2 Month Milestones: What Most Babies Do at 8 Weeks in Australia

2 month milestones centre on three things: a smile back at your face, a brief head lift during tummy time, and cooing or gurgling when content. Most babies around 8 weeks also follow a face or slow-moving object with their eyes and startle at a loud sound. Every one of them sits inside a wide normal window.

The checklist below is the same checklist the BabyLog milestone list records, generated from ACECQA's Developmental milestones and the EYLF/NQS(opens in a new window) document. This page sits between newborn development week by week and 3 month milestones, inside the wider guide to baby milestones by age.

What do most babies do around 8 weeks?

Around 8 weeks, most babies smile in response to a face, hold their head up for short moments on their tummy, make small sounds when content, and watch a face or a slow-moving toy for a few seconds. ACECQA lists the whole birth to 4 months band together, so the split below follows the 2 month page from Pregnancy, Birth and Baby(opens in a new window) and the 8 week list in the NSW Blue Book(opens in a new window). The table shows what many babies do around 8 weeks, then what comes later in the band.

Read each row as a set, not a score.

Is the social smile the big one at 2 months?

Yes. The smile that answers your smile, rather than a passing smile in sleep, is the milestone most parents notice first around 6 to 8 weeks. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby describes a 2 month old who may smile back when you smile at them, make eye contact, copy simple facial expressions, and settle more easily to familiar voices.

The window is wide because a smile needs vision, attention and a little social interest to line up at once, and each matures at its own speed. When the first smile usually arrives, and when a missing one is worth raising, is on the 6 week milestones page.

A smile that answers yours is the first conversation. It comes when it comes.

What does tummy time look like at 8 weeks?

At 8 weeks, tummy time usually means a few short lifts of the head, a turn from side to side, and a protest after a minute or two. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby notes that a 2 month old may lift their head for short moments during tummy time and turn it from side to side, building strength in the neck and upper body.

The head lift is a strength milestone, so it grows with practice rather than arriving on one day. Our guide to tummy time: when to start covers how much to aim for by age and how to make it less of a battle. One safety point from the same page: a 2 month old usually cannot roll yet, but they can kick and wriggle, so never leave them alone on a change table or any raised surface.

Why is my 2 month old crying so much?

Crying peaks about six to eight weeks and levels off about 12 to 14 weeks, so the 2 month mark is often the loudest point of the first year. The timing comes from the ACECQA milestones. It is a developmental pattern, not a sign that anything has gone wrong.

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby lists the usual reasons a 2 month old cries: hunger, tiredness, a wet nappy, or a need for comfort. Holding and cuddling often helps. The NSW Blue Book puts crying and comforting your baby on the discussion list for the 6 to 8 week visit, so the nurse expects the question.

If the crying comes with milk coming up after most feeds, our guide to posseting and reflux sets out which signs are normal and which need the GP.

How much crying is normal at 2 months?

Two to three hours of crying a day, or longer, can be normal for some babies, and it is often worst at 6 to 8 weeks. The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network(opens in a new window) says some babies cry 2 to 3 hours a day or longer, often more at certain times of day.

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne(opens in a new window) says most of the time there is no medical reason for it. If your baby also wants to feed again and again in the evening, our guide to cluster feeding and the witching hour explains that pattern.

Crying by week in the first 3 months

Tresillian(opens in a new window), SCHN, the RCH and ACECQA agree that crying peaks at about 6 to 8 weeks and eases between 3 and 4 months. A 2022 review of 57 studies from 17 countries adds the minutes.

The minutes come from parents' diaries in the 2022 cry-curve review(opens in a new window) by Vermillet and colleagues in Child Development, supporting evidence drawn mostly from the UK, the US and Canada. They count crying and fussing together. Up to 10 weeks, every two-week average sat between 1.3 and 2 hours.

The spread is wide. At 5 to 6 weeks the standard deviation was about an hour, so a baby an hour either side of the average is common.

What is PURPLE crying?

PURPLE crying is a name for the normal crying peak of the first few months. SCHN calls it normal and temporary. Tresillian uses the name for newborn crying in general, and the RCH says health professionals use the acronym for the common signs in babies who cry a lot. Each letter is one feature, as the RCH describes them:

• Peak of crying: crying may increase for the first six to eight weeks and decrease after four months.
• Unexpected: crying may come and go without a clear reason.
• Resists soothing: your baby may not stop crying, despite attempts to soothe them.
• Pain-like face: your baby may look like they are in pain while crying.
• Long lasting: your baby may cry for five hours a day or even longer.
• Evening: your baby may cry more in the late afternoon and early evening.

Long bouts of crying are sometimes called colic. The RCH calls that term unhelpful, because it sounds as if something is wrong inside the baby's tummy. It also warns that many products claim to reduce colic without evidence that they help, and some can be harmful, so ask your nurse or GP before trying one.

How to settle a crying 2 month old

Check the basics first, including wind and whether your baby is too hot or cold. Tresillian says the most common reason for crying in the first 3 months is a need for more close, physical contact. Then try one calm thing at a time, drawn from the RCH, SCHN and Tresillian:

• Hold your baby close, or carry them in a baby carrier.
• Rock or sway gently, or go for a walk with the pram.
• Talk or sing softly somewhere calm and quiet.
• Give a warm bath or a baby massage.
• Let them suck for comfort, at the breast or on a dummy.

If you suspect wind, our guide on how to wind a baby has the burping positions and how long to try.

Some evenings nothing works. Tresillian says that in the first 4 months there will be times you cannot calm your baby no matter what you do.

If you need a break, put your baby down safely

It is OK to put your baby down in a safe place, like a bassinet or cot, and go into another room for a short break. That is the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network's advice for a parent who feels overwhelmed. Take a few breaths, call someone, and go back when you feel calmer.

If you are worried you might hurt your baby, put them somewhere safe like their cot and get another adult to help now, or call PANDA on 1300 726 306 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. If you cannot keep yourself or your baby safe, call 000.

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne · Crying and unsettled babies

Never shake your baby. Shaking babies can cause brain damage and lifelong disability.

You do not need to wait for a crisis to ask for help with crying and settling:

• Your child health nurse or GP: a check for your baby and a settling plan for you.
• Your state's child and family health service: local parenting and settling support.
• Pregnancy, Birth and Baby helpline: 1800 882 436, a maternal child health nurse, 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days.
• healthdirect: 1800 022 222, a registered nurse, 24 hours a day, 7 days.
• Tresillian Parent's Help Line: 1300 272 736, 7am to 11pm, 7 days.
• Karitane Careline (NSW): 1300 227 464.
• Maternal and Child Health Line (Victoria): 13 22 29, 24 hours a day.
• PANDA, the perinatal mental health helpline: 1300 726 306.
• Lifeline: 13 11 14.

When crying needs a doctor

Crying during the peak is common, but some signs point to illness or to a parent who needs support now. From the RCH and SCHN fact sheets:

• Call 000: your baby is very unwell and needs urgent medical attention, or you are worried you may harm yourself or your baby and cannot keep either of you safe.
• Go to hospital: you cannot settle your baby and you think they are unwell.
• See a doctor as soon as possible: your baby is under 3 months old and has a temperature above 38°C.
• See your doctor: the cry changes suddenly or sounds unusual, your baby refuses feeds, or they have new symptoms such as vomiting.
• Talk to your GP or nurse: you feel you are not coping, nothing works, or the crying is affecting your mental health or your relationship with your baby.

When to talk to your child health nurse

healthdirect(opens in a new window) puts it simply: all babies grow and develop at their own pace, and missing a milestone beyond the usual age may be a sign that your child needs extra support. For the birth to 4 months band, the ACECQA document and the NSW Blue Book's 8 week page suggest a conversation with your child health nurse or GP if your baby:

• is floppy or stiff
• is not responding to sounds, or does not react to a loud sound
• does not watch things as they move
• does not smile at people or respond to familiar faces
• is not showing interest when played with
• is not feeding as expected
• is not starting to make sounds
• cannot hold their head up when pushing up on their tummy

Most turn out to be nothing, and support works best when it starts early.

What happens at the 6 to 8 week check?

The 6 to 8 week check is the first scheduled child health check after the newborn visits, and it lands right on the 2 month skills above. Our guide to the 6 to 8 week check covers what the nurse, GP or paediatrician checks, state by state, and the questions to ask.

Vaccines around 2 months

The first scheduled vaccines on the National Immunisation Program are listed at 2 months and can be given from 6 weeks of age. The full list, the rotavirus age limit and what the Blue Book says about this visit are in 6 week milestones.

Keeping track

The checklist on this page is the birth to 4 months band of the BabyLog milestone checklist, built on the ACECQA framework as a guide, not a diagnosis. When you notice something new, tap the milestone as observed and the moment is stamped with the date and your baby's age, so "when did he start smiling at you?" at the 6 to 8 week check is a look, not a guess. Milestone tracking is part of BabyLog Pro.

For the check itself, a checkup report on Pro freezes a chosen period of feeds, sleep, nappies and growth alongside the milestone checklist for the stage you pick, and shares with a nurse or GP as a private link or PDF. Watch the 2 month skills arrive in their own time, and track your baby's development with BabyLog.

Common questions