Birth to 3 Months

•  Alerts to sound.

•  Quiets or smiles when you talk.

•  Makes sounds back and forth with you.

•  Makes sounds that differ depending on whether they are happy or upset.

•  Coos, makes sounds like ooooo, aahh, and mmmmm.

•  Recognizes loved ones and some common objects.

•  Turns or looks toward voices or people talking.

4 to 6 Months

•  Giggles and laughs.

•  Responds to facial expressions.

•  Looks at objects of interest and follows objects with their eyes.

•  Reacts to toys that make sounds, like those with bells or music.

•  Vocalizes during play or with objects in mouth.

•  Vocalizes different vowel sounds—sometimes combined with a consonant—like uumm

•  Blows “raspberries.”

7 to 9 Months

•  Looks at you when you call their name.

•  Stops for a moment when you say, “No.”

•  Babbles long strings of sounds, like mamamama, upup, or babababa.

•  Looks for loved ones when upset.

•  Raises arms to be picked up.

•  Recognizes the names of some people and objects.

•  Pushes away unwanted objects.

10 to 12 Months

•  By age 10 months, reaches for objects.

•  Points, waves, and shows or gives objects.

•  Imitates and initiates gestures for engaging in social interactions and playing games, like blowing kisses or playing peek-a-boo.

•  Tries to copy sounds that you make.

•  Enjoys dancing.

•  Responds to simple words and phrases like “Go bye-bye” and “Look at Mommy.”

•  Says one or two words—like "mama," "dada," "hi," and "bye."