2 Month Old Baby: Milestones, Sleep & Feeding Guide

Say hello to the first real social smile: your 2 month old is starting to save one just for you. This month brings some of the earliest, most rewarding proof that all those feeds and rocked-to-sleep hours are turning into a real relationship. Here is what typical sleep, feeding, and development look like at two months, along with a sample day and answers to the questions parents ask most.

Your baby at 2 months at a glance

• Development: The first genuine social smile appears, alongside cooing sounds and a growing ability to track your face across the room.
• Sleep: Still around 14–17 hours a day, but one longer night stretch may be starting to emerge.
• Feeding: Milk feeds settle a little, often around 7–9 feeds in 24 hours.
• Fun fact: A watch out for a growth spurt around six weeks, when your baby may suddenly want to feed much more often for a few days.

Sleep at 2 months

Total sleep stays similar to last month at roughly 14–17 hours across 24 hours, but the shape is starting to shift. Night sleep stretches a little to 8–10 hours, with one or two longer stretches beginning to emerge, while day sleep settles to about 6–7 hours across 4–5 naps that are still fairly unpredictable. Wake windows lengthen slightly too, to about 60–90 minutes.

What to expect	Typical range
Total sleep per day	14–17 hours
Night sleep	8–10 hours, longer stretches emerging
Day sleep	6–7 hours
Naps	4–5 naps, still unpredictable
Wake window	60–90 minutes

For the full breakdown of how these numbers shift across the first two years, see our guide to wake windows by age.

Sample 2 month old schedule

Time	What’s happening
7:00 AM	Wake and feed
8:15 AM	Nap
9:45 AM	Wake and feed
11:00 AM	Nap
12:30 PM	Wake and feed
2:00 PM	Nap
3:30 PM	Wake and feed
4:45 PM	Catnap
6:00 PM	Wake and feed
7:30 PM	Bedtime routine and feed
8:00 PM	Bedtime
12:00 AM	Night feed
3:30 AM	Night feed

You may notice one slightly longer stretch of night sleep starting to appear, which is a lovely early sign of maturing sleep. Days are still fluid at this age, so keep following your baby’s tired cues rather than the clock. Keep every sleep safe: on the back, alone, in a bare crib, with nothing soft in the sleep space.

Feeding at 2 months

Milk is still the whole menu, but feeds often become a little more efficient and slightly more spaced out. Many babies settle into feeds roughly every 2.5–3.5 hours. Growth spurts can temporarily ramp feeds back up, and that is completely normal.

• Continue feeding on demand, still around 7–9 feeds in 24 hours for many babies.
• Expect a possible growth spurt around six weeks, when your baby may suddenly want to feed more often for a few days.
• Breastfed babies usually continue daily vitamin D drops — ask your pediatrician to confirm.
• Spitting up small amounts after feeds is common and usually harmless if your baby is comfortable and gaining weight.

Development milestones at 2 months

Gross motor

• May hold their head up and begin to push up when on their tummy, an early strength gain.
• Typically makes smoother movements with arms and legs as reflexes settle into more controlled motion.
• Might briefly hold their head steadier when upright, especially against your shoulder.
• May stretch and kick more purposefully, a fun sign of growing body control.

Fine motor

• May open and close their hands more often as the newborn grip reflex relaxes.
• Might briefly bring both hands together, an early step toward hand awareness.
• Typically begins to relax those tight newborn fists, spending more time with open hands.

Language & social

• May give a genuine social smile in response to you — often the milestone parents wait for most.
• Typically coos and makes gurgling vowel sounds, the start of real back-and-forth communication.
• Might turn toward sounds and voices, showing growing hearing and attention.
• May watch you move across the room, tracking you with real interest.

Milestone checklist: 2 to 3 months

Babies reach these skills on their own timelines, so use this as a general guide of what most babies are doing rather than a strict test.

• Smiles on purpose when you smile or talk to them
• Holds head up and pushes up briefly during tummy time
• Makes cooing sounds beyond crying
• Follows a moving object or face with their eyes
• Turns head toward sounds
• Begins to open hands from the newborn fist
• Seems to recognize you by sight and sound
• Calms with familiar soothing
• Has longer, more alert playful periods

When to check in with your pediatrician

Most two-month development follows its own timeline, but flag these to your pediatrician:

• Does not smile socially by around two months
• Does not respond to loud sounds or seem to hear
• Cannot hold their head up at all during tummy time
• Does not watch things as they move
• Does not bring hands toward mouth

Any loss of a skill your baby previously had is also always worth mentioning — and any worry you can’t shake is reason enough to ask.

Play ideas for this month

Smile-and-chat games. Responding to your baby’s coos and smiles teaches the rhythm of conversation and lights up early language pathways. When your baby coos, coo back, pause, and wait — take turns as if you are chatting, and watch their delight.

High-contrast peek. At this age babies are drawn to bold black-and-white patterns, which help visual tracking and focus develop. Slowly move a high-contrast card or simple picture side to side about 10–12 inches from their face and let them follow.

Tummy time with a prop. A little support makes tummy time more fun and keeps building the strength needed for rolling. Place a small rolled towel under the chest and arms, get down at eye level, and encourage your baby with your voice.

The takeaway

Two months is the month of the first real smile, the one that makes every 3 AM feed feel worth it. Sleep is still finding its shape, feeding is settling into a slightly steadier rhythm, and your baby is discovering that cooing back and forth with you is the best game in the world. Keep leaning on wake windows and tired cues rather than the clock, and enjoy watching a real little personality start to emerge.