Pediatrics Checklist

With so many things going on beyond child rearing, it helps to stay organized with your child’s health. We adhere to the CDC’s guidelines for good health. Click here for the CDC Developmental Milestones details or read on to review a snapshot of how to follow good health guidelines for your child.

Click here to learn more details past one year.

  • Your Baby By Two Months

    Social and Emotional
    • Begins to smile at people
    • Can briefly calm herself (may bring hands to mouth and suck on hand)
    • Tries to look at parent
    Language/Communication
    • Coos, makes gurgling sounds
    • Turns head toward sounds
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
    • Pays attention to faces
    • Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance
    • Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change
    Movement/Physical Development
    • Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy
    • Makes smoother movements with arms and legs

  • Your Baby By Four Months

    Social and Emotional
    • Smiles spontaneously, especially at people
    • Likes to play with people and might cry when playing stops
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    • Copies some movements and facial expressions, like smiling or frowning
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    Language/Communication
    • Begins to babble
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    • Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears
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    • Cries in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
    • Lets you know if he is happy or sad
    • Responds to affection
    • Reaches for toy with one hand
    • Uses hands and eyes together, such as seeing a toy and reaching for it
    • Follows moving things with eyes from side to side
    • Watches faces closely
    • Recognizes familiar people and things at a distance
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    Movement/Physical Development
    • Holds head steady, unsupported
    • Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface
    • May be able to roll over from tummy to back
    • Can hold a toy and shake it and swing at dangling toys
    • Brings hands to mouth
    • When lying on stomach, pushes up to elbows

  • Your Baby By Six Months

    Social and Emotional
    • Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger
    • Likes to play with others, especially parents
    • Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy
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    • Likes to look at self in a mirror
    Language/Communication
    • Responds to sounds by making sounds
    • Strings vowels together when babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”) and likes taking turns with parent while making sounds
    • Responds to own name
    • Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure
    • Begins to say consonant sounds (jabbering with “m,” “b”)
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
    • Looks around at things nearby
    • Brings things to mouth
    • Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach
    • Begins to pass things from one hand to the other
    Movement/Physical Development
    • Rolls over in both directions (front to back, back to front)
    • Begins to sit without support
    • When standing, supports weight on legs and might bounce
    • Rocks back and forth, sometimes crawling backward before moving forward

  • Your Baby By Nine Months

    Social and Emotional
    • May be afraid of strangers
    • May be clingy with familiar adults
    • Has favorite toys
    Language/Communication
    • Understands “no”
    • Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”
    • Copies sounds and gestures of others
    • Uses fingers to point at things
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
    • Watches the path of something as it falls
    • Looks for things she sees you hide
    • Plays peek-a-boo
    • Puts things in his mouth
    • Moves things smoothly from one hand to the other
    • Picks up things like cereal o’s between thumb and index finger
    Movement/Physical Development
    • Stands, holding on
    • Can get into sitting position
    • Sits without support
    • Pulls to stand
    • Crawls

  • Your Baby By One Year

    Social and Emotional
    • Is shy or nervous with strangers
    • Cries when mom or dad leaves
    • Has favorite things and people
    • Shows fear in some situations
    • Hands you a book when he wants to hear a story
    • Repeats sounds or actions to get attention
    • Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing
    • Plays games such as “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake”
    Language/Communication
    • Responds to simple spoken requests
    • Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye”
    • Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech)
    • Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!”
    • Tries to say words you say
    Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
    • Explores things in different ways, like shaking, banging, throwing
    • Finds hidden things easily
    • Looks at the right picture or thing when it’s named
    • Copies gestures
    • Starts to use things correctly; for example, drinks from a cup, brushes hair
    • Bangs two things together
    • Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container
    • Lets things go without help
    • Pokes with index (pointer) finger
    • Follows simple directions like “pick up the toy”
    Movement/Physical Development
    • Gets to a sitting position without help
    • Pulls up to stand, walks holding on to furniture (“cruising”)
    • May take a few steps without holding on
    • May stand alone