Infants At 8 Months Old: Growth Indicators

Speech and Language Development: Your baby will imitate the way you talk to him. He may be able to utter vaguely "baba", "mama". Although he still does not know the meaning of these words at this time, you should respond to him. When you respond, your baby will think that what he said has an important meaning and this will encourage him to speak more.

Movements or motor skills: An eight months old baby will start to crawl. At the beginning, your baby may crawl forwards or backward slowly, or crawl without actually moving. Your baby at this stage is also able to sit steadily. With hands holding onto the furniture, he may be able to stand up from sitting position slowly, albeit unable to stand firmly. Your eight-month-old baby can also be very precise in pinching things with his thumb, index and middle fingers.

Visual development: Your baby starts to form imaginations and has thought about things he sees. For examples, when he sees the milk bottle, he will know that it is time for feeding. When he sees his parents carrying his bowl, he will also know it's mealtime. He will start to remember things he likes to see or something of interest. If he expects but does not see it, he will move his eyeballs around in search of it.
Cognitive ability: Your baby is very curious about his surroundings at this age. However, the curiosity about a particular thing may not last long as his attention can be distracted easily by other things, which makes him hard to concentrate.

Emotional and social development: Your 8-month-old baby may demonstrate shyness or feel anxiety when meeting strangers, but it is normal at this stage. He may be fearful when he is distant from his parents or people who are close to him. When your baby meets a stranger, he may first stare at him with uneasy feelings and fear. Therefore, it is recommended that parents do not leave their babies alone with strangers without allowing them to warm up to these unfamiliar people beforehand.