Your Baby Week 25
By week 25 you may see your baby show interest in becoming mobile. You may see him begin to do things like move from a seated position to lean forward onto his hands, rolling or “bottom scooting”. You can probably guess from the name what bottom scooting looks like. In a seated position, these infants will use one hand behind their bottom and one hand in front, to scoot across the room.
In the coming months, you can probably look forward to your baby crawling. Most babies will begin crawling somewhere between 6 and 10 months, but that isn’t always the case. In fact, some babies skip crawling altogether! Some infants who skip crawling are just more interested in pulling themselves up to a standing position to prepare for their first steps! The best way to get your little one excited about crawling is to place desirable objects, like her favorite toy or even a sibling, just beyond their reach. As they improve, you can even create a baby obstacle course by placing items like pillows or sofa cushions between her and her goal. Negotiating these soft and safe obstacles will help improve both speed and agility. It goes without saying that obstacle courses are only to be attempted under adult supervision!
Even though babies develop skills using different methods and on different timetables, if your child hasn’t shown any interest in moving around and hasn’t figured out how to move his arms and legs in a coordinated manner by the time he is a year old you should discuss it with your pediatrician. Also, keep in mind, if your infant was a preemie, he may reach some milestones later than others.
The Power of Nursery Rhymes
Did you know that nursery rhymes actually improve your baby’s language skills? Nursery rhymes play an important role in helping her to learn to read and to understand the grammatical structure of language!
Researchers have found that songs and nursery rhymes draw attention to the rhythm of language. Clapping or tapping along to the beat have an added bonus. It brings your infant’s awareness to the syllables and sounds that combine to form a word. Reciting nursery rhymes not only teaches your infant about the rhythm of speech but also about the importance of intonation and the grammatical structure of language.
Visiting the Pediatrician
It is probably just about time to visit the pediatrician again. The visit should be pretty much the same as the last, the doctor will take your child’s measurements, check up on any preexisting problems, and assess where your child is in terms of developmental milestones. Be sure you are given the opportunity to ask all of those questions you have saved up since your last visit! You can probably also expect your child to receive another round of vaccinations.
