I’ve decided to change things up a bit with Kate’s monthly posts. To date, I’ve been titling her posts with the month number that she just turned, but reflecting back on the previous month’s events. So when Kate turned 6 months old, for example, I posted a blog titled “Kate: 6 Months” showed her in her 6 month onesie, but wrote about things that happened over the previous four weeks–when she was only 5 months old.
I can see how that could be confusing.
So now I’ve decided to switch it up and make her monthly posts’ titles, pictures, and content all about the same month, with all three reflecting back on the previous month.
You with me?
Here we go: Kate turned 8 months old on September 9th, and here’s a look back at all the things she learned and did when she was 7 months old, along with a repost of her 7 month photo:

Personalized onesie made by Amber from The Cotton Cupcake Shoppe.
The biggest news in our world? KATE SAID HER FIRST WORD! And you’ll never guess what it was…or maybe you will: “Mama.”
Oh, I was so proud!
For a while now she’s been making “M” sounds and going, “Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmmmm…” and then she moved on to babbling, “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma.” But on Saturday, August 14th she actually said it: “Mama.”
She had just woken up from her morning nap and we were sitting in the rocking chair in her nursery. She finished her bottle, was sitting on my lap, and I said, “Mama?” trying to see if she’d say it back (I’ve been doing this with her since birth. Shocker, right?) and to my surprise she responded, “Mama.”
I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT! I was stunned and amazed and thrilled, and quickly looked around to see if anyone else heard it! Of course, there were no witnesses, but I didn’t care, I just kept at it:
Me: Mama?
Kate: Mama.
Me: Mama?
Kate: Mama.
She repeated “Mama” back to me THREE SEPARATE TIMES, clear as day, and perfectly enunciated.
I’ve never been more proud.
In the days that followed she continued to do more of her “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” babbling, but occasionally she’d stop and say just “Mama” clear as day. We don’t think she understands yet that “Mama” actually means me, but she certainly understands that it gets my attention which she likes. It’s been hard capturing it on video because as soon as I turn on the camera the little stinker clams up and tries to go after it, but you can sort of hear her saying it in this video.
Another big first this month is that Kate figured out how to go from laying down to sitting up all on her own! She’s been sitting up without support since she was five months old, but she needed us to put her in that position first. Well not anymore! I wish I could say we saw the first time she moved into a sitting up position on her own, but we didn’t. It happened one afternoon when she was laying on her quilt on the living room floor, playing with her toys. G was sitting next to her, but he had his head turned to talk to me in the kitchen. All of a sudden he turned back to Kate and exclaimed, “She’s sitting up!”
I didn’t understand what the big deal was because she’d been sitting on her own for several weeks.
“No,” Greg said. “She did it on her own! I didn’t touch her!”
We cheered and celebrated Kate’s big accomplishment, and although she wasn’t interested in giving us a repeat performance that night, soon she was getting herself into a seated position all the time–gotta love mobility!
In related mobility news, Kate continues to army crawl to get to where she wants to go, and currently has no interest in lifting her belly off the ground to do a “regular” crawl. She is also increasing interested in what’s going on around her, and if you pick her up to carry her anywhere she insists on being carried facing out and will squirm and twist in your arms until she’s in that position. Such a curious little girl.
We have given up on swimming lessons because we think the indoor pool, with all its other classes going on at the same time, tons of kids squealing, instructors shouting, etc. was just too over-stimulating for Kate. She did great for her first class, but quickly went downhill in the following weeks and it wasn’t long before she’d cry inconsolably until we took her out of the pool. G and I decided to stop going because we didn’t want Kate to learn a negative association with water. She continues to play in the wading pool and go in the lake with G when we’re at his parents’ house, and she still LOVES those things, so we’ll stick with that for now.
Kate started on finger foods this month, and she loves feeding herself! We started her on Puffs (infant cereal that’s like Cheerios, but dissolves quicker in her mouth), bananas, and avocado bites. She’s got really good fine motor skills and seemed to master that pincher grip pretty quickly. She is also getting really good at drinking out of her sippy cup, although we still help her a bit so it doesn’t spill all over her. Kate has limited sucking ability, so we needed to remove the valve from her sippy–which means its no longer spill-proof–so if Kate tips her cup upside down water spills everywhere. She does pretty good with the actual drinking part, but she needs help setting her cup back down without spilling all over her highchair tray.
One last bit of new is that Kate gave me her first kiss! It was actually more of an open-mouthed slobber on my face, but the intention was there and I loved it!
Other 7 Month Stats
Bedtime: 6:30pm
Wake Up Time: Between 6:00 and 6:30am
Naps: 2x/day for a total of 3-4 hours/day
Bottles: She is offered 7.5 oz bottles 4x/day (when she wakes up in the morning, wakes up from her first nap, wakes from her second nap, and before bedtime)
Meals/Solids: Eats breakfast at 7am, lunch between 12-1pm, dinner at 5:30pm
New Foods: Carrots, Peaches, Squash, Oatmeal, Yogurt (gave her a diaper rash so we ended it), Wheat Germ (used to coat slippery finger foods), Tofu, Graham Crackers (used to coat slippery finger foods).
Developmental Milestones & “Firsts”: Said her first word (“Mama”), can go from laying down to a sitting position on her own, gave Mom her first kiss.
Favorite Toys: Move & Crawl Ball, B. Squeeze Blocks
Additional Kate 7 Months Posts:
Embrace the Camera
She is just adorable! I can NOT believe she is 8 months old already. That is so great that she is saying Mama, I remember how it felt to hear it for the first time – almost as good as the first time your child says “I love you” to you!
Little tip: if she grabs your hair and holds on tight, put your finger on the back of her hand and press her hand forward (i.e. bend her hand at the wrist) – it’s impossible to keep your fingers clenched with your hand bent and she will have to let go. Try it on your own hand and you’ll see!
Thanks for the tip, Jen! She’s become so interested in my hair lately. She loves raking her fingers through it, but sometimes (as you saw) she just grabs on and won’t let go. I’ll be sure to try your tip next time!
Kate is just adorable and that video is precious. I’ve been following your blog for about a year and just love it. Just curious if you’ve posted your favorite baby/first time mom things… maybe I’ve missed that post? I’m a soon to be mom and would love more of your insight- especially in the stroller department. Happy Birthday too!
Have you started kate on those yogart bite things? I don’t know if she’s old enough (I know nada about children) but mother of god those yogart bites are good. All of my nieces and my nephew eat them. I may or may not have bought a bag for myself to snack on…
LB
If Kate can’t suck (thus taking the whole benefit of not spilling out of sippy cups) you should just put her right on real cups. It will save the hassle of weaning her later on!
K I’m confused. Our LO goes down for bed around 10:30pm… and I’ve read on msg boards and lots of mommy blogs of babies having bedtimes at like 6:30 or 7:00. My question is how in the world do you go anywhere if that’s her bedtime? Like how do you go to a friend’s house or to dinner w/ her? Wouldn’t it wake her up and get her off schedule? Genuinely curious…
Go Kate!! I can’t believe she is 8 months old already! {sigh}
6:30 bedtime would be a GOD send in this house!
What a big girl, she is seriously so cute!
There is nothing more delicious in life than a giant, open-mouthed, slobbery baby kiss. Nothing! So glad you are experiencing them.
Happy Bday. I like your braid thingy in the photo below.
jbhat
What a sweetheart! I am so looking forward to the day when my little 5 week old is more interactive. I know those are the fun times!
Kalen, My first had a later bedtime exactly for that reason… We were just on the go more, but after my second and third, it is super duper rare that one of us isn’t home at 8:00 on the dot to put those rascals to bed.
Kate is soo cute. I love her little leg warmers
Jennifer
Thank you so much for your comments everyone!
@Anonymous–No, I haven’t posted my baby favorites, but plan on doing so soon. Best wishes on the arrival of yoru little one!
@LizzieBeth–Those yogurt bites sound delicious, but sadly yogurt gave Kate a horrible diaper rash, so I don’t think her little system is quite ready for it yet. I’ll be sure to keep those in mind for the future, though!
@Anonymous–Thanks for your feedback. The benefit of starting Kate on a sippy cup–even though she needs to drink from it like you would a real cup–is that it has the double handles so it’s easy for her to grip, and it has the molded spout so when she’s drinking and tips too much the water doesn’t spill all over her face. I’m hopeful we won’t have any problems transitioning her to a regular cup since the drinking technique won’t be new to her–but we’ll see!
@Kalen–The answer to your question is that we don’t do any of those things, lol! I know it’s a major sacrifice, but we’ve discovered it’s worth it for Kate to get the sleep she needs–and Kate taught us early on that she is a little girl that needs A LOT of sleep! If you’re interested, the sleep book that I found really helpful is “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.”
She’s gorgeous! Just made a career change myself and am now getting a lot more time with my little Berkeley. So much fun!
Where is the bedspread from in her 7th month picture?