{"id":100860,"date":"2018-08-01T07:52:50","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T11:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100860\/8-month-old-baby\/"},"modified":"2021-12-08T15:55:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T20:55:38","slug":"8-month-old-baby","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100860\/8-month-old-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"8 months old\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many babies are crawling at this point, there\u2019s no reason to be alarmed if Baby<\/span> isn\u2019t – there are so many brand new skills babies have to learn during the first year, and some babies prioritize other things over crawling. Babies who are late to crawl often haven\u2019t been working on building up gross motor skills because they\u2019re more interested in focusing on learning to talk, or on fine motor skills, or being the first baby on the block to learn how to take off their<\/span> own diaper. You never know what Baby<\/span>\u2019s interests are going to be – maybe they doesn\u2019t<\/span> think crawling is that interesting yet, but they\u2019ll<\/span> get there.<\/p>\n

Whether Baby<\/span> has begun to crawl or scoot or not yet, it\u2019s a good idea to re-visit whatever babyproofing measures you\u2019ve taken to make sure they\u2019re still up to snuff. Most babies are able to pull themselves to standing positions sometime between 9 and 12 months, so it\u2019s a good idea to secure any cords or other objects that they might<\/span> use to try to pull up. And even while they is<\/span> sticking to crawling, it can be helpful to get on their<\/span> level – think like a baby! If there\u2019s any rooms or areas of your home that you don\u2019t want Baby<\/span> to get into, block them off. The same goes for cabinets – Baby<\/span> is on ground level, so if you keep any dangerous chemicals beneath the sink or elsewhere low, they might be right in their<\/span> line of sight. Make sure that everything you don\u2019t want them<\/span> getting into is totally secured.<\/p>\n

Baby<\/span>\u2019s grasp is growing up right along with them<\/span> – by this point, there\u2019s a good chance that they either has<\/span> mastered the pincer grasp, or is well on their<\/span> way. This opens up a whole new world for them<\/span> in terms of solid foods – purees are interesting, but they\u2019re not nearly as much like a game as picking up each individual pea or piece of cereal and deciding whether or not to try and bring it up to their<\/span> lips.<\/p>\n

Baby<\/span> is probably a ways away from being able to eat efficiently with silverware, but that doesn\u2019t mean they isn\u2019t<\/span> curious about it. If Baby<\/span>\u2019s curiosity has them<\/span> grabbing at the spoon enough that it makes feeding them<\/span> tricky, handing them<\/span> a spoon of their<\/span> own to hold could keep them<\/span> busy long enough to get them<\/span> fed. More than that, though, giving them<\/span> their<\/span> own spoon to hold can help them<\/span> get comfortable with eating utensils, which could help to give them<\/span> a head start working on their<\/span> table manners. And who knows? If they sees<\/span> you feeding yourself with a fork and spoon now and then, they might<\/span> follow your lead and give it a try!<\/p>\n

Milestones<\/strong><\/h4>\n