Crawling Stage

Baby will grow stronger and may start lifting his head from a face-down position and using his hands and feet to move forward, or she may learn to crawl.

Crawling can take many different forms. Baby may even move forward by moving feet in a rowing motion while seated. He'll gradually get faster, and he may use his crawling techniques to try to climb steps or stairs, so you'll have to pay close attention.

He'll be able to move his fingertips with precision, so he may start pulling out tissues from a box or tampering with the remote control or cell phone, or otherwise getting into mischief.

He understands most of what mama says now.

He'll start to imitate things and to repeat words like "mama" and "boo-boo" after an adult.

Once baby's range of motion expands through crawling, he'll move around all over the place, including the corners of the room and under tables. Dust tends to accumulate in places that are hard for adult hands to reach. When mites and dust touch the skin or get into the body, they can cause allergies. Also, something that wouldn't bother an adult can irritate a baby's sensitive skin and cause a rash.

So inspect the room again, viewing it from the level of baby's crawling height.

Baby will soon be able to eat things that are soft enough to smash with his gums. He'll start wanting to eat on his own, and at first he'll try to get food into his mouth by grabbing it with his hands. From now until after the 1-year mark, he'll continue eating with his hands; just let him eat this way, and focus on nurturing a good appetite for eating. The amount baby eats at each meal will gradually increase, and he may progress to eating 3 meals a day, the same as adults. As long as he wants breast milk, let him drink till he's satisfied.

So it's best to give baby a spoon to hold sometimes and let him practice eating.

Once baby starts crawling, his hands, feet, and knees will tend to get dirty. The amount of exercise he gets also increases sharply and he'll sweat a lot, so be sure to get him nice and clean with a daily bath. If you're concerned about skin's dryness, etc., use shampoo and soap made especially for sensitive skin. He'll want to move around in the bath too, so move things that would be dangerous if put in the mouth to a higher place where baby can't reach them.

So a foam-type soap that lets you wash quickly is a convenient choice.

Once baby starts crawling, his hands, feet, and knees will tend to get dirty. The amount of exercise he gets also increases sharply and he'll sweat a lot, so be sure to get him nice and clean with a daily bath. If you're concerned about skin's dryness, etc., use shampoo and soap made especially for sensitive skin. He'll want to move around in the bath too, so move things that would be dangerous if put in the mouth to a higher place where baby can't reach them.

So a foam-type soap that lets you wash quickly is a convenient choice.

The amount of time baby spends awake during the day gets longer, and naps decrease to 1-2 times per day. To compensate for that, he'll sleep longer periods at night. Also, as solid foods lead to fairly regular meal times, the timing of bowel movements and naps also becomes consistent, and a daily rhythm starts to take shape. If baby stays up late waiting for papa to come home, the rhythm he's achieved gets disrupted, and baby may not get a good night's sleep. Growth hormones are secreted while baby sleeps at night, so be sure he gets plenty of sleep.

So it's best to create an environment where baby can go to bed early and get up early.

If he can grab onto something while crawling, he may start pulling herself up! The day could be near where he can stand on his own!