Feeding Baby at Month 8
An 8-month-old baby still relies heavily on either breastmilk or formula for their nutrition. At this age, a baby will nurse at least 5 times a day and formula-fed will eat 26-32 ounces of formula each day.
Your baby is used to eating solid foods by now. Feed them 2-3 servings of baby cereal or grains, two servings of fruit, 1-2 servings of protein, and one serving of dairy per day.
You could also give your baby a cooked egg yolk.
Your baby also takes water, which should be 2-4 ounces of water to ensure they drink enough breastmilk or formula.
Sleeping Habits of an 8th-month-old
Eight-month olds usually sleep for about 14 hours total in a day. Others may sleep between 12 to 16 hours, which is still normal. The 14 hours of sleep are inclusive of 10 to 12 hours of uninterrupted night sleep and two naps- in the morning and in the afternoon. Each nap is approximately two hours spread between 2 ½ hours of being awake.
Developments of your Baby Month 8
Growth and Appearance
Over the course of the 8th month, your baby gains just under 1 lb and grows for approximately a 3/8 of an inch in length. Your baby’s head circumference will also increase, though minimally compared to earlier months.
At 8 months, it is a safe period to establish good eating habits for your child. Provide a wide range of foods, feed them a balanced diet, and avoid overfeeding. You could also introduce a two-handled feeding cup to promote weaning and supplement the solid foods.
Baby Movement
At 8 months, your baby can sit up steadily, move more, and hold toys in each hand because of the rapid development they have and are undergoing.
Your infant’s improved sense of balance allows them to sit up unsupported longer than before. Your baby could also start reaching with their arms while still seated. The movement strengthens your child’s core muscles, critical development for walking, standing, and other forward-thrusting movements.
Soon after learning how to sit unsupported, your baby will roll, twist, crouch, and rock back and forth on their knees in readiness of crawling.
Steady sitting also enhances your infant hand and finger coordination because it maintains the upper torso balance. The improved hand and finger coordination enables the baby to hold a toy in each hand, eventually gaining the skill to bring both hands inward to bang the toys against each other.
At 8 months, your baby is also working hard to let go of the raking motion to gather objects and acquire the pincer grasp. Your child is also learning how to let go of items at will, dropping and throwing things for self-entertainment.
Mental Development
At 8 months, your baby’s mind is mature enough that they know that particular things have meaning that surpasses the immediate sensory experience. Your child makes meaning of experiences by making conclusions from past similar familiarities. For instance, your child waves bye when they realize you are going out of sight from past such experiences.
During this period, your little one also acquires object permanence, recognizing the existence of an object or person even when out of sight. You will notice that your baby looks around for a toy they have dropped because of developing object permanence.
Your 8 month old is also acquiring more language skills, babbling even more at this age. You need to talk to your baby a lot at this age to promote their verbal and non-verbal communications skills maturity.
Sensory Development
Your baby’s senses continue to develop, stimulating the maturity of other skills- reaching, crawling, and making conclusions concerning spatial relations.
Your 8 months old baby vision has as much clarity and depth perception as that of an adult. Your child can now recognize persons and items from a distance, can reach items more accurately, and can speculate on distances correctly when in forward movement.
Your infant’s sense of touch also matures greatly during the eighth month. They can recognize objects by their textures, shapes, and other feels.
Social Development
At 8 months, your baby social development heightens. The child is torn between spending time with you and exploring their environment with the newly acquired mobility.
Separation anxiety is real at this age. Your baby becomes clingy when you try separating from them, even for short periods such as the toilet run.
Vaccination of your baby on the 8th month
There are no immunization shots during the eighth month.
8th Month Milestones
By the end of the eighth month, your baby can;
- Sits up straight and looks around
- Reach out with one hand when supporting them in a crawling position
- Roll back and forth on all four, rushing on their bottom, and roll over repeatedly
- Strengthen their parent-child bond
- Differentiate strangers from family and friends
- They combine different sounds
- Can pick small items using hands
- Can transfer an object from one hand to another
- Explore using touch
- Develop object permanence-look for the caregiver or dropped object
- The attach meaning to gestures and words
- Improved use of thumb and fingers