#infant development

2 Months -- recognizes familiar faces -- tracks objects with eyes

3 Months -- brings objects to mouth -- smiles -- frowns

4 Months -- reaches out to people -- drools

5 Months -- sleeps through the night -- recognizes family members from strangers

6 Months -- teething begins -- sits upright -- speaks one-syllable words

7 Months -- afraid of strangers -- mood swings

8 Months -- responds to "no" -- can sit alone -- plays peek-a-boo

9 Months -- pulls up to stand -- places objects in mouth to explore them

10 Months -- responds to name -- crawls efficiently

11 Months -- starts to walk without help -- frustrated with restrictions

12 Months -- knows name -- walks

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1/100- April 15, 2020

Starting my class assignments. This is just from one class and it is quite a lot to read and write. I'm hoping to get the rest of my course material soon.

For generations, farther back than anyone can remember, the women in Rano Dodojonova’s family have placed their babies in “gahvoras,” cradles that are part diaper, part restraining device. Dodojonova, a research assistant who lives in Tajikistan, was cradled for the first two or three years of her life. She cradled her three children in the same way.

Ubiquitous throughout Central Asia, the wooden gahvora is often a gift for newlyweds. The mother positions her baby on his back with his bottom firmly over a hole. Underneath is a bucket to capture whatever comes out. She then binds the baby with several long swaths of fabric so that only the baby’s head can move. Next, she connects a funnel, specially designed for either boys or girls, to send urine out to that same bucket under the cradle. Finally, she drapes heavy fabric over the handle atop the gahvora to protect the child from bright light and insects.

Babies stay in that womblike apparatus for hours on end, with use decreasing as the child ages. When babies fuss, mothers often shush them by vigorously rocking the cradle back and forth or leaning over the side to breastfeed. Besides keeping babies dry and warm, gahvoras provide a sense of safety, Dodojonova says. “It is very nice for children because they are bound and cannot move.” Eventually, they are running and jumping like children everywhere.

To the uninitiated, this child-rearing approach may sound odd, or even shocking. Yet cultures should be viewed within their own context, says psychologist Catherine Tamis-LeMonda of New York University. “We engage in practices that fit our needs, our own everyday lives.”  

Though Central Asia is home to 73 million people, Western researchers such as Tamis-LeMonda have only recently begun to document the gahvora’s use and possible impact on how children grow.

Ignoring cultural variation of this sort leaves a big blind spot in the science of child development. Western researchers and medical staff define “normal” development — in this case, how and when babies acquire motor skills such as sitting, crawling and walking — based on a century of research on mostly white, Western babies.

Now a few motor development experts are pushing back with a new line of thinking that traces back to the 1950s, when evidence for huge variations in how and when babies acquire motor skills began to emerge in a piecemeal way. At that time, anthropologists and cultural psychologists working in far-flung locales started documenting how babies in different cultures move about.

In recent decades, that research has become more systematic. Scientists are comparing the motor skills of babies in various cultures and creating controlled experiments to see if training can speed up the development of certain skills.

And motor skills don’t arise in isolation. When a baby begins to sit, crawl or walk, she gains a new view on the world, which alters her perception. It also influences how babies and caregivers communicate. A baby who has learned to walk, for instance, will often carry objects to her mother, who frequently responds with words or ways of speaking that are new to the baby. So researchers are also studying how culture influences other areas of development linked to motor skills.

This research is “not just about walking,” says Lana Karasik, a developmental psychologist at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island. “It’s about what walking gives babies.”

As this work continues among broader populations, it’s becoming clear that across continents and cultures, children with the ability to do so will learn to walk. For some babies, that tentative first step may occur at 8 months old; for others, age 2 or 3 is a perfectly good time to start exploring.

Bremner, J. G. (1994). Infancy (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK; Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Bremner, J. G., Slater, A., & Butterworth, G. (1997). Infant development: Recent advances. Hove, East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.

Field, T. (1990). Infancy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Fogel, A. (2011). Infant development: A topical approach. Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan Pub.

Freedman, D. A. (1997). On infancy and toddlerhood: An elementary textbook. Madison, Conn.: International Universities Press.

Mooney, C. G. (2010). Theories of attachment: An introduction to Bowlby, Ainsworth, Gerber, Brazelton, Kennell, and Klaus. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

Mowder, B. A., Rubinson, F., & Yasik, A. E. (2009). Evidence-based practice in infant and early childhood psychology. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.

Rochat, P. (2001). The infant's world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Stern, D. N. (1995). The motherhood constellation: A unified view of parent-infant psychotherapy. New York: BasicBooks.

Babies chuckle in their sleep primarily because they spend 50% of their rest in REM (Active) sleep. While an adult spends only about 20% of their night in this phase, an infant is essentially a REM-processing machine.

During this highly active stage, your baby's brain is working hard to process daytime sensory data, map out new physical milestones, and build motor functions. Because a newborn's body has not yet mastered the muscle paralysis that keeps adults still while dreaming, they move and vocalize heavily. This results in involuntary reflexive twitches, strange noises, and sleep giggles.

Infant Dream Reality: Infants lack the cognitive maturity to form complex narrative dreams. Rather than replay a funny storyline, their brain is likely just recycling basic daytime sensations—the glide of a fabric, the sound of your voice, or the taste of milk. It’s a sensory loop that occasionally triggers the "giggle button".

Reflexive Smiles vs. Real Social Giggles

Early sleep-laughter starts as a reflexive action occurring in the subcortical areas of the brain—think of it like a facial muscle twitch. These involuntary neurological firings actually serve as the physiological foundation that eventually evolves into the intentional laughter parents crave during wakefulness.

The Reflexive Phase (0–2 Months): Laughter is purely internal. You'll see the corners of the mouth twitch or hear a soft, breathy chuckle.

The Social Phase (2–4 Months): The brain matures, and true laughter emerges during wakefulness, triggered by your face, a tickle, or a funny sound.

These midnight giggles are essentially a helpful practice run, allowing the brain to coordinate facial muscles and vocal cords early on.

Tactical Nursery Tips for Active Sleep

1. Implement the 5-Minute Pause Rule

Active sleep is loud, busy, and frequently confused with waking up. Many parents accidentally trigger a false start because they rush into the nursery the moment they hear a midnight chuckle or whimper. Unless your baby is truly distressed, wait five minutes. This pause allows them to bridge the gap between REM and deep sleep cycles solo, preventing a hard-to-break dependency cycle.

2. Maintain REM Thermal Stability

Infant sleep is incredibly sensitive to temperature shifts. If the nursery gets too warm, the brain struggles to stay in the REM phase, leading to fragmented rest and sudden crying.

Keep the nursery within the 68–72°F Goldilocks Zone and dress your baby in breathable, OEKO-TEX® certified sleepwear. SwaddleAn's Viscose from Bamboo fabric is engineered to be 3 degrees cooler than cotton. By wicking moisture away and keeping the body at a stable temperature, you minimize the physical restlessness that typically disrupts a peaceful REM cycle.

When Should You Be Concerned?

While a 3 AM chuckle is almost always a healthy sign of brain-mapping, persistent, rhythmic, or hollow-sounding laughter can occasionally signal a rare medical concern known as gelastic seizures.

A normal sleep giggle is random, brief, and usually follows a physical twitch. A gelastic seizure episode typically lasts 30 to 45 seconds, sounds empty or unprovoked, and lacks a varied pitch. It may also be accompanied by unusual eye movements, body stiffening, or pedaling leg movements. If you ever notice these rhythmic, recurring patterns, grab your phone and record clear video evidence to show your pediatrician for a proper evaluation.

Most of the time, it's just your screaming potato being delightfully weird. Keep them cool, let the brain download finish, and try to catch some sleep yourself.

🌿 Help your baby bridge their sleep cycles naturally. 👉 Read the full science breakdown:

Let me start by saying my husband is absolutely amazing. In almost every way. Like he came straight out of a romance novel and he been like that for the last 15 years and we’ve been in love the whole time. Now, what’s the problem? Well we had our first daughter 3 months ago and he just adores her. She is beautiful and he just can not for the life of him stop kissing her and biting her tummy and squishing her cheeks. He‘s a very physically affectionate person and just has so much cute aggression. I don’t want him to show her any less of it and while she’s fully awake that’s fine, but she needs to sleep! He tries his best to hold it in while she’s napping but he ends up caving and trying to sneak a quiet kiss and risk waking her. And he overdoes it when she’s tired and she ends up restless and unable to sleep. I’m worried because if she doesn’t get a good sleep pattern I end up paying the price by waking up in the middle of the night to put her to breast. I’ve tried waking him up with me but he doesn’t mind at all, and will probably end up getting a few more kisses in and overstimulating her. It also doesn’t help that he doesn’t know how to whisper and he isn’t very stealthy when going about his day, though he’s working on that. I want him to stop overstimulating her when she’s tired or pushing his luck she she’s asleep. How do I do this?

This isn't fucking cute. Tell him to stop harming your infant. He needs to act like a grown ass adult and prioritize his daughter's health and safety over his ridiculous urges. He can 100% control himself, and he needs to immediately before he finds himself sleeping in a hotel.

for parents, caregivers, and anyone who loves a little one deeply.

the early years are full of wonder, but also questions—especially about development. this guide, “detecting cerebral palsy in infancy,” isn't meant to alarm. it's meant to empower. it offers clear, compassionate information on early signs, milestones, and supportive steps, written with care for those who just want the best for the child in their life.