Chorevia

Day 51 of 60 · Week 7

The milestone look

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 9 sources · Plain-text version

The CDC's 2-month list as a gentle look at your baby, not a test: why 'wait and see' is out, and what to write down for the checkup, about you included.

A Black mother lies on her stomach on a living-room rug, chin on her hands, eye to eye with her seven-week-old lifting their head in tummy time, morning window light.

Seven weeks and a bit. Soon a checkup will ask what your baby can do. Today is a quiet preview, with no score.

Heart

In 2022, an AAP expert group revised CDC's milestone checklists to use only milestones that at least 75% of children reach by each age; the list shrank by about a quarter, and most milestones that changed ages moved later (Zubler et al., 2022). A missed one is a reason to check in, not to wait and see. You're taking notes, not grading.

Head

By 2 months, most babies calm down when spoken to or picked up, look at your face, seem happy to see you, and smile when you talk to or smile at them; make sounds other than crying and react to loud sounds; watch you as you move and look at a toy for several seconds; and hold their head up on their tummy, move both arms and both legs, and open their hands briefly (CDC).

Born early? Use corrected age, your baby's age in weeks minus the weeks they were born early, until age 2 (AAP).

Body

If something seems missing, CDC's advice is not to wait: talk with your pediatrician and ask about developmental screening (CDC). Your state's early intervention program will also do a free evaluation, with no referral or diagnosis needed (CDC).

Try today

  1. The same mother holds a soft red toy above her baby on a floor blanket while the father kneels beside them, jotting on a notepad.

    A milestone look, month two

    Time: 10 minutes, spread across the day, when your baby is alert · What's developing in the guide

    1. During a diaper change, talk to your baby and watch whether they look at your face and settle at your voice (CDC).

    2. On a floor blanket, tummy-down with you right there, watch whether they lift their head.

    3. Hold a toy where they can see it and notice whether they look at it for several seconds.

    4. Note what you saw, what you didn't, and what you're unsure about, for the 2-month visit.

    Make it work:

    No baby does everything on cue, and one try isn't a result.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a baby who studies your face but hasn't smiled yet; social smiles usually appear during the second month.

    Bring it up

    if there's no smile by the 2-month checkup (AAP).

  • Normal

    a head that wobbles and drops partway through tummy time.

    Tell your pediatrician

    if your baby can't lift their head at all on their tummy, or if both arms and both legs aren't moving (CDC).

  • Normal

    turning away when a toy comes too close.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if your baby looks or acts very sick, or you think they need to be seen urgently (AAP).

For you

The mother at a kitchen table with a mug and a notepad of questions, the baby asleep on their back in a bare bassinet beside her.

Write the checkup questions today, while they're fresh, then add two about you. The 2-month visit includes a depression screen for the birthing parent (AAP, 2025), because perinatal depression can be treated effectively (Earls et al., 2019). "How I'm sleeping" and "how I'm feeling" belong on the list next to the baby's.

A headache that won't go away, overwhelming tiredness, or a sense that something just isn't right shouldn't wait for an appointment: talk to your health care provider, and tell any provider you were pregnant within the last year (CDC).

If you're the partner: add your own observations to the note, about the baby and, kindly, about her.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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