Growth and development

Bonding with your baby is an emotional connection that is important for their development. Learn how to bond with your baby and meet their needs.

Understanding how your baby grows is important for all parents. Supporting your child will help set them up for a happy and sucessful future.

All babies gain weight at different rates. Understand your baby's healthy weight gain with guidelines on feeding, growth and developmental milestones.

Find out how your baby learns and develops from birth to 3 years.

Learn how your baby's brain develops and how interactions, environment and experiences can affect your baby's future development and learning.

Learn more about your baby's immune system. Find out how breastfeeding and vaccinations will help protect your baby from serious illness.

Crawling in babies is a big development milestone, from tummy time to hands and knees crawling. See tips to support crawling and when to seek help.

Learning to talk is an important part of a child’s development and it occurs in stages. Find out how you can help your child to learn to talk.

Your baby's first steps is one of the most exciting and memorable milestones in their development. See tips for encouraging independent movement.

Your child’s experiences during pregnancy and early childhood impact their health and wellbeing later on. Give your child the best possible start.

Baby (or infant) growth charts indicate how your baby is growing. They record changes in your baby's length, weight, and head circumference.

Your baby grows and develops from the moment they are born. At 1 month, cuddling, sleeping and feeding are all that matter to your baby.

At 2 months, your baby is growing fast and becoming more alert. They also make more sounds and get better at moving their bodies.

By 3 months, your baby forms a strong attachment to you. They respond with lots of smiles, and you can enjoy your baby as they develop.

From 4 months, your baby should have more control over what they do. They will be starting to move around and interact with you more.

At 5 months, your baby is growing and developing quickly. They may soon sit on their own and prepare for solid foods and language skills.

At 6 months, your baby will be moving more, start to respond to particular words, and have a better sense of the world around them.

At 7 months, your baby may be sitting up on their own and eating solid foods. Learn more about your baby's development at 7 months.

At 8 months old, your baby may be sitting and moving around more. They may be eating solid foods and sleeping more at night than during the day.

At 9 months, your baby will be moving around and communicating more and learning to use their hands. They will prefer being with familiar people.

At 10 months old, your baby is active and can sit well. Learn more about your baby’s growth, sleep, feeding and development milestones.

At 11 months, your baby is almost a toddler. Find out about what your baby will be doing now and how you can support their development.

At 12 months, your baby is very active and enjoys exploring their world. They may already, or soon, take their first steps and join family meals.