Your Baby at 12 Months: First Birthday, Milestones and What's Next

What your baby is doing

One year. According to the CDC, by their first birthday most babies:

• Play games with you, like pat-a-cake.
• Wave bye-bye, and call a parent “mama,” “dada,” or another special name.
• Understand “no” (pausing briefly or stopping when you say it).
• Put something in a container, and look for things they see you hide.
• Pull up to stand and walk while holding on to furniture.
• Drink from a cup without a lid as you hold it, and pick things up between thumb and pointer finger.

The AAP notes there’s a wide range of normal: some one-year-olds are walking confidently, others are still cruising. If something worries you, mention it at the 12-month checkup.

The 12-month checkup

Expect growth and development checks, a conversation about eating and sleep, and recommended vaccines. Good questions to bring:

• Milk: switching from formula to whole milk, and how much.
• Bottles: moving toward cups.
• Teeth: finding a dentist, if you haven’t had a first dental visit.
• Sleep: what’s typical in the second year as naps change.

Still rear-facing

The first birthday is a milestone for cake, not for car seats. The AAP recommends staying rear-facing until your child reaches the seat’s rear-facing limits, which for most kids is well past age 2.

Look how far you’ve come

A year ago you may not have known how to swaddle, warm a bottle, or tell a tired cry from a hungry one. Now you’re an expert in one specific small person. That’s worth celebrating as much as the birthday.

A few things worth doing this month:

• Write a letter to your kid about their first year, and one to yourself about yours.
• Check in with your partner about how you’re both doing, beyond logistics. Year one strains every couple. See keeping your relationship strong.
• Update the paperwork: life insurance, will and guardian, and the college savings plan if you have one. The money checklist covers it.

Then go eat cake. You earned it.