Every month with a new baby will bring something new & exciting. Here’s a guide to how little ones grow & develop from birth to 18 months
There’s no doubt that parenting is a rollercoaster ride, but the love you feel for your precious new baby will make the sleepless nights and endless nappies worth it. Your baby will develop so fast – from a tiny, newborn to a squealing, smiling, boisterous baby with a distinctive personality.
You'll change as you get to grips with all the thrills and spills of being a parent, too. Discover the exciting baby milestones ahead, plus some tips for supporting your little one’s development, in our guide to the first 18 months.
What are developmental milestones?
From lifting their own head and eating solid foods, to taking their first steps and saying their first word, there are so many milestones to look forward to as your baby grows into a toddler.
In short, developmental milestones are things a child can do by a certain age. This can include:
- Physical development – such as learning to use their hands (fine motor skills) or learning to crawl
- Social and emotional development – how they interact with and depend on people around them
- Cognitive development – thinking skills
- Language and communication development – learning to talk and understand words
- Sensory development – how they experience the world through the five senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell)
Every child is unique and will develop new skills at their own pace, so it’s important not to get too caught up in exactly when they’ve reached a new milestone. However, knowing what milestones to expect and roughly when these might happen can help you understand if your child is on track or whether they may need extra support.
How to track babies’ development milestones
There are many ways to track how your baby is developing in their early years. You may find it easy to write down the details and dates of when your little one has hit a new milestone in their Personal Child Health Record (PCHR) – also known as the ‘red book’.
This is a book, usually with a red cover, which you should receive just before or after your baby is born. It’s where important details such as your child’s height, weight and vaccinations are recorded, and you can also add details of milestones and any illnesses or accidents your child has experienced.
It’s a good idea to take this along to any health reviews or check-ups your child has so you can discuss their health and development and any concerns you have.
You could also keep track of milestones by writing them down in a journal or on a calendar, as well as taking lots of photos and videos to celebrate your little one’s achievements. Many parents or carers like to make memory boxes filled with photos or items that help them reminisce on all the special moments their child has had as they’ve grown up.
For help with understanding what milestones to look out for, here’s a guide to where your little one may be from birth to 18 months.
0-6 months
In the first six months, your baby will be getting to know the world and all the wonderful faces around them. You’ll be amazed at the changes you see in your baby week-by-week.
Before you know it, they’ll have gone from a 10-hour-old newborn to a 10-week-old newborn, all the way up to a six-month-old baby who may be smiling, reaching for objects around them and starting to support some of their own weight.
0-3 months
By approximately three months, most babies will begin to:
- Lift their head and chest when they’re on their tummy
- Keep their head straight when they’re on their back
- Move their arms, legs and hands, and grab onto fingers or objects that touch their hand
- Suck on a breast or bottle and look around (root) when they’re hungry
- Smile
- Gaze at people’s faces
- Make sounds with their voice
- Cry when they’re uncomfortable or stressed
3-6 months
By approximately six months, most babies will begin to:
- Hold their head up more when they’re on their tummy and support their head when held in a sitting position
- Hold more of their own weight on their legs when held in a standing position
- Roll from their tummy to their back and vice versa
- Reach towards objects and use their head, hands and mouth to inspect them
- Smile more easily, including smiling at themselves in a mirror
- Follow moving objects with their eyes and start to recognise familiar objects and people from a distance
- Make more sounds like babbling, cooing, ‘”ahh”, “ehh” and sometimes even laughing, giggling and squealing
- Show awareness of the tone people around them speak in, such as happiness or annoyance
6-12 months
As your baby approaches their first birthday, there’ll be a lot of big changes, from eating solid foods, to starting to crawl and maybe even taking their first wobbly steps or saying their first word, in some cases.
6-9 months
By approximately nine months, most babies will begin to:
- Get themselves into a sitting position and sit without being supported
- Stand whilst holding onto you or furniture (some babies may be able to pull themselves into a standing position, but this varies)
- Grab objects such as toys or bottles and move them between their hands
- Put their feet in their mouths and know how to feed themselves finger food
- Make simple sounds that copy speech patterns, like “ma” or “da”
- Respond to their own name and show understanding of words like “no”
9-12 months
By approximately 12 months, most babies will begin to:
- Crawl and may stand by themselves, walk with support or take a few steps by themselves (but this varies a lot at this age)
- Pick up objects with their finger and thumb (known as pincer grip)
- Bang objects together, let go of objects voluntarily and put them in and out of containers
- Drink from a cup without help
- Understand when they’re being asked to do something, like giving back a toy
- Use their voice more and may say their first words like “mama” or “dada” or “no” (this most often happens between 12 and 18 months)
12-18 months
Suddenly, your little one isn’t so little anymore and they’re moving from a baby to a toddler. This is an exciting time as their personality starts to shine through and they get more confident with talking, walking and sometimes even starting to run and kick a ball. There might be a tantrum or two, as well!
12-15 months
By approximately 15 months, most babies will begin to:
- Stand and may bend over and back up again without help
- Walk, in some cases (this varies and could happen closer to 18 months)
- Use their hands more, such as holding a spoon, scribbling with a crayon, pointing, clapping or stacking blocks on top of one another
- Understand words like “no” and be able to shake their head to express “no”
- Understand the concept of “me” and “mine”
- Copy the actions of their family members
15-18 months
By approximately 18 months, most babies will begin to:
- Walk alone, and may try to run, climb on furniture or kick a ball, in some cases
- Take off clothes like socks, shoes or gloves
- Know where things belong and like to ‘help’ by copying family doing household jobs like putting things away
- Try to turn pages in a book and start to point to well-known things like body parts or cars
- Wave hello or goodbye
- Say around 10 words (though this varies)
- Claim things as belonging to them
- Understand and like having a routine
What to do if you’re concerned about your child’s development
As mentioned earlier, every child develops at their own pace and the ages listed above are only a guide to the approximate time most children reach certain development milestones.
That being said, it’s common to have concerns if you feel your child isn’t developing as expected, or if they seem behind their peers with certain milestones.
You know your child best, so if you feel that something isn’t right for their age, it’s best to make an appointment with your GP to discuss their development further.
Tips for supporting children’s development
Children’s development is all influenced by the world around them, including how they play, move and interact with other people. Here are some common ways to help support them:
Tummy time
This is exactly what it says on the tin and involves giving your baby plenty of time lying on their tummy to help develop their back, neck and shoulders and build up motor skills. Think of it as the step before crawling.
You can learn more about why it’s so important in our article on tummy time.
Talking to your baby & responding to them
Even when your baby won’t be able to speak back, it’s important to talk to them regularly. Whether it’s mimicking the sounds they’re making, pointing to objects and naming them, reading them a story or laughing with them, the more they hear sounds and repeated words, the more they’ll start to mimic you and understand what you’re saying. Before you know it, they’ll be saying their first words!
Playtime
Playtime isn’t just fun for babies and toddlers, it helps them develop fine motor skills, imagination and creativity. There are plenty of baby toys available at Boots to help encourage their development.
Playing with your baby can be a great bonding experience while also helping them build up social skills. As they grow, try to encourage them to pick up and drop objects or use toys that require two hands to help develop coordination.
Find things that will also stimulate their senses such as rattles that make a sound or mobiles they can gaze up at from their crib.
Moving to solid foods
When your little one is around six months old, they’ll usually be ready for their first solid foods, which is an important milestone that’ll help them develop taste buds and fine motor skills when they start to feed themselves. Here’s a guide on how to wean your baby from milk to solids.
Baby-proof your home
Your little one will soon be on the move and curious about everything! That’s why it’s so important to baby-proof your home to give them a safe environment to explore and help avoid any accidents.
From installing stairgates to keeping harmful cleaning products and medicines out of little one’s reach, here are some top tips for babyproofing your home.
Attend your child’s health & development reviews
From birth, your child will be offered regular health and development reviews through the NHS at key stages of their early life. These are a great opportunity to not only check up on their physical health, but to also check how they’re developing overall and if they’re reaching milestones as expected.
Be sure to attend these and take along any notes and questions you’ve recorded in your Personal Child Health Record (PCHR). If you’re not sure when these need to happen, you can check with your GP.
In all the excitement of watching your little one grow up, don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. After all, adjusting to life as a new parent is a major change that will also have a big impact on your own development as a person. We share plenty of advice on our New Parent Hub including some tips on mindful parenting and much more…
FAQs
When do babies start talking?
It varies for every baby, but most often this happens between the ages of 12 and 18 months. They will usually start with simple words like “mama”, “dada” and “no”.
At what age does a child become self-aware?
Children start to become self-aware and able to recognise that the reflection they see in the mirror is themselves between the ages of 15 and 24 months. This continues to develop as they get older.
When can a baby hold its head up?
This is a skill that develops over time. Here’s a guide to when and how much babies can usually lift their head up in the first six months:
- Around one month – a baby may be able to briefly raise their head when they’re lying on their tummy
- Around three months – a baby may be able to lift their head up by approximately 45 degrees when they're on their tummy
- Around four months – a baby may be able to lift their head up by approximately 90 degrees when on their tummy
- Around six months – a baby may be able to lift their head fully and hold it up without support
When does a baby recognise a mum?
Babies can in fact recognise the sound of their mother’s voice before they’re born from as early as 16 weeks in the womb. After birth, they may start to recognise the presence of their mum around them by the time they’re two weeks old, and they usually start to smile at their primary caregivers between four and six weeks.
