Your 2-Month-Old Baby: First Real Smiles, Cooing and a Lifted Head

You are talking softly, leaning over the changing mat. Baby stares at you, serious, then their whole face opens up. That smile is for you. It is the social smile, one of the big milestones of the 2-month-old baby, along with the first cooing and a head that lifts when they are on their tummy.

These milestones do not arrive on the same day for everyone: the US CDC lists describe what at least 75% of babies do at a given age. A perfectly healthy child can therefore be a little ahead or behind. Just past the first-month milestone? Here is what comes next.

The social smile: baby answers you

During the second month, baby starts to smile on purpose and to copy your expressions, describes the Quebec public health institute (INSPQ). At 2 months, according to the CDC, most babies smile when you talk or smile at them, look at your face, seem happy to see you coming and calm down when picked up.

Answer that smile: smile back, exaggerate your expressions a little, then wait for baby's reply. UNICEF advises bringing your face close to theirs so they learn to recognise your features, and keeping baby skin to skin to soothe them.

After the nfissa (the traditional forty days of postpartum rest), visits often multiply. Watch baby's signals: if they turn their head away, yawn or fuss, they are asking for a break, explains the CDC.

Cooing: baby's first conversations

Among the 2-month milestones, the CDC counts making sounds other than crying and reacting to loud noises. UNICEF describes a baby drawn to sounds, who turns towards them and coos.

The principle fits in one word: respond. When baby makes sounds, copy them, then leave a silence so they can “take their turn”: that is how they learn the back-and-forth of a conversation, according to the CDC. Talk to them, sing, in darija, French, Tamazight or English. No screens, though: the CDC recommends none before age 2, except video calls with relatives. So the grandfather calling from Tangier or Brussels keeps his place.

On the tummy, the head lifts

At 2 months, most babies hold their head up when on their tummy (CDC). UNICEF adds that baby pushes on their arms to lift it, and that arm and leg movements become smoother. Their hands open at times.

Tummy time remains the best training: at least 30 minutes a day, in several sessions and while awake, recommends the World Health Organization (WHO). The CDC advises placing toys at eye level and never leaving baby alone in this position. If baby protests, lie down facing them and talk (UNICEF).

As for toys, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) lists for this age high-contrast pictures and books, a colourful mobile, sturdy rattles and soft music at low volume. A light rattle, shaken gently to one side, invites baby to turn towards the sound.

From the shop

For playing together, on the floor or in your arms

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Evening crying: what helps, and what you never do

This is also the age of crying. According to the INSPQ, it increases from the second week, peaks around the sixth and usually decreases around the third or fourth month. Some babies cry much more than others, depending on temperament.

What soothes changes from one evening to the next: rocking, carrying, lowering the lights, skin to skin, a feed, or the “tiger in the tree” hold, face down along your forearm (INSPQ). Our article on newborn crying helps decode the causes.

When nothing works and tension rises, lay baby on their back in the cot, close the door and step away for a moment, checking on them every 5 to 10 minutes (CDC). Never shake a baby, and do not let anyone else do it: shaking a baby can damage their brain, even kill them. Better still, hand over to dad, a grandmother or an aunt: that is the first solution the INSPQ suggests.

Sleep: still waking, and that is expected

Nights are still broken, and that is normal: the AFPA paediatricians (mpedia) place the first real nights of sleep between 4 and 6 months on average. Set some markers now: at night, very dim light, a low voice and a quick return to bed. The CDC also advises regular sleep and feeding routines. If the night wakings are wearing you out, read why baby does not sleep through yet.

In summer, in Marrakech as in Fes, the question becomes how to dress baby. The AAP points out that overheating raises the risk of sudden infant death. Dress baby in just one extra layer compared with you, with no hat indoors: a hot chest, sweat or red skin tell you they are too warm.

Breast or bottle: reading the signals

Milk covers all baby's needs (UNICEF): no food, water or other drink before about 6 months, reminds the CDC. Hunger signs come back about 8 to 12 times in 24 hours at this age, according to UNICEF. The other half of the job, insists the CDC, is spotting the signs of fullness and stopping when baby is done, even if the bottle is not empty.

For many working mothers, this month is also when work resumes. In the private sector, maternity leave lasts 14 weeks. The Labour Code then grants one paid nursing hour a day for 12 months from the return to work. Our article on breastfeeding after going back to work explains how to organise.

Vaccines and the 2-month check-up

The national immunisation programme (PNI) is free in public health centres, and its dates are gathered in our Moroccan schedule, vaccine by vaccine. To soothe baby after the injection, read our article on what to expect after a vaccine.

Come with your observations: the CDC encourages parents to raise any worry without waiting and, if in doubt, to ask for a developmental screening. Next month, baby's hands become their favourite toy: see you at 3 months, the age of hands and first laughs.