Are you ready to learn all about the needs and development of your 7-month-old baby?! You have come to the right place. I have written an extensive guide for you including what to expect when it comes to developmental milestones, sleep, breastfeeding, and even how to best play with your 7-month-old baby to encourage brain development and growth! My guide is backed not only by experience but more importantly by research!
This post contains affiliate links, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Important Note: I do extensive research when writing these posts. I synthesize my research using many academic and reliable sources as well as my own personal experience. I fact check using the CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA). I also consult the following reference books both for making decisions on raising my daughter and writing these posts:
- Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth (Hands down best sleep training book I’ve read!)
- The Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child–Birth to Age 5 from the American Academy of Pediatrics
- What to Expect: The First Year (3rd Edition) by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
If you are interested in researching and learning, in depth, about your 7-month-old baby I highly recommend buying the above books or checking them out from your local library! They will be a must-have resource for the coming months!
7 Month Old Milestones
- Make raspberry sound
- Smile when interacting
- Babble when happy
- Mouth objects to explore
- Turn head in the direction of a familiar voice
- Bear weight on legs when held in standing position (don’t let go! Baby still needs your support)
*If you are concerned about your baby missing milestones be sure to talk with your pediatrician.
Sleep Milestones for a 7-Month-Old
Sleep Basics
- Total sleep in 24 hour period: 12-14 hours
- Nighttime sleep: 8.5-10.5 hrs
- Daytime sleep: 2-3 naps for a total of 3-4 hours
- Early bedtime between 6pm-7pm
*These are averages. Remember your baby might sleep a little more or a little less. You should always talk to your pediatrician if you are concerned.
Because your little one can hold more food in their growing belly chances are they can sleep for longer periods of time. You are looking at at least 6-7 hours of uninterrupted nighttime sleep at a time! Many babies are even sleeping through the night at this point!
Make sure your little one is going to bed between 6 and 7 pm. Read my tips to establish a rock solid bedtime ritual
Don’t worry too much if your baby is still waking up once at night! Nurse your baby when they wake up and put them directly back to bed. After that, your baby should sleep through till the morning!
This is how a nighttime schedule could look for you.
6:30 pm Bathtime, books
6:45 pm breastfeed or bottle
7:00 pm Put baby to bed
2-3am middle of the night feed (don’t wake
7 am Morning Wake up
Don’t forget! Babies should always be placed on their back to sleep. Remember “Back is Best” Placing your baby to sleep on their back reduces the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) tremendously.
Because your baby can now roll over on their own they might roll themselves onto their stomach at night. Don’t panic! You can leave your baby on their tummy but when you initially put them down always start him on his back.
Since your baby can roll over while sleeping
A note on napping: Your baby should be napping for 1 hour- 1.5 hours at this point. If you are still struggling with the 45-minute nap then try Reading this post by The Practically Perfect Baby to get your baby napping longer. I started using their method and never looked back. (Not sponsored or an affiliate, just obsessed with their method)
Breastfeeding and Introducing Solids to your 7-month-old baby
As your baby is able to consolidate breastfeeding sessions you will probably be looking at nursing about 5-6 times over a 24 hour period. This could be every 3-4 hours. Most babies will consume around 5-6 oz per feeding for a total of 30 oz. The amount your child wants to breastfeed will slowly begin to diminish as they start eating solid food!
Take your cues from your baby on how much they want to breastfeed!
A sample 7-Month-old breastfeeding and solid food schedule could look like this:
7:00 am: Wake up and Nurse
9:00 am: Nurse and nap
10:30 am Wake up from Nap
11:00 am Solid Food
1:00 pm Nurse and Nap
2:30 pm Wake up
4:00 pm Nurse/ Bottle
5:30 pm Solid Food
6:45 pm Nurse
7:00 pm Bedtime
2:00 am/3:00 am: Middle of the night Nurse
Introducing solid foods is so much fun! I have written several posts that will tell you almost everything you need to know! In these posts, I also have a link for a Free Solid Food Introduction Checklist!
Your Product Guide for Starting Stage 1 Solids
How to Play with your 7-month-old baby
- Talk to your baby all day long! This starts developing their language skills
- Sing and Dance
- Read books
- Peek A Boo
- Patty Cake (helps to develop her memory!)
- Mimic sounds back to her to show the process of talking
- Hug and snuggle often to show your baby affection and to build a sense of security!
- Play with baby blocks and soft toys to stimulate hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills
- Encourage her to roll over by placing toys just out of reach!
- She will love looking at the “other baby” in a small unbreakable baby mirror
- Be sure to spend time playing on the floor with your baby every day!
Appropriate Toys for your 7-Month-Old
- Provide soft crinkly toys that are easy to grab such as this fish or this cute butterfly.
- A set of easily
grippable rattles and teethers - These freezable teethers will be a lifesaver! Teething can start as early as 3 months so you might want to have those on hand!
- Teething necklaces: These are so great, once your little one starts teething you are going to want something that they can hang on and gnaw on! I have teething necklaces in every color!
- Soft easily
grippable blocks or rubber blocks are great! - Toys with Finger
holes - Textured toys that make sounds or play music
- Jumpers–These can be great as your baby is getting really interested in starting to stand. Use caution when using these because spending too much time in a jumper or bouncer can injuries to bones and joints that haven’t fully developed yet. If you are short on space (or money) you can always grab a doorway jumper! Be sure that you have correctly installed the jumper before use!
Helpful Tips for Baby’s 7th Month
Guess what?!?! You can definitely be doing some gentle sleep training!!! This is an exciting milestone to reach! Read to see how you can establish a rock solid bedtime ritual and survive sleep training!
If you are headed back to work after your maternity leave check out my tips and tricks for returning to work after maternity leave.
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