Find activities, milestones, and games based on baby’s date of birth
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(Remember to adjust for prematurity)
Activities at Week 31
- Creeping and Crawling: Baby may be rocking back and forth on tummy towards items of interest. Encourage movement by placing toys around baby where they must move to reach them. Helps baby learn to crawl.
- Sitting Up to Play: Since baby can sit independently, sit on the floor and roll a ball to baby. Encourage them to roll it back using both hands so they can’t use them for support. Helps baby strengthen back, shoulder muscles and core.
- Little Explorer: Allow baby to grab and explore items within reach by giving them space to explore the environment. Stay close to supervise. Helps baby get new movement experiences.
It’s Important to Remember:
The activities listed over these next few months are designed to help your baby as they move towards the following nine month milestones.
If you are concerned that your baby isn’t meeting these milestones by nine months, trust your instincts and talk to your healthcare professional.
Milestones
7-9 Month Motor Milestones
Motor Milestones
- Sits without support
- Sits and reaches for toys without falling
- Moves from tummy or back into sitting
- Starts to move with alternate leg and arm movement e.g. creeping, crawling
- Picks up head and pushes through elbows during Tummy Time
- Turns head to visually track objects while sitting
- Shows more control while rolling and sitting
- Picks up small objects with thumbs and fingers
- In simple play imitates others
7-9 Month Sensory Milestones
Sensory Milestones
- Enjoys a variety of movements – bouncing up and down, rocking back and forth
- Explores and examines an object using both hands and mouth
- Turns several pages of a chunky (board) book at once
- Experiments with the amount of force needed to pick up different objects
- Focuses on objects near and far
- Investigates shapes, sizes, and textures of toys and surroundings
- Observes environment from a variety of positions – while lying on back or tummy, sitting, crawling, and standing with assistance
7-9 Month Communication Milestones
Communication Milestones
- Uses increased variety of sounds and syllable combinations in babbling
- Looks at familiar objects and people when named
- Recognizes sound of their name
- Participates in two-way communication
- Follows some routine commands when paired with gestures
- Shows recognition of commonly used words
- Simple gestures, e.g. shaking head for “no”
- Imitates sounds
7-9 Month Feeding Milestones
Feeding Milestones
- In a highchair, holds and drinks from a bottle
- Begins to eat thicker pureed and mashed table foods
- Enjoys chew toys that can massage sore and swollen gums during teething
- Stays full longer after eating
- Starts to look and reach for objects, such as, food that is nearby
- Shows strong reaction to new smells and tastes