First month: Newborns focus on feeding, sleeping, and a blurry vision. Expect sleep in 1.5–3‑hour cycles and frequent burping.
Second month: Reflexes sharpen; babies begin tracking objects and producing soft cooing sounds. Parents can read slight facial expressions.
Third month: Sitting up briefly with support, head control improves, and babbling turns into vowel sounds. Expect increased eye contact.
Fourth month: Rolling over both directions, a baby may attempt to reach for toys, and their grasp reflex turns intentional. Speech begins to mimic tones.
Fifth month: Independent sitting becomes possible, and babbling turns to consonant sounds. They start recognizing familiar faces and begin to smile with joy.
Sixth month: Rolling, crawling, and pulling to stand appear. Speech is now a mix of babble and simple words like “mama” or “dada.” Social play increases.
Seventh month: Creeping or early crawling is common; they understand object permanence and may pick up tiny objects. Fine motor skills improve.
Eighth month: Stands with support, may toddle, and uses simple gestures. Language uses around 5–10 recognizable words.