Baby development: 8 months

8 month old baby

What is your baby doing?

  • Pulling himself to standing position
  • Walking holding on to furniture
  • Developing fine motor skills like the pincer grasp
  • Crying when he sees other babies crying
  • Shaking and banging items
  • Saying mama or dada

What not to worry about – Your baby falling over

As scary as it to watch your child take a head first dive onto the floor, bumps, scrapes and bruises are an inevitable part of how babies discover their own limits and learn how to do things. Having said that it pays to [[babyproofing your home|safety proof your house to a certain degree; stair-gates, safety straps in high chairs and pushchairs, padded corners on tables and socket covers are all well worth the investment.

How you can help your child at this age

  1. Your baby will have uncanny knack for spotting any teeny object left lying on the floor and putting it immediately in her mouth. It can help to literally get down on to her level to see what she can see.
  2. Adapt baby games like peek-a-boo, by letting your baby pull the blanket off, or showing your baby how to cover his or her own face with the hands.
  3. Your baby is probably obsessed with your mobile phone, buy a toy version and let him play with all the buttons, or have pretend conversations it will help develop his imagination and hand skills.
  4. Encourage self-feeding to help hand to mouth coordination, even if you can’t stand the mess. Opt for finger foods such as rice cakes, carrots and cheese.

Troubleshooting - "My baby’s not speaking yet."

“My daughter didn’t say her first proper word until she was about eighteen months old. I was afraid something was wrong especially as all my friends babies were saying dada and mama at 8 – 9 months and she wasn’t. My GP kept saying she’ll speak when she’s ready and she did. My tip is to keep talking to her and not pressurise your child. She really will speak when she’s ready.”

Jenni, 39 mum to Nell, 4

Next steps

Your baby at 9 months

 

Comments

Submitted by MusingDreams on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 22:49.
All babies are different and develop at their own rate - it's normal and there's nothing to be worried about! My little girl is 8 months old, can't lye well on her front, has only just started rolling, can't stand on her own legs atall (even if i hold her up) and is only just sitting up - i'm not worried at all.
Submitted by aisha8311 on Mon, 05/12/2011 - 18:11.
My baby is getting 9 month she's not crawling is this normal?
Submitted by suhaniAsif on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 06:51.
my baby is not crwaling and cant even stand properly in walker i m soooooooooo worried:-(
Submitted by davekate on Thu, 20/10/2011 - 19:49.
My little girl have same issues as missie3342 as anybody got any advice thank you
Submitted by BubblyBlue on Thu, 29/09/2011 - 01:10.
I agree with belinda48-try her in a baby walker if you haven't already done so. My 2nd daughter is one week away from being 8 months old and loves her Chicco DJ baby walker. We put her in it no more than twice a day for a maximum of 15-20 mins a time as she becomes tired. She's been using it for one month and is still only moving backwards in it, but it is helping to strengthen her legs and she has found out how to open the oven door and push the switches on the electrical wall sockets! She started crawling (dragging herself across the floor/bed lol) a week ago. Before crawling she was rolling from side-to-side like a ninja and was able to turn herself around 360 but wasn't crawling. I wouldn't worry about it too much as all babies do their own thing in their own time. My 1st daughter is 15yrs old and started crawling a little later at 9/10 months. Tummy time is important. Try to let your baby lie on her tummy whenever you can (although not just after a feed). My 8mo also used to cry when she was put on her front as she couldn't keep her head up for very long and got tired/frustrated-she then learnt how to spin like a ninja! Also, put lots of pillows around the edges of your bed and let your baby roll at least twice a day.
Submitted by belinda48 on Sun, 25/09/2011 - 16:05.
Don't worry. Two out of four children I had didn't walk until they were sixteen months. It's helpful to start them in a baby walker, whenever you feel she's ready. The good thing about delayed walking meant that they never went through the awful crawling stage.
Submitted by missie3342 on Tue, 20/09/2011 - 20:07.
My little girl is nearly 8 months old and she is not showing any signs of crawling/getting herself about. She is sitting up really well and has done since she was about 6 months but she only rolls onto her front and once she is there cries to be put on her back as she cant do it herself! She is doing everything else that she is "supposed" to be doing. He co-ordination is very good i.e hand to mouth with finger foods, reaching for objects, recognises her name, smiles, laughs etc its just the moving element im getting slightly worried about. She will use her legs if i hold her up but not for more than about 1 minute. Should i be getting worried?? I am a first time Mum and do not know what is "normal"!!
 

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