What to Expect - Pediatric Milestones

Con­grat­u­la­tions on your bun­dle of joy! It’s incred­i­ble to see the many changes your child has gone through in their first weeks and months of life. We know you’re excit­ed to see how they will con­tin­ue to grow in the months and years ahead. Your child’s reg­u­lar appoint­ments with their pedi­atric provider will allow them to become more famil­iar with each oth­er and build a close relationship. 

With each new month, brings new mile­stones for your lit­tle one. Here we share the most com­mon mile­stones through two years of age. 

Two-Month Pedi­atric Milestones 

• Smile
• Bring hands togeth­er in midline
• Fix and fol­low with eyes
• Grasp fin­ger

Four-Month Pedi­atric Milestones

• Reach for objects
• Laugh
• Squeal
• When prone (on stom­ach) get chest up with arm support

Six-Month Pedi­atric Milestones

• Play peek-a-boo
• Feed them­self crackers
• Pick up small objects using a rake approach
• Trans­fer objects
• Bab­ble (repet­i­tive sounds)
• Sit with­out support
• Stand hold­ing onto object for support

Nine-Month Pedi­atric Milestones 

• Show ini­tial anx­i­ety with stranger
• Play pat-a-cake
• Begin to pick up small objects using a pinch­er grip (fin­ger-thumb)
• Imi­tate speech sounds
• Get to a sit­ting posi­tion alone
• Pull to a stand
• Fur­ni­ture walk

12-Month Pedi­atric Milestones 

• Walk
• Drink from a cup
• Play ball
• Stoop and recover
• Turn when name is called
• Use pinch­er grasp to pick up small objects
• Say ​“Ma-Ma” or ​“Da-Da”, spe­cif­ic to the person
• Point to objects

15-Month Pedi­atric Milestones

• Use a spoon by self 
• Imi­tate housework 
• Put small objects into large ones
• Scrib­ble
• Begin to use more words
• Wave bye-bye

18-Month Pedi­atric Milestones

• Remove cloth­ing
• Know some body parts
• Increase vocab­u­lary to 7 – 20 words
• Climb stairs
• Walk back­wards
• Build a tow­er with blocks (two to four blocks)

24-Month Pedi­atric Milestones

• Put on clothing
• Imi­tate or draw ver­ti­cal lines
• Com­bine two to three words
• Jump
• Ride a tricycle
• Kick a ball 

Our pedi­a­tri­cians and fam­i­ly med­i­cine providers are here to guide you and your child every step of the way in their devel­op­ment. Keep in mind that every child is dif­fer­ent. At each appoint­ment, you and your pedi­a­tri­cian or fam­i­ly med­i­cine doc­tor will work togeth­er to under­stand how your baby is pro­gress­ing at each check-up. 

Sched­ule your child’s upcom­ing well-vis­it with one of our Duly Health and Care Pedi­a­tri­cians or Fam­i­ly Med­i­cine Doc­tors today >