Baby's First Year
Month 2 — Smiles That Will Destroy You
Baby This Month
approximately 55–60cm and 4.5–5.5kg
Month 2 brings the moment every parent is waiting for: the first real social smile. Not a wind smile — a genuine, eyes-lighting-up response to your face and voice. It's one of the most rewarding moments in the whole first year. Your baby is also becoming much more alert and interactive — tracking moving objects with their eyes, turning their head toward sounds, and making little cooing sounds back when you talk to them. On the physical side, they're gaining more control of their head during tummy time and can hold it up briefly. Their hands are still mostly fisted but occasionally open.
The 6–8 week check with your GP is an important one — it covers your baby's growth, feeding, hip stability, heart and eye checks, and your own postnatal recovery. This is also when vaccinations begin in most countries: typically the first doses of DTaP, polio, Hib, hepatitis B, and rotavirus. Vaccines can cause mild fussiness and a low-grade temperature for 24–48 hours — this is a normal immune response. Your baby needs 14–17 hours of sleep per day at this age, though it's split into short stretches.
Your baby's brain is adding neural connections at a rate that will never happen again in their lifetime. In the first year, the brain doubles in size — and most of that growth is driven by the experiences you're giving your baby right now: eye contact, talking, responding to their sounds, holding them. Every interaction is literally building their brain. You can't spoil a baby in these early months — you can only build them up.
Talk to your baby constantly — narrate your day, describe what you're doing, repeat words often. This serve-and-return communication is the single most powerful thing you can do for language development. Babies whose parents talk to them more have significantly larger vocabularies by age 2. You don't need flashcards or apps — just your voice and your attention.
If you're formula feeding, you don't need to sterilise every time after the first few months — but always use freshly boiled water that has cooled, and make up feeds fresh rather than storing pre-made formula.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Read full disclaimer
The 6-week check is for the birthing parent too, not just the baby — be supportive and encourage honest answers about physical and mental recovery. Postnatal depression affects 1 in 5 parents.
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