Is This Normal? The Baby Milestones No One Talks About
Because no one warned us about the sock obsession or the 4am party invites…
Let’s be real: when you have a baby, everyone talks about the milestones—rolling over, crawling, walking, talking. 📈 You probably have an app or two tracking them. Maybe even a chart. (No shame, we’ve all been there.)
But what about all the other milestones? The weird, wonderful, and totally under-celebrated ones that make you ask yourself at 2am—“Is this normal baby development?”
Spoiler alert: It probably is. If you want to double-check the official stuff, NHS Start for Life has a brilliant breakdown of baby development month-by-month.
1. The ‘Sock Flinging Olympics’
One minute your baby’s peacefully lying there, the next they’re pulling their socks off with the determination of a world-class athlete. Left foot, right foot, launch into oblivion. Over. And. Over.
✅ Normal.
🥇Bonus points if they do it during a pram walk in winter.
2. That One Toy… of 100
You lovingly curated a basket of gorgeous sensory toys. But your baby is obsessed with the one crinkly banana wrapper they found under the sofa.
✅ Also normal.
Babies are curious creatures. They’re wired to explore everything, not just the Insta-perfect stuff. (Which is why our sensory trays at Adventure Babies often include unexpected treasures.)
3. The ‘Book Chewing is Reading’ Phase
You’re trying to raise a little bookworm. You read aloud, point at pictures, make all the voices… and your baby? They just want to eat the book.
✅ Yep—still normal.
Books = texture, colour, shape, and taste apparently. But this is exactly how babies begin to fall in love with books—they explore them with their whole bodies. That’s why at Adventure Babies, we don’t mind a bit of literary drool. 📚💦
4. The Random Clinginess
Some days your baby is a social butterfly, giggling at everyone in the coffee shop. Other days, they scream if you so much as look away to butter toast.
✅ Completely normal.
Their brains are developing fast and attachment wobbles are part of the deal. You’re not doing anything wrong—you’re their safe place.
5. The 4am Disco Party
Your baby was sleeping fine… until last night, when they woke up for a casual rave in their cot at 4am, chatting to the ceiling.
✅ Still normal.
Babies often hit a sleep regression around developmental leaps. They’re busy processing everything—rolling, babbling, learning about the world—and sometimes their brain just doesn’t get the memo that it’s night-time.
It’s one of those “is this normal baby development?” moments—and yep, it really is.
You’re Doing Better Than You Think
These random, messy, hilarious baby moments? They’re milestones too. They’re signs your baby is developing, experimenting, learning, and growing exactly as they should.
At Adventure Babies, we see all of these every week in our storytelling and sensory play sessions. The sock-flingers, the book-chewers, the cautious explorers and the full-speed crawlers—they’re all thriving in their own quirky way.
So next time you find yourself wondering “Is this normal baby development?”, remember this:
💛 If it feels weird but your baby’s happy, curious, and loved—you’re smashing it.
Want to see the magic in action?
Come along to an Adventure Babies class near you and watch your little one light up in a world of story, play and discovery.
