Have you ever noticed how people spend the first two weeks of a baby’s life counting in days, the first two months counting in weeks, and the first two years counting in months? And yet, for babies and parents, every one of those three hundred sixty five days in a year needs to be lived out. Fortunately, that means we have 365 chances per year to pour love into our babies.

Parenting a baby is a lot of work. It can be trying at times. There will be long stretches where you wonder if you’ll ever be able to sleep through the night again. But take heart. Your baby will only be small for a little while. Learn to find something to enjoy in every one of those 365 days of your babies first year (and her second year, for that matter). Before you know it, you’ll be missing these times.

During those first couple of months of your baby’s life, before you start losing count of the days, here are some of the things you can expect:

• From day 1, you can expect a lot of sleepless nights. Babies can only sleep for two to four hours at a stretch for the first two to four months of their lives, which means mom and dad are going to lose a little sleep taking care of her. Don’t worry, though, it doesn’t last forever.
• Right away, from 7 days old or so, your baby will start to show a preference for the human form over any other shapes or colors. Of course, her eyesight’s still a bit fuzzy, but she’ll still want to see you. Hold her very close so she can get a good look as babies at this age can only see about 15inches.
• Some time around day 20 to 25, your baby will be able to recognize your voice and pick it out from amongst others.
• Somewhere between baby’s 28th and 35th day, she’s likely to begin gurgling, humming, or even laughing. Make sure you give her a good gurgle back.
• Shortly after that, by day 42 or so, baby will begin smiling occasionally. Watch out, that smile’s going to get her what she wants most of the time for a long time.
• Sometime between day 50 and day 60, you may notice baby being quiet for longer stretches at a time while she’s awake. If she looks like she’s intently looking at things, it’s because she is. Her brain is growing rapidly, and she’s starting to really take in her environment. And from here on out, the world is her laboratory.
• Your baby knows who you are from the time she is just a few days old, but it may take her 60 days or so to be able to show it. Around this time, most babies will start to actively show that they recognize mom and dad.

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