The Ultimate Guide To Baby's First Year Milestones: What To Expect

Every baby does this in their own order and their own time. This is a rough map, not a race, and plenty of happy, healthy babies arrive at each stage weeks either side of the ranges below.

For anything that worries you, your health visitor and the NHS red book are the people to ask. This guide is here for the fun bit: knowing roughly what's coming, and keeping hold of it before it disappears.

0 to 3 months

• Focusing on faces from about 20-30cm away, which is roughly the distance to yours while feeding.
• The first proper social smile, usually somewhere around six to eight weeks.
• Lifting the head during tummy time, wobbling, then holding it a little longer each week.
• Cooing and gurgling back at you - the very start of taking turns in conversation.
• Following a moving object with their eyes across the middle of their body.

3 to 6 months

• Rolling front to back, then back to front, often when you've stepped away for a second.
• Grabbing and shaking things, then posting every single one of them into their mouth.
• Proper belly laughs, usually at something extremely unfunny.
• Pushing up on straight arms during tummy time.
• Sitting propped up with cushions, then briefly on their own.

6 to 9 months

• Sitting unsupported, freeing both hands for mischief.
• Starting solids alongside milk - usually from around six months in the UK.
• Babbling in strings: bababa, dadada, mamama, not yet aimed at anyone.
• Passing a toy from one hand to the other.
• Shuffling, commando crawling or rolling across the room with real intent.

9 to 12 months

• Pulling to stand on the sofa, the cot bars and your leg.
• Cruising along the furniture, then a few free steps for some babies before one.
• A first meaningful word, which is very often the dog's name.
• Waving, pointing and clapping - the beginning of sharing attention with you.
• Pincer grip: thumb and finger, deployed mainly on fluff from the carpet.

The milestones nobody puts in the book

• The first night they sleep long enough that you wake up worried.
• The first time they recognise you across a room and light up.
• The first food they genuinely love, and the first they spit across the kitchen.
• The first time someone else makes them laugh.
• The first haircut, the first paddling pool, the first Christmas they sleep through.

How to record it without a huge journal

• Use a pack of milestone cards in the monthly photo - the date does the remembering for you.
• Keep one note on your phone and add a line whenever something happens. Two minutes a month beats a blank journal.
• Take the same photo in the same chair each month so the growth is obvious.
• Save one voice note of the babbling. You will forget the sound faster than the face.
• Print a handful at the end of the year rather than leaving 4,000 photos on your phone.

Shop new baby cards

How to write it so it lands

• Photograph the ordinary days too. The staged ones are lovely; the messy ones are the ones you cry at later.
• Write the date on the back of anything you keep - handprints, cards, hospital tags.
• Compare your baby with your baby last month, never with anyone else's.

Where to shop next

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• Maternity leave gift ideas
• How to make a DIY baby hamper
• Unique baby shower gift ideas
• DIY baby milestone photos at home
• Newborn baby gift ideas
• What to write in a new baby card
• Shop new baby cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• Birthday badges & party pins
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Party bag ideas for adults
• How much helium do you need for balloons?
• Wedding cards
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• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the main baby milestones in the first year?

Smiling and head control in the first three months, rolling and grabbing by six months, sitting and babbling by nine months, and pulling to stand, first words and sometimes first steps by twelve months.

When do babies usually start walking?

Most babies walk somewhere between 10 and 18 months. Walking after their first birthday is completely normal and not a sign of anything being wrong.

Should I worry if my baby is behind on milestones?

Ranges are wide and babies skip stages all the time. If something is worrying you, talk to your health visitor or GP - that's exactly what they're there for.

How do you keep track of baby milestones?

A monthly photo with a milestone card, one running note on your phone, and a few printed photos at the end of the year covers it without any pressure.

Do you sell baby milestone cards?

No. We design and print greeting cards, enamel pin badges, prints and party decorations, all posted from the UK. Milestone card packs and anything else mentioned here are outside recommendations, not things we stock.