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Your baby at 7 months: development milestones & what to expect
At seven months, things start to feel full on. From meals and milk to movement and naps, here’s what’s typical and how to support your baby this month.
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Seven months in – how are you? It can feel like a lot to manage now if you’re trying to manage two or even three ‘meals’ per day, alongside milk, as well as naps, outings, baby clubs, and all the rest of it. Not to mention your little one may be on the move. If you’re feeling absolutely shattered, well, really it’s no wonder. There’s always so much to think about. Try to get at least one meal out without your baby this month – you deserve some grown-up time!
Physical development milestones at 7 months
Rolling, grabbing, sitting (for a moment!), stretching, reaching, lifting and maybe even crawling – your baby is on the move this month and it’s a delight to see what they can get up to now that they’re a tiny bit more independent. Toys on wheels, balls, and things that move are all super fun at this age; they can follow them across the floor, send them whizzing across the room, or you can roll them between you. It’s amazing what entertainment they get from sharing toys like this.
Your baby’s eyesight is fully developed now, and they should be able to see full colour and in three dimensions, close up and from across the room. If you notice your baby can’t follow objects with their eyes or doesn’t seem able to focus – or if they have a squint (where one eye turns inwards or outwards) – it’s worth talking to your GP or optometrist to get your little one’s eyes checked. Even babies sometimes need glasses!
If your little one hasn’t got any teeth yet, but is showing all the signs – rosy cheeks, lots of dribble, chewing on their fingers, tugging on their ears, generally irritable – it’s likely a tooth is on the way. Keep your eyes peeled. The first tooth is usually one of the bottom front two.
Milestone checklist
- Keep on moving – Your little one is developing their skills and learning all the ways they can move their body. Don’t worry if they’re nowhere near crawling yet; just keep going with the tummy time to help strengthen those muscles.
- Sitting independently – Around this time, your little one should manage to sit independently – but keep the cushions close, just in case!
- Fine motor control – All this playtime is helping your little one develop their fine motor skills – gripping, grasping, moving things from hand to hand. This will pay off when it comes time to feed themselves, so is worth encouraging with – you guessed it – lots more play!
Child brain development at 7 months
Your baby loves copying you, listening to you, and watching everything you do. That’s how they learn, and right now their brains are so receptive to new information – it’s incredible.
Fine motor skills are as much a brain development thing as physical development – they need to get their brain working hard to link up what they’re seeing with their hand movements, where they are beginning to use the pincer movement (thumb and forefinger) to pick up small objects. (A reminder to keep choking hazards well out of their reach!) You can practice this at mealtimes by giving them finger foods , such as soft-cooked carrot sticks or – if you’re really testing them! – cooked peas. Just watch for their new favourite game – dropping things on the floor, so that you’ll pick them up.
Another really rewarding development at this age is your baby’s memory. They’re learning their own name, and may respond to it if you call for them, and they’re learning who is mummy, who is daddy. You might even get a response to familiar words and phrases like ‘bath time’, ‘milk’, ‘hungry’, etc. This is another great reason to add signing to your daily routine, as even though your little one can’t make the words yet, they often pick up simple signs quite quickly – and then they can tell you what they want. And isn’t that a revelation?
Social & Emotional Development
Babies of this age don’t need screen time – you’re the entertainment! And while that may sound exhausting, you really don’t need to do much to please them. They’ll be happy watching you do the washing up if they get to see the bubbles and hear your voice.
Your little one will especially love to hear you sing – all day, every day. They are big fans of repetitive nursery rhymes, in part because they are predictable and that makes them quickly familiar and comforting. Check out your local library – most will offer weekly Rhyme Time sessions, where you can learn all the nursery rhymes you like. Nursery rhymes often have actions, as well, so soon your baby will add clapping to their repertoire – fun!
Sleep & Feeding
Rhythms and routines at this stage
Your little one may be dropping a nap soon , down to two naps a day – and hopefully that means these naps are now long enough for you to either have a nap yourself or catch up on some ‘you’ time. This is a relief because their wake windows can now last for more than 3 hours! Of course, these long periods aren’t all filled with play. You have to fit in nappy changes (more on those below), milk feeds, experimenting with food, cleaning up after food, and a whole lot of socialising. If anything, you might be dreaming of a time when there’s just one nap to fit in.
Food update
Since you started weaning last month, your mealtimes will have got a little more complicated. You’re now offering a wider range of foods and later this month will increase to three (very small) meals per day – if you haven’t already. There are no hard and fast rules about how much and how often at 7 months; it really does depend on how your little one is adjusting to life on solids. Some babies will be eager for more, while others might take a more cautious approach. If you aim to sit your baby down for food with you at breakfast and lunch, and possibly dinner – unless you prefer a later, child-free meal – they’ll get into a good routine of eating the way you eat, even if it will be a while before you’re all eating the same thing.
Offering a wide variety of foods is important – both for nutrition purposes and to get them used to trying lots of different things. You should also be trying different textures by now, as your little one learns to chew on lumpier foods. Finger foods are also a popular option. Don’t be put off if your little one rejects your offering first time; it can take more than 10 tries for a baby to decide they actually like a food.
Babies don’t need snacks at this age – but milk is still a very important element of their diet, so if they’re hungry between meals, stick with milk feeds.
You can find more on weaning here .
Nappies
Oof – nappies are a whole new deal once your baby is on solids. And of course they’re also wigglier than ever – and may even try to crawl away from you while you’re cleaning them up! Argh!
Stinky nappies are basically the norm now that your baby is eating normal food. Their poo is more like yours – and there will be more of it, the more they eat. Whether you use disposable or reusable nappies, you might sometimes find that you’re getting through a mountain of wipes to properly clean your baby’s bottom these days. If that’s the case, and it bothers you – or it leads to prolonged periods holding down an increasingly frustrated baby – it’s worth giving reusable wipes a go. The friction of a damp fabric wipe has a better impact on dirty bums, while still being kind to skin, and the care of them is not that arduous. You can simply soak them in a bucket (with a lid!) until you’re ready to wash them. You don’t even need to buy anything fancy – just cut up a piece of terry cloth into squares and when they get too grim, throw them away.
Looking after yourself
Have you experienced the guilt yet? Mums in particular seem to suffer with this terrible affliction – where everything and everyone feels like your responsibility, and you can’t even go for a haircut without feeling bad about it. This is such a common feeling, and it tends to arise naturally out of being the main carer. But you don’t have to take everything on your shoulders. You’re entitled to a haircut or a night out or a bath in peace without feeling that you’re letting your baby down.
One of the best ways to alleviate mum guilt is to make sure your partner is empowered to look after your baby, so they don’t constantly have to phone you to check where the wipes are, or how much milk to give, or what time is lunchtime. If you are the main carer and your partner doesn’t have as many opportunities to learn this stuff as you have, then it can be helpful to have a shared compendium. Not a list you have to make every time you leave the house, but a shared document or a chalkboard in the kitchen, or whatever works for your family. Though it can be annoying to have to write things down that live in your brain perfectly happily, these are the foundations that can help stabilise a relationship, making it easier for you to parent more equally.
Imagine a blackboard that says ‘Right now, <name>…’ and then a list:
- Likes porridge for breakfast
- Eats cooked vegetables and eggs for lunch
- Naps from 9 – 10.30am and from 3 – 4.30pm
- Loves bubbles, her squeaky ball, and monkey
- Hates nappy changes
That kind of thing. And it’s not only your job to write it – you can both share what you know, updating as your baby changes and grows. But what you have is a common resource that helps to level the parenting playing field a little.
You might also find it helpful to narrate your activities for your partner from time to time – like, ‘I’m putting the spare wipes under the bathroom sink’ – to save on some of those phone calls. You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re parenting your partner as well as your baby, but nor is it fair to expect them to just ‘know’ things that they haven’t had the chance to learn.
And you might also do well to remind yourself that you’re not the only person who loves your baby – and loves them well. Your partner might parent differently – but different isn’t wrong. You can let go of the guilt, knowing your little one is in good hands and that they’ll grow up with great role models of self-care and a solid partnership.
A Note on Development Milestones
Developmental milestones are guides – not deadlines. If your baby isn’t ‘keeping up’ with your friends’ babies, it isn’t an immediate cause for concern. Every child develops at their own pace. That being said, your health visitor and GP are there to support you with any queries you might have and will always be happy to see you with your baby if you have any worries.
