7-Month-Old Baby - What to Expect

Welcome to the seventh month! It's halftime, baby, so get ready for the show, and what a show it will be, featuring plenty of baby breakthrough performances.

Learn more about your baby's development at WhatToExpect.com: https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-ye...

Download the What to Expect app:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pregn...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...

Heidi Murkoff, creator of What to Expect, is here to guide you through every stage of your baby's life. Watch all of our first year videos:    • Your Baby's First Year  

FOLLOW US:
Facebook:   / whattoexpectwhenyoureexpecting  
Twitter:   / whattoexpect  
Pinterest:   / whattoexpect  
Instagram:   / whattoexpect  

Transcript:

Welcome to the seventh month! It's halftime, baby, so get ready for the show, and what a show it will be, featuring plenty of baby breakthrough performances; adding consonants to that repertoire of sweet sounds or longer chains of babble and repeat performances baby will relish repeating over and over again, like fake coughing.
All the world's a stage for your little interactor these days and he'll take plenty of curtain calls as you cheer him on. Baby's also eager to explore the world, at least as much as she can reach, an area that's definitely expanding as your aspiring adventurer learns to propel herself. Maybe it's sideways via fast flips, maybe it's forward or backward as baby inches towards crawling, maybe it's spinning in a circle. Dragging herself on her belly, scooting, or rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, it's just a matter of time before baby's days of staying put are over.
Another trick baby may have up her sleeve, pivoting when sitting, so she can reach something she's spied to one side. Your little manipulator is figuring out how to deploy fingers, not just fists, to reach for objects and to drag them over for a closer look and possibly a taste, so watch those wily fingers like a mother or father hawk.
Everything your baby does is a memory in the making, though you'll want to use your camera for backup. But did you know memories are actually being captured by your baby's growing brain too and being used every day to make play and social interactions more fun and engaging?
He'll likely remember familiar people and animals, books and toys, music. He may start to recognize you as Mommy and Daddy, the cat as Chloe. He may turn when you say his name and even stop a beat, though definitely not comply when you say no, a word he has probably heard plenty already.
Your little one's emotional IQ is also growing. Not only will your baby show her feelings, she'll begin to read yours by the look on your face and the tone of your voice. And though she still won't have a clue who her mirror image is, she'll start to engage that smiling baby she sees, even stroking her face.
Your little one will start adding gestures to explain what he wants, like reaching his arms out for a pick-me-up. And yes, begin to understand the fine art of button pushing, as in, pick-me-up, now. Keep responding to your baby, who feels more secure in exploring when he knows you're always there when he needs you. You're the first place he'll turn when he's looking for help.
With independent mobility just around the corner, it's time to do a complete baby-proofing of your home if you haven't yet. Get down to baby level, on the floor, on your hands and knees, to survey her surroundings for potential trouble spots. Always overestimate your little one's reach, and though she won't understand them yet, it's smart to start planting safety seeds for the future, using warning words like ouch, boo-boo, hot, sharp, don't touch, careful.
Stimulating your baby now means pulling out all the talking stops and breaking often for books, music, and movement. It also means introducing more challenging play. Think stacking and sorting toys, toys that encourage crawling, cars or balls that roll, light up, make music, action-reaction toys, baby shakes, it rattles, baby presses, it spins, roly poly toys that wobble, but don't tip over, anything baby can safely bang on or push. Here's to a happy, busy seventh month.