Newborn babies will grow up into having 209 bones. As they journey through life, new cycles of development emerge. Baby’s feet are flat and soft at first.

Growth spurts through infancy can come on rapidly. Track progress and prepare for the next phase of success. The 3 main stages of baby’s foot development are: pre-walkers, cruisers and toddlers. We’ll look at these, understand normal baby feet and learn how to avoid baby feet problems. 

Is your child developing at the correct pace? Knowing important changes can help you track their growth, important milestones and baby feet shape. It takes time and patience before your little one is ready to take their first steps. Baby’s first steps will arrive sooner than later.

Pre-Walkers & Baby Crawlers | 0-6 Months

Newborn babies react automatically to external stimuli during the first few months. The munchkins can move their heads from side to side, see close-up objects, turn towards sounds and cry to indicate a need. Sleep is scarce, time is precious.  

The pre-walker aka baby crawlers is a lovely time when babies are finding their feet, literally. A few feet may even end up in a mouth or two. At this stage, your baby's feet will be fully developed and ready for your child’s first steps. 

They start building flexibility of muscles and strengthening of cartilage during this timeframe. Newborn babies legs, hips and feet are growing stronger daily.

Using Leverage To Stand Up

Pretty soon, they’ll begin rolling onto their stomachs and starting to crawl. After that, they’ll use nearby objects to pull their body weight into position and pull themselves up. They will use furniture, legs or even pets to help stand up by themselves.

When your baby’s first steps are putting pressure on the ground for the first time it can be a new and exciting experience for them. Flexibility exercises are a great way to prepare for baby’s first steps. Tickle those toes!

How Do Baby Feet Grow?

There is spongy soft cartilage that will gradually ossify, hardening into the 26 bones of the foot. There are 33 joints in an adult human foot. However in beginning stages of infancy it’s predominantly cartilage tissue in the feet.

So infants have soft and flexible cartilage at birth. They are born with 300 pieces of cartilage that will soon harden into bone. As natural growth spurts transforms into normal baby feet, the ossification process strengthens in intensity.

The more practice doing baby feet exercises, the quicker and stronger the foot development. Feet bones usually grow until 18 years of age on average. Great, but what’s ossification?

Ossification of Bones

A group of cells surrounding dying cartilage cells differentiate to osteoblasts and begin to form the bone matrix. Ossification in the development of baby feet occurs when the muscular cartilage tissue hardens into bone.

Baby cartilage doesn’t turn into bone, but rather bone replaces cartilage. Ossification is the process of bone formation by osteoblasts. 

During the transformation of the first few years, babies develop super delicate feet. If their feet are not well taken care of, their feet may sustain developmental abnormalities.

So keep in mind ill-fitting shoes and constrictive socks can place tensions and pressure on the foot. This can eventually impede growth and cause baby feet problems that can persist for years. Make sure you check your baby's foot growth regularly.

Baby shoes or socks too tight can trigger mood swings or episodes of irritability. No mom or dad needs more baby mood swings in their life.

Baby Cruisers | 7-12 Months

As the newborn feet structure starts taking shape, many pronounced advances occur within the first 7 to 12 months. The muscles, joints and ligaments in the feet begin developing rapidly as your kiddo becomes more mobile.

Cruisers can explore the world on their own two feet. They may try using the family dog to support themselves or anything close by from the sofa to your leg. And there might be a few bumps along the way.

Newborn babies try standing on their own somewhere in between the 8-10 months. A wonderful sense of imagination unfolds as they get their wheels. So get the camera ready!

4 Ways To Get Better Baby Feet Shape:

• Walking around barefoot often

• Check for circulation restricting socks

• Flexibility Exercise: tickling the toes

• Bedtime Tuck-in: make sure legs have room to move freely

To support their baby weight, soft cartilage will eventually become strong and hardened. Don’t stop them from making mistakes as they learn. Cheer them on as progress is made. Soothe them if they fall.

They toughen up physically and emotionally when falling and getting back up. Embolden them to discover more. It’s part of the process. They can’t learn to walk and run without falling a few times. Positive reinforcement and encouragement go a long way.

Toddlers | 13-18 Months

At this stage, baby makes strides, muscles start taking up new challenges, the bones and joints continue to fuse and form. What an exciting time for your young toddler!

Your child should be walking by the time of their first birthday. If 16 months has past and your child has not taken their first step, get in touch with a health care provider. Discuss any concerns you have with them.

Learning to walk is a step-by-step process (pun intended). So tap into your endless supply of patience. Don’t get discouraged if walking not immediately accomplished.

Let your baby naturally follow their own path. They grow at their own pace. The more encouragement you give, the greater the dedication you’ll see from your toddler. Keep it up!

Normal Baby Feet | Ready To Walk

Walking is a huge milestone in how babies develop. They are ready to start walking and are eager to explore their surroundings. What they lack in physical strength, they make up for in determination. Enjoy this time with your little one and explore the world with them.

Baby’s first steps in the walking process are a huge milestone. Their feet become primed for walking. They know when they’re ready to give it a whirl. Hopefully you’ll be there to watch them when they first try. And first fail.

Then they’ll pick themselves up and try again. Instinctively, without hesitation they’ll try again. Until they finally accomplish their goal! What a blessing to witness.

Foot Development Tip:

Get newborn babies to play while standing-up holding onto furniture for support. As they get comfortable standing-up using support while playing, encourage them to take steps toward you closing the distance. The foot gets stimulation while the arch, muscles and ligaments form.

Or hold them at their ribcage to get them to take steps. Challenges that are kept within short distances will deter your baby from wanting to regress back to crawling.

How To Avoid Baby Feet Problems

The foot development before and after a baby’s first steps is closely related to their surrounding environment. In order to avoid baby feet problems, infants need to stimulate muscle growth and begin to work on balance. Watch for unique variations babies develop like toe walking (walking on the balls of the feet).

Remember, to avoid baby feet problems and stimulate proper foot growth, do this between 0-18 months old:

• Walk around barefoot often

• Check for restrictive socks

• Practice flexibility exercises

• Keep room for leg movement when babies sleep

• No tight covers restricting movement

These simple parenting tips can help maximize the strength and comfortability of your baby’s foot development. Make sure that shoes fit properly, keep feet clean and dry, and cut toenails straight across (no ingrown toenails).

Monitor for any signs of in-toeing, out-toeing or clubfoot. If you get new baby shoes, make sure they’re a soft-soled on the bottoms. No hard soles. Last but not least, keep being an awesome parent! You got this!