Leia's milestones

I was browsing through a mom's website, called Mum Centre when an interesting article caught my eyes. It is about a babychild milestones.

Hmmm... It got me started thinking about Leia's own milestones. For the last few months, Leia has been developing new skills non-stop and she seems to be enjoying herself a lot. As of lastnight, I noticed again a new act that she does - stepping on things that lie near her legs. Look at these.

"Eh! What's that?"


"My teether! Step. Step. It feels like...?"


"Look! Mommy. I can stand without holding on to the settee!"


"This book is hard"

As a first-time parent, sometimes it's very hard to comprehend why Leia behaves certain ways or why she doesn't or why she hasn't. So, going through the "common milestones checklist" for babies at her age helps a bit. Besides using other methods like observing at other babies' behaviours similar to her age, listening to advise from other parents, etc.

So, this is the milestone checklist I found online for babies between 10-12 months old. Let's see how Leia fares...

	Milestone		Started? (Yes/No)	Leia's progress
	• Anticipates favourite moments, e.g. clapping parts in a song		Y	She starts moving her butt and body too whenever a song is played
	• Remembers certain gestures and outcomes associated with them e.g. picking up keys indicates going out		Y	She trys to get out of her car seat whenever I un-buckle her seat belt
	• Perceives depth, e.g. may not be willing to crawl down stairs head first		Y	She will stop crawling when nearing the edge of the bed/sofa
	• Walks while holding on to furniture		Y	She loves this! And now, she's learning to stand by letting go both hands
	• May walk while holding onto your hands (let baby go barefoot at home but consider getting soft shoes for outings)		Y	Starting now…
	• Communicates wishes by pointing		Y	Oh yes…! Pointing to everything! Try asking her "where's the fish?". She will immediately shift her body and point towards the aquarium.
	• Responds to one or two familiar commands		Y	"Wave your hand" and she will…
	• May try to imitate a barking dog or passing car		Y	"woh woh!"
	• Shows stronger separation anxiety		Y	Only when she's tired or restless. Other time, she's fine playing on her own
	It takes time for babies to use a cup without making a mess. Once your baby drinks more than she spills, try giving him/ her breastmilk in the cup.		Y	She seems to prefer drinking from a cup than her "sip sip" cup. Yes, drinking more than spills
	At this age, babies typically sleep for 10 to 12 hours a night and take two daytime naps averaging about an hour and a half each.		Y	Sleeping time at night becomes more eratic (ranging from 7 plus to 10 plus) depending how active she has been in the afternoons. She sleeps through out the night without waking up to ask for milk anymore.