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Ages & Stages

Physical Appearance and Growth: Your 1-Year-Old Child

A toddler in colorful clothing crawls on a wooden floor, with sunlight streaming through a window in the background. A toddler in colorful clothing crawls on a wooden floor, with sunlight streaming through a window in the background.

​By the end of their first year, your baby's growth rate will begin to slow. From now until their next growth spurt (later in adolescence), their height and weight should increase steadily, but not as rapidly as during those first months of life.

How your baby’s growth changes at 1 year

As an infant, they may have gained 4 pounds (1.8 kg) in 4 months or less, but during the entire second year, they'll probably add 3 to 5 pounds (1.4–2.3 kg). You can plot their measurements every few months on a growth chart to make sure they're generally following the normal growth curve. As you'll see, there's now a broader range of what's "normal" than at earlier ages.

Baby-to-todder body changes

Your baby's head growth also will slow dramatically. Although they'll probably gain only about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in head circumference this entire year, by age 2 they'll have attained about 90 percent of their adult head size.

Your toddler's looks, however, probably will change more than their size. At 12 months old, they still look like a baby. Their head and abdomen are still the largest parts of their body. Their belly sticks out when they are upright, and their buttocks, by comparison, seem small—at least with their diaper off. Their arms and legs are relatively short and soft, rather than muscular, and their face has softly rounded contours.

All this will change as they become more active, developing muscles and trimming away some of their baby fat. Their arms and legs will start to lengthen, and their feet will start to point forward as they walk, instead of to the sides. Their face will become more angular, and their jawline better defined.

By their second birthday, it will be hard to remember how they looked as an infant!


More information


Last Updated
3/11/2026
Source
Adapted from Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age Five 8th edition (Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.