Let Me Introduce Myself 0 to 2 Months
This is my birthday, and I do mean birth day! It may seem a little early to be talking, but being the ambitious type, I want to tell you about what to expect during my first two months of life – with a little help from my Nani.
First of all, I am a very competent infant. So, I had better describe, in detail, my experiences to you so that you can appreciate me and enjoy all my talents and abilities.
- I use my mouth and eyes mostly, at first.
- I need to stretch and use my reflexes.
- I am a social person, and I want to be included, even when my eyes are closed. I’m really not asleep all the time.
- I am actually using language, mostly grunts, groans, cries, and other appealing sounds.
- I have a lot of emotional energy. I love my Mom and Dad and can already snuggle with them better than with anyone else.
- My motor development is how I express my physical energy and how I use my senses and that’s how I think. I think through my senses.
A.First, I’ll talk about my mouth and eyes.
If you, Mom, think that my being born was strenuous for you, remember that it was not too easy for me, either! So, if I act somewhat like a suction pump for a while, and exercise my lungs by crying, and keep my eyes shut most of the time (after all, I am not used to all levels of light) – you can not blame me.
By about three weeks of age, I control my tongue better, open my lips at the corners, and do a far more subtle job of swallowing. By four weeks, I am able to introduce pauses into my nursing; this is primarily for the purpose of looking around! You see, I’d never had much to look at before.
Then, too, my basic ability to use my eyes develops right away. If only my legs and arms would just develop as rapidly as my eyes, I could lead an even more interesting life. My parents are making sure that I have a rich variety of things to look at. I already show some preferences which, of course, they take note of.
By six weeks, there are some hyper-stimuli in my environment; that is, things I can’t help looking at. Moving objects are the most common of these. I love noisy, moving toys, but not too loud. That way, I really pay attention. It is a lot better to learn to do that now, then waiting until I go to school. So, Mom and Dad, try giving me different objects in different positions so that you can find out what I consider to be hyper-stimuli. This helps you find out a few things about how you can calm me down when I get rowdy.
Can you believe how rapidly my eyes do develop? My pupillary reflex was well established by the middle of the second day. I have a preference for red and orange colors. I love all levels of light and bright colors, but guess what my favorite thing to look at is? It is my Mom and Dad’s faces. They are so entertaining with all those hugs and smiles and funny expressions on their faces.
Oh, I am absolutely monocular this first month. I usually keep one eye closed. But I will achieve binocularity by the second month. Almost all such talents are called differentiations and every differentiation carries with it a chance to perfect my movements. That means, if I use these simple changes now, I’ll find more advanced ones to use later when I’m older.
At about my one-month birthday, two important things are happening. Have you noticed I swallow more smoothly? All those crude reflex actions that I used to begin with are now organized into a fairly regular sucking and swallowing operation. You may not think this is very important, but this is the first of a great many skills I will be developing in two short months.
I burp loudly now and like to burp in different positions, too.
If you are observing carefully, you will notice another of my achievements at 4 – 5 weeks. Unless I tell you to watch for it, you many not think much about it. The fact is, it is quite a significant event in my growing up. It is this: when I am nursing, I will suck a while, then pause and wait a while. Now, that doesn’t seem exciting?
But the fact is, these pauses are the threshold of will-power on my part. Watch. You will notice that the pauses are all about the same length. Not only that, during these pauses I look at something. So, they are not an indication that I am not very hungry. They mean that I want to look at things at the same time I’m eating. This is your cue to provide a variety of things for me to look at – the more the merrier. This is called “place-holding”.
B.Stretching and Reflexes
Very soon, Mom and Dad will be telling everybody that I am very alert and a bundle of energy. They are right. All of that kicking and thrashing around is the best way I have found to get rid of some of it. I need to express this energy, one way or another. I’ll be investing my energy all my life. How will depend on what kind of personality I have. I’m average for my activity level, now, but time will tell.
By the way, when I thrash my arms out and you see my fingers open out, you probably think I am doing it on purpose. Nothing of the sort! When I throw out my arms, my arm muscles just pull my fingers out. But do not worry; I will be doing it on purpose soon.
Mom and Dad also need to know that was why I was regurgitating from time to time today. It’s that finger-stretching bit I told you about. That was the important thing I did today.
It was just reflexive muscular behavior, but by 3 months it makes possible a lot of reaching and grasping, and purposeful holding of toys and fingers.
There is something else, too, that’s happening during my second month on earth. My grasp reflex skill stays strong. Mom and Dad, place any object between my thumb and forefinger,
I will grab it. In fact, if you put it almost any place on the side of my hand, I will do the same thing. I need more practice at this touch business. I can even lift my weight with my grasp reflex. I like different sizes and shapes of objects? Yep, even now, I know that there are different shapes and different faces.
C.Social Development
I suppose you thought that for the first four weeks of my life I would not be very social, but I am interested in acquiring social skills. The first one is simple enough.
You see, at first I will be smiling whenever I want to move my facial muscles. Adults really like it, so I had better get it down to a smoother act. I will probably get a lot of attention whenever I do it. To tell you the truth, it has a good effect on me, too. Already, I notice that it makes me feel more rested, and I find it harder to fret and cry while I am smiling. When I am about six weeks old, I should be able to keep looking at a person when he moves around; that will be good exercise for my eyes. Indeed, they tell me that most people are downright flattered when someone my age tries it on them. I already know who Mom and Dad are.
When I am about eight weeks old, I will definitely try out different ways to use my crying skills. I may find that, socially, crying may be more effective than smiling. Mom and Dad say they like smiling best; but I already note that when I cry, they jump right away, and I get picked up instantly. Well, if they were smart, they’d wait a few seconds, and try to get my attention first, so I can learn to calm myself, before I’m picked up. It’s like a cue or a sign that I’ll get prompt attention, but not instantly. I need to learn how to wait later on anyway, so this is a good start.
If I want company or to try out some of these fancy toys of mine, all I need to do is cry a little. Even if Mom or Dad starts looking at somebody else, I will usually be able to get their attention back with a well-rounded yelp. In fact, I can just about run the house with this crying stuff. And, of course, I will keep this up as long as it gets prompt attention.
If Mom and Dad are wise, though, they won’t let it be my best tool for getting attention very long. They will be doing a lot more for my character if they make sure that my smiles pay higher dividends than my crying, however skillfully I am able to do that.
D.Language Development
Here I have just barely been born, and people are already saying, “Why, that baby is talking.”
I emit a few explosive sounds – coos, grunts, and gurgles. As a matter of fact, they seem to come out whether I want them or not, whenever I contract my vocal muscles. However, don’t you think I’m clever?
About my third week, I ought to be able to vary my crying several different ways, both in tone and in intensity. But that is not all. Mom and Dad know a lot of my other sounds; and I already am beginning to understand some of theirs. I will not understand the words, but I surely understand the tone of voice and sing-songy sounds.
For example, I will stop eating and almost “look” at sounds. It will soon be time to get to the job of differentiating these speech sounds. The consonant I like best is “M”. Maybe that is because a module made up of two segments, ma—ma. Of course, I will soon be able to say n-a, g-a, h-a, y-a, and best of all, ng-a. Then there are many other vowels I will be able to use – three kinds of a’s, an o, a long e, and an oo. Quite a list, wouldn’t you say?
E.Emotional Energy
My Nani thinks I am an easy baby, because I express my physical and emotional energy. Some babies are more difficult. I show a lot of calmness, so I guess I am going to be a pretty cooperative individual. It is my belief that after one has been born, he ought to be given a month or two in which he can just “be emotional” about life. After all, it is a pretty different environment than I have been used to before birth. I deserve to feel things through my senses, and I do.
But, when I get to be two months old, I begin to use my emotional energy more efficiently.
I learn to show a little emotion for small things and a lot of it only for large things. I get a lot of attention when I feel something strongly, like a poopy diaper. I might even sleep longer at night, if I can play emotionally during the day, especially in the late afternoon and early evening.
I may even cry then, but changes of position and new toys help me get calm.
I even have two kinds of energy - positive and negative. The first negative one I have will probably be mostly fear. You may be surprised how often I do show fear at first. By nature,
I am afraid of sudden loud noises and loss of support. I startle, or jump a little; I even scare myself. Isn’t that silly? I get over it quickly.
Mom and Dad want me to be a man of optimism. So in these early months, they are trying to make all my action experiences happy ones. To be sure, later on I’ll have to take some hard knocks, but now they want my investment of energy to have a positive emotional color. Since I react to everything, baby-style tantrums are likely to happen. Just swaddle me with your arms and turn on the water or some music and walk me around. No big deal!
F.Physical Motor Energy
When I look at a newborn puppy or even at Maggie, my dog, I get an inferiority complex. Nani describes my physical bodily behavior as random, imperfect, and uncoordinated – mass activity independent of outside stimulation. That sounds awful, but I also can do a lot with my body. If I am placed on my stomach, I lift my head and neck very well by two months. Sit me up, and I act like a jackknife, but I like it. Lay me down with my feet against a wall; let me kick and push my hardest.
You’ll see. I can turn my head left and right 90° and adopt a fencing position with one arm extended and one arm bent. This way, my head is facing toward my extended arm and I can look at my fingers and put my fingers in my mouth.
I can make my legs go out and up and I can flex both legs and arms at the same time. Mom and Dad even exercise my legs and arms, stand me up and roll me around. They change my position and massage my arms and legs.
I even like to swing sometimes when I’m in a good mood. Mom and Dad know not to put me in my swing when I’m mad or hungry or crying because it makes my insides feel “uneasy”. They even make a hammock out of a blanket and gently rock and swing me so my body “lines up”.
I have a midline down the middle of my body. That shows how important it is for a baby to have two sides of a body and brain.
Babies like me learn to coordinate their motor skills by using both sides of their body at the same time. Aren’t I amazing?
