She will be becoming quite the chatterbox by now. Develop her speech by having a conversation. Respond to any gurgles and grunts by copying her and encourage her to mimic you, for example, by stretching out a sound. If she says "bah" then you say "baaaah" and develop this by adding a new sound onto it such as "ooh-baaaah".

Reading is vital at this stage in her development and repetition is the key. The most important thing you can do is to repeat and repeat reading the books she loves most. This way, she will begin to understand the rhythms of speech.

Play 'Catch me' by attaching a soft toy to a ribbon and swinging from side to side in front of her. When she tries to reach and grab it, praise her. This is ideal for developing hand-eye coordination. Squeaky toys work well too.

Bubbles will be a source of fascination during the first few months. Sit her in a bouncy chair, high chair or when she is out in her pram and see if she will catch them.

Stimulate her senses when you are out and about. Let her touch the leaves, smell a flower or lie her on the grass to get her used to how it feels. Describe what you are doing as you go about your daily routine to nurture her natural inquisitiveness.

Push a toy car across the table and let it fall off and onto the floor. As you repeat this, she will begin to anticipate the fall and will look at the floor before the toy drops.

Play the naming game. Start to name familiar objects, for example, say: "Here is your red hat". Soon, she will look for the hat if you ask her where it is.