Monthly Baby Milestones Your children may be able to start crawling in their 6th month of age, but others may don’t even be able to roll over from their tummy yet.
The development stages of every child are different, but theoretically, babies will follow these milestones throughout their first year of life at their own pace.
1-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Notices face. Sees bold patterns, especially in black and white. Recognizes the sound of your voice.
Starts to coo and make sounds beyond a simple cry. Brings his hands within range of his eyes and mouth.
Moves his head from side to side when lying on his stomach.
2-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Starts to recognize people at a distance and smiles. Begins to follow things with eyes. Briefly calms herself. May bring her hands to her mouth to self-soothe.
Begins to get fussy
and acts bored if the activity doesn’t change.
Holds her head up.
Begins to push up when lying on her tummy.
Makes smoother movements with her arms and legs.
3-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Can distinguish your face from others. Starts to have different cries for different needs: hunger, diaper change, and pain.
Opens and shuts hands. Turns his head away to express boredom. Swipes at dangling objects.
Follows moving objects with his eyes. Turns his head in the direction of sounds. Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when the playing stops.
4-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Starts to giggle and laugh. Copies facial expressions. Reaches for a toy with one hand.
Holds her head steady, unsupported. Pushes up onto her elbows when she’s lying on her tummy.
5-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Rolls over from tummy to back. Explores toys by putting them in his mouth.
Babbles. Loves to look at himself in a mirror. Entertains himself for short periods of time.
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6-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Starts creeping along the floor.
Starts sitting unaided.
Passes things from one hand to the other.
Starts to understand simple words.
Responds to her name.
7-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Enjoys dropping things on the floor. Plays simple games like peekaboo.
Begins to respond to “no”. Finds partially hidden objects.
8-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Begins crawling. Stands while holding onto something.
Develops a pincer grasp (using the thumb and index finger).
9-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
May be wary of strangers and cling to familiar people. Has favorite toys.
Makes a lot of different sounds like “mama” and “bababababa”.
Copies sound and gestures of others. Uses fingers to point to things.
10-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Explores things in different ways like shaking, banging, and throwing.
Pulls to stand. Starts cruising.
Shuffling along while holding onto furniture.
Gets into a sitting position without help.
Begins feeding herself finger food, thanks to better hand-eye coordination.
11-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Understands object permanence. Crawls up the upstairs while supervised.
Makes sounds with changes in tone, and sounds more like speech. Develops separation anxiety.
12-Month-Old Baby Milestones:
Responds to simple spoken requests and directions. Uses basic gestures like shaking his head=”No”, or waving=”Bye bye”.
Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “oh oh”.
Looks at the right image or object when it’s named.
Starts to use things correctly, for example, drinks from a cup or brushes his hair.
May stand alone. May take a few steps without holding on.
