become more interactive. They will engage with you by smiling and cooing. "

Six months

"By six months, they should be grabbing objects and bringing them to their mouth. Your baby will also start passing objects from their one hand to the other - what we call 'transferring across the midline'."

"From about five months you will notice your baby starting to roll over from their tummy onto their back and the other way around. Your baby should also be able to sit upright with support and briefly without."

"Baby will also become more vocal in general, babbling and making high pitched sounds. These sounds represent the building blocks of future speech and language skills."

Beyond 6 months

"By 10 months your baby should be crawling with ease. And you can expect your baby to walk by the time they are 12 to 15 months old."

A warning about screen time

"In order to develop optimally, babies must be exposed fully to the environment that they are in and allowed to observe what's going on around them as well as to explore and touch a variety of things. With that in mind, your baby shouldn't be exposed to any form of screen time - like watching TV or videos on a phone or tablet until after they are 18 months old. This is according to guidelines set out by the World Health Organization.

"In my own work and in patients I see at my practice, I have noticed the effects of screen time on babies. Many of them are behind in their social development - they don't interact with the people around them and their speech and language development is delayed."

Regular check-ups in the first year are important

"During your baby's first year of life you should be taking them for regular check-ups at their paediatrician. We recommend going for check-ups when your baby is six weeks old, three months old, and then every three months until they turn one, unless your paediatrician has advised otherwise."

"Your paediatrician is trained to notice subtle aspects of your child's growth and development. If they notice that your baby isn't meeting their milestones, they can do further investigations and act on any problems they pick up. In some cases, this could be as simple as advising parents to change their routine slightly - like to give baby more tummy time to help improve their strength and head control."

"But if you are concerned about your baby's growth, development or health at any stage in between their scheduled check-ups, please contact your paediatrician to get advice." "Most importantly, I advise parents to really enjoy the first year of a baby's life. It will feel like the baby is changing daily right in front of their eyes because they develop so quickly in their first year of life."

• - Discovery Health Medical Scheme members have access to cover for pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood through their Maternity Benefit. The early childhood benefits are available for up to two years after birth and offer a newborn screening, GP and specialist visits, a breastfeeding consultation with a registered nurse or lactation specialist, and more.