A four-Domain picture at 2 months
Movement/Physical Development
Your baby is beginning to control their head, arms, and legs more actively. Briefly lifting the head, stretching the body, and opening the hands are early ways of changing position and moving toward something interesting.
Cognitive
Your baby may look at faces and striking objects for longer and follow nearby movement. At this age, cognitive development is more visible in attending, searching, and repeating an interesting experience than in completing a task.
Social/Emotional
Your baby still relies on a familiar adult's voice, touch, and holding to settle. Their gaze, movement, and different cries also communicate needs, while regulation continues to happen mainly within a steady relationship.
Language/Communication
Your baby notices sounds and begins making sounds beyond crying. They are starting to experience a simple back-and-forth: I make a sound, and someone responds. Listening, vocalizing, and response already belong to early communication.
How to use this page
Developmental Milestones are foundational reference points that Better Parenting has aligned with the level about 75% of children can do by this age. Whole-child development Skills come from Growth Paths across four Domains and 31 Sub-Domains. They offer further directions for growth beyond the foundation—not expectations that every child should already meet every item or be ahead in every Sub-Domain.
This page contains 14 formal Milestones drawn from the CDC and UNICEF resources linked below. Not observing one item yet is not, by itself, a reason to panic. Continue noticing it during ordinary care, play, and conversation rather than turning the page into a concentrated test.
How to read the historical status
The icons summarize Milestone Assessments submitted by Better Parenting parents:
- ✅ Observed for nearly all: fewer than 10% were marked not yet observed.
- 🆗 Observed for most: 10% to under 20% were marked not yet observed.
- ⚠️ Not yet observed for many: 20% to 40% were marked not yet observed.
- ⛔ Not yet observed for a large share: more than 40% were marked not yet observed.
The largest valid sample for a single Milestone on this page is 702 children. These historical product data help families interpret the page and help Better Parenting improve its content. They are not estimates for the general child population and cannot be used for diagnosis.
Movement/Physical Development
Foundational Milestones
Holds head up when on tummy
Gross Motor | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: In a safe, familiar setting, notice whether your baby holds head up when on tummy. Focus on the movement they initiate and organize, and provide the support the situation requires rather than moving their body through the action as a test.
Explore the Gross Motor Growth Path
Moves both arms and both legs
Gross Motor | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: In a safe, familiar setting, notice whether your baby moves both arms and both legs. Focus on the movement they initiate and organize, and provide the support the situation requires rather than moving their body through the action as a test.
Explore the Gross Motor Growth Path
Opens hands briefly
Fine Motor | CDC | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: In a safe, familiar setting, notice whether your baby opens hands briefly. Focus on the movement they initiate and organize, and provide the support the situation requires rather than moving their body through the action as a test.
Explore the Fine Motor Growth Path
Cognitive
Foundational Milestones
Watches you as you move
Emergent Mathematical Thinking | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During familiar play or daily life, notice whether your baby watches you as you move. Leave time to respond and use what happens next as part of what you observe instead of repeating the situation until one expected answer appears.
Explore the Emergent Mathematical Thinking Growth Path
Looks at a toy for several seconds
Exploration and Discovery | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During familiar play or daily life, notice whether your baby looks at a toy for several seconds. Leave time to respond and use what happens next as part of what you observe instead of repeating the situation until one expected answer appears.
Explore the Exploration and Discovery Growth Path
Paying attention to the faces they see
Emergent Mathematical Thinking | UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During familiar play or daily life, notice whether your baby is paying attention to the faces they see. Leave time to respond and use what happens next as part of what you observe instead of repeating the situation until one expected answer appears.
Explore the Emergent Mathematical Thinking Growth Path
Social/Emotional
Foundational Milestones
Starting to get fussy if they're feeling bored
Emotional Functioning | UNICEF | ⚠️ Not yet observed for many
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby is starting to get fussy if they're feeling bored. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Emotional Functioning Growth Path
Calms down when spoken to or picked up
Emotional Functioning | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby calms down when spoken to or picked up. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Emotional Functioning Growth Path
Looks at your face
Relationships with Adults | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby looks at your face. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Relationships with Adults Growth Path
Seems happy to see you when you walk up to her
Relationships with Adults | CDC + UNICEF | ⚠️ Not yet observed for many
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby seems happy to see you when you walk up to them. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Relationships with Adults Growth Path
Smiles when you talk to or smile at her
Relationships with Adults | CDC + UNICEF | 🆗 Observed for most
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby smiles when you talk to or smile at them. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Relationships with Adults Growth Path
Can self-soothe by sucking on their hand
Emotional Functioning | UNICEF | 🆗 Observed for most
What to notice: During a comfortable, familiar interaction, notice whether your baby can self-soothe by sucking on their hand. Understand the behavior alongside the people, feeling, and sequence around it rather than drawing a conclusion from one isolated response.
Explore the Emotional Functioning Growth Path
Language/Communication
Foundational Milestones
Makes sounds other than crying
Communicating and Speaking | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During an ordinary exchange, notice whether your baby makes sounds other than crying. Gaze, gesture, sound, language, and what happens next can all clarify the communication; avoid requiring the behavior on cue as a test.
Explore the Communicating and Speaking Growth Path
Reacts to loud sounds
Attending and Understanding | CDC + UNICEF | ✅ Observed for nearly all
What to notice: During an ordinary exchange, notice whether your baby reacts to loud sounds. Gaze, gesture, sound, language, and what happens next can all clarify the communication; avoid requiring the behavior on cue as a test.
Explore the Attending and Understanding Growth Path
Common questions
Which age should I use if my child was born early?
For a child born more than 3 weeks early, the CDC recommends using corrected age when checking Milestones until age 2. Children differ, so you can also discuss the full pattern at a well-child visit.
Sources and notes
- Developmental Milestones: CDC Milestones near 2 months and UNICEF early childhood development resources. Better Parenting aligns its integrated formal list with a foundational reference level reached by about 75% of children by the stated age.
- Historical status comes from Milestone Assessments parents voluntarily submitted in Better Parenting. “Not yet observed” combines uncertain and not-yet responses; unanswered items are excluded from the denominator.
- Whole-child development Skills are reused directly from the 31 published Sub-Domain Growth Paths. A Skill is not repeated in the further-development section when the same Skill already anchors a Milestone at this age.
- Activity cards use an A-first, B-fallback policy. The English site renders a card only when the corresponding English Activity is release-ready; card title and introduction come from the canonical Activity translation rather than this page.
- This page supports understanding, observation, and everyday interaction. It does not replace developmental screening, medical advice, or diagnosis. If your child loses a skill they previously used, or if you remain concerned about development, contact your child’s pediatrician or another qualified healthcare professional.
- Better Parenting Content Team | Updated September 2, 2026 | Human language review pending; publication permission is tracked separately.