At seven months, your baby is becoming independent and developing their own unique personality. From picking up a favorite toy to scooting or crawling from place to place, your 7-month-old is learning how to control their environment and finding out that being in control can be fun. During this next month, you should find plenty of opportunities to continue encouraging your baby’s mobility, creativity, and curiosity -- in safe ways, of course.
In this portion of WebMD’s month-by-month guide, discover what milestones you can expect your child to achieve in the seventh month.
Seventh Month Baby Milestones: Motor Skills
Seven-month-olds are learning to get around, although they don’t all do it in the same way. Your baby may creep, scoot, roll, crawl, or combine all four movements. You can encourage this new mobility by placing toys just out of your baby’s reach. Make sure baby is safe while exploring by putting away any toys or other objects that contain small or sharp pieces.
Because baby can now sit unassisted and reach for and pick up toys, playtime involves a lot more independence than in months past. Give them toys with sounds and textures that they can pass from one hand to the other, turn around, and shake. This is their way of bringing the world closer! They'll put everything they grab into their mouth, so make sure choking hazards are out of reach.
The ability to hold and drink from a cup, and possibly eat from a spoon, means that they are also more independent at mealtimes. They may be trying to grasp objects by "raking."
Your 7-month-old should be strong enough now to hold themselves up on their legs while supported. Practicing this skill will strengthen leg muscles and help them get ready for walking. They'll love to bounce and jump, too!
Seventh Month Baby Milestones: Teething
Between your baby’s fifth and seventh month, you should see those first tiny tooth buds emerge from the lower gums. You’ll know your baby is teething because they’ll drool more and will probably be fussier than usual. To soothe gum discomfort, give your baby a cold washcloth or teething toy to chew on. The FDA advises against using topical pain relievers rubbed on the gums that contain benzocaine because of the potential for dangerous side effects. Benzocaine can be found in over-the-counter medicines such as Baby Orajel. Talk to your pediatrician before using these products.
Once the first few teeth have popped up, brush them daily with a soft baby toothbrush and water and grain-size smudge of toothpaste.
You’ll probably see the two bottom middle teeth pop up first, followed by the two top middle teeth. The bottom and top two side teeth should fill in over the next 3 or 4 months. Don’t be alarmed if your baby is 7 months old and doesn’t have any teeth yet. Teething patterns vary widely from child to child. A few babies are born with teeth, while other babies don’t start teething until they are over age 1.
Seventh Month Baby Milestones: Eating
Your 7-month-old should have already started to eat solid foods. Now you can probably introduce chunkier foods -- mashed fruits and vegetables instead of pureed. Offer them 4 tablespoons of iron-fortified cereal daily with fruit in the morning and vegetables in the afternoon. Adding these thicker foods will help your baby adjust to new textures and learn how to chew. Anytime you introduce a new food, wait a few days before trying anything else and watch for signs of an allergy such as diarrhea, vomiting, rash, or wheezing.
Seventh Month Baby Milestones: Communication
Seven-month-olds are starting to understand the meaning of language. Your baby should respond when you say “no,” although babies at this age don’t always follow that command. You should also get a response -- at least a head turn -- whenever you say baby’s name.
At seven months, babies are getting to be experts at nonverbal communication. They can make a wide variety of expressions with their face -- from big grins to frowns -- and they can understand how you’re feeling by the tone of your voice and your facial expressions. Your baby should also communicate vocally by making a lot of different sounds -- laughter, blowing bubbles or raspberries, and babbling in chains of consonants such as “da-da-da.”
Some parents use baby sign language at this age to help their little ones make themselves understood. If you want to try it:
- Teach signs for practical words like more, mommy, nap, diaper, and done.
- Practice regularly to help your baby remember the signs.
- Keep talking and reading to your baby so their speech isn't delayed.
- Ask your partner and other caregivers to use the signs that you've taught your baby so they'll understand what they want.
A 7-month-old’s memory has developed significantly, and along with it comes the concept of object permanence. Just a few months ago, when you hid an object or your face during a game of peek-a-boo, your baby thought it was gone forever. Now, they realize that people and objects still exist, even when they are hidden.
Object permanence means that when you are out of sight at work or running errands, you are not out of your baby’s mind. At seven months, your baby may start to have separation anxiety, crying and clinging to you whenever you try to leave or resisting being left with a babysitter. Because the familiar is more comfortable to your baby, stranger anxiety may also start to become an issue at this age.
Your baby will probably grow out of separation anxiety by age 2 or sooner. For now:
- Try scheduling departures when your baby has already napped and eaten and is less cranky to begin with.
- Have a new sitter come early. That way, you can play together and give your baby time to warm up to the caregiver before you run out.
- Your baby will watch you for cues, so show them that you like and trust the new person.
- Keep good-byes short and sweet, and ask your caregiver to distract your baby with a toy or book until you’re out the door.
- And don’t feel guilty -- your baby will likely stop crying a few minutes after you leave.
Tips for Your Baby’s Seventh Month:
- Now that you’ve graduated to solid foods, make your baby part of family mealtimes by pushing the high chair up to the dinner table.
- Make playtime a regular part of each day. Itsy-bitsy spider, peek-a-boo, this little piggy, and other staples from your own childhood are wonderful ways to have fun with your baby.
- Get down on all fours and make sure the play areas are baby-proofed. If your baby is not mobile yet, they will be very soon.
- It isn’t too early for play dates. At this age, babies are likely to be fascinated to look at and touch each other briefly and then play happily by themselves. Kids don't actually play together until later.