• Your newborn will be hitting many milestones when he is five weeks old.baby image by Diane Stamatelatos from Fotolia.com
  
  A baby grows rapidly during the first few months of his life. However, it is important to remember that all babies reach different milestones at different times. Guidelines are present to make you aware of what you can look forward to your baby accomplishing soon. Keep in mind, if your baby is premature, he may need a bit more time to meet some milestones.
  
  

Reaching and Touching

• At this point, your baby will begin to unclench his fists occasionally and will start to reach out to explore the world around him with his hands. Provide lots of variety in textures for him touch such as soft stuffed animals and safe, plastic blocks. Your baby will also soon be discovering his hands for the first time. He will enjoy hours of just staring at this new found body part.
  
  

Head Movement

• It is important to give your baby lots of tummy time at this age. He should be able to lift his head while lying face down. He may not be completely steady, but baby should be able to hold his head up and keep it there for a short while. In addition, he should be able to turn his head to about a 45-degree angle. Also, as five-week-olds begin to become better listeners, they will begin to turn their head towards noise and sound. A baby may even start to talk back by responding to your voice with cooing. Not only will a baby at this age have head movement due to sound, but he will also begin to turn his head when visually tracking an object that is in his field of vision.
  
  

Facial Motor Skills

• This may be the week of the newborn's life that you get to witness her first real smile. Up to this point, your baby has also been crying and frowning a lot. Sometimes you may catch your baby practicing different facial expressions by moving her eyebrows and mouth. Not only has she been moving her mouth for smiling and frowning, but also for making lots of new noises and sounds by forming her lips in different shapes.
  
  

Overall Body Movement

• During the baby's fifth week of life and the next few weeks, his movements will gradually become smoother and less jerky. Some five-week-old babies are able to lift their shoulders and head when lying on the stomach. Also, a few babies at this age are able to put their feet flat on a surface and bear some weight on their legs with the help of an adult.