2-Month-Old Baby Guide: Sleep, Feeding & the 6–8 Week Review

What may be changing at 8–12 weeks

Your baby may spend longer looking at your face, turn towards a familiar voice, make sounds other than crying and offer a smile in response to you. Movements may look less curled and more purposeful. During supervised tummy time, they may lift their head for a short while, and their hands may open more often.

The change is rarely smooth. A baby who chatted yesterday may mostly feed and sleep today. Skills also do not arrive in a fixed order on a fixed date. Look for gradual progress across the month rather than expecting every new ability to appear in the eighth week.

What happens at the 6–8 week baby review?

In the UK, the important appointment is usually called the 6–8 week review rather than a two-month well visit. The NHS says your baby will be invited for a thorough physical examination, usually with a GP. Their eyes, heart and hips are checked and, for boys, the testicles are examined. Weight, length and head circumference are also measured.

The review is separate from the routine 8-week vaccination appointment, even if your surgery arranges them close together. Take the red book and write down anything you want to discuss: feeding, sleep, crying, skin, nappies, medicines, vitamin D, or a change you cannot quite explain. If you have not been offered the examination, contact your GP surgery, health visitor or midwife.

How to think about development at two months

There is no single UK checklist that every baby must pass at the 6–8 week review. As a general reference, the CDC’s two-month list includes looking at faces, reacting to loud sounds, calming when spoken to or picked up, smiling back, making sounds other than crying, briefly opening the hands, moving both sides and lifting the head while on the tummy.

This kind of list supports observation; it is not a diagnosis or a substitute for the review. Full steady head control, pushing up on the forearms and holding a toy are later skills. If your baby was premature, professionals may use corrected age. Tell your health visitor or GP if your baby loses a skill, moves one side much less, does not react to sound, or if their development simply does not feel right to you.

How much should a 2-month-old sleep?

The World Health Organization gives 14–17 hours in 24 hours for babies up to three months, including daytime sleep. It is a broad reference, not a target to reach every day. At this age, sleep is still spread across the day and night, and waking to feed remains common.

Around 60–90 minutes awake is a useful starting range for many 2-month-olds. Your baby’s own window may be shorter or longer, and it can shift from morning to evening. The most useful next step is to narrow the age-based range with your baby’s actual sleep history: several days of consistent records can reveal recurring windows and make the likely timing of the next sleep easier to estimate. As that estimate approaches, early cues such as looking away, yawning, becoming quieter or suddenly fussing can help you time the wind-down well.

Safer sleep in the UK

Place your baby on their back for every sleep, in a clear, flat, separate sleep space with a firm mattress. The NHS advises keeping the cot or Moses basket in the same room as you for every sleep during the first six months. Keep pillows, duvets, cot bumpers, pods, nests, soft toys and anything that could cover the face or head out of the cot.

The UK ‘feet-to-foot’ position means placing your baby with their feet near the bottom of the cot so they cannot wriggle under bedding. Avoid falling asleep with a baby on a sofa or armchair. If you choose to share a bed, read the NHS risk guidance first; bed-sharing is especially dangerous if anyone has smoked, used alcohol or drugs, taken sedating medicine, or if the baby was premature or had a low birth weight.

Feeding without forcing a timetable

Whether feeding at the breast or by bottle, responsive feeding means following early hunger and fullness cues rather than insisting on a strict clock. A baby may bring their hands towards their mouth, turn and search, become restless or open their mouth before they cry. With a bottle, pause when they need a break and never force them to finish.

There is no one correct number of feeds or millilitres for every 2-month-old. What matters is the whole picture: how feeding feels, whether your baby can suck, swallow and breathe comfortably, their usual wet nappies, alertness and growth over time. Contact your health visitor, feeding team or GP if feeding is painful, your baby repeatedly cannot stay attached, coughs or struggles through feeds, takes much less than usual, or has noticeably fewer wet nappies. Prepare formula exactly as NHS guidance and the manufacturer’s instructions describe.

Crying, colic and difficult evenings

Crying can be at its most demanding around this part of early infancy, and evenings are often the hardest. Check the ordinary possibilities first: hunger, a nappy, temperature, tiredness, wind, overstimulation or a need to be held. Sometimes no clear reason appears, even when you have done everything you can.

Not every unsettled baby has colic, reflux or an allergy. The idea that all crying peaks in one exact week is also too certain; research across studies did not find a universal peak week. If you are becoming overwhelmed, put your baby safely in their cot and take a brief pause. Never shake a baby. A cry that sounds suddenly different, or crying with fever, breathing difficulty, unusual sleepiness, poor feeding or repeated vomiting, needs medical advice rather than a label such as colic.

Growth and the red book

Measurements from the review are plotted in your baby’s personal child health record, usually called the red book. A centile shows where a measurement sits within a reference group; it is not a mark and there is no prize for being on a higher line. The pattern across time matters more than a single weight.

Babies also do not gain exactly the same amount each month. Your GP or health visitor interprets the chart alongside birth history, feeding, family build and the physical examination. If a measurement crosses lines or growth slows, that starts a conversation; it does not by itself supply a diagnosis. Unless your GP or health visitor has asked you to weigh frequently, repeated home measurements can create more noise than useful information.

Tummy time and everyday interaction

A few ordinary moments are enough to support development: talk face to face, reply to your baby’s sounds, sing, smile back and let them look at a simple object from different positions. Supervised tummy time while awake helps build head, neck and shoulder strength. If the floor causes immediate protest, try your chest or lap for a shorter attempt.

The WHO recommends at least 30 minutes of tummy time spread through the day for babies who are not yet mobile. It can be built from many small sessions. Stop when your baby is tired and try again later. Continue supporting the head and neck when lifting and carrying them; complete head control is not expected yet.

When to contact the NHS urgently

A baby under three months with a temperature of 38°C or higher needs urgent medical advice. Contact NHS 111 or your GP; call 999 for severe breathing difficulty, blue or grey colour, a seizure, a baby who is very hard to wake, or any immediately life-threatening situation. Do not give fever medicine before NHS 111 or your GP advises it for a baby this young.

Contact your GP or NHS 111 for a marked drop in feeding or wet nappies, repeated forceful vomiting, worsening illness, or a baby whose behaviour is substantially different from usual. If your baby has lost a skill or you are concerned about movement, hearing, vision or interaction, discuss it with your GP. Parental concern is a valid reason to call.

Three common questions, answered briefly

Should an 8-week-old sleep through the night? No. Night waking and night feeds are normal, and the NHS does not give an age by which every baby should sleep for one long stretch.

Is the 6–8 week review the same as the 8-week vaccinations? No. One is a physical health and development review; the other follows the routine immunisation schedule. Your surgery may arrange them near each other.

Is there an official 8-week leap? No NHS clinical guidance defines a fixed developmental leap that every baby enters in the same week. A real change in sleep, feeding or crying still deserves to be described on its own terms.

Vaccinations

United Kingdom

• DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (6-in-1)Dose 1
• Meningococcal B (MenB)Dose 1
• RotavirusDose 1

This schedule is for reference. Which vaccine your child needs and when is your doctor's call.

Schedule: UK Health Security Agency · GB-UKHSA-2026-01 · reviewed 2026-08-09