By 8-12 weeks your baby may

At about 2 months old your baby may:

• start to hold onto a rattle.
• have more control over jerky body movements.
• focus on objects 17-20cm away.
• enjoy watching mobiles.
• respond to noises nearby.

At about 3 months old they may:

• bring their hands together.
• laugh out loud.
• coo or smile at you when you talk.
• kick with more control and more forcefully.
• lift their head 45-90 degrees when lying on their tummy.
• stare at people’s faces when they are up close.
• turn their eyes towards voices.
• seem to know your voice.

You can encourage development by:

• interacting with them.
• holding out a toy and moving it up and down.
• playing “pat a cake” holding their hands.
• playing with rattles and bright coloured soft toys.
• laying him on a rug on the floor under a frame with dangling toys.
• reading to them, singing to them (time for those nursery rhymes!).
• putting them on their tummy to play.