Your 5-month-old's development

* Sitting up on her own
* Repeating her favourite sounds
* Strong enough to feed herself
* Learning about cause and effect
* Able to see small objects and subtle colours
* Honing in on sounds
* Easily distractible now
* A growing range of emotions
* Is my baby developing normally?


Sitting up on her own
By now, your baby's physical developments are coming fast and furiously. If you place her on her stomach, she'll extend her arms and legs and arch her back, and when on her back, she'll lift her head and shoulders. She may even sit momentarily without assistance -- be nearby, however, to provide support and surround her with pillows to cushion a possible fall.

Encourage her to play face-down on the floor: lifting her head and chest to see toys or your face helps strengthen her neck muscles and develops the head control necessary for sitting up. If you support her under the arms while letting her balance her feet on your thighs, she'll bounce up and down. She's capable of easily bringing an object to her mouth for oral exploration.

Repeating her favourite sounds
Your baby is adding new sounds to her language repertoire, and her current favourite is probably blowing a raspberry or making bubbles. At this age, it's common for babies to become so enthralled by one of their newfound abilities that they get stuck on it for a while. This is a normal developmental process. Most babies master one skill before moving to the next. Hearing the same sound over and over can get annoying, but learning patience now will prepare you for the endless string of "nos" and "whys" you'll be hearing when she is a toddler.

Strong enough to feed herself
Though she may be able to hold her own bottle now, don't prop your baby up and let her feed herself just yet. She'll be better able to sit up by herself and grasp small objects sometime after six months.

This month, continue using feed times to cuddle, hold and nurture your baby -- she'll be fiercely independent and resisting your kisses and snuggles soon enough. Your baby's probably showing more signs that she's ready for solids -- from a lessened tongue-thrust reflex to a keener interest in the foods you and other people are eating. However, breastmilk or formula is all she needs until she is six months old.

Learning about cause and effect
Your baby's ability to interact with you, others and her surroundings is growing daily. At this stage, she may start playing little games as she begins to understand that simple actions have results. She may drop objects just to watch you pick them up, or to see how and where they fall. Tiring as it sounds, you'd better get used to it. In a few weeks, this will be accompanied by fits of giggles.

Able to see small objects and subtle colours
Your baby's getting better at spotting very small objects and tracking moving things. At this point, your child may be able to recognise an object after seeing only part of it -- the basis of little hide-and-seek games you'll be playing in the coming months.

Earlier, your baby learned to distinguish between similar bold colours. Now she's beginning to sort out subtle differences in pastels. Read more about your baby's developing sight.

Honing in on sounds
Your baby now realises where sounds come from, and she'll turn quickly toward a new one. One of the most appealing ways to engage her is to jingle a set of keys. Wind chimes are great attention-getters, too.

Your baby may watch your mouth intently when you speak now, and try to imitate inflections and utter consonant sounds such as "m" and "b." Five-month-olds can recognise their own names. Notice how your little one turns her head when you call her or talk about her with others.

Easily distractible now
When your baby starts fussing at the supermarket this month, you may be able to distract her for a short time. Try engaging her with funny faces or a round of Incy-Wincy Spider. Clapping your hands or giving her something to hold can work too.

A growing range of emotions
Babies can't express their emotions in the same complex way that adults do. While they do let you know when they're angry, bored or happy, they can't express love or humour in the first few months, but that's beginning to change. By five months, your baby shows a strong attachment to you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up and crying when you leave the room. She may also give you hugs and kisses. And she's beginning to get the joke -- she'll laugh at funny expressions or positions and try to make you laugh, too.

For many parents, this is when the fun begins. You'll find yourself regressing back to childhood as you make silly faces and nonsense sounds, or play at pantomime and mimicry.