Your Five Month Old's Development - BabyCentre UK

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Your baby's development

Your five month old's development

Written by Polly Logan-Banks Five month old baby mouthing a soft cuddly toy

Photo credit: David Browne for BabyCenterIN THIS ARTICLE

What can my baby do this month?
When will my baby be able to sit up on her own?
Why does my baby keep repeating the same sound over and over?
How well can my baby see?
Will my baby recognise her name when I say it?
How can I stop my baby fussing when we’re out and about?
Can my baby show affection?
Is my baby developing normally?

What can my baby do this month?

Your baby is becoming much better at expressing herself. She will show her affection by giving you hugs and kisses, and holding her arms up when she wants you to pick her up. She may even laugh when you make funny faces and noises. You may find your baby watching you intently as you speak to her. She’s learning more every day about how language works. She may even turn her head towards you when you call her name.

When will my baby be able to sit up on her own?

By now, your baby’s physical development is coming on at a fast and furious pace. If you sit her on your lap, or put her on the floor, she may be able to sit for a moment without assistance (Sheridan 2008). Advertisement | page continues below To help your baby sit, move her legs to form a V-shape. This helps her balance while sitting and reduces the risk of her toppling over. Once she is in this position, it’s a good idea to put a toy in front of her to play with. Surround her with pillows to cushion her if she falls over. Continuing to encourage tummy time will help your baby to strengthen her neck muscles and develop the head control she needs for sitting up. You could also help her to strengthen her legs by standing her on your thighs and bouncing her up and down. VIDEO

Why does my baby keep repeating the same sound over and over?

Although it may seem like baby babble to you, your baby is practising her language skills by adding new sounds to her repertoire (GOSH 2016, Sheridan 2008). Her current favourite is probably blowing a raspberry or making bubbles. At this age, your baby may be so impressed by one of her newfound abilities that she may get stuck on it for a while. She likes to master one skill before moving on to the next. When your baby makes noises, repeat them back to her. This repetition will encourage her to copy you, which will help when she starts learning to talk (NHS 2016), and she’ll be delighted to be having a “conversation” with you, too.

How well can my baby see?

Your baby’s eyesight is getting better and she can now spot tiny objects such as a ladybird on the ground. At this stage, her eyesight is developed enough to follow something small and fast-moving, so she’ll be able to see a butterfly fluttering around in the garden (Sheridan 2008). Your baby may also be able to recognise her teddy or toy after seeing only part of it. Soon she will understand that objects still exist even when she can’t see, hear, or touch them (object permanence) (Ruffman et al 2005, Sheridan 2008). This skill will form the basis of many peekaboo games you’ll be playing in the coming months.

Will my baby recognise her name when I say it?

Your baby may recognise her name now. In fact, she may even turn her head when you call her from across the room or mention her name in conversation with friends and family. It will help your baby to develop her language skills if you talk to her directly and respond to her babbling. She’ll watch your mouth intently when you speak and try to imitate the tone of your voice. Around this time you may also start to notice your baby making consonant sounds, such as “m” and “b” (GOSH 2016). Your baby soon realises where sounds come from. She'll quickly become familiar with everyday noises such as the vacuum cleaner, or the microwave beeping, and they won’t interest her much. But if she hears a new sound, she’ll turn quickly towards it (Sheridan 2008, ICAN 2011). She’ll love listening to you jingle a set of keys or shake a rattle.

How can I stop my baby fussing when we’re out and about?

Taking your baby out and about and introducing her to new experiences that will catch her interest is always fun. However, there will be times when your baby starts to fuss, usually because she’s over-stimulated, tired, hungry, or all three. Unfortunately, this often happens at inconvenient times, such as during the weekly trip to the supermarket! If your baby starts fussing, distracting her for a short time may help. Try pulling funny faces or reciting her favourite nursery rhymes or lullabies. Clapping your hands or giving her something to hold, such as a favourite toy, or rattle, can work too. Many supermarkets and shopping centres now have baby-changing and feeding facilities. Try giving your baby a feed or changing her nappy, to see if that helps to ease her fussiness. If not, take comfort from the fact that you won’t be the first parent to abandon a trolley full of groceries!

Can my baby show affection?

So far your baby’s only been able to let you know if she’s angry, upset, bored, or happy (ICAN 2011, Sheridan 2008). But now she’s beginning to express love, affection and humour. Advertisement | page continues below Your baby may show her feelings for you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up, and crying when you leave the room (Sheridan 2008). She may also be able to give you hugs and kisses now. And she’s beginning to get the joke. She may laugh at your funny facial expressions and try to make you laugh, too (Sheridan 2008). This is when the really rewarding, and silly, part of parenting kicks in. Since you’ll do almost anything to make your baby laugh, you’ll find yourself making silly faces, nonsense sounds and performing funny dances at a moment’s notice. And you won’t care who’s watching.

Is my baby developing normally?

Each baby is unique. Your baby will meet physical milestones at her own pace. These are simply guidelines to what your baby has the potential to do, if not right now, then soon. If your baby was born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy), you’ll probably find that she needs a little more time before she can do the same things as other babies her age. That’s why most babies born prematurely are given two ages by their doctors:

Chronological age, which is calculated from your baby’s date of birth.
Corrected age, which is calculated from your baby’s due date.

You should measure your premature baby’s development against her corrected age, not her actual date of birth. Your doctor and health visitor will also assess your premature baby’s development from the time she should have been born (Hall and Elliman 2006). Advertisement | page continues below If you have any questions at all about your baby’s development, talk to your doctor or health visitor. Go back to four months. Go on to six months to find out what your baby may do next!Was this article helpful?

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Sources

BabyCentre's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organisations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

GOSH. 2016. Speech and language development (from birth to 12 months). Great Ormond Street Hospital. www.gosh.nhs.ukOpens a new window [Accessed December 2016] Hall DMB and Elliman D. 2006. Health for all children. 4th ed (revised). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 248 ICAN. 2011. Stages of speech and language development: a guide for early years practitioners. www.ican.org.ukOpens a new window [pdf file, accessed December 2016] NHS. 2016. Birth-to-five development timeline. NHS Choices. www.nhs.ukOpens a new window [Accessed December 2016] Ruffman T, Slade L, Redman J. 2005. Young infants’ expectations about hidden objects. Cognition 97(2): B35-B43. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govOpens a new window [Accessed December 2016] Sheridan M. 2008. From birth to five years: children’s developmental progress. London: Routledge

Polly Logan-BanksPolly Logan-Banks is an experienced editor with a keen interest in producing evidence-based content. Polly is passionate about ensuring that every child gets the best start in life. Opens a new window Opens a new window Opens a new window