There’s nothing quite like that first rubbery baby smile—it’s a sweet milestone that feels like a reward after those sleepless nights and long days at home with your newborn.

Smiling is also a sign that your baby is starting to develop social communication skills, and before you know it, she’ll be babbling, laughing and clapping.

The smiling milestone varies somewhat from baby to baby. And since babies also smile as a reflex, it can be hard to tell the difference between a “real” smile your baby chooses and one you accidentally catch.

When do babies laugh?

You can expect the first real smile when your baby is around 8 weeks old. This is the “social smile,” which your baby gives to socialize with others. By about 2 months, most babies have started to smile, but some may take a little longer to smile.

“It’s a range. My first baby took a little longer and was generally a more serious baby. It was hard to get her to laugh until she was in her early teens,” she says. BabyCenter Community member of AryaB21. “This one smiled at me for the first time yesterday. She is 7 weeks old.”

What is the difference between a reflex smile and a social smile?

Your baby also has a “reflex smile” that you can see in the early weeks. Babies have the ability to laugh in the womb before they are even born.

After birth, you might witness a little smile while your newborn sleeps or even while he’s rolling around trying to pass gas. A reflex smile is not considered a true first smile because it happens randomly and not because your baby is feeling happy or trying to bond with you.

A social smile is different: it signals that your baby is trying to bond with you and imitates your facial expressions. This level of social connection takes time to develop, which is why it may take some time before your baby is able to smile at you.

Even though your baby doesn’t serve you social smiles right from the start, they’re still learning social skills through your interactions with them. You may notice that your baby is experimenting with applying make-up towards you, trying to imitate what you are doing. In fact, even newborns can imitate facial expressions such as opening their mouths or sticking out their tongues.

Around 2 or 3 months, you’ll notice that your baby is paying close attention to the people around him and may even be starting to “smiley talk” – grinning while gurgling at the same time. This is your baby’s way of making small talk with you.

The more you engage in these attempts, the more your baby’s brain development will progress. Plus, “chatting” with your little one as they learn how to interact with others is probably one of the best parts of the first few months with your child.

How babies learn to laugh

Babies are social creatures from birth, but for smiling to be effective as a form of bonding, a few other factors need to fall into place first, such as their vision developing enough to focus on your face.

A social smile lays the foundation for later social and emotional skills.

– Dr. Kelley Yost Abrams, developmental psychologist

Here’s a timeline of how babies learn to smile and engage in social communication:

A newborn baby

Babies respond to other people and use crying as a way to communicate wants and needs.

But if you try to stare into your newborn’s eyes, it might seem like they can’t really see you. And chances are you seem a little vague to them. Newborns generally have poor vision and cannot focus more than 6 to 10 inches in front of them.

1 to 2 months

As your baby grows, his vision will improve and he will be able to focus his eyes on you and follow your face.

At this age, your baby also has more control over his movements – so he’s better able to mimic your facial expressions, from sticking out your tongue to raising your eyebrows.

2 to 3 months

Most babies will smile at around 8 weeks, but smiling may not become a regular occurrence until your baby is closer to 10 to 12 weeks.

At 3 months, babies become more socially active and look for opportunities to hang out with you. They may try to get your attention by “smiling” or wait until you make the first move by smiling and talking to them before smiling back.

3 to 4 months

Your baby will gradually begin to hold your gaze for longer periods of time, and you may even notice that he saves his best smile for you.

Babies at this age begin to show preferences for familiar people, and it may take your little one a few minutes (or longer) to warm up to someone new.

5 to 6 months

By 6 months, most babies will be smiling, babbling and laughing readily. They may get excited about games of peek-a-boo as they begin to learn that they are separate from you.

You’ll also see hints of your baby’s personality emerge as they start to become more confident and curious about the world around them.

Why do babies laugh in their sleep?

Watching your baby smile in their sleep as they snooze in your arms is right up there on the cuteness scale. But these sleep smiles are different from social smiles.

In babies, smiling in sleep is usually a reflex. Some babies also laugh as they work on gas bubbles in their stomachs. These reflex smiles are much shorter than true social smiles and are not in response to something external like your voice or eye contact.

What if your baby doesn’t laugh?

As with all things in child development, there is a range of normal when it comes to when babies laugh. But if your baby doesn’t show a social smile by about 2 months, talk to your child’s doctor. This could be an early sign of a developmental delay that may need attention.

“Social smiling lays the foundation for later social and emotional skills,” says Kelly Yost Abrams, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist and member of BabyCenter’s medical advisory board. “The sooner any potential delay is detected, the greater the chance that a child will reach their full potential.”

After your baby starts smiling, what’s next?

Once your baby starts smiling, it won’t be long before you see their social and emotional development skyrocket. Here’s what you can expect:

• By 3 months, your baby will try to smile and talk to you and start their own version of a conversation.
• By the age of 4 to 6 months, most babies will be enthusiastically smiling, laughing, squealing with delight and beginning to babble.
• At about 7 months, your baby can respond to his name.
• By 9 months, your baby may be able to clap.
• By 10 months, your baby’s short-term memory has improved so much that he can remember several things at once, but still only briefly.
• By age 1, your baby will likely have mastered waving hello and goodbye and saying “mommy” and “daddy.”

A smile is just the beginning. Each new developmental stage brings more opportunities to engage, connect and have fun with your little one.