7th to 9th month: Your baby is becoming mobile

To grab

Your child moves its fingers more and more skillfully. It has learned to grab something with both hands at the same time and to hold things for a while. It may even be able to turn an object in its hand and move it from one hand to the other to examine it more closely. When your child grasps and touches objects with thumb and forefinger, it does so with the so-called “scissor grip”. In addition, your baby is able to pick up smaller and smaller things.

The tweezers handle

From the ninth month of life at the earliest, your baby will master the so-called “tweezer grip”, with which it can pick up very small things with thumb and forefinger. Around the same time, your child learns to take something out of a jar. Around the age of nine months, many children begin to reach for things and intentionally drop them. A great pleasure for your baby, often certainly not for you. View the “game” as your child’s developmental progress. It is an important mental and motor exercise. And you can share the excitement about these new skills.

seals

Before your child can crawl or even walk, it usually tries to reach interesting goals, such as the floor lamp, stereo system or the mountain of magazines, with another locomotion technique: by sealing. The movements become more and more gliding and flowing. However, not all children crawl in the same way. At around nine months, your child has perfected their own technique. With the upper arms supported, it pulls forward in a prone position. Most children start crawling around ten months. Some children even skip crawling completely, crawl a little longer and then learn to walk straight away. Every child develops differently in this respect, you will also observe this with siblings and children who are friends.

Tip: Now at the latest you should check your living environment again in terms of safety . It is best to clear away anything that is dangerous or fragile. You can also promote your baby’s motor skills, for example by laying them face down on your lap with their head on your knee and playing with them. For example, you can practice kicking by moving his little legs, flailing his little arms, and so on. Of course, it’s advisable to do it in a gentle way and only for as long as your baby enjoys it.

roll

Your child moves by rolling. Rolling works through a sequence of movements, usually in the same order one after the other: turning from back to side, then to stomach, and then from prone to the other side and back again.

Tip: Never leave your child unattended on the changing table or similar. It can quickly roll down.

Sit

Your child is slowly preparing to sit. The baby usually rolls around on its own axis, turns and sits up. It’s becoming more and more secure and won’t tip over immediately if it’s just sitting upright for a short while. It will be able to support itself more and more. At some point it will sit so stably that it can calmly observe things around it and examine toys with its hands. It is interesting that every child has their own way of sitting: Some sit with their legs stretched out, others with their legs bent. Check out our article How Babies Learn to Sit for more information on this advancement.

Tip: Don’t try to get your child to sit for long periods of time by supporting them in the stroller or rocker. His muscles are not yet developed enough for this and it would do him more harm than good in his development. Make sure that your baby lies enough between the sitting exercises that he does on his own.

How is your baby developing?

In our further article “Baby’s first steps” you will find out how your baby’s development will continue. In our “Learning to crawl and walk” section you will also find helpful background information and valuable tips that you can use to support your baby on its way to taking its first steps.