Baby milestones are developmental skills and behaviors that emerge during infancy as babies learn to move, communicate, interact, play, and understand their surroundings. Milestones help parents and pediatricians monitor development over time, but babies do not necessarily reach every milestone at exactly the same age.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) organizes infant developmental milestones across social and emotional, language and communication, cognitive, and movement and physical development. Looking at these areas together provides a more complete picture of a baby's development than focusing on one individual skill. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Baby development happens gradually throughout the first year. Early skills such as lifting the head, smiling, and making sounds develop into more advanced abilities such as sitting, babbling, using gestures, pulling to stand, and communicating intentionally. The table below provides a month-by-month overview of how movement, communication, social interaction, and learning may develop during the first year.
These ages should be treated as developmental reference points rather than exact deadlines. Some skills emerge gradually across several months, and individual babies may develop particular abilities earlier or later than others.
| Age | Movement & Physical | Communication | Social & Emotional | Thinking & Learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn (0–1 month) | Moves arms and legs; turns head; briefly lifts head during tummy time | Cries to communicate needs; reacts to sounds | Calms with caregiver contact; looks at faces | Notices nearby faces and objects |
| 2 months | Holds head up briefly during tummy time; moves both arms and legs | Makes sounds other than crying; reacts to loud sounds | Smiles when spoken to or smiled at | Watches people move; looks at objects for several seconds |
| 3 months | Develops better head control; pushes up during tummy time; opens and closes hands | Coos and makes early vocal sounds | Smiles more readily; enjoys interaction | Tracks moving objects and recognizes familiar people |
| 4 months | Holds head steady; brings hands to mouth; pushes up on forearms | Coos; makes sounds back when spoken to | Smiles to get attention; chuckles | Looks at hands with interest; anticipates familiar routines |
| 5 months | May begin rolling; reaches for and grasps objects | Experiments with different sounds | Recognizes familiar caregivers; enjoys social play | Explores objects with hands and mouth |
| 6 months | Rolls from tummy to back; pushes up with straight arms; supports self while sitting | Takes turns making sounds; squeals; blows raspberries | Recognizes familiar people; laughs | Puts objects in mouth to explore; reaches for desired toys |
| 7 months | Sits with less support or independently; transfers objects between hands | Babbles repeated sounds such as “ba-ba” | Responds to familiar people; enjoys interactive games | Explores objects by grabbing, shaking and mouthing |
| 8 months | Sits independently; may begin getting into a crawling position | Babbles frequently; responds to voices | May become cautious around unfamiliar people | Searches for partially hidden objects; explores cause and effect |
| 9 months | Sits without support; gets into a sitting position; moves objects between hands | Makes repeated sounds such as “mamama” or “babababa”; looks when name is called | Shows several facial expressions; may react when caregiver leaves | Looks for dropped objects; bangs objects together |
| 10 months | May crawl or scoot; may pull up using furniture | Imitates sounds and vocal patterns | Shows preferences for familiar people and toys | Becomes more interested in how objects work |
| 11 months | May cruise along furniture; develops a more precise pincer grasp | Uses gestures and increasingly varied babbling | Participates in simple social games; seeks caregiver reassurance | Places and removes objects from containers; imitates simple actions |
| 12 months (1 year) | Pulls up to stand; walks holding furniture; may take independent steps | Waves “bye-bye”; calls a parent “mama,” “dada,” or another special name; understands “no” | Plays simple games such as pat-a-cake | Puts objects into containers; searches for hidden objects |
The month-by-month changes above are part of several larger developmental progressions. The following 10 baby milestones show how some of the most noticeable movement, communication, social, and learning skills develop throughout the first year.
Gaining head control is an early gross motor milestone in which a baby develops enough neck and upper-body strength to hold and move the head with increasing stability. It begins with brief head lifting during early tummy time and progresses toward steadier head control during the first several months.
Parents can support head and upper-body development with supervised tummy time while the baby is awake. A newborn may briefly lift or turn the head, while head control becomes progressively stronger during the following months. The AAP lists holding the head up while on the tummy at 2 months and holding the head steady without support while being held at 4 months among early movement milestones. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Social smiling is an early social milestone in which a baby begins responding to another person's face, voice, or interaction with a smile. Social development then becomes increasingly interactive as babies recognize familiar people, laugh, seek attention, and participate in simple social games.
Parents can encourage social development by talking, smiling, singing, making eye contact, and responding when their baby looks at them or makes sounds. Early social responses can be seen during the first months, with smiling becoming more noticeable around 2 months and increasingly intentional interaction developing throughout the first year.
Cooing and babbling are early communication milestones in which babies experiment with sounds before developing recognizable words. Vocal development progresses from crying and early sounds to cooing, taking turns making sounds, squealing, babbling repeated syllables, imitating sounds, and eventually combining sounds with meaningful gestures or words.
Parents can support communication by talking to their baby, imitating sounds, reading aloud, singing, and allowing pauses for the baby to respond. By around 4 months, babies may coo and make sounds back during interaction. Around 6 months, communication can include squealing and back-and-forth sounds, while later infancy commonly brings repeated babbling such as “ba-ba” and “mamama.”
Reaching and grasping are fine motor milestones in which babies increasingly coordinate their vision, arms, hands, and fingers to interact with objects. The progression moves from opening and closing the hands to intentionally reaching, grasping, transferring objects between hands, and eventually using the thumb and index finger for a more precise grasp.
Parents can provide safe, age-appropriate objects within reach and allow babies to explore with their hands. Reaching and grasping become increasingly intentional around the middle of the first year. Later, babies begin transferring objects between their hands, and toward the end of the first year they develop more precise finger control for manipulating smaller objects.
Rolling over is a gross motor milestone that reflects increasing strength and coordination of a baby's head, trunk, arms, and legs. Rolling develops gradually: a baby may begin showing attempts to roll before consistently completing the movement independently.
Supervised floor play and tummy time give babies opportunities to develop the strength and movement patterns involved in rolling. Some babies may begin rolling around 5 months, while the AAP identifies rolling from the tummy to the back among 6-month movement milestones. Development should be viewed as a progression rather than an exact deadline. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Sitting without support is a gross motor milestone in which a baby maintains an upright seated position independently. Babies generally progress from needing substantial support to supporting themselves with their hands, sitting with less assistance, and eventually sitting and moving into the sitting position independently.
At around 6 months, a baby may support their body with their hands while sitting. During the following months, sitting commonly becomes increasingly stable. The AAP identifies sitting without support and independently getting into a sitting position among 9-month movement milestones. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Becoming mobile is the developmental progression through which a baby gains increasing ability to move around and explore independently. Babies do not all use exactly the same movement pattern: mobility may involve rolling, repositioning, scooting, crawling, pulling up, cruising, and eventually walking.
Parents can support mobility with supervised floor time and a safe environment that allows babies to move and explore. Around 8 months, some babies begin getting into a crawling position. Around 10 months, some may crawl or scoot and begin pulling themselves up using furniture. These intermediate movements can vary considerably between babies.
The AAP emphasizes monitoring overall motor progression, including strength, balance, coordination and symmetrical movement, rather than relying on crawling alone as the measure of healthy motor development. American Academy of Pediatrics: Motor Delays — Early Identification and Evaluation
Responding to a name and using gestures are early social-communication milestones that show a baby's increasing ability to connect sounds, people, actions, and meaning. During later infancy, babies increasingly respond when called and begin using movements such as raising their arms, reaching, and waving to communicate.
Parents can support these skills by using the baby's name during interactions, responding to communication attempts, and modeling simple gestures. The AAP lists looking when called by name around 9 months and waving “bye-bye” around 1 year. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Pulling to stand and cruising are gross motor milestones in which babies begin supporting their body weight upright and moving while holding onto furniture or another stable surface. These abilities develop from earlier head control, sitting, balance, leg strength, and mobility.
Some babies begin attempting to pull themselves up using furniture around 10 months and may begin cruising during the following months. By around 1 year, the AAP lists pulling up to stand and walking while holding onto furniture among movement milestones. Some babies may also begin taking independent steps around this period. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Milestones
Meaningful communication develops from the sounds, facial expressions, social responses, babbling, and gestures babies practice throughout the first year. Toward the end of infancy, babies increasingly connect particular sounds and gestures with people, objects, actions, and meaning.
Parents can support language development by talking, reading, naming familiar people and objects, responding to sounds and gestures, and encouraging back-and-forth interaction. By around 1 year, communication may include waving “bye-bye,” calling a parent “mama,” “dada,” or another special name, and understanding familiar words such as “no.”
Pediatric care helps parents monitor a baby's physical growth, movement, communication, learning, social development, and overall health throughout infancy. Regular well-child visits give pediatricians repeated opportunities to observe developmental progress, discuss parent concerns, and determine whether additional developmental screening or evaluation is appropriate.
The AAP recommends developmental surveillance at every health supervision visit and standardized developmental screening at 9, 18, and 30 months. Parents should raise developmental concerns whenever they occur rather than waiting for the next scheduled screening. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Surveillance and Screening
Baby milestones describe developing skills across movement, communication, learning, and social interaction during infancy. Month-by-month milestone information can help parents observe developmental progress, but milestone ages are reference points rather than exact deadlines or diagnostic tests.
If a baby is not meeting an expected developmental milestone, parents should discuss the specific concern with their pediatrician. One missing milestone does not by itself diagnose a developmental disorder because developmental timing varies, but delayed, unusual, or stalled developmental progression may warrant closer surveillance, standardized screening, or further evaluation.
The AAP recommends developmental surveillance at every health supervision visit and standardized developmental screening at 9, 18, and 30 months, with additional screening whenever developmental concerns arise. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Surveillance and Screening
Parents should talk to a pediatrician whenever they are concerned about their baby's movement, communication, hearing, vision, social interaction, behavior, feeding, learning, or other developmental skills. Parents should also seek medical guidance if a baby loses a movement, communication, social, or other developmental skill they previously demonstrated.
Parents do not need to wait until a scheduled screening age. The AAP recommends additional developmental screening whenever parents, pediatricians, or other professionals involved in a child's care identify a developmental concern. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Surveillance and Screening
By around 2 months, baby milestones commonly include holding the head up briefly during tummy time, moving both arms and legs, making sounds other than crying, reacting to loud sounds, smiling when spoken to or smiled at, watching people move, and looking at objects for several seconds.
By around 4 months, baby milestones commonly include holding the head steady, bringing the hands to the mouth, pushing up on the forearms, cooing, making sounds back during interaction, smiling to get attention, chuckling, looking at the hands with interest, and beginning to anticipate familiar routines.
By around 6 months, baby milestones commonly include rolling from the tummy to the back, pushing up with straight arms, supporting the body with the hands while sitting, taking turns making sounds, squealing, recognizing familiar people, laughing, reaching for desired toys, and exploring objects with the mouth.
By around 9 months, baby milestones commonly include sitting without support, getting into a sitting position, moving objects between the hands, making repeated sounds such as “mamama” or “babababa,” looking when called by name, showing several facial expressions, reacting when a caregiver leaves, looking for dropped objects, and banging objects together.
By around 1 year, baby milestones commonly include pulling up to stand, walking while holding furniture, waving “bye-bye,” calling a parent “mama,” “dada,” or another special name, understanding “no,” playing simple interactive games, putting objects into containers, and searching for hidden objects. Some babies may also begin taking independent steps around this age.
No. Babies do not reach every developmental milestone at exactly the same age. Skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling, pulling to stand, talking, and walking develop through a progression, and some babies reach individual steps earlier or later than others.
Milestone ages therefore provide useful reference points rather than exact deadlines. The AAP distinguishes developmental surveillance, standardized developmental screening, and diagnostic evaluation. When a baby's overall developmental pattern raises concern, these processes provide more information than judging development from one milestone alone. American Academy of Pediatrics: Developmental Surveillance and Screening
If a baby loses a developmental skill they previously demonstrated, parents should contact their pediatrician and explain which skill was lost and when the change occurred. Loss of previously acquired movement, communication, social, or other developmental abilities warrants medical attention rather than assuming the change is simply normal developmental variation.
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