First year development timeline: month 8

It’s the eighth month of your baby’s life. Can you believe you’ve almost had your baby for as long as you were pregnant? Well, you have and so much has changed in the last seven months, but your baby’s growth is not slowing down. What can you expect this month?

Sensory development: Your baby’s senses are still key to her perception of the world. Continue doing activities with your baby that engage all five of her senses.

Motor skills:You will see your baby is a lot more coordinated in all of her actions, this will continue to improve over the next few months.

What a multitasker! Remember, all babies develop at their own rate.

Mobility: Your baby is able to sit up for relatively long periods now and crawling is getting easier. Keep helping her stand up, but don’t rush her. If your baby doesn’t seem interested in standing up or walking, nothing you do will change her mind.

Cognitive development: Your baby probably has a favourite book, song or game right now. Indulge her desires, but at the same time expose her to new ones so she has a range of experiences that are key for her brain’s development. However, your baby is pretty smart already and has started to make links between things. You may notice that she groups similar things together and that if you stand in front of a mirror she knows she has to look back to see the real you.

Communication skills: In month 6 your baby developed a bit of stranger anxiety, this month she will develop separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a natural development from her stranger anxiety and is the result of your close relationship. Even spending the day with her Gran will be hard for her if you’re not there too, but it’s important that she gets used to this experience or her first day of school will be a nightmare!

Dietary developments: This month is a good month to introduce your baby to a sippy cup as it is time to begin the transition from baby bottle to big kid crockery. You can also add some strained meats to her diet if you wish.

This month expect lots of hugs, kisses and smiles not only for you, but also for other people she is familiar with. It’s part of your baby’s emotional development. She’s falling in love with everyone who loves her.

Month 8 Tip: Teething is very painful right now. A good method of soothing your baby’s pain is to give her cold objects to bite or suck on. Make sure she can’t accidentally swallow them.