Milestones at 8 Months: What to Expect in Your Baby's Development

The physical development of every baby is not the same. Some people's height and weight increase rapidly while others grow at a slow pace. However, according to the standards set by the World Health Organization for the height and weight of children, if an 8 month old baby is a girl, then her average weight should be 7.9 kg and length 27.1 inches and if your 8 month old baby is a boy, then his average weight should be 8.6 kg and height around 27.8 inches.

The weight and height mentioned above are according to the average standards and your child's weight and height may vary according to the speed at which he is developing. But if you are worried about your child's weight or height, then you must talk to your child's pediatrician so that they can find out if there is any kind of developmental problem in the child.

(Read more: Baby development in the first month after birth)

By the age of 8 months, most children learn to crawl i.e. walk on their knees. Apart from this, if any favorite thing or item of the child goes from one place to another or is moving, then the child starts following it with his eyes and also tries to go behind it and catch it. He starts playing with things by easily moving them from one hand to the other.

(Read more: 11-Month Baby Development)

What Does An 8 Month Old Baby Do?

• Starts sitting independently without any support
• Many babies start rolling over while sitting
• Starts bending down to pick up an object or toy from the ground
• When the baby is on the ground, he tries to enter every corner of the house all the time
• At this age, the baby immediately puts whatever he finds in his mouth, so parents need to be very cautious
• Starts standing by holding the coffee table, couch, sofa or any other furniture, so do not let any kind of wire, mobile or laptop charger lie on the ground or in the reach of the baby
• Starts making different kinds of sounds to attract your or anyone else's attention
• Tries to copy the sound you are saying
• Tries to pick up his food with his own hands and put it in his mouth

(Read more: Baby development four months after birth)

All the five senses of your 8 to 9 month old baby are developing at this time and therefore there is a surge of development in the child's brain at this time. Due to this, the memory of the child starts improving at this time. He starts forming a strong attachment with his favorite toys and people. A child between 8 to 9 months enjoys playing hide and seek. If you hide a favorite toy of the child somewhere nearby and ask him to find it, then the child can find it or if you want, you can also play hide and seek with the child by hiding your face behind a curtain or in a dupatta.

At this time, the child's language development also starts and your baby learns to speak words like uncle and grandfather. Although he may not know what these mean. But he starts learning the meaning of yes and no. That is, if you say no to something, it is possible that he may not do that work. Also, a child of this age starts recognizing the family members whom he sees every day. If you say Papa or Dadi, then the child starts pointing towards them with his finger.

At this age, children's games are such that they try to learn something through them. For example - the child deliberately throws something down so that he can see how it falls or how it sounds. In the 8th month, the baby also tries to understand the meaning of many things. For example - if you give a bottle or spoon to the baby, he can put it in his mouth because perhaps he has now started recognizing that these things are related to the mouth.

(Read more: When Do Baby Movements Begin? )

As soon as you enter the 8th month, your baby will now become more socially and emotionally active and another feeling will start developing in him and that is the sadness or anxiety of being separated from you or a favorite toy or a person who is very close to him. This is the reason why at this age the child does not want to go to strangers whom he does not know and starts crying as soon as he is away from his parents or loved ones with whom he always stays. This is called separation anxiety.

It is completely normal to see separation anxiety in a child and it is also an important part of the child's development. The child can react in a similar way not only from people but also when separated from a favorite toy or thing. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, showing separation anxiety means that your child has grown up enough to understand when you are not with him and until you return to the child, he remains sad and upset. Starting from 8-9 months to about 2 years of age, this feeling of separation anxiety is seen in the child.

(Read more: Newborn Baby, Infant and Child Health Care Tips)

Doctors around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), recommend that a baby should be fed only mother's milk i.e. breast milk from birth to 6 months. After 6 months, the baby is fed solid food along with mother's milk or formula milk. Therefore, by the 8th month, your baby starts eating well-mashed solid food. But during this time it is important to continue mother's milk or formula milk as well because this is where the baby gets his necessary nutrition.

Your 8-month-old baby needs 750 to 900 calories daily. In such a situation, 400 to 500 calories should be fulfilled by breast milk or formula milk and the remaining calories should come from solid food which includes things like carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. If you want, you can feed your 8-month-old baby such things that the baby can easily hold in his hand and eat. This is called finger food.

When your child turns 8 months old, instead of feeding him milk or water from a bottle, you can give him a sip cup. It is possible that in the beginning, the cup may become less of a drinking item and more of a play item for the child, but gradually the child will get used to it. Talking about milk, your 8-month-old baby should be fed at least 700 ml of milk daily. Whether you feed the baby mother's milk or formula milk. If you want, you can feed about 200 ml of milk 3 to 4 times a day. Talking about solid food, apart from milk, an 8 month old baby should be given 3 meals and 2 snacks daily. You can also give seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pulses and dairy products except cow's milk to the baby. You can feed all these things to the child - apple, papaya, banana, avocado, carrot, boiled potato, boiled egg, cheese, porridge, pumpkin, rice, moong dal, masoor dal, sago, semolina, sweet potato, mango, paneer or tofu, curd etc. Do not add sugar and salt to your baby's food, but you can add some spices in very small quantity (a pinch) which will be beneficial for the child's health like - turmeric, asafoetida, fennel, fenugreek, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom etc. 

(Read more: Newborn Stretching) 

After eating, drinking, playing and social behavior, now let's talk about your baby's sleep. While your newborn used to sleep for 16-17 hours every day, now even after entering the 8th month, sleep is very important for your child. As much as your child is playing, growing, growing and developing, adequate sleep is equally important for him, only then he will be able to stay healthy and fit. Therefore, an 8-month-old child should also sleep at least 12 to 15 hours every day. This includes one sleep of 9 to 10 hours at night and at least two naps of 1 or 2 hours during the day. While some children sleep only for 30 minutes during the day, some children sleep for 2-3 hours.

(Read more: 11-Month Baby Development)

In the 8th month, your child develops rapidly and there is no hindrance in the development of the child, for this parents should keep these things in mind:

• Children of this age love to talk, so talk to the child as much as possible every day. You can talk about your daily work, about how your day was, anything. This helps the child to understand the words and their meaning. The more you talk, the better it will be.
• Play with the child as much as possible. Be it playing hide and seek, ringing the bell, hiding and finding toys, making animal sounds, listening to music, laughing. At this age the child tries to copy you. During this time, along with playing, the child also learns a lot.
• Apart from talking and playing, you can also tell stories to your 8-month-old baby if you want. If you want, tell stories to the child by showing him the story book. Also tell who is in the picture and what is there. Even if the child does not understand it right now, it will develop the child's imagination. Such activities also help the child understand words and language.
• Instead of sitting in one place all the time, you can also encourage the child to move around. When the child tries to stand on his own, crawls on his knees, all these strengthen the child's muscles. However, at this time when the child is crawling all over the house, keep in mind that there should not be any object within the child's reach that can hurt or harm him.

(Read more:The Journey of Birth: How a Baby is Born)

An 8-month-old child develops rapidly physically, mentally and socially. At this age, the child starts crawling, some children try to walk on their knees. He observes and understands the things around him carefully, takes interest in colorful and moving things. At this age, children can try to speak small words like "mama" or "papa". He starts imitating and reacting to others. Start giving the baby solid foods like fruit puree, dal or khichdi, which can fulfill his nutritional needs. Also, give the child safe toys to play with and spend time with him, which will also help in his emotional development.