Use playtime to encourage development by providing lots of opportunity for practice. Get her out of her infant seat and onto the floor, give her interesting objects to look at and reach for, or take her out into the world and tell her about what she's seeing. Use baby games that combine several of the senses and teach important lessons.

• Peek-a-boo. Everybody likes to play peek-a-boo with a baby — probably because it gets such a great reaction. Cover your face with a baby blanket or burp cloth and whisk the cloth away, saying “Peek-a-boo!” You can also cover a toy with the blanket and then make it reappear with a flourish or cover your baby's head and let her pull off the blanket and say peek-a-boo to you. This teaches object permanence — that when things are gone, they aren't gone forever.

• Hide and seek. Lay your month-old baby down in the middle of the floor and move around the room, talking to her. As she hunts for the source of the sound of your voice, she starts to associate sights and sounds. Once your baby is crawling, partially hide behind a couch or doorway and call her to find you. When she gets good at this game, hide completely, but still call out. Eventually your baby will be able to hunt you down without the help of your voice. This also teaches object permanence — when mom is gone, she will come back.

• Ah boo. Put your baby, facing you, on your lap. Look her in the eyes, say “AAAhhh” then lean forward, gently bump foreheads and say, “Boo!” This teaches her to anticipate you — she'll soon join in by leaning forward to meet you.

• Ankle or knee rides. Sit down and put your baby on your knees, facing you, or straddling your ankles, lying forward against your legs. Support her firmly under the arms as you bounce her gently (she shouldn't pop off of your leg) to the rhythm of a favorite rhyme. This teaches her balance, rhythm, and anticipation as she hears the same rhyme over and over and learns to expect her favorite part (“had a great fall”). A variation (and a great exercise for parents) is inverted knee rides. Lie down on a rug, and bring your knees up above your chest, holding your calves parallel to the floor. Put your baby's stomach down on your calves, head peeking over your knees. You can bounce her with your legs, or rock her from side to side (again, make sure you hold her firmly and bounce gently).

Keep in mind that unless her muscles, brain, and nervous system have matured to the required level, no amount of practice will get her to a milestone before she's ready. Don't make yourself — or your baby — crazy by trying to push her to achieve every milestone as soon as possible.