Crawling Stage

Baby is growing stronger and may start lifting his head from a face down position. Using his hands and feet to move forward, he is now learning to crawl.

Baby is now able to move his fingertips with precision. He may start pulling out tissues from a box or tamper with the remote control or cellphone.

Baby is starting to understands what his mother says. He now starts to imitate things and repeat words like "mama and "boo boo" after hearing from an adult.

As baby starts to crawl, his range of motion expands. He'll move around all over the place reaching as far as all the corners of the room and under the tables. Make sure to keep the room clean. When dust and mites touch the skin or get into the baby's body, it may cause skin irritation.

Baby will soon be able to eat foods that are soft enough to smash with his gums. He'll start wanting to eat on his own using his hands until reaching the age of 1. 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 may progress to eating 3 meals a day. But continue to give him milk till he is satisfied.

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 keep him nice and clean by giving a daily bath. Use soap and shampoo made especially for sensitive skin of babies.

Choose clothes made from cottony fabric. If you overdress baby because you are going outside, it would hamper his movement. So even if its cold, rather than have his clothes bulging, a good guide is to put on one layer less than the adult is wearing. Layering lightweight clothes is better than putting thick clothes,as it is easier to adjust the baby's body temparture by adding or removing layer. While inside, to keep baby's feet from slipping have him go barefoot. When temperature is low and you can't decide whether to put on a jacket or not, the right thing to do is to go wiithout. Baby prefers lightweight clothes over thick ones. When going out, make sure to bring undergarments and shirts.

The amount of time baby spends awake during the day gets longer and naps decrease to 1-2 times per day. To compensate for it, he'll sleep longer periods at night. Also, as solid foods lead to fairly regular meal times, the timing of bowel movements and naps takes on a regular rhythm. If baby stays up late, the rhythm he achieves get 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. Try to create an environment where baby can go to bed and get up early.

If he can grab onto something while crawling, he may start pulling herself up! Could the day be near when he stands on her own!?