What’s next

Early development and 2-month milestones

By around 2 months, many babies are more alert and responsive: they look at faces, begin to smile back, make sounds besides crying, and show a little more head control. These milestones are broad guides, not deadlines, and development does not move in a perfectly straight line.

Full guide

The dated summary changes with the card you choose. The complete reference below stays available for context and safety.

Right now: early signs are brief

In the early newborn weeks, quiet-alert moments may be short. Movements can look jerky or reflexive, hands may often be closed, and the head still needs full support. Baby may study a nearby face or voice for only a moment before looking away, feeding, fussing, or falling asleep.

Over the first few months, newborn reflexes gradually give way to more controlled movement and interest in people. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guide to 1–4 month development describes this as a transition, not a skill set a newborn should already have.

What may change over the coming weeks

During the first month: baby may spend a little longer watching and listening to people. A grin may still be reflexive or happen during sleep; gradually, expressions begin to respond more clearly to a familiar face or voice.
During the second month: a social smile may appear when you talk or smile. Baby may seem pleased when you approach, calm when spoken to or picked up, and start making small sounds other than crying. The AAP’s birth-to-3-month social development guide notes that early grins become more genuine social signals during this month.
As 2 months approaches: baby may watch you move, look at a toy for a few seconds, and react to a loud sound. Look for responses during ordinary, calm, awake moments rather than repeatedly trying to produce one.
By about 2 months: during awake, supervised tummy time, baby may hold their head up briefly. They may move both arms and both legs and open their hands for short periods.

These are the current CDC milestones by 2 months. A recognizable transition is repetition: a look, smile, sound, or head lift begins to happen in more than one ordinary interaction, even if it is not consistent yet.

Reassuring progress

Look for a growing cluster of responses across the weeks, not one perfect performance:

Baby looks at a close face and sometimes watches a person move.
Your voice or touch sometimes helps baby settle.
Smiles, coos, or other non-crying sounds begin to join crying as ways to respond.
Baby reacts to sound and looks at a simple toy for a few seconds.
Both arms and both legs move, hands open at times, and head lifting starts during tummy time.

Baby does not need to show every skill in every alert window. A pattern that becomes easier to notice over time is more useful than one sleepy, hungry, or fussy moment.

When to call or get help

Call the pediatrician

Bring questions about looking, hearing, sounds, movement, or social responses to the 2-month visit.
If baby was born early or has special health needs, ask how the milestone checklist should be interpreted for them.
Ask about developmental screening if your observations and the checklist do not match.

Get prompt medical advice

Contact the pediatrician rather than waiting for another milestone age if, by about 2 months, baby is not meeting one or more CDC checklist items; if baby loses a skill they previously used; or if you are concerned about how baby sees, hears, responds, or moves. The CDC recommends acting early, sharing the concern, and asking about developmental screening or referral when needed.

Get urgent help now

A milestone difference alone is not usually an emergency. But do not wait for another milestone age if baby seems acutely ill: for a baby 3 months or younger, a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher needs an immediate call to the pediatrician, even without other symptoms. For trouble breathing, unresponsiveness, or another immediate emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. See the AAP guidance on fever in babies and the site’s when-to-get-medical-help guide.

Usually not a worry

A smile that is not social yet: reflexive grins can come first. A smile in response to your face or voice often becomes clearer during the second month.
Looking away: babies take breaks from faces and interaction. Offer a quieter moment instead of trying to hold their gaze.
A brief, wobbly head lift: the 2-month milestone is holding the head up during tummy time, not keeping it steady without support; that steadier control is a later skill.
An uneven pace: social, sound, looking, and movement skills may not arrive together. A persistent missing skill at 2 months, loss of a skill, or a clear concern about one side of the body changes the advice—call the pediatrician.

Useful today

During a calm, awake moment, bring your face close, talk or sing softly, then pause and give baby time to respond.
Offer short, supervised tummy-time tries while baby is awake; stop when baby needs a break.
Let baby look at a simple high-contrast picture or safe toy, moving it slowly rather than expecting them to follow it.
Near the 2-month visit, note a few examples of how baby looks, listens, sounds, and moves; write down any concern.
Use the CDC checklist as a conversation starter, not a daily test or comparison with another baby.