Growth spurts - The eight stages of baby development

It's all just a phase! A statement that all parents of babies are likely to hear, especially during the first year. In the first 14 months of life, babies go through one developmental phase after another - which can be a real challenge for parents. However, the growth phases and developmental spurts of your little miracle don't just begin when it sees the light of day, but start during pregnancy in the womb. This is where the first skills such as breathing and swallowing are trained and naturally grow at a considerable speed. But which stage of your baby's development takes place when? And what new skills will your baby acquire in the first year? We have taken a closer look at the eight baby growth spurts and summarized them for you.

The most important facts in a nutshell

Developmental spurts in babies in the first year

When do growth spurts occur?

Every child is different, we don't need to discuss that. But even if baby's development does not follow a strict timetable, there are phases, known as spurts, in which your baby acquires new skills and goes through important developmental steps. This is usually accompanied by growth, which is why we also talk about growth spurts. You may notice a change in your baby's behavior or other signs that indicate a developmental spurt. To give you a better idea of when you can expect your child to experience growth spurts, we have created this baby growth spurt table:

What are growth spurts?

In the first 14 months, your baby will go through eight important developmental spurts. From a helpless and dependent newborn, step by step and leap by leap, your little baby will become a toddler who will soon outrun you.

Your baby's mental maturity begins in the womb. If you would like to find out more about your child's cognitive brain maturity, you can find all the important information in our blog post about the mental development of babies. Growth spurts are important developmental steps in your child's first year. This is a challenging time for parents, as the developmental leaps of babies, during which your little one's brain literally gets an update, are often accompanied by physical symptoms.

Perception of relapses - for parents and baby

There is no question that a relapse in your baby is a stressful time for you parents. The development that your baby is experiencing in body and mind brings with it physical symptoms such as restlessness, sleep problems, increased crying and reduced or increased hunger. Your baby now needs a lot of support to cope with the growth spurt and needs to be constantly co-regulated. You can achieve this by carrying your baby, for example. In our blog post Babies are carriers you can easily find out about the benefits of babywearing.

However, learning new skills is also exhausting for your baby. In record time, the body and mind have to learn to deal with all the new sensory impressions and your baby's body now puts more than half of its energy into expanding the brain structure while the whole neuronal system is being networked. Added to this are emotions such as sadness, fear and anger, which your baby now has to experience and learn to cope with in a completely new way. This makes it all the more important that you approach these phases with understanding and patience. Because even if it feels like you can't please your child, you are giving your little one the support they need to process their new perceptions.

The eight growth spurts at a glance

1st growth spurt - the 5-week spurt

The baby's first growth spurt occurs around five weeks after birth. The period is calculated from the expected date of birth. For children who are born prematurely or who are born later, the growth spurt is delayed accordingly. During the first growth spurt, you may notice that your child's perception changes - it seems more alert and begins to discover its surroundings and environment. When your baby cries, you will be able to detect the first little tears and your child can now recognize the smiles of the people around them. You may even be able to spot your little one's first smile. The Moro reflex, which is responsible for twitching during sleep, is slowly fading. You can find out more about the reflex in our blog post about early childhood reflexes. The first month with a baby is magical, because you are just getting to know your little one. If you want to know more about your baby's development in the first month 1. month, you can find the right information on our blog.

2nd growth spurt - the 8-week spurt

A feast for the senses: In the second growth spurt and at the same time second month of life, your baby's sensory perception improves. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching - a completely new world opens up to your baby, even in color, and the impressions have to be processed first. This is also the time when the first strangeness can begin, after all, your baby now recognizes new people in its environment and knows that it is safe with you and you as parents. Rocking back and forth in your arms probably feels the most comfortable. This is due to the vestibular system, which you can find out more about on our blog. Apart from the mental growth, your baby's body is also developing enormously. It can now hold its head on its own and can turn its head in the right direction when it hears an interesting sound, for example. They are also discovering their own hands and feet and training their muscles when they try to catch their feet. Have you ever seen your baby suck his toe? This is because your baby has realized that sucking is not just for food, but is also wonderfully soothing.

3rd growth spurt - the 12-week spurt

Have you noticed that your baby is starting to look after passing cars or take an interest in his mobile? That's because at 3 months it can now better perceive and understand flowing transitions, i.e. objects in motion. Now is the perfect time to integrate rituals, such as going to sleep, into your daily routine, as your baby now recognizes patterns in the daily routine better and better. Fixed routines and rituals help to improve these new skills and give your child a sense of security. Your baby's perception is now increasing more and more. It listens intently to all kinds of sounds and trains its voice by gurgling and squeaking. In our blog post Speech development: Babies learn through play we explain exactly how the cute babbling affects the voice.

4th growth spurt - the 19-week spurt

If you don't look at it once, your baby is lying on its side or tummy. Your little one is slowly becoming mobile. It now also recognizes that it can influence smooth transitions by stopping a rolling ball or swinging a rattle to make sounds. Now you also need to be particularly attentive, because the oral phase is beginning and your baby will put everything they can get their hands on straight into their mouth. Did your baby just say mommy? The first sounds are formed in a row and sometimes it can sound as if your child is already saying mommy or daddy. We hate to disappoint you, but at the moment your baby is still practising their voice and cannot yet consciously form words. In addition to his development, your little one's body goes through a big growth spurt in the fourth month. You will probably notice this above all in the growing appetite, as your child will soon be ready for complementary foods.

5th growth spurt - the 26-week spurt

While your baby's 5th month was almost quiet, you can now hardly put your baby down, let alone leave the room, without a concert of cries echoing through the apartment? This is because your baby can now recognize distances and feels insecure and alone when their main caregiver leaves the room. They will probably start to become suspicious of people who are actually familiar, such as grandparents or your partner, and would much rather be in your arms. A frustrating time for everyone involved, and yet it is important that you don't let your baby cry. We explain why in our blog post Let babies cry? At the same time, your child will begin to understand connections, for example that you are happy when they wave and clap or that an object that falls makes a noise. This will awaken their interest in gravity and all sorts of things, boxes and drawers will be cleared out and thrown around. You can find more useful information about your baby in the 6th month on our blog.

6th growth spurt - the 37-week spurt

You've probably already noticed that with the arrival of the 7th month your baby is developing more and more of its own will and is making this known loudly. Always recognizing what your baby actually wants without words can be quite complicated. That's why nature has cleverly arranged for the time to come when simple words are understood by your baby and he or she will make great mental progress in the 8th month. Are your nights challenging at the moment, is your baby drooling more and does he constantly have his fingers in his mouth? Then it's probably because your baby's teeth are breaking through. You can find out how you can help your child now in our blog post about relieving teething pain . Books are also starting to be fun for your baby as they can now categorize objects: A ball is a ball, no matter what color, size or whether in a book or in real life.

7th growth spurt - the 47-week spurt

The 47th week spurt is also known as the sequence spurt. Your baby was more preoccupied with their mental development in their 9th month, but now is a good time to show your baby how to get off the sofa safely or how best to climb stairs, namely backwards. Your child will also want to participate more and more in your everyday life, which is a good opportunity to start using cutlery for eating and cups for drinking, but also to further encourage language development through conversation. Avoid baby talk at all costs, as your child will benefit much more from learning the right words and phrases. Now is also the time when your home should be absolutely baby-proof. Your baby will probably not only be sitting, but will already be moving around quite quickly and will now also start crawling up and standing everywhere - nothing is safe anymore. Some babies take their first cautious steps at 10 months. They can do this because the tonic labyrinth reflex is now gradually regressing - read our blog post on this topic.

8th growth spurt - the 55 week spurt

The 11th month of babies is full of movement and activity, full of firsts and especially physical development. Around the first birthday, many parents really despair at their baby's behavior, because the autonomy phase hits them with full force. Your baby wants to do everything on its own, even if it is not yet able to do so. The broken banana or the incorrectly cut toast, the feeling of doing everything wrong - familiar classics that happen in almost every household. But don't worry, this is also just a phase that is important for the developmental leap that the child is currently in. A change in sleep patterns and problems when it comes to bedtime are not uncommon, as children are particularly afraid of missing out during this spurt. The brain grows during this growth spurt and the head circumference visibly increases. Your child is probably also hungrier and starts to play with food. You can find more information about the 12th month of life on our blog.