And another month has passed and your little love is now in their seventh month of life! We are getting closer to the end of the official baby period and with that, getting closer to your baby’s first steps. There are still a few months and a few milestones ahead of you but time is racing.
At the moment, your little one is probably still lying around a lot, but is getting more and more active: they stretch and roll from side to side. Their goal this month: they want to get ahead. And they probably will by the end of this seventh month. Because in your baby’s “7-month-old baby milestones”, the milestone of “commando crawling” is coming up. Faster than you can look, in “baby development 7 months” your baby embarks on a voyage of discovery. In addition, their motor skills are becoming increasingly precise and changes are also noticeable in their social and mental development. Together with midwife and baby expert Katrin Ritter, we take a look at exactly what these changes are. As part of our blog series “Baby’s Developmental Milestones With Ergobaby: Baby’s First Year“.
7-month-old baby milestones: commando crawling and further development steps
Controlled turning in supine position
Lying on your back? Boring! You can hardly make any progress there.That’s why most babies in the seventh month turn quickly and in a controlled manner from their back to their tummy in order to reach for a toy or get into a higher position.If your little one does stay on their back for a moment, they can use this position to look at and examine an object in their hands in a relaxed manner – or even their own little feet.This is because they increasingly end up in the mouth (hand-foot-mouth coordination).
Side-lying play
If your baby keeps turning from their back to their tummy and back again, you will notice that they will occasionally lie on their side to play.They will support themselves on just one forearm and may even place their top leg on the floor with their foot in front of them.This is the very first time that the little foot makes contact with the surface and gradually gains more support.
Commando crawling as one of the exciting 7-month-old baby milestones
Lying on your tummy this month, your little one will move away from symmetrical elbow support towards alternating single elbow support. You can practise this by holding a toy slightly in the air in front of them. Gradually, your baby will move away from the symmetrical elbow support and stretch one arm in the air to reach for the toy. This is great preparation for crawling.
Your little one will also be amazed to realise that they can already move from the spot. And that’s backwards.To do this, they go into symmetrical hand support and push themself backwards across the floor. These two baby development steps will now also help them to gradually crawl forwards. The best way to do this is to place an object that they desire out of their reach.You will see that your baby will do everything they can to move in exactly this direction.This is done in alternating single elbow support. They will either pull their legs behind them or even use them a little to make better progress. You can support your little one by gently placing your hands behind their feet. Now they can push off and move towards the goal bit by bit in a prone position (on their tummy). This works best on smooth floors.
However, not all children crawl off immediately. Because crawling is exhausting. But if your little one is particularly curious, you will almost certainly witness this type of locomotion. Even if not for long. Because the little ones actually want to go higher and crawl. And so, by the end of the seventh month, it can happen that your baby pushes themself onto their hands and knees and rocks back and forth. This movement is also known as “rocking” and usually only occurs for a fortnight. However, it doesn’t bring them any closer to their beloved toy. So back down on the floor to keep on rocking.
Immature pincer grip
When crawling, your baby’s hands are wide open. If they encounter a piece of fluff or crumb on the floor, you will now notice that they no longer grasp it with their whole hand, but use their thumb and index finger in an increasingly coordinated way. Perhaps the middle finger is also used at first, but this also becomes less and less. Over the coming weeks, this immature tweezer grip will develop into the mature tweezer grip, in which only the fingertips touch each other.
Strangeness or separation anxiety
While your baby discovers more and more of the space around them in their seventh month of life and moves around in a prone position (on their tummy), strangeness or separation anxiety also sets in at the same time (approx. between the 6th and 9th month). This means that from now until the age of two or three, your baby or toddler will be less happy to be confronted with “strangers”. Strangers are all people who are not like mummy or daddy. This means that the more a person looks like you, the less your baby is likely to feel alienated.
This developmental step is very important as it shows that your baby’s emotional state is stabilising. Strangeness is intended to help the baby learn to stick to the people who care for it. This is nature’s plan. Incidentally, not all babies are equally alienated. Children who have had frequent contact with different people from an early age are generally less alienated than those with less social contact. People who are unknown to the baby should respect the baby’s desire for distance. With a little patience and time, they will build up more and more trust in that person.
7-month-old baby milestones: make your environment baby-safe
Wow, another huge leap. And in just four weeks. Your baby’s “7-month-old baby milestones” are a wonder to behold. And anyway, really take a look at the baby development steps month by month… What’s going on in your baby’s body and mind… It really is a miracle. So, take good care of your little miracle and now is probably a good time to start baby-proofing your home. Lock up the cleaning products, round off the edges of the table and hide sharp-edged plants or small decorations. Your baby is coming! And fast. As soon as you think, “Oh, we should close off the stairs soon”, you have to do it right then and there. Because just one day later, your little one is suddenly standing on the landing. It happens so fast! So watch, support and enjoy every little change. Your baby will definitely enjoy it.
And if you’ve missed months one to six and would like to take a look at those milestones just click here then search “milestones” for the full series.
