Baby Milestones by Age: 2 Months to 2 Years at a Glance
“Is this normal?” might be the most-Googled question of the first two years. The honest answer is that normal is a wide, generous range, and milestones are checkpoints on a journey, not a race. This guide shows the big ones at a glance, using the same CDC checkpoints Tiny Footprints tracks in the app.
How to read this timeline
These highlights come from the CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program, which lists things most children (75% or more) do by each age. That framing matters: it is not an average, so a baby hitting these right on time is comfortably in the middle of the pack, not ahead of or behind it. If your baby was born early, count from the due date rather than the birth date for the first two years; your pediatrician will do the same.
Each milestone below belongs to one of four areas of development:
The milestone timeline
2 months
- Smiles when you talk or smile at them
- Makes sounds other than crying
- Watches you as you move
- Holds head up during tummy time
4 months
- Chuckles or laughs
- Makes sounds like "ooo" and "aah"
- Reaches for a toy they want
- Holds head steady without support
6 months
- Knows familiar people
- Takes turns making sounds with you
- Puts things in their mouth to explore
- Rolls from tummy to back
9 months
- Looks when you call their name
- Babbles strings like "mamamama" and "babababa"
- Looks for objects that drop out of sight
- Sits without support
1 year
- Plays games with you, like pat-a-cake
- Calls a parent "mama" or "dada"
- Looks for things they watch you hide
- Pulls up to stand and cruises along furniture
15 months
- Shows you an object they like
- Tries to say one or two words besides mama or dada
- Uses things the right way: cup to drink, phone to ear
- Takes a few steps on their own
18 months
- Points to show you something interesting
- Tries to say three or more words
- Copies you doing chores
- Walks without holding on to anything
2 years
- Notices when others are hurt or upset
- Says at least two words together, like "more milk"
- Explores switches, knobs, and buttons
- Runs, and kicks a ball
These are highlights, four per age. The full CDC checklists run to a dozen or so items per checkpoint, and the Milestones tab in Tiny Footprints carries every one of them, organized by the same four areas.
What “act early” actually means
Some milestones carry extra weight. The CDC flags certain items where, if your baby has not reached them by the checkpoint age, it is worth a conversation with your pediatrician: things like not smiling back by 2 months, not sitting with support by 9 months, or not walking independently by 18 months. Tiny Footprints marks these the same way the CDC does.
Two things worth holding onto here:
- Acting early is not sounding an alarm. Most conversations end with reassurance, and when support is useful, earlier genuinely is better. Nobody has ever regretted asking.
- One missed milestone is a data point, not a diagnosis. Pediatricians look at the whole picture: the trend across areas, not a single checkbox.
How the app keeps the checklist honest
Memory is the least reliable tool a sleep-deprived parent owns, which is why the milestone tracking in Tiny Footprints works from your logs. Log a milestone when it happens, with a photo if you can catch one, and the CDC checklist in the Insights tab checks itself off. The app also nudges you with photo prompts on week, month, and birthday anniversaries, so the record builds itself while you get to just enjoy the moment. At checkup time, you walk in with dates instead of guesses.