The first voluntary muscle movement a baby usually makes is turning his head. The head turn, which you'll usually see in your baby's first few weeks, develops the neck muscles and starts the progression of muscle movements that several months down the line will allow your baby to flip over.

To encourage your baby's attempt at a side-to-side head turn, lie down next to him until he looks at you. Then jump up and run around him, and lie down on his other side until he looks your way again. This move is great for getting parents in shape, but put a toy or a mirror on one side of him and switch its position if it's too much for you these days.

After the head turn comes the mini push-up, a move that takes a little bit of shoulder muscle to pull off. In the mini-push up, which your baby will probably conquer between the ages of two and four months, he uses his arms to lift his shoulders and chest (but not that big baby belly) off of the ground. He may be late reaching this milestone if he spends a lot of time on his back or sitting in an infant seat. For push-up practice, put him on his belly on the floor and hold a toy in front of and slightly above his head so he lifts himself up for a good look.

MOTOR MILESTONES

The Swipe and Grab

Two early motor milestones that seem simple actually require developmental prowess to achieve: the swipe and the grab. You'll usually see these between the ages of two and five months. To perform both the swipe and grab your baby needs to overcome one reflex he was born with: the tonic neck reflex. This reflex puts his arms in a fencing position — one arm extended, the other arm bent — whenever he is placed on his back with his head to one side. He can't get control of his hands until he can suppress this reflex and get both hands in front of him. Then he'll need to recognize his hands as something he can control and bring toward other objects he can see.

To encourage him to swipe, use a baby gym. These are available for cribs, floor play, and infant seats. To encourage him to bring both hands together in a baby version of a clap, sit him in his baby chair and play patty-cake, clapping the rhyme with your own hands and then with his.

The next obvious step after batting at objects is grabbing them, and babies usually reach this milestone between three and five months. To voluntarily grab something, your baby needs to override the grasp reflex that makes him close his hands tightly whenever something touches his palms.

Roll Over

The roll is not only a very noticeable milestone, but for many babies is their first attempt at independent motion. You'll see it sometime between three to seven months. A baby that spends a lot of time on his stomach may roll sooner rather than later, using the front-to-back roll. This is a fairly simple movement compared to the back-to-front roll. Babies who spend most of their days on their backs will likely roll later and start with the back-to-front roll. Once your baby masters both rolls, you may be surprised one afternoon when you put him down in the middle of the rug for a little playtime, leave the room for half a minute, and come back to find him hiding under the coffee table.

To encourage your baby to roll make sure he gets plenty of tummy time. If he's willing, roll him across the room like a rolling pin. You can also use a pillow or rolled blanket to prop your baby on his side, lie down on his other side, and tempt him to reach for you or a toy you're holding. If he stretches his arm out enough, he probably will topple over. The roll will impress friends and grandparents, but will make your life a little more difficult since you'll no longer be able to count on your baby staying where you put him.

Sit!

The sit, which appears at an average of five to nine months and may arrive before or after the roll, will make your life a lot easier. A sitting baby has free hands and can entertain himself by picking up and dropping toys while you entertain yourself by, oh, doing laundry or putting away dishes. (When you've had to do both with a baby on your hip for six months or so, it is a thrill to do them with both arms free.)

For sitting practice, surround him with pillows for him to keep his balance. Stay close by, as he'll tip over and need rescuing regularly. Or sit behind him, with him leaning back against you, and use his hands to pull him gently up into a sitting position.