Infant Development: 7-month-Old Baby Care and Tips

The seventh month is a lot like the sixth but your baby will acquire a new set of skills this month. Parents will need to get busier this month as they will have to spend more time entertaining the baby, keeping the baby under constant supervision, and trying to get her to eat her solids. 

What are some of the milestones of your 7-month old?

• Your baby will start to sit up all by herself without any assistance. Give her chances to use her as an anchor to prop herself up instead of continuously helping her. 
• Your baby’s grabbing technique is going to change this month. 
• Your little one is getting ready to crawl this month.
• Your baby may also be ready to completely switch to solid foods.
• This month may also be the first time your little one claps her hands by herself.
• Your baby will be able to bear more weight on her legs and may also start to recognize and respond to her name.

Your baby’s developments in the seventh month

• Weight & Length- 

On average, 7-month old girl babies weigh around 17 pounds and that of the baby boys is 18 pounds. The average height of 7-month-old girls is approximately 26.5 inches and that of boys is 27 inches.

However, the height and weight of babies can vary and as long as your little one is consistently growing and your doctor is happy with her progress, you have nothing to worry about. Your baby will continue to grow throughout the first year of her life according to her own growth curve.

• Growth spurt- 

Generally, babies tend to experience a growth in the sixth month and if it started late in the sixth month, your little one may be in the middle of a growth spurt in the seventh month. An easy way to tell if your little one is going through that phase is to notice is she is fussier, hungrier, cranky, or going through a sleep regression.

Growth spurts only last for a week so it will be over soon. You will be able to spot significant changes in comparison to your 4-week old baby. 

• Vision- 

Your baby’s distance vision is going to improve this month. She will soon get the eyesight and vision clarity of that of an adult. Your baby will now enjoy the world in all its colors. She will get excited upon seeing familiar faces and will continue to respond negatively (crying, shrieking, pulling back) when strangers approach her.

• Response- 

You will notice that your baby can now recognize not only her name but also some phrases that you have repetitively used over the past few months in your chats. She can understand some basic phrases like “yay”, “no” and “hi” and will respond with different emotions to the different phrases. 

• Touching and exploring- 

Touching will go on and of course, tasting objects too!. She will try to move away from “raking” objects to using the pincer grab. She will try to use the pointer finger and her thumb to pick objects instead of using her entire hand.

• Crawling- 

Your little one may surprise you this month. Suddenly you would turn around and see your baby has moved from one point to another all by herself. Different babies have different crawling techniques. While some babies crawl the traditional way, some scoot on their bottom or on one leg.

There are no wrong ways to crawl. Also, if your baby is not crawling yet, you have nothing to worry about. Some babies start crawling a little later and some of them skip crawling altogether. 

Feeding your 7-month-old

All babies are different and have varied needs. While some 7-month-olds are ready to completely switch over to solid foods for entire nutritional needs, some babies will still need to rely on formula and/or breastmilk along with solid foods for complete nutrition. You should consult with your pediatrician about when would be the right time for your baby to switch to solid foods.  

• Bottle feeding:

If your 7-month-old continues to have the formula, she will be having around 6 to 8 ounces of formula every 4 to 6 times every day.

• Breastfeeding: 

Generally 7-month-olds nurse 4 to 6 times every 3 or 4 hours per day.

• Solid food: 

Even if your baby is not entirely switching to solids yet, she will start to have more solids in this month. You should continue with different foods. If your baby doesn’t like something the first time, don’t get discouraged and try giving it again. Babies sometimes need a few days to grow a knack for certain foods.  Baby should be starting to get three meals of solid food each day. 

Depending on the baby, she will have around 4 to 10 tablespoon of baby food over 2 to 3 meals. Continue giving her mashed and pureed veggies and fruits and baby cereal. You can also start giving her yogurt, mashed eggs and tofu but do look out for signs of any allergy. 

Sleep of 7-Month-Old

• Total amount- 

7-month-old babies sleep about 14 to 15 hours every day. Almost 7 to 11 of those 15 hours are covered at night and the rest is covered in 2 to 3 nap during the day. Most babies start to sleep through the night by this age but some still continue to wake up through the night.

You may want to start sleep training if your baby is still having trouble sleeping for longer stretches at night. If you have taken the right supplements to improve egg quality, your baby will be healthy.

• Sleep Regression- 

Teething, growth spurts, restless brain, an overload of new skill development are all the culprits keeping your baby from sleeping at night. A lot of babies go through sleep regression in this month. It lasts only for a few weeks and your baby will revert to the old sleeping pattern once she is more comfortable with all her new skills and developments. 

However, your baby is working hard at mastering a lot of skills and thus requires her sleep. If she is having trouble sleeping at night, you need to ensure that she gets her sleep during the day.

Your 7-Month-Old baby’s Schedule

Your baby’s schedule will be a lot like that of last month’s. It will be filed with solids during feeding time, lots of playtimes, crawling, mimicking words, and babbling. Your baby will love it if you keep repeating the same rhymes or songs again and again.

As your baby can probably clap by herself, play patty cakes more often and clap your hands along with the baby. You can even teach your baby to share toys and rattles along with the music. 

Tips and reminders for the seventh month

• Don’t forget to schedule your baby’s nine-month doctor’s appointment.
• Buy a high chair for your little one so that she can have her meals with her family at the table.
• Remember that you should never give certain foods like cow’s milk, honey, hard vegetables, dry fruits, etc.
• As your baby has probably started to crawl and will be putting almost everything in her mouth, you need to get down on the floor and check the nooks and crannies of your nursery for any choking hazard. Check if everything has been properly baby-proofed to prevent any accidents.

Frequently Asked Questions on 7-month old Baby Development

Takeaway

The seventh month of your baby’s life will be filled with lots of new skills acquirement and development. She is no longer satisfied with just nursing and sleeping. As she is gearing up to be more mobile, parents have to start paying more attention to the little crawler. You will gradually get to learn a lot about your baby’s personality in this month.

Also, some lucky parents get to hear that first “mama” or “dada” in this month. The day your baby says those words for the first time will always be memorable for you. 

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