Connor enjoys taking care of his baby brother, Cyrus. Before Cyrus was born, Connor had never been around babies very much, so he’s had to learn a lot in a short time. So far, he’s learned that babies need many hours of sleep, that they like to be held, that they will cry if they are hungry or have a wet diaper. Connor has also discovered ways to make his little brother gurgle and smile.
Each time he looks at Cyrus, Connor is amazed—in many ways, this little human looks so different from Connor’s teenage friends and from the adults he knows. Will Cyrus’s short arms and legs and his giant head ever be in proportion to his body?
In this lesson, you will learn how infants grow and develop physically during their first year. These physical changes follow a predictable pattern across all races and ethnic groups. But it’s important to remember that the time given for each developmental milestone is an average. Some babies will reach a milestone sooner that average, some will reach it later than average. Each individual grows and develops in his or her own time frame.
