University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Bulletin #4224 

Months 7 and 8

How Baby Is Changing

Your baby’s sitting is getting better as her lower back gets stronger. She may be able to keep herself busy for a while playing with toys on the floor.

She’s ready to get moving! Soon, you’ll see her pushing up on hands and knees and creeping along the floor.

If your baby isn’t moving along on her tummy yet, you can encourage her. Sit in front of her and put a favorite toy just out of her reach. Praise her when she tries to get it.

When baby rocks back and forth on her hands and knees, crawling isn’t too far off.

Watch your baby’s hands. She can pass a toy from one hand to the other. Try giving her two at a time. What does she do when you hand her a third?

She may like finger foods that let her practice picking things up and feeding herself.

Your baby is also trying out new sounds. Keep listening! She may choose a favorite or two that she says often. Imitate her sounds so she can hear you saying her “words.”

Have You Met Other Parents?

Out for a walk or in the supermarket, you may meet other parents with their babies. Stop and talk. Ask how old their baby is. It’s really fun to compare notes. Try asking them:

• How has your baby changed in the last week or two? Has she learned anything new?

• What is her favorite time of the day? What does she enjoy doing the most?

You will have your own questions, too. Perhaps they know a trick to soothe a crying baby, or to make feeding easier. Ask them. They are like you: they have learned a lot, and they’ll love to talk about their baby!

New Foods for Baby

Protein Foods:

Between 7 and 9 months, you can start adding meats, poultry and fish to your baby’s daily diet if baby’s doctor recommends it. You can either buy it or prepare the food at home.

Prepare or buy only plain, single-ingredient foods, such as strained chicken, strained beef, strained liver and strained fish. There is as much protein in one jar of strained chicken as there is in more than four jars of strained chicken and noodles.

Breads:

You can try giving baby up to one serving each day of whole grain or enriched breads such as toast, crackers, hard biscuits, a bagel half, rice or tortillas.

Fruit Juice:

Baby can now have about 1/4 cup of a vitamin C-rich fruit juice, such as orange. Do not give sweetened fruit drinks.

About Weaning:

Some mothers decide to wean their babies from the breast (or bottle) about now. Others wait until later on. Some babies loose interest in nursing as they become more active. When you wean your baby, replace the feeding he or she is least interested in with a bottle or cup feeding. After a week or two, replace another. Do this gradually until baby is weaned. During the weaning period, be sure to give your baby extra hugs and kisses.

Egg Yolk Puree:

Here is a recipe you can make at home and freeze. Be sure to keep everything clean.

1. Cook one egg in simmering water for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Remove shell and egg white. Puree (mash) egg yolk with one tablespoon of formula or milk until smooth.

3. Freeze in serving-size portions. After thawing some of the puree, be sure to use it up in a day or two. Even when refrigerated, it can go bad after two days.

Note: Use only the yolk. Egg whites can cause allergies. Don’t serve them until baby is 11 or 12 months old.

Discipline: Keeping Calm

When baby is pulling leaves off your favorite plant one by one, or smearing cereal in his hair, it is hard to keep your cool. Keep these things in mind:

If tempting things like plants or wastebaskets are left in baby’s reach, he will explore them. The easiest way to keep calm and keep baby out of trouble is to put things where he can’t get them.

Small babies do things that are upsetting to parents, but they don’t do them on purpose to annoy.

Feeding babies is messy. They like to help, and their efforts help them learn to feed themselves. You can reduce the mess, though.

Let baby help with less messy foods. Feed only as much finger food at a time as you’re willing to pick up off the floor. Try giving baby two cubes of cheese. When he finishes, give two more.

Remember, baby does not drop food to upset you, he is just learning where things go when they fall.

When baby bangs toys together again and again, it’s because he likes the noise they make. If it gets on your nerves, give him a quiet toy and take the noisy one away.

Language Games

Has your child learned to blow air? Does she use her tongue on the roof of her mouth to make clicking sounds? These are two important tricks for good language development.

If you make a game out of blowing air and clicking your tongue, your child will try to imitate you.

Put a small ball on baby’s highchair tray and blow on it until it rolls toward her. See if she’ll blow it back to you.

Now is also a good time to play the “touch and name” game. Touch different parts of your baby’s body and name them: “This is Sally’s foot. Here is Sally’s nose. Where are Sally’s fingers?”

Touch your own or your partner’s body parts and do the same thing, “Here is Mommy’s nose. Here is Sally’s nose.”

This game helps your baby learn about herself and her body, understand the connection between words and objects, and practice language.

Most infants cannot point to a named body part until about 18 months of age. But research shows that beginning to play language games now will help your child learn.

Baby’s Eyes

Since babies learn a lot by looking, it is helpful for you to know about baby’s eyes and vision.

Vision specialists say it is normal for an infant’s eyes to look crossed for a moment occasionally during the first 5 to 6 months of life. This can last up to 18 months.

It takes time to develop “binocularity,” or having both eyes work together. If baby’s eyes are crossed often, or he isn’t getting better at using both eyes together, talk to his doctor or an eye specialist.

Children should have regular eye exams, starting at age 3. Keep these thoughts in mind:

1. Put baby in the crib different ways so neither eye is favored when he looks around the room.

2. Play with him in ways that use both eyes and both sides of his body.

3. Take him for walks, or even to the store so he gets to see different things. Zoos, parks, flea markets and museums are fun places for you and baby to see new things together.

Sun Safety

Babies need fresh air and light. But too much sun can be harmful. Baby skin is delicate and burns easily.

Researchers have recently found that severe sunburns in childhood can lead to a greater risk of the most deadly form of skin cancer (malignant melanoma) later in life. Some simple steps can help you and baby enjoy the sun without sunburns.

• Stay out of the sun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.

• Keep baby in the shade.

• Put a hat on baby.

• Always put a sunscreen lotion with a 15 or higher SPF (Sun Protection Factor) on baby and yourself when you’ll be in the sun. Put lotion on 30 minutes before you go out. Reapply every two hours.

• If you use a stroller, keep the sunshade on.

•  If you or baby do get sunburned, put cool wet towels on the burns. Call the doctor for burns with a fever or blisters.

Traveling with Baby

Becoming a parent doesn’t have to mean giving up vacations. With a little extra care, you can travel with children, even babies.

General tips:

• Make a checklist of everything you’ll need, and use it.

• Try to stick to normal routines for mealtimes and bedtime.

• Take along a favorite blanket or stuffed animal to help baby feel more secure.

• Call ahead to reserve a crib if you’ll be staying at a motel, or bring your own crib or playpen if it is portable.

• Bring a thermometer, bandages, your doctor’s phone number any medicines baby is taking (in the original bottles), and disposable diapers.

Travel by car:

• Always use an approved carseat. If baby is unhappy, stop. Don’t take him out of the carseat when the car is moving.

• Bring toys for baby to play with in the carseat, but give him only one or two at a time. Save some for later.

• Allow more time than you think you’ll need, and stop often for a change of scene and a stretch at least every two hours.

• Bring a tape-recorder and tapes of yourself reading stories or singing baby’s favorite songs to play in the car.

• Be sure the passenger area is free of heavy things that could fly around and injure someone in a sudden stop.

Travel by airplane:

• Travel at non-peak times to improve your chances of having an empty seat next to you for your child.

• Call the airline to ask if your carseat is approved for air travel, and whether you need to reserve another seat. Or bring it as luggage. Rental car agencies may not have carseats.

• Baby may not get a meal unless you ask ahead. Bring baby food along.

• Change baby in the airport restroom before boarding the plane. There is more room there than in the plane.

• Pack your carry-on bag with: baby’s medicine, small toys, a change of clothes for yourself and baby, non-messy snacks or baby food for each meal if baby does not get a meal, and enough disposable diapers to last until the next day.

• Sucking a bottle or pacifier, or nursing may help keep baby’s ears from clogging up painfully before and during take-offs and landings. Or try yawning for baby to copy.

Grasping and Holding

In the early months, your baby held things in her hands in a single clumsy way, no matter what the object was shaped like. Slowly, she has learned to hold different things in different ways. By now, she may be able to hold things between her thumb and forefingers, and turn them skillfully around.

At first, baby is interested in the size, shape and texture of things. By now, she may also want to know how things fit together. If a toy has several parts, it will hold your baby’s interest.

Give baby nesting cups (like plastic measuring cups) to play with. Babies this age also like to put things into a container. Try a bowl with canning jar rims or small blocks.

At 7 or 8 months, most babies will put one thing down before picking up another. But your baby is learning to use each hand by itself. She may be able to pass a toy from one hand to the other now. This will let her do many new and exciting things.

At around 9 months, she will hold up and compare two toys, bang them and try to fit them together or put one inside the other.

Try this Activity

Give your baby a small object, like a block. Then offer her another. What does she do? Does she move the first block from one hand to the other? Does she have a preferred hand (right-handed or left)? Does she hold both blocks?

After a while, offer her a third block. Now this is a challenge! What does your baby do with the third block? 

Try this again in a week. What new tricks has baby learned?

Storing Baby’s Toys

Your baby probably has many toys by now, and you need somewhere to put them.

Shelves or low bookcases can be a good place to store toys, because everything can be seen and is easy for you and baby to get at.

A large basket, even a plastic laundry basket, will keep all the toys in one place, and is easy to move. Baby can even play inside the basket.

A toy chest is the traditional place for toy storage. If you decide on a toy chest, look for these safety features:

• A lightweight lid that a small child can lift by himself.

• Air holes (in case your child climbs inside the chest).

• Slow-release hinges, so fingers don’t get pinched, and the lid can’t drop suddenly onto a child’s head.

• Closings that don’t lock automatically.

• No splinters or sharp metal edges.

A Word About SIDS

Studies show that infants who sleep on their stomachs have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also called “crib death.” To help prevent SIDS, put baby to bed on her back (NOT on sides or tummy) for the first six months on a firm mattress. Use lightweight blankets and tuck bedding in securely at the foot of the crib. Other factors that increase the risk of SIDS are: diet (breastfeeding may reduce an infant’s risk); secondhand smoke; and room temperature (avoid a warm, stuffy room).

These are just some of the conditions connected to a higher risk for SIDS. There may be other conditions (such as premature birth) that are beyond your control.

When babies are old enough to roll over by themselves (generally, 6 months or older), SIDS is not as big a concern. At this age, you don’t need to worry as much about keeping baby on her back or side.

For more information on family issues, contact your county Extension office or the Family Living Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5717, (207) 581-3448/3104 or 1-800-287-0274 (in Maine).

Published and distributed in furtherance of Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Land Grant University of the state of Maine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Cooperative Extension and other agencies of the U.S.D.A. provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.

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