The eighth month
What a mess! For the first six months you could dress your baby in the cutest outfit and, besides the occasional poo explosion, you could expect her to stay gorgeous all day. These days, there is pureed pumpkin on all her clothes (and most of yours!) and every time you pick her off the floor you have to dust her off! Where did all that dirt and hair come from anyway – you just vacuumed this morning?
It is important to keep your baby safe (away from spoiling food and choking hazards) but it doesn’t matter if your baby gets a bit dirty. Of course, keep your floors clean but don’t go overboard. Eating a bit of dirt is unlikely to hurt your baby but licking household cleaners certainly will. For now, you may just have to keep all the good clothes for special occasions …
As well as getting dirty your baby will be busy practicing many new skills. She will start to experiment with vowels and consonants and might soon utter those words you’ve all been waiting for (mumma and dada).
She’ll be getting a work out too, practising skills that will eventually see her crawling and pulling up to standing. She can probably sit without support and may soon be able to move between positions for example, sitting to crawling and maybe even back again.
Feeding
At the end of this month you can probably ditch the blender as your baby will be ready to tackle minced and mashed foods. From eight months, you can also add in other infant cereals, such as oats, barley, rye and wheat (which means bread and pasta can be added to the menu) as well as egg yolk and fish.
What about Mum?
With the newborn stage now just a vague memory, you might already be thinking about falling pregnant again! There is a lot to consider and it is worth asking others for advice on when to have another baby. You might also want to consider the age gap between your babies. Are you ready to have two young babies in nappies? Or will it be harder to go back to the baby stage if you leave it too long?
More useful links:
Read tips on teething and caring for baby’s teeth
Is your baby getting heavy? Read our tips on preventing back pain
Have some family photos taken!
Please note: All babies are different, these are generic guides and aren’t a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to contact your health care provider.
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