Eight months
By now your baby can probably sit without support, can drag objects towards themselves, and have probably starting crawling - or at least a version thereof!
Most babies begin to crawl at around 6 to 10 months - however you may find that rather than crawling on their hands and knees they've worked out their own way of getting around!
Some opt for sliding along on their bottoms using their feet to scoot themselves along, others will slither on their tummies, roll or indeed use a combination of movements. It doesn't really matter how they get around - whatever method they seem to favour they will be strengthening their muscles and getting themselves ready for those first steps.
You might also find that your baby skips the crawling stage altogether and instead will already be trying to pull themselves up on to their feet and having a go at walking from the get go!
Now your baby's getting mobile you'll really need to be on your toes! Make sure your home is as child-safe as possible - e.g. keep hazardous substances safely locked away, make sure hot drinks and food are well out of grabbing distance, install baby gates on the stairs, affix corner guards on tables etc.
Your baby's also more talkative now, experimenting with more sounds and of course you may already have heard 'mama' and 'dada' although at this age baby's often use them somewhat indiscriminately!
Your baby is also now more interested in objects than ever before and is also beginning to understand that they have a purpose - although gumming anything and everything in sight is probably still the most likely course of action!
You can help your baby's development by playing with toys/objects with specific functions e.g. combs, toy phones etc. Before you know it your baby will be merrily playing away with them by themselves.
Play & Pretend
Crawling, standing and walking all require good muscle development, balance and coordination. You can help your baby develop in all of these areas with a game of Baby Football.
