Baby milestones by month: what to expect from 0 to 12 months

Milestone lists found at 3am often disagree and can make a perfectly normal baby look behind. This guide sticks to one source, the HSE: what most babies do by each age and the signs it says are worth a chat with your GP or public health nurse (PHN).

What are the newborn milestones up to 1 month?

By 1 month, the HSE says your baby will:

• lift their head briefly when lying on their tummy
• begin to loosen their tight fists
• be alert to sounds
• begin to bond with you
• fix on a bright object and follow it with their eyes

You may notice they recognise your voice and cry to tell you what they need. The HSE says your baby may cry or be upset for 2 to 3 hours a day at this stage. Worth knowing when you are pacing the landing.

Your baby sees the GP at 2 weeks and 6 weeks. Contact your GP or PHN sooner if your baby does not startle to loud noises or does not look at faces. More in when is a baby no longer a newborn.

What are the 2 month milestones?

This is when the first real smiles arrive. By 2 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• lift their chest when lying on their tummy
• keep their head upright when you hold them
• hold a rattle or toy for a short time
• look at people who are talking and respond to your voice
• smile back at you when you smile at them

They may start cooing too.

Contact your GP or PHN if your baby:

• does not make eye contact when you speak to them
• does not watch and follow you with their eyes
• does not grasp objects placed in their hands
• cannot lift their head up for short periods

The first vaccines are at 2 months. More in our 2 month old guide.

What are the 3 month milestones?

By 3 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• have good control of their head when seated
• rest on their forearms when lying on their tummy
• bat at objects with their hands
• chuckle and echo the sounds of someone talking

Their cries start to vary, so hunger can sound different to pain.

Contact your GP or PHN if your baby:

• does not smile in response to others
• cannot hold their head up
• cannot push their chest up when on their tummy

Your PHN does a development check around now. More in our 3 month old guide.

What are the 4 month milestones?

By 4 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• hold their head steady in line with their body
• sit with their back supported on your lap
• reach for objects and look at what they are holding
• laugh out loud and make sounds like 'ah-goo'
• recognise their mum

They may also roll from their front to their back.

Contact your GP or PHN if your baby:

• does not make eye contact or follow things with their eyes
• does not grasp objects placed in their hands
• cannot hold their head steady, or lift it for short periods on their tummy
• does not coo or make sounds
• does not bring things to their mouth

The second vaccines are at 4 months. More in our 4 month old guide.

What are the 5 month milestones?

By 5 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• lift their head when sitting
• smile and make sounds at themselves in a mirror
• blow raspberries
• react to different tones of your voice, preferring calm and gentle
• reach out and grasp a dangling object

Contact your GP or PHN if your baby does not chuckle or laugh or does not reach for objects. More in our 5 month old guide.

What are the 6 month developmental milestones?

By 6 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• sit with support
• roll from their back to their front
• move things from one hand to the other
• babble sounds such as 'baba' and 'gagaga'
• show a preference for a particular person

They may also recognise familiar faces and get upset when they cannot see their main caregiver.

Contact your GP or PHN if your baby:

• does not reach for and grasp toys
• does not bring their hands to the middle of their body
• does not explore objects with their hands, eyes and mouth
• does not hold their head or shoulders up with control on their tummy or when sitting with support

The third vaccines are at 6 months. More in our 6 month old guide and our 0 to 6 months milestone guide.

What are the 7 to 8 month milestones?

By 7 months, the HSE says your baby will grasp a cube-shaped object between their fingers and palm, make random babbling sounds and be wary of people they do not know. They may sit without support and begin to recognise their name.

By 8 months, your baby will be able to:

• get themselves into a sitting position
• grasp a small object between their thumb and the side of their index finger
• pick an object up after it falls

They may say 'mama' or 'dada', although they might not know what these mean yet. Peek-a-boo can start now too.

Contact your GP or PHN if you are worried or if your baby is not sitting independently by 8 months. More in our 7 month old and 8 month old guides.

What are the 9 to 10 month milestones?

By 9 months, the HSE says your baby will:

• grasp a cube-shaped object using their thumb and fingertips
• begin to understand simple words like 'bye bye'
• copy actions like a wave
• lift a blanket to find a toy you have hidden

They may crawl on their hands and knees and pull themselves up to standing. Separation anxiety can also appear now.

By 10 months, your baby will use their index finger to poke at things. They may walk around furniture holding on, use gestures like clapping and waving and begin to understand 'no'.

Contact your GP or PHN if at 9 months your baby:

• is not holding objects or cannot move a toy from one hand to the other
• is not rolling
• is not sitting independently
• has not started to move around, for example bottom shuffling or crawling
• cannot take weight on their legs when held standing

More in our 9 month old guide.

What are the 11 to 12 month milestones?

By 11 months, the HSE says your baby may stand alone, pick up objects with their index finger and thumb, say their first word and point to ask for things.

By 12 months, your baby may:

• take their first steps without help
• use 'mama' and 'dada' in the right situations
• point at things they want to show you
• understand simple instructions like 'come here', though not every time

Notice how often that list says may. Not walking yet at 12 months is not one of the signs the HSE lists.

Contact your GP or PHN if at 12 months your baby:

• has no way of getting around on their own, such as crawling, commando crawling or bottom shuffling
• is not pulling to stand from sitting

For first words, see how a baby learns to communicate in the first year.

When should I worry about a missed milestone?

Try not to treat these lists like an exam. The HSE says the ages are an average and every child is different. Most children should be meeting these milestones, but all children develop at different rates. Some are slower and catch up over time. Others may have an underlying problem, which is why asking beats waiting.

At any age, contact your GP or PHN if:

• you are concerned about your baby's development
• your baby loses skills they had before

That second point appears at every age on the HSE lists, so we have not repeated it under each month. Your GP or PHN may carry out more tests or refer your baby to a specialist. As the HSE says, it is normal to feel worried and support is available.

Born early? Use their corrected age, explained in the questions below.

What developmental checks does my baby have in Ireland?

Every child in Ireland gets free HSE health and development checks from birth to 5 years. In the first year:

When	Who	What
Within 72 hours of birth	Doctor or specialist midwife	Newborn examination, including hips, heart, eyes and hearing
First days at home	PHN	Home visit to weigh and examine your baby
2 weeks and 6 weeks	GP	Baby checks, and your own check at 6 weeks
2, 4 and 6 months	GP or practice nurse	Vaccines
3 months	PHN	Development check at the health centre
9 to 11 months	PHN	Development check

At the 3 month check your PHN weighs and measures your baby and looks at alertness, smiling, head control, movement and how they use their hands. The 9 to 11 month check looks at sitting, crawling, hearing, babbling and gestures, along with diet, sleep and child safety.

If you or your PHN have concerns, they may ask you back or refer your baby for further assessment.

More in our guide to public health nurse visits. Our vaccine dates calculator works out your baby's vaccine dates.

How can I keep track of my baby's milestones?

When the PHN asks when your baby first rolled over, "a while ago?" is a very common answer. Lullagram lets you log milestones as they happen, so both parents have the dates to hand. It is free to try on Android, iPhone and web.

Baby milestones: common questions

Should my baby be walking at 12 months?

Not necessarily. The HSE says babies may take their first steps without help at 12 months. The signs to raise with your GP or PHN at 12 months are not pulling to stand from sitting and having no way of getting around on their own, such as crawling or bottom shuffling.

When do babies start to crawl?

The HSE says babies may crawl on their hands and knees by 9 months. Some bottom shuffle or commando crawl instead. Talk to your GP or PHN if your baby has not started to move around at all by 9 months.

When do babies say their first word?

The HSE says babies may say 'mama' or 'dada' at 8 months, though they might not know what these mean yet. By 11 to 12 months they may say their first word and use 'mama' and 'dada' in the right situations.

What if my baby was born premature?

Use their corrected age, which the HSE says is worked out from your due date. A 10 month old born 2 months early would be checked against the 8 month milestones. Most premature babies meet their milestones for their corrected age and grow up healthy.

The HSE has more on developmental milestones if you want the official guidance alongside the practical.