Stage1–2 m
1-2 months
The first real smile shows up in this window
Your baby starts being present: looking at you, turning towards your voice. This is also peak crying, often called the colic period, which builds to around six weeks and then eases on its own.
What to feed
- Milk
- Breastfed: 7-9 times a day. Formula: 90-120ml per feed, 6-7 times a day.
- Meal pattern
- Still milk only.
Can start eating
- Continue vitamin D 400 IU daily
Not yet
- Any solids, cereal or juice — the digestive system is not ready
- Honey
- Cow milk
Worth knowing
- Growth spurts around 3 and 6 weeks mean days of constant feeding. This is not a sign your supply has failed
- Burp after feeds and hold upright for 15-20 minutes to reduce spitting up
- Small, effortless spit-up is normal. Forceful vomiting, or vomit that is green or bloody, needs a doctor
How much sleep
14-17 hours a day
- Daytime
- A hint of day-night difference appears. One longer 4-5 hour stretch at night is possible
Do not try to train a schedule yet — there is no body clock to train. Open the curtains during the day and dim the lights at night. That is the whole intervention.
Vaccines in this stage
Hepatitis BDose 2
1 month · National programme (free)
What most children do by now
Gross motor
- Lifts head to 45 degrees on the tummy and holds it for a few seconds
- Head still needs support, but can steady itself briefly
Fine motor
- Hands open some of the time
- Brings hands towards the mouth
Language
- Coos: open vowel sounds
- Turns towards familiar voices
Social and cognitive
- A social smile appears — a deliberate smile at your face, the first real one
- Watches faces for longer stretches
This is what most children manage in this window, not a pass mark. A few months either way is common. The signals worth acting on are in the doctor section below.
Height and weight reference for this ageWhen to see a doctor
If any of these apply, do not wait for the next routine check.
- Temperature 38C or above — still an immediate doctor visit under 3 months
- At 2 months, not looking at faces at all, or no response to sound
- Forceful vomiting, or vomit that is green or bloody
- Weight static or falling
- Very floppy, or constantly stiff
- A cry that becomes weak, high-pitched or otherwise unusual
What to practise
- 01
Longer tummy time
How · 15-20 minutes a day spread over several sessions. Lying on your chest counts and is usually better tolerated.
Why · How long they can hold their head up directly sets the timing for rolling and crawling later.
- 02
Visual tracking
How · Hold a high-contrast card 25cm from their face and move it slowly side to side so their eyes follow.
Why · At this age only high-contrast shapes are visible. Tracking is the earliest training for eye coordination.
- 03
Answer every sound
How · They say "ah", you say "ah" back, then stop and wait. Take turns as if it were a real conversation.
Why · Serve and return is the core mechanism of language development, and it beats playing nursery rhymes by a wide margin.
Day to day
- Crying peaks around six weeks, often 1-2 solid hours in the evening. This is the period of PURPLE crying and it passes
- Five soothing moves work best together: swaddle, side-hold, shush, sway, suck
- If you are at breaking point, put the baby down in a safe cot and step out of the room to breathe. That is far safer than holding them while you lose control
- Small red spots on the face (baby acne) are common and clear on their own
Common questions
- They cry for an hour or two every evening. Is it colic?
- Usually it is not a gut problem but the normal PURPLE crying period: it starts around 2 weeks, peaks at 6 weeks and resolves by 3-4 months. What does need attention is crying alongside fever, vomiting, bloody stool or poor weight gain.
- Is a pacifier okay?
- Yes, and there is evidence that pacifier use at sleep is associated with lower SIDS risk. If breastfeeding, it is usually suggested to wait until feeding is established, around 3-4 weeks.