Baby’s 7th Month – A Guide To Development And Milestones

Your baby is now more than halfway to his first year. The 4th to the 7th month is a crucial period when several changes take place.

He is more independent than before and is developing his unique personality. You will find him crawling all around the house and learning to control his own environment.

Make sure to offer plenty of opportunities for him to get creative, mobile and curious in the safest possible ways.

7 Month Old Baby Development Milestones:

Wondering what to expect from him at this age and in the coming months? Here we shall help you get some ideas. However, these are just general guidelines and there are no such things as the “normal course of progress”. Do not worry if he is lagging behind a bit in few areas. Here we shall discuss the 7 month baby development milestones.

1. Teething:

This is the time when you can see tiny tooth buds coming out from his gums. With the teeth coming out you can see your baby developing the teething habit.

Teething is his natural way of soothing his aching gums.

- You must stay away from using topical pain relievers as these have potential side effects.

Do not worry if he doesn’t start teething. Many babies do not start until they are a year old.

2. Eating Habits:

Hopefully your baby has started taking solids in some form by this time. Milk alone fails to offer the necessary nutrients to your little one and he needs the solids for complete nourishment.

You need to offer him solids in lump textures as the pureed offerings can be digested easily.

Do not offer milk just before a meal as he won’t show much interest in solids later.

The foods you offer must be fresh. Homemade foods are a much better option compared to the commercially available ones.

Apart from the solids your baby still needs around 600 ml of milk every day. However you need to keep a note of the fact that too much of milk leads to obesity in babies, which is a growing concern these days.
If you are breastfeeding him make sure to offer vitamin D supplements additionally.

3. Communication Skills:

Your 7 months old has started understanding the meaning of ‘language’.

He can now respond when you say “no”. However, do not expect him to follow any commands at this age.

You can expect a head turn or some response when you call his name.

He is now an expert when it comes to non-verbal communication.

He shows different kinds of facial expressions at this age. You can expect big grins to frowns from him.

He can now make sounds while laughing and babbling.

As he has grown to a considerable extent, he has developed an idea about object permanence. Earlier he was not able to realize that objects remain around even if they are hidden. However now he knows they still exist.

Your baby may start developing separation anxiety now. Upon being separated from you, he shall express himself by crying or clinging to you. He feels more comfortable among familiar faces and feels anxious among strangers.
Do not worry as he is likely to outgrow this by 2 years. You can schedule departures when he has napped already or when in a good mood. Make sure to keep the good-byes short and do not feel guilty about it. He may cry for few minutes initially but will soon get used to it.

Parenting Tips:

Here are some parenting tips that you can follow to aid his proper growth and development. Take a look:

Now that he has started taking solids you can make him a part of the family during the meal times. Make him sit in a high chair and let him see you eating. He will grow an interest in food this way.

Playtimes should be made a regular part of the day. Peek-a-boo and itsy bitsy spider are some exciting ways you can have fun with him.

Baby proof your home even if he is not that mobile yet. Get prepared as he shall be able to move around very soon.

Give him age-appropriate toys that need not be very expensive. He can spend some good times playing with them.

You can help him develop his listening skills and boost up his memory with action rhymes. You can also spend some wonderful time together this way.
You must not rush to make him do the activities that he is not yet capable of. After all, you will certainly not want to leave him feeling frustrated at the end of the day. Guide his hands in the right direction and position. Stand by his side and let him try on his own.

7 Months Old Baby Developmental Concerns:

Every baby develops in his own pace, making it difficult to say how and when he perfects a particular skill. Here is a list of developmental delays that you should be watchful of. In case you feel alarmed by his development course, you can always have a talk with your doctor. Take a look at some of the signs that you should consider seriously: