Your baby's stages of brain development will probably follow a fairly predictable schedule. She may reach milestones quite a bit earlier or later than other babies—and even her siblings—and still be considered completely normal. If you're concerned about your baby's development, talk to her doctor.
Major Newborn Milestones
As a newborn, your child's brain is growing at a rapid pace, helping her process all the new sights and sounds she encounters.
At 1 month, your baby may:
- Try to lift their head off the ground when lying on their tummy
- Stop crying when picked up and talked to
At 2 months, your baby may:
- Make first smile, responsively
- Vocalize, gurgle and coo
- Follow objects with their eyes that move across her line of vision
- Become aware of her own fingers
- Hold their head off the ground for a few seconds
At 3 months, your baby may:
- Hold up her head for a few minutes when propped sitting up
- Visually track an object moving slowly across the room
- Use a variety of sounds and gestures as "conversation"
Major Infant Milestones
At 4 months, your baby may:
- Shake a rattle to make a noise
- Start to roll from front to back
At 5 months, your baby may:
- Acquire head control and hold her head upright, although still a bit wobbly
- Grab her toes and pull them to mouth
- Smile at her own face in the mirror
At 6 months, your baby may:
- Sit with support
- Listen closely when hearing her own name
- Try to roll over in both directions
- Act shy with strangers and exhibit fear
At 7 months, your baby may:
- Hold a spoon
- Support herself in the crawling position
- Hold a two-handled cup and drink from it
At 8 months, your baby may:
- Start to pick up objects using thumb and forefinger (pincer grasp)
- Pass an object from one hand to the other frequently
- Begin to understand the meaning of words, particularly "no"
Major Toddler Milestones
Your child's brain is still growing at a furious pace in the toddler years. As she moves through different stages of brain development, you can expect her to make great strides developing her cognitive, motor, social and communication skills.
At 9 months, your child may:
- Begin to pull herself up to stand
- Search for a hidden object
- Hold a string and pull a toy
At 10 months, your child may:
- Communicate with gestures
- Wave goodbye
- Bang objects together
- Hold arms out to show she wants to be picked up
At 11 months, your child may:
- Sit down from standing
- Cruise (walking by holding on to furniture and other objects)
- Pass objects pack and forth between hands easily
At 12 months, your child may:
- Stand without support
- Put objects into a container
- Say a couple of words
Between the ages of 1 and 2, your child may:
- Start to walk unaided (usually 11-18 months)
- Start to crawl upstairs (12-15 months)
- Begin feeding herself with spoon (15-18 months)
- Assist with dressing herself (15 months)
- Know 4-6 words (15 months)
- Make some animal sounds (15 months)
- Begin having tantrums (15-18 months)
- Be able to play alone for short periods (18 months)
- Know certain body parts (18 months)
- Start to show hand preference (18 months)
- Enjoy helping with household tasks (18 months)
- Climb into a chair to sit (18 months)
- Point to and name objects (18 months)
- Resist sharing toys (2 years)
- Be able to run (2 years)