7-8 Months
Follow these milestones to see how your baby aligns with these stages of development.
Fine motor skills
- Shows a strong grip and the ability to pull at things, even against gravity, for example, pulling off fridge magnets
- May start to pick up objects with a pincer grip
- May start to drop an object into a hole in a tin
- May twist and turn wrists and ankles when frustrated
Gross motor skills
- Can twist and look backwards while in a sitting position
- Is mobile, using a variety of methods to get around including creeping, scooting, rolling and crawling
- Rocks back and forth on all fours as a precursor to crawling
Communication and language development
- Makes sounds like “ma-ma”, “da-da”
- Starts experimenting with making own facial expressions
- Blows bubbles and makes a wet razzing sound
- Enjoys pictures with familiar actions like sleeping or a baby holding a teddy
Social and emotional interaction
- Starts to blow kisses and loves to give hugs and kisses
- Reaches out arms when wants to be picked up
- May start testing authority; very curious about the reaction that she will get
- Separation anxiety might be a problem at this age
Cognitive development
- Can engage in hiding games or looking for objects that are partially hidden
- Realises when an object is missing
- Loves repetitive games, songs and rhymes
- Enjoys playing with cause-and-effect toys
Self-help and imitation skills
- Feeds herself finger food
- You can start to introduce a sippy cup
- Will experiment with making different sounds as teeth emerge
- Imitates clapping hands
Developmental milestones
8-9 Months
Fine motor skills
- Likes to explore with objects; shaking, banging, dropping, throwing and gumming them
- Starts pointing with index finger
- Uses pincer grip to pick up a small object, then holds it in hand using a fist grip
- Enjoys packing objects in and out
Gross motor skills
- Is motivated to move towards objects that are out of reach
- Is able to move from a lying position on the tummy, into a sitting position
- May scoot on bum using one hand and one foot
- May push up from a lying position, onto hands and knees
- Pulls herself up from a sitting into a standing position while holding onto furniture
- May start crawling and moving up stairs
- Moves along in a standing position while holding onto furniture (cruising)
- Bends knees and sits down after standing
Communication and language development
- May point to a body part when prompted
- May point to a favourite toy when prompted
- Enjoys making spit bubbles
Social and emotional interaction
- Is more aware of noises in her environment and might get a scare from an unexpected, unfamiliar sound
- Enjoys laughing at funny faces and noises
Cognitive development
- Starts imitating with objects in relation to their specific function, for example, holding a phone to the ear
- Can recognise faces and objects from across the room
- Loves to play peek-a-boo
- Will look for and try to find an object that is dropped to the floor
Self-help and imitation skills
- Imitates clapping hands or claps hands on request
- May try to hold own bottle
- May use teeth to bite off pieces of food
Developmental milestones
9-10 Months
Fine motor skills
- Enjoys packing objects in and out of containers
- May start wheeling big toy cars
- Enjoys playing pass; handing toys back and forth
- May start stacking rings, but not in order
- May start rolling a ball back and forth
- Picks up tiny objects using a pincer grip or lateral prehension grip (thumb and side of index finger)
- Reaches for a toy above the head
Gross motor skills
- Will make an effort to get to a toy that is out of reach
- Is crawling confidently
- Pulls up from a sitting to a standing position
- Stands while holding onto furniture
- Is mobile – creeping, crawling or cruising
- Moves from tummy to a sitting position independently
- Opens and closes doors and cupboards
Communication and language development
- Enjoys rhymes and songs with big gestures – may start to imitate a gesture while singing or rhyming
- Will babble in conversation style
- Starts to understand the word, “NO”
- Makes the following sounds repetitively, “ta-ta”, “ba-ba”, “pa-pa”, “da-da”, “ma-ma”
Social and emotional interaction
- Separation anxiety is at its peak
- Is able to communicate wants and needs through gestures, crying, pointing, etc.
- Personality will start to show
- Starts to wave goodbye
- Holds arms out to be picked up
- May start biting due to teething or out of frustration
Cognitive development
- Knows the location of toys in room
- Imitates behaviour of parents
- Objects when toys are taken away
- Will search for an object that is dropped to the floor
Self-help and imitation skills
- Feeds herself finger food
- Pulls off own socks
- Starts drinking from a cup
- Claps hands while singing