1. 2 months old
   7 months old
2. 11 months old
   9 months old

By the time most babies are 6 to 8 weeks old, they can raise their heads while lying on their backs. It is not until they are six months old, however, that babies will have control over their neck muscles and be able to hold their heads upright and steady.

1. 3 months old
   11 months old
2. 7 months old
   4 months old

Mastery of babbling normally occurs at 7 months but can begin from when babies are roughly 3 months – about the same time they start to show some recognition of their own name. The "ba" or "ma" sounds are relatively easy to make, so most babies will babble these two words as they imitate speech they hear around them.

1. 6 months old
   9 months old
2. 12 months old
   1 month old

Babies are born with relatively weak neck muscles, and it takes time for these muscles to become developed enough to support the weight of the head. By the time many babies are one month old, they will be able to lift their heads while lying on their tummies and may even be able to turn it side to side.

1. 6 months old
   5 months old
2. 12 months old
   3 months old

Toward the end of their first year, it is not unusual for babies to begin closely watching and imitating those around them. Their imitations are not limited to adults, as they will also mimic their friends and playmates.

1. 2 months old
   4 months old
2. 1 month old
   9 months old

Mini push-ups involve babies lying on the tummy and being able to lift the head and torso up. A few babies will begin trying out this skill (and perhaps even master it) from they are 2 months old. The vast majority will achieve the milestone at around the 4th month.

1. 11 months old
   3 months old
2. 1 month old
   6 months old

A couple of months before this, most babies would have already begun to respond to familiar sounds and may even smile at the sound of a familiar voice. It is not until about 6 months, however, that most babies can discern the direction a sound is coming from and turn toward it.

1. 12 months old
   8 months old
2. 3 months old
   11 months old

From around 5 to 7 months of age, most babies will need to be supported when sitting – back straight and head up. It is possible to prop up babies in a sitting position before this, but they might not have the muscle control to keep their heads from lolling about.

1. 11 months old
   1 month old
2. 2 months old
   4 months old

Pointing is one of the first ways babies begin to engage in what is called “shared attention” – they want you to see what they see. Caregivers can aid babies’ development by pointing at the object, too, and saying its name alone or in a sentence.

1. 8 months old
   3 months old
2. 11 months old
   10 months old

This skill is a part of the head control and includes raising the head and holding it a 45-degree angle while lying on the tummy. Most babies accomplish this somewhere between 3 and 4 months, but a few babies would have mastered this skill from they were 2 months old.

1. 9 months old
   7 months old
2. 12 months old
   1 month old

Babies are born with blurred vision, but by the time they are one month old, they can focus on objects held between 7 and 12 inches from their faces. Quite often, those “objects” are the faces of their caregivers and babies soon become transfixed by their caregivers’ eyes and expressions.

1. 2 months old
   5 months old
2. 9 months old
   1 month old

Around the time they get to the 5-month-old mark, most babies spend quite a bit of time engrossed in the fun activity of playing with their own hands and feet while lying on their backs. Some babies will wring their hands together, and others might even suck on their toes.

1. 2 months old
   5 months old
2. 11 months old
   8 months old

Early cooing and gurgling sounds are among the first stages of speech development in babies – just like crying. As babies grow, they will coo in response to being spoken to and their cooing will eventually grow into babbling.

1. 7 months old
   9 months old
2. 6 months old
   4 months old

Babies can hear while they are in the wombs of their mothers and so the rhythm of speech is already well known to them at birth. By 9 months of age, babies can imitate speech to the point of stringing syllables together and coming up with what may sound like gibberish to adults but are actually the precursors to real words.

1. 1 month old
   9 months old
2. 11 months old
   6 months old

Blurred vision at birth means babies are only able to make out movement, light versus dark, and shapes. By the end of the first month, many babies can distinguish black-and-white patterns, as well as patterns of colors which are highly contrasting with each other.

1. 3 months old
   4 months old
2. 8 months old
   1 month old

Some babies master this skill from as young as 6 months old. Babies who are able to pass an object from one hand to the next might enjoy playing with a rattle, shaking and passing the toy to hear the sound it makes.

1. 12 months old
   9 months old
2. 11 months old
   2 months old

At this age, most babies cannot focus on objects which are more than 12 inches from their faces. Likewise, an object which is too close (less than 7 inches away) will be out of focus, as well.

1. 1 month old
   4 months old
2. 9 months old
   5 months old

Babies will often bang, drop and throw things just to see what happens next. Will it make a sound, bounce or roll? Of course, another reason is to see the reaction caregivers have to their actions!

1. 2 months old
   12 months old
2. 6 months old
   4 months old

It may sound like a foreign language now, but in another 12 months, when they are two years old, most babies’ speech is developed to the point where they have a vocabulary of over 200 words. They will add at least another 100 words to that by the time they get to 3 years old.

1. 1 month old
   12 months old
2. 3 months old
   9 months old

Along with pat-a-cake, most babies will also be able to play peek-a-boo at this age. Peek-a-boo helps babies to realize that objects still exist even when they cannot see them.

1. 11 months old
   6 months old
2. 2 months old
   1 month old

Most babies would have already been saying “dada” and “mama” to their parents but they would be using either of the terms for either parent. By the time they reach 11 months old, however, they will be saying the terms to the correct parent.

1. 12 months old
   1 month old
2. 8 months old
   5 months old

Babies strengthen their neck and arm muscles by doing mini push-ups. By the time they reach 5 months old, many babies can use these muscles to roll from tummy to back and then from back to tummy. Some babies find that repeated rolling is a great way to move from one place to the next!

1. 2 months old
   10 months old
2. 3 months old
   5 months old

Babies are born with a grasping reflex and will curl their hands around an object, such as your finger, placed in their palms. The pincer grasp (or grasping with the thumb and forefinger, however, is not fully mastered by most babies until they are around 10 months old.

1. 12 months old
   5 months old
2. 1 month old
   6 months old

Being able to imitate sounds and blow bubbles are two steps in the language and communication development of babies. At 6 months old, most babies will respond to sounds they hear, such as being spoken to, by making sounds of their own.

1. 11 months old
   3 months old
2. 6 months old
   4 months old

It is advisable to wait until babies are 6 months old before offering them solid foods. Their digestive and immune systems would be sufficiently developed at this point so they are less prone to developing food allergies and infections.

1. 8 months old
   1 month old
2. 4 months old
   11 months old

Babbling and jabbering are precursors to speech. Babies’ first words include “dada” and “mama” but they will likely not be specific about who they use each word for until they are a few months older.

1. 5 months old
   3 months old
2. 10 months old
   6 months old

Apart from standing while holding on to something for support, babies at this stage will also be able to crawl quite well. Child-proofing their surroundings becomes important at this point to keep them safe. One good move is to install gates at the top and bottom of stairs.

1. 5 months old
   12 months old
2. 3 months old
   8 months old

Babies at this stage can recognize familiar faces and objects. They will be able to distinguish these from greater distances as they get older and their eyesight continues to improve.

1. 5 months old
   12 months old
2. 3 months old
   1 months old

Pointing, waving “goodbye” and clapping are more than physical accomplishments for babies. They are also language and communication milestones. Most babies who are 12 months old will also shake their heads to indicate “no.”

1. 1 month old
   4 months old
2. 11 months old
   6 months old

Hearing development is already well underway at birth with most babies able to respond to high-pitched or unexpected sounds, as well as the soothing tones of a lullaby. Sudden loud noise might startle a baby and result in a bout of crying.

1. 9 months old
   1 month old
2. 5 months old
   12 months old

Whereas babies were already able to make out black-and-white patterns, by this age they are now able to differentiate bold colors, as well. Many babies at this stage will also be able to recognize familiar objects when only a part of it is visible. That makes (partial) hide-and-seek a good game to introduce at this point.

1. 6 months old
   10 months old
2. 1 month old
   12 months old

This skill involves walking while holding on to furniture or people who are in their path. Cruising is a precursor to independent walking with many cruising babies able to let go and stand unsupported for a few seconds. They may also let go of one support and take a step toward another which is just out of their reach.

1. 5 months old
   2 months old
2. 1 month old
   9 months old

Most babies at this stage who are lying down will be able to get into a sitting or standing positon without any assistance from a caregiver. It is only after this that they master the very difficult skill of sitting down from a standing position.

1. 2 months old
   1 month old
2. 7 months old
   4 months old

Reaching out directly for a desired object is a skill which takes time to master. Before this, babies will tend to swipe at things and rake them in toward themselves.

1. 6 months old
   1 month old
2. 3 months old
   11 months old

Most babies who can stand unsupported for a couple of seconds will also soon learn to stop and grab an object nearby and then rise up again. Some physically advanced babies might take their first steps at this point while others may already be walking very well on their own.

1. 12 months old
   4 months old
2. 10 months old
   2 months old

Cooing mostly consists of vowel sounds and tends to start off with “ahh” followed by coos with other vowels. By imitating these sounds, caregivers encourage babies to join in a conversation and most babies will respond with their own ohhs and ahhs when spoken to.