What Can My Baby Do At 2 Months?

Baby Development 2 Months

Things Most Babies Do By 2 Months

It is an exciting thing to watch our baby develop and grow up. Did you also know that by observing how your baby plays, learns, speaks, acts and moves, you can detect development issues early on? There are things that most babies can do at a certain age, and we can compare our baby’s progress with them to get an idea if they are growing well.

The original article can be found from the CDC [source]. Our post guides you on how to help your baby achieve each of the milestones stated there based on what we’ve learned in college and applied to our boy when he was 2 months old.

We make a development milestone checklist, and whenever our baby achieves the milestone, we check it off, he has done it! Our baby didn’t do all these things the moment he hit 2 months, some he did at the end of 3 months which is ok too. The development list is split among 4 main categories (black) with its subcategory (blue). Consult your baby’s pediatrician if he is has not achieved the milestones by the end of 4 months.

Social / Emotional

Starts to smile at people

What we do is bring our baby to a mirror, and we make ourselves excited and smile when he makes any kind of sounds. Playing peek-a-boo with him is another way to help.

Can occasionally calm him/herself

Most babies suck their fingers to calm themselves. In the beginning, he may not know how hence we bring his finger to his mouth. For other babies, they may calm themselves by grabbing their favorite toy. Sometimes, when he begins to show a sad face, we will cheer him up by making happy/funny faces, this can help him in learning how to calm himself. On a side note, around the 3rd or 4th month you can place his favorite toy near him. He should be able to grab onto things by then, and he can comfort himself by grabbing his favorite toy!

Tries to look at the parent

Carry him to the mirror and introduce yourself to him through it. The reason why we use mirrors is that it is a curious thing for them, and they can look at themselves. Introduce him to your spouse the same way too.

Language / Communication

Starts making baby sounds or noises

When your baby makes sounds, copy it! Talk to them with proper language as well, and you can sing to them too. One of the things we do is as we are doing something for him, such as changing his diapers, bathing him, changing his clothes, we will tell him what we are doing. Be real when talking to them, and they will respond. We strongly encourage you to speak in proper language, don’t baby speak (also known as motherese)

Can turn his head towards sounds

Take toys with sounds and try to attract his attention. During tummy time, you can also lift the toy just a bit higher to encourage him to lift their head. 

Cognitive (Learning, Thinking, Problem-Solving)

Pays attention to faces

Maintain eye contact and communicate with him. If he moves his focus away, either move his focus back to you or move yourself to be in his sights, continue to talk.

Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance

Keep some distance and call his name or make sounds to attract his attention.

Begins to act bored, and may cry or become fussy if the activity doesn’t change

For this, you need to observe. Do something repetitively, and if he starts to act bored, cries or gets fussy, carry him up or change your activity. If he becomes ok, try the whole thing again. For this item, you may need to observe a few times before giving him a pass, because sometimes he is just merely tired or hungry.

Movement / Physical Development

During tummy time, he can hold his head up and begin to push up

Some basic things to know about tummy time. Make sure he is not tired, hungry, or has just finished his meal. 

Place him on his tummy, make sure his hands are in front of him so that he can support himself. You can also put a nursing pillow underneath his chest, while both elbows are on it too, this can give him more support, so he doesn’t tire as quickly. 

Can move his hands and legs

Nothing much here, by now he should be able to make small movements with his hands and legs. You can help him by tying helium balloons on his hands and legs, and your baby will get excited and move more. 

Things To Watch Out

Here are some things to be aware of. You may want to consult your baby’s pediatrician (his doctor) if he is still showing any of these signs by the end of 2 months.

  • Doesn’t respond to loud sounds
  • Doesn’t watch things (follow objects with eyes) as they move
  • Doesn’t smile at people
  • Doesn’t bring his hands to mouth
  • Cannot hold his head up when pushing up during tummy time

Comment below if you face any challenges or have questions. We learned about this in college in the early childhood education course and applied this to our son Nathan. We have another article for 4-6 months old development milestones, come back again when the time comes 🙂

J&E

James & Esther have been married for three years, have a baby boy named Nathan. Esther has a diploma in early childhood education and has been taking care of babies and toddlers since her early teens. She was a kindergarten and school teacher for many years, but today, she is a full-time mom taking care of Nathan at home while furthering her studies in early childhood education.

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