Parent guides · 7 months
Your eighth month, day by day
Days 211 to 240: the 7-to-12-month guide, sitting and getting there, crawling or not, raking and banging, mamamama, thicker textures and the family table, choking, out of sight, the yes space, stranger wariness, night waking, childproofing, batteries, water, screens, and eight months, with one new thing to try every day.
Every note draws on the 7 to 12 months guide and cites its sources. Babies don’t keep calendars: read each day as “around now”, and let your pediatrician’s read of your baby beat any note.
← Your seventh month, day by day (days 181 to 210)Your ninth month, day by day (days 241 to 270) →
Week 29: the new list
The 7-to-12-month guide, sitting then getting there, crawling or not, raking, hand to hand, mamamama, and thicker textures.
Day 211Month eight: a new guideThe 7-to-12-month guide takes over today. The 9-month list is the frame for the weeks ahead, read as 'most babies by 9 months,' and crawling isn't on it.Try: The nine-month frame
Day 212Sitting, then getting thereSitting without support and getting into a sit alone are both 9-month skills, and healthy babies first sat alone anywhere from 3.8 to 9.2 months. The reach that builds balance, and the mattress.Try: The sit-and-reach
Day 213Crawling, or notCrawling is usually mastered between 7 and 10 months by the babies who crawl, 4.3% never crawl on hands and knees, and CDC took it off the checklists. A cushion course for any kind of mover.Try: Cushion crawl course
Day 214RakingRaking food toward themselves with the whole hand is on the 9-month list; the thumb-and-finger pincer usually comes around 9 months. A tray of soft bits no bigger than half an inch, and a clear floor.Try: The rake-and-eat snack
Day 215Hand to hand, bang bangMoving things from one hand to the other and banging two things together are both on the 9-month list. Two blocks, one bang, and why the spoon dropped forty times is an experiment.Try: Two blocks, one bang
Day 216MamamamaLots of different sounds like 'mamamama' and 'bababababa' are a 9-month skill, and babies reshape their babble within minutes when it's answered right away. The syllable volley.Try: The syllable volley
Day 217Twenty-nine weeks: thicker texturesSmooth purees give way to mashed and lumpy this month, then finely chopped. Why a fork beats the blender now, and what a UK cohort of 7,821 children found about lumps that came after 9 months.Try: The lumpy mash
Week 30: meals and the mouth
Three meals and two snacks, the family table, choking this month, out of sight, in and out, the yes space, and redirecting.
Day 218Three meals, two snacks, by nine monthsAt 9 months the AAP suggests 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks a day, with breast milk or formula still the main drink and 4 to 8 ounces of water. The direction of travel, mapped around tomorrow's naps.Try: The meal map
Day 219Baby at the family tableThe AAP encourages family meals from the first feeding: the high chair pulled up to the table, soft pieces of what everyone eats, and your baby's cues, not the plate, deciding when it's over.Try: Baby at the family table
Day 220Choking, this monthFinger foods bring the choking rules back: pieces no larger than half an inch, the not-before-1 list, a silent baby versus a noisy one, and the five-and-five. Cut tonight's food and check it.Try: The half-inch cut
Day 221Out of sightBy about 8 months, many babies lift a cloth to find a hidden toy, and looking for dropped things is on the 9-month list. The towel game, and why the spoon keeps going over the side.Try: Where did it go?
Day 222In and outPutting a block in a cup is a 12-month milestone, so this month is the warm-up: dumping, refilling, and the low cabinet of pots and lids that beats any toy you can buy.Try: In and out
Day 223The yes spacePut tempting and dangerous things out of reach so you need "no" less often, say what to do instead of what not to, and save "no" for safety. The AAP's discipline advice, in one cabinet.Try: The yes cabinet
Day 224Redirect, don't punishSpanking was linked to worse results on 13 of 17 outcomes and better on none, and hitting a baby under 18 months raises the risk of injury. The move for this age is the swap, practiced with a smile.Try: The swap
Week 31: faces and nights
Mirror faces, stranger wariness, early separation anxiety, night waking, night feeds, childproofing at crawling height, and tip-overs.
Day 225Thirty-one weeks: mirror facesBy 9 months, most babies show several facial expressions: happy, sad, angry, surprised. A mirror, a nose, and a name for each face, from the AAP's own list of games for this stage.Try: Mirror faces
Day 226Stranger wariness beginsShy, clingy, or fearful around strangers is on the 9-month list, and it isn't caused by spoiling. What a study of 1,285 twins found about how fear usually rises, and the slow way to let a visitor in.Try: The slow visitor
Day 227Separation anxiety, earlySeparation anxiety usually gets stronger around 9 months and peaks between 10 and 18 months. Never sneak away, say the same short goodbye every time, and practice it on a trip to the kitchen.Try: The next-room goodbye
Day 228Night waking returnsBabies this age need 12 to 16 hours of sleep, usually 9 to 12 at night plus two naps, and separation anxiety can bring night waking back. The quiet reassurance: one sentence, one hand, then out.Try: The quiet reassurance
Day 229Night feeds: ask firstMany babies this age don't need to eat at night and some still do. The AAP's line on formula after 2 to 4 months, why growth comes first, and the one question to write down for the 9-month visit.Try: The night-feed question
Day 230Childproof at crawling heightGates at the top and bottom of the stairs, mounted to the studs, never accordion-style; windows opened from the top; outlets plugged; walkers skipped. The gate check, and one room a day.Try: The gate check
Day 231Tip-oversA baby who kneels at the dresser will soon pull up on it. CPSC counted 234 tip-over deaths in 22 years, 199 of them children. Anchoring one piece is an afternoon's work, and today is the afternoon.Try: The anchor afternoon
Week 32 and eight months
Button batteries, hot drinks, water, medicines, screens, the point, the urge to help, what changed, and eight months.
Day 232Button batteries and magnetsA coin battery stuck in the throat can do severe damage in 2 hours. Where they hide, the tape, the locked drawer, the ER with the hotline on the way, and why the honey advice isn't for babies yet.Try: The battery hunt
Day 233Thirty-two weeks: hot drinks, againHot liquids in cups and mugs cause 27% to 60% of scald burns in children under 5. The rule you kept all summer becomes, today, the rule for everyone who walks through the door.Try: The mug rule for guests
Day 234Water, three inches of itA bath is three inches deep; a baby can drown in 1 or 2, silently, within seconds. The seat that tips, the bucket by the door, the toilet lid, and the one hand that never leaves the baby.Try: The bath hand
Day 235Medicines and Poison HelpChild-resistant caps aren't childproof. Cleaners, alcohol, the pills in your bag and your guests' bags, vaping liquid, edibles, and the free number every caregiver saves today.Try: The bag sweep
Day 236Screens before oneThe WHO recommends no screen time under 1, and the AAP calls TV and apps a bad idea before 18 months. A TV on in the background cuts how much you talk. One hour off, with the sentences counted.Try: The TV-off hour
Day 237Follow the point, before the pointPointing to ask for things is a 15-month milestone, but the looking has started. Name what your baby stares at, ten things a day, the same name each time: the study behind it.Try: Name what they see
Day 238The urge to helpChores are a year away, but the urge is starting: 12-month-olds point to help an adult find a lost object, and 18-month-olds help for nothing. Pass a toy, ask for a sock, say thank you.Try: The sock hand-off
Day 239What eight months changedLying to sitting, raking to passing, coos to syllables: what the last eight months built, and the 9-month visit next month with its screening questionnaire. Today's photo makes no claims.Try: Eight-month photo and letter
Day 240Eight monthsEight months. The 9-month list as a celebration, not a test; the sitting, scooting, or crawling video with no claims attached; the hotlines once more, lightly; and where the notes go next.Try: The sitting-alone video