Baby milestones: the first year

Getting to know the world — and you.

• Movement: Lifts their head briefly during tummy time
• Hands & senses: Focuses on faces about 20–30 cm away
• Language: Startles at loud sounds and makes small throaty noises
• Social & play: Calms at a familiar voice or touch

The first real smiles.

• Movement: Holds their head up in tummy time; movements getting smoother
• Hands & senses: Watches you move and briefly follows a moving toy
• Language: Coos and makes vowel sounds
• Social & play: Smiles back at you — the famous social smile

Stronger, chattier, more awake.

• Movement: Pushes up on forearms in tummy time with a steadier head
• Hands & senses: Opens and shuts hands; swipes at dangling toys
• Language: Coos in longer strings and starts to chuckle
• Social & play: Recognises familiar faces and enjoys back-and-forth "conversations"

Laughing, reaching — maybe rolling.

• Movement: Holds head steady without support; may roll from front to back
• Hands & senses: Reaches for and grasps toys; brings hands to mouth
• Language: Laughs out loud and babbles with expression
• Social & play: Smiles and coos to get your attention

Rolling and reaching with purpose.

• Movement: Rolls one or both ways; pushes up on straight arms
• Hands & senses: Moves toys toward the other hand and explores by mouthing
• Language: Blows raspberries and experiments with new sounds
• Social & play: May start responding to their own name

Sitting up (with a little help).

• Movement: Sits with support and rolls both ways
• Hands & senses: Passes objects from hand to hand; rakes small items closer
• Language: Babbles consonants — "ba", "da", "ma"
• Social & play: Knows familiar people and loves looking in the mirror

Sitting steadier; stranger awareness begins.

• Movement: Sits with less and less support; may bear weight on legs when held
• Hands & senses: Rakes and grabs with the whole hand
• Language: Responds to their name consistently
• Social & play: May be wary of strangers; enjoys peekaboo

On the move — each in their own way.

• Movement: Many babies crawl, scoot, or roll to get around — and some skip crawling entirely
• Hands & senses: Bangs objects together and looks for dropped things
• Language: Strings babbles together — "mamama", "bababa"
• Social & play: Understands games with a pattern, like peekaboo

Pulling up and picking up.

• Movement: Pulls to stand and gets around their own way
• Hands & senses: Early pincer grasp — picks small things up with thumb and finger
• Language: Understands "no"; may say "mama" or "dada" (not specific yet)
• Social & play: May be clingy when you leave — separation anxiety is completely normal

Cruising the furniture.

• Movement: Cruises along furniture and stands holding on
• Hands & senses: Deliberate pincer grasp; puts things in and out of containers
• Language: Copies sounds and gestures
• Social & play: Waves bye-bye and may clap

Nearly there.

• Movement: Stands alone for a moment or two
• Hands & senses: Points at things they want or find interesting
• Language: Understands simple requests like "give it to me"
• Social & play: Hands you toys to share the fun

One year old — steps and first words.

• Movement: May take first steps — anywhere from 9 to 18 months is normal
• Hands & senses: Drinks from an open cup with help and tries to use a spoon
• Language: Says one to three words with meaning and follows simple directions
• Social & play: Simple pretend play, like "talking" on a phone; copies what you do